Still More Useful Maxims

This is my fifth group of the many short principles that help clarify reasoning, decision-making, or analysis. I am featuring some of them in a series of posts, expositing a few of them each time. Some of these are insights into the worlds of public service and business.

13. Parkinson’s Law presented insights into the Civil Service

Having worked as an historian in the Admiralty Civil Service, in 1955 C. Northcote Parkinson published a satirical essay two days after the report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service. His main content was that ‘Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion,’ making the point that Civil Servants find ways of justifying their existence by creating ‘work’ that is unnecessary. The more time available for a task, the more complicated and bloated it becomes in order to fill that time. That this induces inefficiency is obvious.

Parkinson expanded his essay into a book, Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress. One of his themes was that without urgency, the hours available are spent on constant revisions and improvements that add noting to the successful completion of the task. 

Although he was initially motivated to explain the inefficiency of the Civil Service, his insights have been incorporated into the thinking of businesses and non-governmental committees. Another of his observations was that the number of employees in public bodies tends to increase, regardless of the amount of work they have to do.

Parkinson became an international celebrity for his insights, and spent years afterwards as a star on the international lecture circuit because people realized he has uncovered a basic organizational trait that needed to be addressed.

14. The Iron Law of Bureaucracy tells that the organization matters more than its goals.

Jerry Pournelle was an acclaimed science fiction writer who was involved in the US space programme, working for both government and private firms. He studied organizations and postulated that in any organization, those motivated to maintaining the organization itself would always win control over those who worked to achieve its goals.

Those in the organization who prioritize its internal survival over its original purpose will always seize control, writing the rules and managing promotions to ensure their continued power. The goal of this group is to perpetuate the organization itself, to divert its purpose into justifying its own existence, and to prioritize compliance with internal processes rather than seeking to achieve the original purpose it was designed to achieve.

This can be observed in many NGOs, whose purpose has shifted from achieving worthwhile goals into perpetuating the organization itself, and in continuing to pay high salary and expenses to those who run it.

It is more of a tendency than an iron law, but it is a useful insight that can be seen in action, and that those who establish an organization would be well to take into account when setting up its structure and rewards.

15. The Peter Principle is that people will be promoted above their level of competence.

Lawrence J Peter noted that people in an organization tend to be promoted until they reach a level beyond their ability to succeed in. Originally intended as satire, it contained enough truth to be taken seriously, and was subsequently taken on board in management studies.

Its basis is that if someone performs well at their job, they will be promoted to a level that gives them more authority and introduces different skills. If they are good at it, they will be promoted again. This continues until they reach a level at which the lack the competence to perform successfully. At that point they cease to be promoted, and remain at a level beyond their competence.

The conclusion that "In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties" (as Peter put it) leads to some employers using the so-called Cravath system. This is where employees who fail to rise are periodically fired and replaced by new hiring. This is summarized as ‘up or out.’

Madsen Pirie