Mary P. Follet: Creating Democracy, Transforming Management
2004; Volume: 9; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2326-3709
Autores Tópico(s)Management and Organizational Studies
ResumoMary P. Follet: Creating Democracy, Transforming Management Joan C. Tonn Yale University Press (2003) 640 pages, hardcover, $45.00 Synopsis This book is the first detailed biography of one of the early management thinkers, Mary Follett. Joan Tonn provides a rich and detailed look into the life experiences and issues of the time period mat shaped Mary's philosophies of group interaction and conflict resolution. Through her meticulous and extensive research of Mary's personal correspondence, newspaper stories and other records, Tonn crafts a rich, personal story of Mary's life. The 24 chapter biography includes extensive histories of FoIIett's childhood, her early educational work at Thayer Academy, and later the Annex at Harvard as well as Newnham College in England all of which is documented in over 1 ,600 endnotes. Tonn also includes insights into FoUett's research and writing of each of her three books, numerous lectures and papers. The biography also chronicles FoUett's extensive civic work in the development of school centers in Boston. It would be through this work that Follett developed her ideas of the group interaction and conflict resolution, which later in her life became the central focus of her work in business administration. Readability 7 out of 10. The book is highly readable and Tonn does an excellent job of condensing FoUett's three books into very readable summaries. Most Interesting Part For students and scholars of management history, the best chapters are the final three that detail FoUett's transition from political science to group interaction and conflict resolution within business administration. In these chapters, Tonn details how FoUett's ideas, which were first outlined in Creative Experience, led her to became involved in personnel relations first in a firm owned by Henry Dennison and later with the Bureau of Personnel Administration. Also during this time, Follett endured her most painful personal loss as well as persistent health related problems. Most Insightful Part The entire book provides delightful insights into the life of Mary Parker Follett. Like Richard Marius's classic biography of Martin Luther, Tonn's writing and research of Follett' s life provides exquisite detail such that she humanizes Follett for the reader. For some time, Follett has been regarded an important contributor to management thought, yet a view of Follett the person has been lacking from the literature. For example, throughout the book, we see how Follett' s dysfunctional family life and her father's alcoholism both affect her self esteem and even professional relationships. …
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