MBGITW - managing by getting in the way

The earlier post on managing by getting in the way seemed to hit a rich stream. Not least in terms of re-thinking some of the things I do!

One of the rich veins to tap when looking for waste and MBIGTW is the purchasing department and paying one's bills.

I won't say which companies are concerned, but needless to say they are 3 major companies I could example, household names, coincidentally European companies. The systemic problem they have is that the business leaders are not so much supported by good purchasing practice, as ruled by them. They cannot run the business at the pace or in the way they would like. The cultural impact of purchasing is major.

Worse still, in these companies, there appears to be an accidental, but systematic inability to pay their bills. This results in major time wasting for executives, managment and their staff. The effect on culture and morale is palpable. The effect on retaining the best talent can't be measured, but it's there.

Ok, the CFO might make an argument for the financial benefits of not paying the bills owed. But the human impact in the business ( let alone the suppliers) is bigger.

Is this the biggest example of managing by getting in the way that you can suggest, or do you know of a bigger one?