Mary Parker Follett Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mary Parker Follett - Essay ExampleShe was also heavily involved in social field of study where she got in touch with people from different classes and ethnicities which anyowed her to come to the conclusion that diversity is an important requirement for all walks of life (Smith, 2002). She said that alternatively of shutting out what is different, we should welcome it because it is different and through its difference will make a richer content of life (Follett, 1918, Pg. 40). She said this long before some other business consultants considered diversity in an organization to be an important competitive advantage. However, her contributions towards systems of management and towards the governance of organizations are what she is most remembered for. She outlined her ideas in a typography she wrote under the title The Psychological Foundations of Business Administration which was presented in 1925. In it, she suggested that organizations functioned in ways which were similar to s ocieties and were indeed social networks where individuals could work towards the benefit of all those who were in the network. Similarly, it becomes the responsibility of the organization to help the growth of the individual thus leading to a cycle of fulfillment for both parties (Smith, 2002). While management gurus directly extol the values of an organization, as early as 1941, Follett had connected the values of an individual and the values of an organization as the main function of group work when she said that working in a company showed, the willingness to search for the real values involved on both sides and the ability to bring about an suffusion of these values (Follett, 1941, Pg. 181). As suggested by Boje and Rosile (2001), the scientific management process developed by earlier management gurus was given a social context by Follett where the employees became active participants in the growth and development of the company.