A company had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Management said, “Someone might steal from it at night.” So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.
Then management said, “How does the watchman do his job without instruction?” So they created a planning department and hired two people: one person to write the instructions and one person to do time studies.
Then management said, “How will we know the night watchman is doing his tasks correctly?” So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people: one to do the studies and one to write the reports.
Then management said, “How are all these people going to get paid?” So they created positions for a timekeeper and a payroll officer, and hired two more people to fill them.
Then management said, “Who will be accountable for all of these people?” So they created an administrative section and hired three people: an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.
Then management said, “We’ve had this command in operation for one year now and we’re $318,000 over budget. We have to cut back on overall costs.”
So they laid off the night watchman.
