ABSTRACT
Generalling the quality of a job revolves around getting the details straight and preventing errors. For the patsy this is not an easy task, because he must inspect, evaluate and administer the work of an expert—which experts do not enjoy from someone less knowledgeable. The expert wants to please the patsy on his (the expert’s) terms, not on the patsy’s, since he is the expert—and should only be judged by one! The patsy then, as general, starts out with an edge in the power symmetry over quality issues; but is constantly being undermined by the experts who think they know better how to do things. And knowing better they often do things on their own without asking the patsy. This, often as not, leads to errors of a structural nature regarding overall planning and errors in matters of taste. The former occurs because a specific view about convenience (e.g., flashing the skylights), and the latter because the sub redesigns in terms of standard ways of solving minute problems of construction (e.g., the height of the hearth.)
