There are two terms that appear to be similar, but actually mean different things: efficiency and effectiveness. If the etymologies of the words effectiveness and efficiency are analyzed, both derive from the verb "efficiere", a term that identifies carrying out a certain action.
Often used interchangeably as synonyms, efficiency and effectiveness actually reflect two well-known concepts. differentiated, and the difference is not only conceptual, but is closely related to the everyday and influences it deeply. Therefore, in this Psychology-Online article we will see together the difference between efficiency and effectiveness.
Efficiency is the "ability to perform and respond to objectives", and consists of evaluating the effort made to carry out a task, that is, measure the relationship between the level of effectiveness and the use of resources: a product is effective if the task is achieved quickly, efficiently and economic.
Therefore, an efficient person can be considered based on the number of mistakes he makes before reaching the goal, in terms of time or resources used.
Efficiency is the ability to achieve a given goal with the least amount of resources, time and energy. A concept based on productivity, and together with efficiency, contributes to forming the concept of performance, that is, the measure of the ability to achieve a given objective.
Click on this post if you want to know What to do to be more efficient at work.
The term effectiveness indicates the degree of achievement of a set objective; according to the dictionary, efficacy is the "ability to fully produce the desired effect and the actual obtaining of the effect". The measure of effectiveness relates, therefore, the objectives set with the accuracy and completeness of the results obtained.
But what does efficacy mean in everyday experience? In general, the effectiveness is the ability to achieve a pre-set goal. In a business environment, for example, it can correspond to the acquisition of 10 clients.
Now that you know what efficiency is and what effectiveness is, as well as the main characteristics of both concepts, it will be easier for you to understand the following differences between efficiency and effectiveness, here we come!
Quantity of resources
Effectiveness indicates the ability to achieve the set objective, while efficiency assesses the ability to do so using the minimum essential resources. With this example you will understand it better:
If two athletes intend to run the 100 meters in less than 10 seconds and they are successful in their attempt, both are effective; Between the two, what will have achieved the objective with the least expenditure of resources will be more efficient. (time dedicated to training and costs of technical material, trainer, nutritionist, supplements, etc.).
In conclusion, effectiveness refers to our ability to accomplish what we have decided to do. While efficiency is defined as the relationship between the resources used in a project and the results obtained with it. That is, the difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that effectiveness occurs when fewer resources are used to achieve the same goal or when more objectives are achieved with the same or less resources.
Resource utilization
Another difference between and effectiveness, since efficiency refers to best use of resources, while efficiency refers to the ability to achieve an objective, regardless of whether the best use of resources has been made.
Resource Optimization
The effective person achieves the expected results satisfactorily, regardless of the resources used, the efficient person is the one who performs the task with as few resources as possible.
An example of the difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that the effective person would do 50 units of a product in 6 hours, an efficient person would take 4 hours to optimize resources used.
Evaluation of the result
The concept is that the effectiveness only takes into account the result, while efficiency is the set of good practices, strategies and actions that allow the expected objective to be achieved through the optimal use of resources, time and energy.
Assessment in the world of work
Effectiveness and efficiency are two concepts that acquire considerable importance in the world of work and, in general, in planning and control of any activity, to the point of being identified as the two main dimensions of the process of evaluation.
Regarding the evaluation, efficacy is declined as internal and external. Internal effectiveness indicates the relationship between outputs (output) and intended goals, while that external efficacy indicates the relationship between the outputs (output) and the results obtained (Exit).
On the contrary, the efficiency in the relationship with the evaluation underlines the relationship between the resources used (inputs) and the products (output) obtained, so its evaluation implies the analysis of the production process and from the management of factors of production.
A practical example To better understand the differences between business efficiency and effectiveness is the analysis of business activities. Each team (and each salesperson) typically has daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals.
Achieving these numbers can indicate the collaborator's effectiveness relative to her role. What if the goal of 70 calls a day, for example, is reached and even exceeded, but those phone calls do not even offer a sales opportunity and therefore no new contract?
Here comes into play the analysis of the efficiency of commercial activities that, for a Sales Manager, can mean have available an updated report of how many leads are converted into opportunities and how many opportunities are converted into customers real. In this way, you can have an indication not only of the efficacy, but also of the efficiency of sales results.
Have you heard of self-efficacy? If you liked this post about the difference between efficiency and effectiveness and want to continue investigating the subject, we recommend that you do our Self-efficacy Test, based on the level of self-confidence to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
