Mary Parker Follett has been hailed as the ‘prophet of management’ and has recently received much attention (Graham, 1996). She is considered to be ahead of her time in her thinking about the nature of organizing (Wheelock and Callahan, 2006). She was writing at the turn of the twentieth century—at around the same time as Urwick and Taylor.

Follett discusses ‘a reciprocal leadership’ (Follett, 1928; 1982: 303), in which ‘the leader guides the group and is at the same time himself guided by the group’ (1918; 1998: 229); in addition, the leader has the key understanding to do the job. Her leader, in terms of traits or characteristics, is inspirational and visionary, leading change and exhibiting conduct that merits trust. He or she does not use persuasion.

Follett advocates the coactive power of management and unions, arguing that society must merge labour and capital to form an integration of interests and motives, and of standards, becoming an integrative unity.

This, then, is a unitarist view of organization. How realistic is it, do you think?