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Mary, Mary, quite contrary In a male‐dominated field, women contributed by bringing a touch of spirituality to early management theory and practice

Mary, Mary, quite contrary In a male‐dominated field, women contributed by bringing a touch of... Purpose – This paper aims to depict the pivotal roles played by Mary Parker Follett and Mary Barnett Gilson, as they uniquely contributed to early management thought, theory, and practice through “spirituality” despite the chauvinism of their day. Design/methodology/approach – Synthesizing articles from history journals, writings about the figures of interest, annals, published works by the figures themselves, and other resources; this paper illustrates how the input of Follett and Gilson made distinctive and valuable contributions to the management field. Findings – This research concludes that Follett and Gilson, although from the mid‐nineteenth to mid‐twentieth century, when men were dominant in any arena relating to management, were responsive to their “spiritual” insight despite its contrariness to the credence of their day. Consequently, they initiated an understanding that significantly impacted management theory and practice. Their perceptive revelations also led to changing mindsets and actions that influenced the wellbeing of organizations, as well as their employees. Originality/value – During this era, although not widely publicized, the “weaker” sex did make its mark. This is the first paper to examine, from a “spiritual” viewpoint, the contributions of these members of the “weaker” sex to management history. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Management History Emerald Publishing

Mary, Mary, quite contrary In a male‐dominated field, women contributed by bringing a touch of spirituality to early management theory and practice

Journal of Management History , Volume 17 (3): 12 – Jun 28, 2011

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References (58)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1751-1348
DOI
10.1108/17511341111141350
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to depict the pivotal roles played by Mary Parker Follett and Mary Barnett Gilson, as they uniquely contributed to early management thought, theory, and practice through “spirituality” despite the chauvinism of their day. Design/methodology/approach – Synthesizing articles from history journals, writings about the figures of interest, annals, published works by the figures themselves, and other resources; this paper illustrates how the input of Follett and Gilson made distinctive and valuable contributions to the management field. Findings – This research concludes that Follett and Gilson, although from the mid‐nineteenth to mid‐twentieth century, when men were dominant in any arena relating to management, were responsive to their “spiritual” insight despite its contrariness to the credence of their day. Consequently, they initiated an understanding that significantly impacted management theory and practice. Their perceptive revelations also led to changing mindsets and actions that influenced the wellbeing of organizations, as well as their employees. Originality/value – During this era, although not widely publicized, the “weaker” sex did make its mark. This is the first paper to examine, from a “spiritual” viewpoint, the contributions of these members of the “weaker” sex to management history.

Journal

Journal of Management HistoryEmerald Publishing

Published: Jun 28, 2011

Keywords: Mary Parker Follett; Mary Barnett Gilson; Spirituality; Early management; Management theory; Women; Men; Management history

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