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Parkinson's law is a positive feedback problem. It follows the classical theme that occurs when a trend is started that reinforces the trend to make it larger. In the topic under discussion it is the increase in staff that makes more work for other staff and in consequence increases the need for yet more staff.
There are innumerable occasions when this applies and they seem to be increasing all the time, particularly in the European Union. The expansion of staff that increases an unnecessary work load was well documented by C Northcote Parkinson in the 1950's and his law is well and very much alive today.
The problem is typically identified in the civil service and other organisations that are not commercially orientated, although commercial firms that are weighed down with bureaucracy may also be subject to the same problem. In a wealth creating company this may not be a burden on the community, it may simply mean that less wealth is created than might be the case if the staffing were more slim.
Parkinson's law may in fact be extended since it is evident that when a new department is created then they have to find work to occupy them. When this entails creating new legislation, rather than an active work load, then the number of rules and petty regulations must increase to justify the creation of the new department. Health and safety regulation appears to satisfy this comment and its scope is increased by local departments such as town councils. They often feel obliged to protect themselves against the court proceedings that might ensue if the department's recommendations are ignored, however tenuous the link might be.
The problem of course is how to limit the expansion of such departments when feedback is such a strong factor. Topics for triggering a brain storming session can be devised to identify methods for controlling the vicious circle. A selection of the topics starts with saturation of a necessary commodity, which in this case could be supply of staff. Reducing the rate of recruitment is an obvious means of slowing down the expansion of a department, whilst cutting recruitment altogether would in the longer term mean a decline in numbers as some staff reach retirement age.
Opening the loop means preventing the trend from reinforcing the trend, perhaps by a management discipline that demands a slim workforce. The most that might be achieved could be low gain in the loop, this is perhaps a more likely scenario since the expansion of a need for staff becomes a process of negotiation with senior management. Such management can be flexible in its demands depending on circumstances, and delaying recruitment is a likely stance.
A negative feedback loop operates so as to compensate for errors in a system by subtracting the influence of a trend to keep a system on an even keel. Such an influence in the present case may be the need for profitability of the enterprise. Profits might be increased by having fewer staff, and in consequence more money may be available for salaries and dividends. Alternatively an external influence may operate by virtue of a government directive, such as is apparent in times of recession.
The remaining topic that might be appropriate is a theme change. This is only likely to be considered if the organisation takes a path that is seriously wrong and the other methods are bearing insufficient fruit. It may mean a change in the structure of the enterprise and a change in the way of working. Whatever the answer there is always scope for considering new solutions to a problem.
The author has considered how some lessons in science and engineering can be applied to problems in every day life. These have aroused so much interest that it is time to spread the ideas around a larger readership. He has prepared the Scoldent list as an aid for solutions to typical problems. Before retirement he was a Chartered Physicist and a Chartered Engineer. His book "Vicious Loops and Pendulums" is available as an ebook or as a paper-back at http://www.scoldent.co.uk/
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