Cost data are transferred to those best qualified to decide if an expense creates value to the organization. Without these data, workers of all varieties cannot make good financial decisions. Supervisory oversight is reduced because senior administrators have more confidence that lower-level managers will make sound financial decisions. As lower-level managers are allowed to work more autonomously, their management skills improve. Otherwise, lower-level managers never see the larger financial picture and cannot improve their performance.
Departmental empowerment is encouraged.
The preliminary results are encouraging. Eliminated one job description by a small investment in a computerized management information system. Developed a long-term business plan that will eliminate another job description while increasing throughput. Because the new pricing is only marginally higher, many schools are sending their high-volume work to the center and reducing the time teachers stand in line at the copy machines. At the expense to central copy, a production copier was placed in the high school and staffed by a trained operator.