The Fable of the Toner Purchase



As the toner supply in her home office started to run low, wise Ms. Owl placed an order. She needed to stock up for a long winter, so she doubled her normal order and submitted all of the proper forms to Jonny Badger, the supply clerk.

When the requested toner did not arrive on the scheduled delivery date, Ms. Owl called Jonny Badger to determine the cause of the delay.

"Banker Frog cancelled your order," explained Jonny. "Several other people in the village will also need toner, so banker Frog decided to bundle the orders to reduce the overall cost to the village."

"When will I get my toner?" asked Ms. Owl.

"Banker Frog is consolidating the orders now. We'll submit the larger order today. It should arrive by next Friday."

"What should I do in the meantime?" asked Ms. Owl. "I waited to order the toner until I needed it - just as Banker Frog directed. Now, I've run completely out. Without toner, I will be idle for the next week."

"There is nothing I can do without Banker Frog's approval," Jonny said apologetically and then hung up.

Ms. Owl got out her pencil and started to calculate:

1. The cost of Ms. Owl's time to order the toner = $10
2. The cost of Jonny Badger's time to fill the original toner order = $10
3. The cost of Banker Frog's time to cancel the small toner order = $10
4. The cost of Banker Frog's time to solicit and consolidate the smaller toner orders = $30
5. The cost of Jonny Badger's time to fill the toner order a second time = $10
6. The cost of the other villager's time to submit their toner orders to Banker Frog = $60
7. The cost of Ms. Owl's time to inquire about the toner order = $10
8. The cost of Ms. Owl's time wasted waiting for the toner order = $1,200
9. The total cost of the toner order filling process = $1340
10. The total dollar savings achieved by bundling the toner orders = $100

She then sent her calculations to Banker Frog with a brief note.

The note said: "You've just wasted $1340 to save $100. In the process, you encouraged the other villagers to buy toner today even though they may not need it for months. Well done!"

Instead of thanking Ms. Owl for pointing out the mistaken logic so that it could be fixed, Banker Frog began to secretly loathe her.

The moral of the story: co-workers must not lose site of their shared purpose. The owl, the badger, and the frog are all trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. They have simply overlooked the fact that they are all working together toward the same goal. 

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