Employee involvement is vital for identifying and eliminating all forms of waste. A major procedural difference between traditional and lean environments is the degree of participation allowed workers in the management of the organization. In a lean environment, increasing the degree of participation increases productivity and overall cost efficiency. Managers seek workers input and use their suggestions to improve production processes. The management structure must change in response to greater employee involvement. Because workers assume greater responsibilities, fewer managers are needed, and the organizational structure becomes flatter. Flatter structures speed up and increase the quality of information exchange. The style of management needed in a lean firm also changes. managers in a lean environment act as facilitators more than as supervisors. Their role is to develop people and their skills so that they can make value-adding contributions.