Parkinson's Law and Its Implications for Project Management

Genaro J. Gutierrez and Panagiotis Kouvelis
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Genaro J. Gutierrez: Graduate School of Business, Management Department, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
Panagiotis Kouvelis: Graduate School of Business, Management Department, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712

Management Science, 1991, vol. 37, issue 8, 990-1001

Abstract: Critical path models concerning project management (i.e. PERT/CPM) fail to account for work force behavioral effects on the expected project completion time. In this paper, we provide a modelling framework for project management activities, that ultimately accounts for expected worker behavior under Parkinson's Law. A stochastic activity completion time model is used to formally state Parkinson's Law. The developed model helps to examine the effects of information release policies on subcontractors of project activities, and to develop managerial policies for setting appropriate deadlines for series or parallel project activities.

Keywords: project management; Parkinson's Law; stochastic modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1991
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:37:y:1991:i:8:p:990-1001

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