Dec
Last Word on that Quandary
In any item, there is a matter of quantity and quality. We might say it is a balance of “how many” and “how good.” If more effort is spent on quality, then quantity will be less. It takes more materials and time to produce a higher quality, not to mention the cost. On the other hand, a higher quantity usually means a lower quality. Take the case of automobiles. A luxury car requires more time to make, more skill in the making, and more expenditure. A basic sports-utility vehicle can be made in greater numbers because it is less expensive in materials, time and skill. The time it takes to make one hundred luxury cars might be enough to make one hundred fifty to two hundred basic SUVs.
Quantity counts. There are situations where it is not just what you need, but how many you have. An insufficient quantity might be as bad or worse as insufficient quality. A trade-off is necessary. For instance, you might face a situation where having a greater quality means having fewer of the item in question. You need to decide what is more important. Are greater numbers important enough to warrant cutting back on quality? Is quality so important that it is acceptable to cut back on the amount?
Back in the 1950s, the Germans mass-produced their Volkswagen “beetle.” It was a cheap, cramped little vehicle with few comforts. By cutting back on the “perks” and producing great quantities, the Germans were able to keep the price low. This made the Volkswagen the most affordable car. They sold well because people were willing to forego a little quality in order to have a car they could afford.
On the other hand, Lincoln could not have cut back on the “perks” to make a more affordable vehicle. Lincoln was selling a luxury vehicle. Its appeal was its quality. There were fewer Lincolns made, but they cost more than the average cars of the day. Had Lincoln cut back on quality in order to increase quantity, they would not have fared well. People were willing to pay more for Lincolns because of quality. Without it, the customers would have no incentive to buy.
This is but one example of “quality versus quantity”. Its is a question of more and better.
Yesterday we looked at this in terms of the Runes. Today, consider the matter in view of everyday things in your life. When is quality important, and when is quantity essential? Where do you have to cut back on quality to get a greater quantity? What about situations where you must cut back the quantity in order to have better quality? This is a paradox that has ramifications. It is worth examining in terms of your own situation and experience.
***
Can you make a thing too good? In World War II, the Germans made a beautifully-engineered breech block that had fifty-one precision parts. A comparable American breech block had seven parts. Though it did not have all the fine precision engineering, it did the same job as the German counterpart. The German breech block required more time and materials for a negligible advantage. It also added fifty-one parts to the supply chain, whereas the Americans added only seven. Quality was a moot point. The Americans could produce ten breech blocks in the time it took the Germans to make one. There were fewer parts to replace in the American version. This brings up the question: when is “too good” actually “no good”?
