It's simple. Some executive gets a bonus soon if he saves the company money right now. Nobody gets a bonus for saving the company money over a 5-year period, and nobody gets punished for costing the company money over a long period either. The incentives are all about the next quarter.
It still doesn't make sense. This whole ordeal has taken place over about 6 months. If anything, forcing me down the surgery route has pulled their costs forward in time, not pushed them back.
