Three of Follett’s ideas for managers in the 21st century Essay

Introduction

Effective Management theories form a basis for a successful business management. Managers in different organization situation can incorporate the already designed and tested management practices to add value and satisfaction to their management styles in the organization they lead.

Mary Parker Follet is one of the pioneer women to contribute to the management practices that modern managers embrace in managing the organizations. Follett’s management practices stressed on the importance of manager’s fixing common goals for its employees. In most of her work, she concentrated on management practices anchored on leadership, power and ethics. She encouraged managers to engage employees in decision making in the organization, thus; guaranteeing a favorable working environment.

This paper discusses the major contributions of Follet to management practices and how the twenty first century managers can succeed in embracing them. More specifically, the paper explores the ethics, power and leadership practices connected to her management philosophy and how this management philosophy has continued add value to the contemporary managers.

Discussion

Ethics is essential in everyday life. Every person who ought to succeed needs to have ethics which is in tandem with the society’s needs. According to Aupperle (2007) ethics cannot be substituted with a technical knowledge. Ethics involves having a “gift” while dealing with people (Follet, 1940) and this feature emanates from the personal qualities of a manager. Follet argues that this gift is not a matter of technique, but managers can acquire it through practice and practical knowledge.

Follet also notes that an ethical manager values management as a profession. According to her personal experience, she notes that, in 1920’s, she was one of those people who upheld that management should be recognized as a profession. At the time, the society considered professionals in the field of healthcare and architecture as professionals. This was because they were guided by their service, performance and standards. On the other hand, managers were not valued as professionals (Stivers, 1996).

Modern managers can incorporate the ethical management principles in their management practices brought up by Follet. This is important for various reasons. First, it is important for personal improvement because it contributes to the enrichment of life. Second, a manager having good ethics stimulates employees. This encourages an employee in doing the job with satisfaction with a sense of service (Follet, 1940, p.135).

Thirdly, ethics contributes to the integrity of a manager, thus having a sense of control and respect while executing his or responsibilities in the organization. Integrity can refer to standards, codes of conduct and thus translates to honest work. And lastly, ethics makes a manager to feel more loyal to his or her profession than to the company. When managers embrace ethics, they encourage commitment and productivity to their work.

According to Stivers (1996) organization ethics entails the ethical element of the organization structure and the ethical appraisal of the organizations incentives. Hence, these tenets affect the behavior of the employees in an organization. Thus, power plays a central role in harmonizing these elements in an organization.

Follett testifies that power is the central problem that managers face in social relations within an organization (Aupperle, 2007). She argues that most organizations have focused their attention on the separation of power rather than how it is achieved. She claims that the right to the authority which is not created psychologically for a manager is not an indication of capacity and hence, contributes to a manager’s empty ethics (Follet, 1940, p.111).

In this case, she argues that a manager needs to develop both the power and authority in the organization for him or her to carry out management practices effectively. A manager can accomplish this concept by exerting a functional authority rather than assuming a static dimension (Aupperle, 2007). She argues that power achieved through arbitrary commands and delivering blind obedience always limits an initiative of a manager, discourages self-reliance and reduces morale (Herbert, 2009).

She also notes that managers should substitute “power-over” people for “power with people” and “coercive control” for “coactive control” (Follet, 1940). In her assertion, “power with” is what makes a good manager. Follett sense of power can aid a modern manager to acquire important management practices in the organization.

First, a manager can extend his or power. It is possible for a manager to grow and support everyone’s situation through cooperative and independent efforts; this can lead to increased productivity at the workplace.

Second, when the manager allows “power with” the employees, it leads to open sharing of information and resources with employees in the organization (Teo-Dixon and Monin, 2007). And lastly, it creates independency. When a manager exercises power; it develops his or her capacity to positively transform or impacts employees whom he/she leads.

A successful leader needs to recognize different emotions and experiences of employees. He/she ought to act so that he/she can organize and focus employees’ energy towards a positive growth of an organization (Hollander and Offerman, 1990). Follet describes leadership as a dual relationship between a leader and a follower.

She further draws that in reciprocal leadership, a manager as significant role to lead and follow at times. On the other hand, the follower has a responsibility or an obligation to follow and contribute her or his thoughts and views. Hence, through sound leadership, followership, leadership and power; leadership is harmonized leading to smooth management of an organization (Teo-Dixon and Monin, 2007).

Followership is playing a significant role in the present world. This is because, people have moved from the society where there is “permanent employment”, and that there is a greater need for the employee to be more open and present in their jobs to add value and contribute effectively to their organizations success. The modern managers can borrow a leaf from Follett perspective of leadership to transform the modern workplaces through various ways (Herbert, 2009).

First, he/she can set an example or demonstrate the required skills as per the stipulated organizational set of rules and objectives. In this context, a manager is able to equip his work force with the necessary requirement at the right time and place. And lastly, a manager with good leadership skills is able to set precedent on the requirements with a lot of easiness, without necessarily relying for assistance (Aupperle, 2007). Thus, he/she will be able to perform his duties and give directives to the workers on the necessary course of action.

There exist various theories, which can help a modern manager perform most out of his or her managerial practices. The Follett theory of management has influenced how managers fulfill their roles and responsibilities in organizations they lead.

She has explained how modern managers can incorporate practices such as ethics, power and leadership in their respective organizations to achieve success. Hence, a contemporary manager who tries to translate these practices into actions is prone to increase productivity more than a manager who chooses to use the trial and error method in executing his or her managerial roles.

References

Aupperle, K.E., 2007, ‘Introduction: Mary Parker Follett – A Bridge Over Management’s Troubled Waters’, International Journal of Public Administration, 30: 363-366.

Follett, M.P., 1940. “The Psychology of Control”, in Metcalf, H.C. and Urwick, L. (Eds), Dynamic Administration. The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett, 183-209

Herbert, I., 2009. “Business Transformation through Empowerment and the Implications for Management Control Systems”, Journal of Human Resource Costing & Accounting, 13: 221 – 244

Hollander, E. P., & Offerman, L. R., 1990. Power and Leadership in Organizations. American Psychologist, 45:179-189.

Stivers, C., 1996. ‘Mary Parker Follett and the Question of Gender’, Organization, 3: 161–166.

Teo-Dixon, G., and Monin, N., 2007. ‘Guru of Gurus: Peter Drucker, Logology and the Ultimate Leader’, Journal of Management Inquiry, 16: 6-17.