Another banker write up in 1955 which holds good to day I read it in 1970 and it is still in my library K Rajaram IRS 12623
PARKINSON’S LAW “It is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” British naval historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote that opening line for an essay in The *Economist* <https://www.economist.com/news/1955/11/19/parkinsons-law> in 1955, but the concept known as ‘Parkinson’s Law’ still lives on today. I think about it every time I have a deadline. How long it takes me to write a story will by and large depend on when my deadline is and how much time I have until then. In his somewhat satirical essay Parkinson uses the example of an elderly lady writing a postcard to her niece. Since she has nothing else to do with her time, the otherwise simple task takes up her entire day. Apparently, I’m not the only one for whom the notion rings true. ‘Parkinson’s Law’ took on a life of its own, forming the basis of several more essays and a book by Parkinson, leading to public lectures around the world. But what fewer people know is that Parkinson’s original intent was not to take aim at old lady letter-writers or journalists like me, but at a different kind of inefficiency – the bureaucratisation of the British Civil Service. In his original essay he pointed out that although the number of navy ships decreased by two thirds, and personnel by a third, between 1914 and 1928, the number of bureaucrats had still ballooned by almost 6% a year. There were fewer people and less work to manage – but management was still expanding, and Parkinson argued that this was due to factors that were independent of naval operational needs. One scholar who has taken a *serious look* <https://arxiv.org/abs/0804.2202> at Parkinson’s Law is Stefan Thurner, a professor in Science of Complex Systems at the Medical University of Vienna. Thurner says he became interested in the concept when the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna split into its own independent university in 2004. Within a couple years, he says, the Medical University of Vienna went from being run by 15 people to 100, while the number of scientists stayed about the same. “I wanted to understand what was going on there, and why my bureaucratic burden did not diminish – on the contrary it increased,” he says. He happened to read Parkinson’s book around the same time and was inspired to turn it into a mathematical model that could be manipulated and tested, along with co-authors Peter Klimek and Rudolf Hanel. “Parkinson argued that if you have 6% growth rate of any administrative body, then sooner or later any company will die. They will have all their workforce in bureaucracy and none in production.” *When you have a deadline it’s like a storm ahead of you or having a truck around the corner. It’s menacing and it’s approaching, so you focus heavily on the task – Eldar Shafir* Parkinson pointed to two critical elements that lead to bureaucratisation – what he called the law of multiplication of subordinates, the tendency of managers to hire two or more subordinates to report to them so that neither is in direct competition with the manager themself; and the fact that bureaucrats create work for other bureaucrats. Thurner says that companies typically start with a flat hierarchy, perhaps two engineers. As the company grows, they hire assistants, who then get promoted and hire their own subordinates. “A pyramid starts to grow. One might add artificial layers that serve no purpose other than introducing hierarchy, that help you to promote people to please them and keep them motivated. When the pyramid gets very large and expensive it might eat up all the company’s profits. If the bureaucratic body is not drastically reduced at this stage the company will die.” *The bigger the size of a government or organization, the more bureaucracy – and, in turn, the less effective it is* Thurner also