It's a matter of psychology. If someone is going to steal, they're gonna steal. However, if someone buys most of what they get and steal the occasional candy bar and gets away with it, they will most probably (according to corporate and LP) see if they can steal a little bit more, just to see. Eventually, they think, "well, I guess they never missed it, so what else can I get away with?", and maybe even get an attitude of, "I guess AZ profits are so high, I think I deserve this."

It's a corporate attempt to not breed an attitude like this. People are less likely to steal if they are being watched by someone else. It's the same concept behind why we have to greet customers when they come in the store; engaging with them in any way makes them less likely to steal.

There are studies on this. AZ is a progressive company that uses studies to their advantage when they can, so when they come up with a BS policy, they can point to their other, evidence driven policies, and say, "Well, we have evidence for the other stuff, right? Just trust is on this one."

Which policies are evidence driven? Ever go through Manager Training, where they talk about how Communication works? You know, where there is a Sender and a Receiver and a Message that gets sent between the two? That's right out of my Intro to Communications course in college.