External relations influence the time lost in each of the lost-time categories. Every organization deals with special interest groups to a greater or lesser extent. Some customers may be troublesome and tiresome but they need to be dealt with; they cannot be ignored. Suppliers can be both an asset and a liability; if they meet their commitments, they are assets, but if they do not meet their commitments then they can consume inordinate amounts of time to resolve issues.
Governmental agencies from the lowest to the highest reduce time for productive work by requesting services from organizations. The J. Peter Grace report issued on Federal Government Cost Control involved 36 task forces, 161 corporate executives, 2,000 volunteers, and provided 2,478 separate, distinct, and specific cost-cutting and revenue-enhancing recommendations. It is difficult to find any recommendations that have been implemented. The David Packard Commissions report on defense management, A Quest for Excellence, was received with enthusiasm but never implemented.
Communities will knock on the organization’s door to promote their community affairs that eventually will be brought down to the organization’s operating level. You may be asked to provide a representative to some community project. While these organizational efforts are necessary, they need to be scrutinized so that the resources provided by the organization provide a benefit in some form. All of these external influences have their rightful place in the organization psyche but they need to be controlled.