looked at inefficiencies in Parkinson’s original context: governments. In another *study* <https://arxiv.org/abs/0804.2202>, he and his colleagues examined cabinet sizes of nearly 200 countries. They found that cabinet size was negatively correlated with government effectiveness; political stability; *voice and accountability as measured by the World Bank* <https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/voice-and-accountability-percentile-rank>; and *life expectancy, knowledge and standard of living as measured by the United Nations* <http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi> . To test how the size of a group affects its ability to make decisions, they created a model based on information flow networks and found that a significant change occurred when groups hit 20. “We found a realistic linking pattern of people and gave artificial committees random initial opinions on subjects,” he says. “At 20 you see a strong difference in coalition building. Smaller groups form and they block each other, which explains why it is exceedingly hard to come up with unanimous decisions when cabinets are large.” So if the wider points Parkinson was making about bureaucracies still stand up today, what of his enduring first line? Today, while some researchers might chuckle at the mention of the ‘law’ that has come to mean so much more than its original intent, there’s also no doubt they know what it is referring to. Is there some truth to the notion that without strict time constraints, we waste time and our work takes longer to complete? In fact, studies in the decades since Parkinson wrote his essay have shown it has some merit. In the 1960s, *researchers showed* <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022103167900297> that when subjects were “accidentally” given extra time to complete a task, the task took longer to complete. In another set of *studies from 1999* <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11189704_Timeless_demonstrations_of_Parkinson's_first_law>, subjects were asked to evaluate four sets of photos. When they were told the fourth set was cancelled, they spent more time “dallying” on the third, rather than just finishing the task more quickly. Researchers also found that the extra time spent on a task – in this case counting the number of letters in a phrase – didn’t lead to increased accuracy or ability to recall word pairs on a surprise test afterwards. Humans have a limited capacity for memory, attention and fatigue – or mental bandwidth, according to Eldar Shafir, a professor at Princeton and co-author of Scarcity, a book that looks at the psychology of having less than we need and how it drives our behaviours. “Because our attentional capacity is limited, we divide it sporadically any way we can as we run through everyday life,” he says. But sometimes, of necessity, we need to knuckle down. In his book, he and co-author Sendhil Mullainathan talk about focusing deeply on a project at the cost of other things. “When you have a deadline it’s like a storm ahead of you or having a truck around the corner. It’s menacing and it’s approaching, so you focus heavily on the task.” And you may well pull off a great job, but the problem is that everything else gets moved to the periphery. “If you’re focusing so heavily on a big project you may at the same time forget to pick up your kid from school, your mom’s birthday, to feed the dog etc. That may be the price you pay for the success you’re achieving with your focus.” And there’s always the chance that rushing to accomplish something in too few hours can have drawbacks as well, particularly if your deadline is set by somebody else. “If your deadline is too short and you’re panicking, you will have sacrificed other things and you might work inefficiently, and things might go badly anyway,” he says. “People like to say if it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done. But