Mother of modern management

Mary Parker Follett graduated from Thayer College at Radcliff. Still at college, Follett taught political science at a nearby secondary school. She was a member of Boston high society and participated on committees that set minimum wages for women and children. The management academic of that time (the early 1900s) was Frederick Taylor, the “father of scientific management”. His books favoured command-style, hierarchical organisations. Employees were treated much like robots or computers; things to be manipulated and directed. Taylor did not consider participative management. Managers worked more like dictators.

Mary Parker Follett, alternatively, believed very strongly that the person doing the job was the person most likely to know how to do the job better. She believed that it was human nature to want to be self-managed. In addition, Follett believed in the concept of cross-functional rather that vertical authority. Her idea was for people in different departments to share information with one another for the benefit of all. Follett supposed that managers should be leaders rather than dictators. They were to provide a “vision” and assist focus all the resources of the firm on meeting that vision. Follett also considered that knowledge and experience, not titles and seniority, should decide who should lead.

Follett’s ideas, written in the 1920s and 1930s, were way ahead of time. She was rather ignored while Frederick Taylor grew in importance. But times change and innovative ideas from the past unexpectedly take on new meaning. That is precisely what happened to Follett’s writings. A new book titled Mary Parker Follett – Prophet of Management: A Celebration of Writings from 1920s was made public by the Harvard Business School Press (1955).

London School of Economics Chairman Sir Peter Parker says that he is not sure who the father of management is, but he has no doubt who the mother is: Mary Parker Follett. Her ideas about empowerment, self-management, cross-functional cooperation and conflict resolution are now being implemented in leading firms all over the world.

Task 33. Translate the sentences into English:

1. До працівників ставились як до роботів чи комп’ютерів, якими можна управляти та маніпулювати. 2. Менеджери діяли подібно до диктаторів. 3. Особа, яка виконує роботу, знає найкраще, як її виконувати. 4. Її ідеї випереджували час. 5. Часи змінюються, інноваційні ідеї з минулого раптово набувають нового значення. 6. Менеджмент ґрунтується на основах, закладених Фредеріком Тейлором та Мері Паркер Фоллетт. 7. Їх можна назвати батьками менеджменту. 8. М.П. Фоллетт працювала в комісії, яка встановлювала мінімальну зарплату для дітей та жінок. 9. Ідеї уповноваження та самоуправління, які підтримувала М.П. Фоллетт сьогодні використовують багато компаній у всьому світі. 10. В його творах перевага надається командному стилю та ієрархічній організації. 11. М. Фоллетт викладала політологію в коледжі. 12. Заробітна плата – це винагорода, яку отримує працівник за виконання роботи. 13. Менеджер використовує всі доступні ресурси для досягнення мети. 14. Спільне користування інформацією сприяє підвищенню ефективності праці. 15. Інноваційні ідеї застосовують для удосконалення бізнесу.

Task 34. Think over and then write for half an hour on one of the following issues:

A. Do you think that knowing of at least some fundamentals of management and its functions and using them in everyday life is advantageous for everybody? Give your arguments and supply examples.

B. Do you personally think that management is a science or an art? Supply your arguments.

C. Have you personally used any of management functions in your everyday life? Describe the situations.