Productiveness involves reshaping the world in the image of one's own values. Honesty is the refusal to fake reality to acquire value. When managers know how to provide greater quality but fail to do so, they are being dishonest. Employees who fight to keep jobs that are no longer needed, or who fail to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, are likewise being dishonest. Potential quality is the known maximum possible value added per unit of input.
Actual quality is the current value added per unit of input.
The difference between potential and actual quality is waste . Quality science is the attempt to increase potential quality through mental and physical effort. It's the systematic search for knowledge of productivity improvement. It may involve creating more value with the same resources, creating the same value with fewer resources or creating entirely new values. Quality improvement is the process of increasing actual quality through mental and physical effort.