research shows people’s productivity is not linear,” says Elizabeth Tenney, an assistant professor at the University of Utah’s Eccles School of Business who has *written* <https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S1534-0856(2012)0000015015/full/html> about time pressure and productivity. “When people sit down to do a task, they’ll put in a lot of effort initially. At some point there’s going to be diminishing returns on extra effort. To optimise productivity, you need to maximise benefits and minimise costs and find that inflection point, which is where you should start to wrap up.” That might not mean taking up the full time allotted or working all the way up to your deadline, she says. “Cut yourself off rather than keep tinkering for all time.” So what about Parkinson’s hypothetical little old lady writing letters? If she had given herself a tighter deadline, she would’ve probably finished more quickly. But with nothing else to do all day, she finished just in time. K Rajaram IRS 12 623 On Sun, 11 Jun 2023 at 21:12, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]> wrote: > சிங்கத்தை எப்படி கொல்வது (வங்கி பாணி) > > 1. ஐசிஐசிஐ வங்கி முறை: > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை வாடகைக்கு அமர்த்துங்கள், அவருக்கு முழு ஓய்வு கொடுங்கள், அவர் > எதிர்பார்த்ததை விட அதிகமாக பணம் செலுத்துங்கள், முதல் 2 மாதங்களில் எதையும் > கேட்காதீர்கள். 2 மாதங்களுக்குப் பிறகு, உங்களின் வருடாந்திர இலக்கை 9 > மாதங்களில் அடைய வேண்டும் என்று அவரிடம் சொல்லுங்கள், அதை அடையவில்லை என்றால் > காட்டை இழக்க நேரிடும் என்று பயந்து சிங்கம் இறந்துவிடுகிறது. > > 2. HDFC வங்கி முறை: > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை வேலைக்கு அமர்த்தவும், அவருக்கு நிறைய வேலை கொடுங்கள், தொழிலை > விட அதிக சம்பளம் கொடுங்கள். ஒவ்வொரு 6 மாதங்களுக்கும் உங்கள் விருப்பப்படி > அவரது வேலையை மறுசீரமைக்கவும். ஒரு நாளைக்கு 2 ஆடுகளைக் கொன்றால், அடுத்த நாள் > 10 யானைகள் மட்டுமே உள்ளன என்று தெரிந்தும் 20 யானைகளைக் கொல்லும் இலக்கை > அவருக்குக் கொடுங்கள். சிங்கம் சோர்வு மற்றும் அதிகப்படியான மரணம். > > 3. AXIS வங்கி முறை: > சிங்கத்தை பூனையைப் போல மியாவ் செய்ய வற்புறுத்துவதை விட, சிங்கத்தை > வாடகைக்கு அமர்த்தி, பூனையின் பதவியைக் கொடுங்கள். அவருக்கு நிறைய ESOP > களையும் புல்லையும் கொடுங்கள். சிங்கம் இறுதியில் நம்பிக்கை மற்றும் > பட்டினியால் இறந்துவிடும். > > 4. நிலையான பட்டய வங்கி முறை: > சிங்கத்தை வாடகைக்கு அமர்த்தி, ஒரு கட் ஆஃப் நேரத்தை நிர்ணயித்து, கத்திக்கு > பதிலாக சிங்கத்தின் கரண்டியைக் கொடுத்து, 40 கிலோ ஆட்டில் இருந்து 60 கிலோ > இறைச்சியைப் பிரித்தெடுக்கச் சொல்லுங்கள், இல்லையெனில் சிங்கம் நாயாக மாறும் > நிலைக்குத் தள்ளப்படும். விரக்தி மற்றும் மன அழுத்தத்தால் சிங்கம் இறக்கிறது > > 5. RBI முறை: > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை வாடகைக்கு அமர்த்தி, ஆட்டை எப்படிக் கொல்வது என்று 3000 பக்க > சுற்றறிக்கையைக் கொடுங்கள். வாரத்திற்கு 3 முறையாவது சுற்றறிக்கையை > திருத்தவும். 3000 பக்க சுற்றறிக்கையை மீறிய நரி, ஓநாய் அல்லது குள்ளநரி > ஆகியவற்றின் உரிமத்தை எப்படி ரத்து செய்யலாம் என்பதை ஆய்வு செய்ய காட்டில் > உள்ள சிங்கத்தை அனுப்பவும். சிங்கம் தேக்கம் மற்றும் சலிப்பால் இறக்கிறது. > > 6. கோடக் மஹிந்திரா வங்கி முறை: > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை வாடகைக்கு அமர்த்தி, 30 கிலோ மட்டுமே சாப்பிடும் போது, தினமும் > 60 கிலோ இறைச்சியை உண்ணக் கொடுங்கள். சிங்கம் அதிகமாகச் சாப்பிட்டதால் > இறக்கிறது. > > 7. CITI வங்கி முறை: > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை படையெடுத்து, உடலில் எந்த வெட்டு அல்லது இரத்தம் இல்லாமல் > யானையைக் கொல்லச் சொல்லுங்கள். டைனோசர்களை எப்படி கொல்வது என்பதை வாத்துகள், > முயல்கள் மற்றும் புறாக்களிடமிருந்து கற்றுக்கொள்ள வேண்டிய கட்டாயத்தில் > சிங்கம் உள்ளது. சிங்கத்தை கொல்ல 2 ஓநாய்கள் வழங்கப்படுகின்றன, ஆனால் ஓநாய்கள் > நகரவோ தாக்கவோ கூடாது என்ற நிபந்தனையுடன். சிங்கம் குழப்பம் மற்றும் > முரண்பாடுகளால் இறக்கிறது. > > 8. Indusind வங்கி முறை: > சிங்கம் என்றால் என்ன என்று இன்னும் சிந்தித்துக் கொண்டிருப்பதால் > இந்துசின்ட் இனம் வெளியேறவில்லையா? > > 9. எஸ்பிஐ முறை: > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை வாடகைக்கு எடுத்து, தூரத்திலிருந்து