In such a setting, there may be learning over time on a given employee’s type that can help separate type from pure background noise; when this is the case, some weeding out may be necessary based on initial detection phase which only after a few periods leads to a punitive vigilance outcome as it becomes certain that employee type is above a threshold in terms of repetitive lapses that cannot be attributed over time to just chance.
Let us now turn to why these observations imply an essential role for preventive vigilance in good governance, especially in public sector institutions. What vigilance is likely to work the best in a public sector institution? Punitive vigilance is difficult in a public sector institution for several reasons. The rewards are low to start with, thereby limiting the possibility of downward revisions.