How Rules Differ From Standards
Nations and organisations use rules and standards to judge, regulate and evaluate actions and behaviours.
Rules are precise and verifiable; standards are broad and unverifiable. Driving at a speed limit of 60 miles per hour is a rule; safe and responsible driving is a standard.
Authorities can enforce rules; they cannot enforce standards.
Rules remove discretion from authorities who are vested with the power to judge and punish transgressors. Standards are open-ended and serve as broad guidelines that stakeholders should follow.
Rules eliminate bias in judgments but do not permanently remove noise in the systems. Noise, according to Nobel prize-winning psychologist Kahneman, is unacceptable variability in judgments and decisions.
Noise happens, for example, when different judges award different punishments to the same accused.
Decision hygiene and noise audit eliminate errors in judgments.
