Parkinson's Law - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

A "generalization" of Parkinson's Law, is mentioned in an episode of British comedy series Yes Minister, The Skeleton in the Cupboard, originally aired on November 25, 1982. In that episode, an undersecretary of the Department, played by Ian Lavender, explains to the Minister that a certain county "has the smallest establishment of social workers in the U.K." Answering the Minister's question "Is that supposed to be a good thing?", he replies, "Oh yes, sign of efficiency. Parkinson's Law of social work you see; it's well known that social problems increase to occupy the total number of social workers to deal with them".

Read more about this topic:  Parkinson's Law

Famous quotes containing the words popular and/or culture:

    “But popular rage,
    Hysterica passio dragged this quarry down.
    None shared our guilt; nor did we play a part
    Upon a painted stage when we devoured his heart.”
    —William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    “Both cultures encourage innovation and experimentation, but are likely to reject the innovator if his innovation is not accepted by audiences. High culture experiments that are rejected by audiences in the creator’s lifetime may, however, become classics in another era, whereas popular culture experiments are forgotten if not immediately successful. Even so, in both cultures innovation is rare, although in high culture it is celebrated and in popular culture it is taken for granted.”
    —Herbert J. Gans (b. 1927)