Quality circles are frequently used in lean environments to help eliminate mistakes.
These small teams recognize that it is easier to see the mistakes of others than one’s own
mistakes and help avoid the cognitive bias of “what you see is all there is” (WYSIATI),
not taking into account that information crucially important to making a decision may
be unseen and, thus, is going unused (Kahneman, 2011, p. 87). Insights from motivated
co-workers who are trained in the five whys and experimental methods to dig deep while
performing problem-solving will help uncover blind spots and mental laziness that
characterize System 1 thinking. Job rotation enabled by cross-training also allows a new
set of eyes to see processes and identify opportunities for improvement. It also helps
enable employees to identify ways to improve process connections and flow (Spear and
Bowen, 1999) because they attain a more holistic system-wide perspective. Having
workers pull an andon cord for help not only helps resolve problems faster and better,
but also gives more people first-hand exposure to problems and their solutions. This in
turn makes it easier to perceive opportunities for improvement due to the availability
heuristic, whereby perceptions are affected by one’s ability to recall instances