Parkinson's Law states that 'work expands to fill the time available'. While strenuously denied by management consultants, bureaucrats and efficiency experts, the law is borne out by disinterested observation of any organization. The book goes far beyond its famous theorem, though. The author goes on to explain how to meet the most important people at a social gathering and why, as a matter of mathematical certainty, the time spent debating an issue is inversely proportional to its objective importance. Justly famous for more than forty years, Parkinson's Law is at once a bracingly cynical primer on the reality of human organization, and an innoculation against the wilful optimism to which we as a species are prone.
--This text refers to the
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About the Author
C. N. Parkinson had a varied career as a writer. He is best known as the author of Parkinson's Law, but among other books he also wrote a biography of Horatio Hornblower, a series of naval novels and several history books (including Britannia Rules and The Rise of Big Business).
--This text refers to the
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73 of 77 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Parkinson's Law briefly stated is that 'work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.' If it doesn't seem that an entire book could be written about this thesis then you haven't encountered the imaginative genius and the stinging comic wit of C. Northcote Parkinson. He is able to use this little insight as an analytic tool to expose much of what is wrong with organizations and why much in both business and government seems at odds with common sense. For example, why the British Colonial Office has grown in number of employees as the actual number of colonies declined - so that it employed more people when the number of colonies had been reduced to zero than when they were at their highest number. Witty, brilliant and always right on the money, Parkinson can make what should be deadly dull - a description of bureaucracy - into a delightful excursion through the halls of pompus human folly. Really great stuff. This book is a classic and can be read and reread with great pleasure.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've always considered Parkinson's Law to be the chief weapon of inept managers who "schedule aggressively" in an attempt to squeeze blood from stones, and thus compromise their project's effeciency, morale, and the like. After reading this book I've discovered that Parkinson's Law is *not* the often misquoted "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" but (paraphrasing:) "the number of administrators in an organization will grow at a steady rate irrespective of the amount of work that organization needs to do." Not only does Parkinson never suggest that we should "schedule aggressively" (he never suggests that work can contract indefinitely no matter how little time is made available), he ridiculues nice offices, large meetings, top-heavy management, insecure leadership, penny-wiseness and pound-foolishness, typical hiring practices, and more.
While reading most of this book I had a wry grin on my face, and I laughed loud belly laughs at a couple of points. My only complaints stem from the last two chapters, which indulged in both racism and ageism, respectively. I only skimmed those. Still, an enjoyable and motivational read, and useful knowledge when confronted by a manager who thinks of themself as Parkinsonian but hasn't actually read (or understood) Parkinson.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As Peter Drucker was beginning his interminable series of texts on the details of business strategy, Parkinson wrote a book that describes how it really works in most big organizations, whether they be in business or the public sector.
His basic premises that work expands to fill the time available, that the important decisions fall victim to the easily understood, and that bureaucratic organizations that grow too large no longer need any outside contact have been demonstrated to me over and over during a 30 year career in business.
The decade of downsizing we are witnessing demonstrates just how much fat there is in most organizations. Parkinson had it right over 30 years ago
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Used Book
Book was very good condition. Good product, good service, good value. Everything was done on time. Thanks for taking care of this well. Read more
Published 3 months ago by none
Tells it like it is! Must have in a management library.
That "Parkinson's Law" has been rebound and republished many times is no surprise considering that it is a right-on description of human behaviors in large institutions that is as... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dennis Smith
Excellent Satire on the Ineffectiveness of Bureaucracy
"Heaven forbid that students should cease to read books on the science of public or business administration -- provided only that these works are classified as... Read more
Published 20 months ago by T. Sznigir
Action expands to fill the void created by human failure.
This classic written by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a British government economist, is the culmination of years of painstaking research as to why and how companies grow, plateau and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by D. Weisman
Share with a good friend
This classic work ought to be thought of as a companion volume to books describing the "Peter Principle". Read more
Published on July 31, 2009 by W. Jamison
Parkinson's Law
this is an amazing book, that explains what really happens in large organizations. it also is a very funny book very enjoyable to read. Read more
Published on July 20, 2009 by Jo Burch
50-Year-Old Satire of Business and Public Administration Still Sharp...
Cyril Northcote Parkinson was a naval historian and writer with experience in the British Civil Service in 1955, when he wrote a humorous article for the "Economist" on the... Read more
Published on June 12, 2009 by mirasreviews
Parkinson's Law: funny, bitter, largely accurate
I first received a copy of "Parkinson's Law" from a retired three-star general. Since that time, I've seen copies on the shelves of almost every powerful person I know, from... Read more
Published on July 25, 2007 by not4prophet
Some great insights to human behavior
Parkinson's Law, written by C. Northcote Parkinson, is a wonderful book which explores the realities of human behavior within a bureaucracy. Read more
Published on February 22, 2007 by Henry Cate III
Insane, funny and useful
Parkinson's law is a collection of short articles about administration of which the first article, called "parkinson's law" is the most well know. Read more
Published on January 27, 2007 by Bas Vodde
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
WORK EXPANDS so as to fill the time available for its completion. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Parkinson's Law, Colonial Office, Privy Council, World War, Buckingham Palace, House of Commons, United States, Age of Resignation, Item Nine, New Zealand New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
WORK EXPANDS so as to fill the time available for its completion. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Parkinson's Law, Colonial Office, Privy Council, World War, Buckingham Palace, House of Commons, United States, Age of Resignation, Item Nine, New Zealand New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
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113
books
cite this book:
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- Buckingham Palace by Roy Nash on page 65
- The Oxford Dictionary of Thematic Quotations by Susan Ratcliffe on 5 pages
- The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (Oxford Paperback) by Ned Sherrin on 4 pages
- Defining Public Administration: Selections from the International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration by Jay M. Shafritz Jr. on 4 pages
- The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation by Susan Ratcliffe on 4 pages
- 100 One-Night Reads: A Book Lover's Guide by David C. Major on 4 pages
See all 113 books citing this book
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