Cyril Northcote Parkinson fu uno storico navale e autore di circa sessanta libri. È noto soprattutto per il suo vasto lavoro come studioso nel campo dell'amministrazione pubblica. Il suo contributo più famoso è la Legge di Parkinson, che descrive umoristicamente la tendenza del lavoro ad espandersi per riempire tutto il tempo disponibile. L'acuta analisi di Parkinson sui principi organizzativi e sulla natura umana offre osservazioni senza tempo per i lettori.
Many know of Horatio Hornblower's exploits during the Napoleonic Wars through the novels of C.S. Forester, but how many know the true Hornblower--the man who rose from Midshipman to Admiral of the British Fleet? Using Hornblower family papers discovered in the 1970s, C. Northcote Parkinson has set the record straight in this authoritative biography.
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.
A must read. Many of our everyday decisions are (or should have been) based upon Parkinson's insights. For example, he wrote "Work expands to fill the time allotted for it". If you schedule more time, you'll create more tasks to accomplish a particular goal. The many corollaries derived from this law are significant. “Junk expands to fill the space allotted for it”. Regardless of how much storage space we create, we’ll accumulate junk that will exceed the allotted space. The more highways we build the more traffic jams we create. He described how in many organizations people rise to the “level of their incompetence”. He noted the significance of an organization that has created excellent offices, beautiful grounds and buildings or excellent bureaucratic efficiency. Healthy growing organizations are always in chaos. The great Marble houses of banks and railroad terminals foretold the decline of those industries relative significance. When you’re busy growing and creating, you don’t have time or resources to devote to your own self admiration.
A must read. Many of our everyday decisions are (or should have been) based upon Parkinson's insights. For example, he wrote "Work expands to fill the time allotted for it". If you schedule more time, you'll create more tasks to accomplish a particular goal. The many corollaries derived from this law are significant. “Junk expands to fill the space allotted for it”. Regardless of how much storage space we create, we’ll accumulate junk that will exceed the allotted space. The more highways we build the more traffic jams we create. He described how in many organizations people rise to the “level of their incompetence”. He noted the significance of an organization that has created excellent offices, beautiful grounds and buildings or excellent bureaucratic efficiency. Healthy growing organizations are always in chaos. The great Marble houses of banks and railroad terminals foretold the decline of those industries relative significance. When you’re busy growing and creating, you don’t have time or resources to devote to your own self admiration.
This novel tells the story of an orphaned daughter of a cabaret dancer and her rise from poverty and anonymity to film stardom, all set against the rise and fall of Berlin, the background of WWI, the debauchery of the Weimar era, the run-up to WWII, and the innovations in art and industry that accompanied it all.
From Marx to Wilson
Set in 1800, the narrative provides an insightful exploration of British trade dynamics in Asia, highlighting the complexities and challenges faced during this period. Through detailed accounts, it captures the economic, cultural, and political interactions that shaped the trade landscape, offering readers a rich understanding of historical context and the impact of colonialism on both British and Asian societies.
