By encouraging employees to work harder and to increase quality, are companies lowering overall costs, or are they increasing waste and inefficiency of materials? You have just been hired to work as a part-time accountant for a small, local flower shop. Jim, the manager, feels the costs of doing business (purchasing flowers, vases, etc.) are getting too high, and he has asked you to find a solution to this problem. The shop employs two full-time workers and one part-time worker. Jim’s philosophy is that if you use the highest quality, you will increase business through customer loyalty. However, you have found out that Jim has given the employees permission to use whatever means necessary to ensure the flower arrangements and bouquets are made of the highest quality, even if it means wasting a lot of materials to create the best flower products possible.