Protecting Valuable Resources

Me: Can I get a couple blue ball-point pens?
Office Manager: I'll need you to send me an e-mail request.
[Time elapsed: 1 minute]

Me: OK. (I walk back to my desk, and draft an e-mail which says, "Can I get a couple blue ball-point pens?")
[Time elapsed: 2 minutes]

Office Manager receives e-mail, prints a copy for the file. When convenient sometime this month, she takes her massive key ring over to the closet, unlocks the cabinet and retrieves two ball point pens (approximate value: 25 cents) and delivers them to my office.
[Time elapsed: 3 minutes]

COST ANALYSIS:
Cost of employee needing office supplies helping himself to 2 pens from a central, unlocked supply cabinet:
- 1 minute of requesting employee's salary: $0.36
- cost of pens: $0.25
- cost of post-its requesting employee forgot to mention: $0.50
TOTAL: $1.11

Cost of current procedure at my office:
- 2 minutes of requesting employees salary: $0.72
- 3 minutes of office manager's salary: $1.08
- cost of pens: $0.25
- cost to repeat process for forgotten post-its: $1.58
- cost to employee morale over not being trusted not to steal the paper clips: unknown
TOTAL: $3.63

Copyright 2008 Stapler Tales