Thorough
Each working step and every item of work within an organisation must deal with the question (or adopt it implicitly as already decided): “is this thorough, lasting, suitable, reliable enough?”. The answer to this question can be focused factually and socially: thorough in respect of the product/process/service (“Has it been tidily varnished?”) and thorough in respect of the external or internal customers who are supposed to be satisfied with it (“can the buyer/the boss even see this little inclusion?”).
One cannot escape the question and therefore not the risk of making a judgment when it is sufficient or when the time ‘runs out.’ Many employees often struggle with many such considerations: (“Without checking a hundred times, nothing leaves this place when it’s up to me!”), because the reference point of inner compulsions, fear of mistakes and punishment as well as dysfunctional self-esteem regulations are ‘drivers’. Often, these internal dynamics are underestimated and assume a margin of discretion in decision-making which the employee does not have.
The less that errors are permitted and the more disastrous the consequences of a lack of performance, the more the organisation focuses on how to ensure thoroughness: by rules and norms (ISO), by quality controls and processes (TQM, Six Sigma, Kaizen, KVP), about management, communication and attentiveness. And how can this be organised without slowing down the processes too much? The abundance of concepts and procedures shows the importance of the guiding process’ quality focus’.