When management learns the total cost of each significant activity in the plant (or in the entire firm, if ABC is extended to marketing and administrative functions), its attention is naturally focused on large amounts of resources devoted to some activities. Some of these activities, such as complying with laws and regulations, are necessary aspects of being in business. Others are not necessary; these are called non-value-added activities, or simply waste. One goal of TQM is to eliminate non-value-added activities and reduce those that cannot be eliminated. Activity cost information can make important contribution to a TQM effort, because ABC can reveal which non-value-added activities have high costs. If those activities are reduced substantially or eliminated, the firm becomes more efficient. In addition, the cost structure becomes simpler because some batch-or product-level costs shrink or disappear. The ABC system may become simpler, too, as one or more activity cost pools are deleted from the design of the ABC system.