The emphasis in White’s introductory textbook in public administration was decidedly macro—an
economic term often used to describe how overall government systems and their parts interact. In
these early days, there was also great concern about micro issues: how individuals within organizations
operated and how decisions were made. Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933)46 made significant contributions
in public administration’s quest to understand how organizations worked. Indeed, one might
say that she was a major voice for what today would be called participatory management. She wrote
about the advantages of exercising “power with” as opposed to “power over.” Her “law of the situation”
was contingency management in its humble origins. Reprinted here is her discussion, “The Giving of
Orders,” which draws attention to the problems caused when superior-subordinate roles inhibit the
productivity of the organization