Mary Parker Follett's "The Giving of Orders": A Critical Review

Introduction: Follett and Scientific Management

Mary Parker Follett's "The Giving of Orders" (1926) is a classic of managerial literature written in the early half of the twentieth century. Follett argues that improving employee motivation is a matter of fostering new habits rather than creating a more just or equitable workplace.

This reflects Follett's orientation within the Taylor school of scientific management, which stresses the need to transform the management of human labor into a machine-like enterprise in order to maximize organizational efficiency. According to the scientific management school, every movement of every worker should be optimized for efficiency and turned into a standard operating procedure or habit. Follett believes the same approach should be taken when giving orders to workers, even regarding orders of a non-technical nature.

Depersonalizing Orders and Worker Psychology

Follett writes that although the goal may be altering worker habits, giving orders requires an astute understanding of personal psychology. A child may be more responsive to an order from a school friend than to the words of a teacher. Simply because someone holds more formal authority and power does not mean that he or she will accomplish objectives more effectively — the outcome depends on the nature of the orders, the situation, and the personality involved. "My solution is to depersonalize the giving of orders," she writes, to reduce the tendency of context to interfere with obedience.¹

According to Follett, orders should be depersonalized so that there is no overbearing sense of authority, nor any fear of exercising it. The orders then become focused on the objective rather than on the personality of the manager exercising authority over the workplace.