Scott Stiteler, right, and Susan Grant, both of Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources Management, check some data as the group maps out coal mining permit process with colorful sticky notes Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008 in Zanesville, Ohio. Buoyed by the uncanny effectiveness of the Japanese notion of kaizen, or continuous improvement, a growing number of cash-strapped states are attacking their bulky bureaucracies and streamlining the use of time and resources. In intensive 5-day kaizen exercises, managers, workers, lawyers, regulators, technicians and end users of a single government process _ say, getting a government coal mine permit _ are assembled in one room to hash things out. The process in question is meticulously mapped, using colored sticky notes to identify junctures where paperwork must be filed, decisions made, sign-offs obtained. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
