Fable
The print shop finally knew which notice had drunk the ink
The academy had a copying room, and all paper and ink sticks were drawn from the public store. At first the teachers only submitted drafts, and no one recorded how much paper each course used or which apprentice repeatedly recopied. When the storeroom was full, the waste wasn't visible.
By the end of the month the warehouse was nearly empty, and only then did the director discover that some messages had been copied ten times, some long scrolls had never been compressed, and some apprentices flipped through an entire large book for a single sentence. The paper and ink had not been stolen; they had flowed away in unseen places.
The director first ordered less writing. The gentlemen didn't know where to cut; important lecture notes were shortened, while idle notices were still copied over and over. The first fix only shouted for savings, without telling anyone which tasks truly consumed paper.
The keeper set up a usage board. Each transcription recorded the word count, paper, ink sticks, course, and whether it was recopied; unusual usage would be flagged, and frequently used templates were given simplified versions so they did not have to be redone each time.
At first the gentlemen disliked being watched, but later they found the usage cards helped identify waste: some course questions were too vague, so students repeatedly recopied; some types of replies could be reused; some long scrolls should be summarized before copying. The accounting was not only for deducting money, but also for improving processes.
Later, the academy set reasonable quotas for different courses. History courses had many long scrolls, so the quota was high; daily notices were short, so exceeding the limit triggered a reminder. If there was a major exam, the instructor could apply for temporary extra paper, but had to explain why.
From then on, the academy could control costs and also know which activities were truly worth paper and ink. Being able to write is important, and knowing how much one writing session cost, why it cost that much, and whether it can cost less is equally important. Only when usage is visible can governance even be discussed.
Later, before the director approved a new course, he would first ask the copying room to estimate paper usage. Not to stop the teachers from lecturing, but to avoid a vague assignment draining the public treasury. The teachers also learned to write short questions first and reuse models, spending paper and ink only where long derivations were truly needed. Later the copying room posted a weekly usage ranking, so waste and savings could both be seen. Once the flow is visible, saving no longer depends on shouting. When it is invisible, everyone thinks they only wrote a little extra.