This new approach focuses on accountability for activities rather than costs to maximize systemwide, rather than individual, performance. Activities cut across functional and departmental lines, are systemwide in focus, and require a global approach to control. Essentially, this form of control admits that maximizing the efficiency of individual subunits does not necessarily lead to maximum efficiency fir the system as a whole. Another significant difference exists; in the ABM operational control information system, both financial and nonfinancial measures of performance are important. Exhibit 2-8 compares the characteristics of the traditional and activity-based cost management systems.