ABSTRACT
Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933), sometimes called the “Prophet of Management,” was an influential political and administrative theorist of the Progressive Era. While her work became less known after her lifetime, her ideas have influenced various fields, particularly public administration, business management, and negotiation. Her theory of integrative process is rooted in relational process ontology as evident in collaborative modes of association. Her primary focus is on the iterative relationship between the individual and the group in both theoretical analysis and practice. She is best known for concepts such as circular response, constructive conflict, integration, the law of the situation, and power-with. Her body of work points toward the goal of invigorating democratic participation in all facets of life. She believed that both individual and societal progress is only truly achieved through cocreative processes, and so she specified a method through which diverse perspectives can be successfully integrated toward such ends. Although her voice was stilled during the mid- to late twentieth century, there has since been a growing interest in her work in many fields of study and practice.
