American process culture balances standardization with flexibility. Processes are standardized to ensure consistency, enable training, and create accountability—but rigid adherence when circumstances warrant adaptation is considered poor judgment, not admirable discipline. The ideal is standardized processes that flex appropriately.
This means you should expect both clear standards and accepted variations. Standard processes define baseline expectations, but exception procedures handle predictable departures. Authority to modify processes is defined—some adaptations are within local discretion, others require approval. High-stakes processes favor standardization; creative processes favor flexibility; most fall between.
Sophisticated process competence means knowing when to follow standard procedure exactly and when to adapt. Neither blind procedure-following nor unconstrained improvisation represents the ideal.
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