[mikescar]

You're really stretching the point here.

First, having vending machines for hardware doesn't mean that an IT department doesn't have any say on what gets ordered to go inside.

And really, is there any measurable amount of theft by employees who get a drop of coffee on their keyboard, and either just throw it away and get a new one, or go home and sell it? And would this in any way cost more than what the company saves by streamlining the basic IT hardware procurement that goes with any large company?

Quite far-fetched scenarios you're tossing out at this point.

[niggler]

It's not the cost of the particular item that matters, and I think you miss the overall point.

You may think it's trivial, but the same behaviors are reflected in software development (wastefulness of resources) and from what I've seen there's a strong correlation between wastefulness in life and wastefulness in work output.

[Evbn]

And you may think it's trivial, but treating employees like inmates in a prison harms productivity. (Gee, my left sift key still works, but right shift is broken, do I want to argue with my manager about whose fault is was and make he and I both go through the paperwork for justifying a purchase over my standard allocation? I mean, if I waste his time with his, that costs money at his high salary, and won't ensure me to him...")