First and foremost a political scientist, Mary Parker Follett originally applied her ideas to the field of social work. Follett was deeply interested in the individual, in both the group and society. Her philosophy of smaller more participative government runs counter to management and administration’s focus on centralized power and regulation. This has contributed to the neglect of her work in management literature. She sent one primary message, that relationships matter. Follett’s observations were made before the existence of computers, but her insight into the problems of organizations and society make her relevant still. Her central ideas of individual commitment through direct participation are critical issues in the modern workplace. …show more content…
Instead of ignoring it, Follett believed that we should strive to see conflict as the legitimate expression of differences. It is by learning from these differences, that we develop a larger solution to meet the needs of all people. If approached with the right tools, Follett believed a conflict can become an opportunity for positive or constructive development. Follett identified three ways to respond to conflict: Dominance, Compromise and Integration. Dominance is victory of one side over the other. Compromise means each party having to give up something for the sake of reducing conflict. And integration, the option championed by Follett, means creatively incorporating the parties interests into the solution. How do you find the integrative solution? Begin by detailing all aspects of your demand; treat this as a joint problem and work together to find the solution. Make costless exchanges, what is essential for another party may be unimportant to you. Maintain an open mind, step outside of the problem and be inventive (Follett 1996). The involved parties themselves must find their own …show more content…
She dedicated a lifetime of study and experience in helping shape a more fair and productive society. Follett actively worked on behalf of women’s suffrage, civil education, vocational guidance, and the development of neighborhood centers by cultivating neighborhood support, political support, negotiating conflicts of interest, and advocating for enabling legislation (Tonn, 1999). Her insight into the dynamics of groups and organizations followed widespread appeal. She advocated a “pull” rather than “push” approach to employee motivation, differentiated between “power over” and “power with,” and postulated insightful ideas on negotiation, conflict resolution and power sharing which helped shape modern management theory (Management). After Follett’s death, the popularity of her ideas faded, and her work has been lost and found again and again, only to find popularity once more as we enter the 21st
Hodson, Randy and Sullivan A. Teresa. (2008). The Social Organization of Work, Fourth Edition. Published: United States of America.
Hodson, R., & Sullivan, T. A. (2008). The social organization of work (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Levine, S. (1998) Getting to resolution turning conflict into collaboration. San Francisco, CA, Berrett-Koehler, (p.125)
Conerly (2004), further states two things attribute to the way conflict is managed. One is the importance of meeting your own goals and the other is the importance you attribute to relationships and wanting to get along with others.
Four sources of conflict presented by Lamberton & Minor (2014) are content, values, negotiation-of-selves and institutionalized will be discussed. Awareness of and knowing what causes conflict is important in strategizing ideas and plans to resolve them. Explanations and examples of these four sources will follow. The outcome and process of resolving conflict can affect what direction and success we achieve personally and
Hall, Douglas T. “Moving beyond the ‘Mommy Track’: an organization approach.” Personnel 66.12 (1989): 23-29.
There are various types of strategies used in order to reach consensus towards something an organization may want. Whether it’s taking the approach to want it all and make extreme offers until the desire outcome is achieved, or giving a deadline to accept an offer, negotiation processes may be challenging. According to the readings the integrative model is one of the most frequently used models to resolve conflict. The integrative model follows six steps in which
In this classic text, Fisher and Ury describe their four principles for effective negotiation. They also describe three common obstacles to negotiation and discuss ways to overcome those obstacles.
Creative Experience (1924) while carrying forward a number of the themes developed in The New State (1918) reflects Mary Parker Follett's growing interest in the problems of industrial relations and the realm of management. She has the same commitment to democracy and encounter, but the focus is now on, as the title suggests, the creative use of experience. In this, David W. Stewart (1987: 145) suggests, her approach was basically that of a pragmatist, 'though she emphasizedand placed higher value onthe creative rather than the verifying aspects of experience'.
resolving conflicts—where collaboration is used as a “last ditch effort [only] when other approaches have reached an impasse or have produced less than acceptable outcomes” (p. 7) and
Abigail, R. A., & Cahn, D. D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication. 4th Ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Before understanding how to deal with conflict, one must understand what conflict is. Conflict can be defined as, “any situation in which incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction” (Learning Team Toolkit, 2004, pp 242-243). Does the idea of conflict always have to carry a negative connotation? The growth and development of society would be a great deal slower if people never challenged each other’s ideas. The Learning Team Toolkit discusses three different views of conflict: traditiona...
Abigail, R. A., & Cahn, D. D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication. 4th Ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Interpersonal conflict is very common with many relationships. It occurs when two people can not meet in the middle or agree on a discussion. Cooperation is key to maintaining a healthy debate. More frequently; when dealing with members of your own family, issues arise that include conflict and resolution. During this process our true conflict management style appears “out of thin air”. (Steve A. Beebe, 2008, p. 191).
She conveys that business administration should avoid troublesome internalization by using an integrative technique. Unfortunately, Follett does not elaborate further on the context of what might this integration method appear to be. She changes the direction of her focus back onto the preparation of giving orders. Now, giving orders is a significant component to management but Follett should have provided additional information revolving the integration of management and the giving of orders. Fairholm suggests, “they misunderstand the evolving nature of authority derived from changing social structures, and because they have missed opportunities to tie in research procedures and focuses from intellectual interests such as psychology, sociology, history, and political science, not just scientific management, Weberian bureaucracy, and the like.” (Fairholm. 2004). Follett provides psychological perspectives, however maybe she misunderstands other perspectives, why further development is needed for her to examine. Follett later admits there is additional psychological, learning about the development of habits and the preventative measures of giving orders greatly surpasses than what she can explain in this article. It would be interesting if, she has examined and considered other theories and philosophies surrounding giving orders and