காட்டைக் காட்டுங்கள். > வாய்ப்புகள் நிறைந்த காட்டை நகர்த்திக் கொண்டே இருங்கள், அதனால் அவர் > ஓடிக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறார். அவரைப் போல் பலர் ஓடிக்கொண்டிருப்பதால் அவர் > ஒருபோதும் கைவிடுவதில்லை. இறுதியாக அவர் பாதி வழியில் ஓய்வு பெறுகிறார் அல்லது > கூட்ட நெரிசலில் இறந்துவிடுகிறார். > > 10. தேசியமயமாக்கப்பட்ட வங்கி பாணி: > > ஒரு சிங்கத்தை வேலைக்கு அமர்த்துங்கள், அவருக்கு குறைந்த சம்பளம் மற்றும் > கொடுப்பனவுகளை வழங்குங்கள். ஒரே நேரத்தில் மூன்று நான்கு பிரச்சாரங்களைத் > தொடங்குங்கள். அவருக்கு அடைய முடியாத இலக்குகளை கொடுங்கள். எந்த துணை > அதிகாரிகளையும் கொடுக்க வேண்டாம். மென்பொருளை திடீரென்று மாற்றவும். > கூட்டங்களை நடத்துங்கள் மற்றும் தொலைதூர கிளைக்கு மாற்றுவதாக அவரை > அச்சுறுத்துங்கள். சிங்கம் தனது துரதிர்ஷ்டத்தை சபித்து இறந்தது! > .......... > > 👆ஒரு வங்கியாளரிடமிருந்து பெறப்பட்டது, இது மிகவும் அருமையாகவும் > மகிழ்ச்சியாகவும் இருந்தது. > > How to kill a LION (Banking Style) > > 1. ICICI bank method: > Hire a lion, give him full rest, pay him more than his expectations, never > ask for anything in the first 2 months. After 2 months tell him that u have > to achieve ur yearly target in 9 months, lion dies of fear that if he does > not achieve this he will lose the jungle. > > 2. HDFC Bank method: > Hire a lion, give him a hell lot of work, pay him fat salary more than the > industry. Restructure his job as per ur fancies every 6 months. If he kills > 2 goats a day, next day give him a target of killing 20 elephants a day > while knowing that there are only 10 elephants available. Lion dies of > exhaustion and overkill. > > 3. AXIS bank method: > Hire a lion and give him a post of a cat, than force the lion to meow like > a cat. Give him lots of ESOPs and grass to eat.Lion will eventually die of > hope and starvation. > > 4. Standard Chartered Bank method: > Hire a lion and set a cut off time, give the lion spoon instead of knife > and ask him to GB extract 60kg meat out of 40kg goat or else the lion will > be forced to become a dog. Lion dies out of frustration and strain > > 5. RBI method: > Hire a lion and give him a 3000 page circular on how to kill a goat. Amend > the circular at least 3 times a week. Send the lion in the jungle to > inspect how he can cancel the licence of fox, wolf or jackal who have > violated the 3000 page circular. Lion dies of stagnation and boredom. > > 6. Kotak Mahindra Bank Method: > Hire a lion and give him 60kg of meat to eat everyday when he can eat only > 30kg. Lion dies of overeating. > > 7. CITI BANK Method: > Recruit a lion, ask him to kill an elephant without any cut or blood from > the body. Lion is forced to learn from ducks, rabbits and pigeons on how to > kill dinosaurs. Lion is provided with 2 wolves to help in killing but with > a condition that the wolves will not move or attack. Lion dies of confusion > and paradoxes. > > 8. Indusind Bank method: > Indusind is out of race as they are still thinking as to what is a lion? > > 9. SBI method: > Hire a lion and show him the forest from far. Keep moving the forest full > of opportunities so he keeps running. He never gives up coz there are many > like him running. Finally he retires half way or dies in stampede. > > 10. Nationalised Bank style : > > Hire a Lion, give him lowest possible salary and allowances. Start Three > -Four campaigns at a single time. Give him unachievable targets. Dont give > any subordinates. Change softwares suddenly. Take meetings and threaten him > of transfer at remote branch. Lion dies cursing his bad luck ! > .......... > > 👆Received from a Banker and I found this really nice and hilarious. > > N Jambunathan Rengarajapuram-Kodambakkam-Chennai-Mob:9176159004 > > *" What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you > become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to > a goal, not to people or things "* > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoqJqykSyWRD9gbPCrVh3UbqgBanVx_WL5WKNMW20Ck_jQ%40mail.gmail.com.
