John Zs comments trigger a variety of related matters for me. John cautions not the blame the results on the existence of standards. I accept that. However, I would not dismiss the nature of the standards so readily. That is, standards have value.
Quality is complex and emergent.
The people producing the levels of quality actually being produced are also complex and their behaviour is emergent. The organisation which is producing the quality is complex and emergent in a somewhat different manner than the individuals. We already have what's normal. Surely we talk about quality and have systems or initiatives for quality only when we want something beyond the normal.