Efficiency is the “ability to perform and respond to objectives”, and consists of evaluating the effort made to carry out a task, that is, measuring the relationship between the level of effectiveness and the use of resources: a product It is effective if the task is achieved quickly, efficiently and economically.
Therefore, an efficient person can be considered based on the number of errors they make before reaching the objective, in terms of time or resources used.
Efficiency is, therefore, the ability to achieve a given goal with the least amount of resources, time and energy. A concept based on productivity, and together with effectiveness, contributes to forming the concept of performance, that is, the measure of the ability to achieve a given objective.
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The term effectiveness indicates the degree of achievement of a set objective; According to the dictionary, effectiveness is the “ability to fully produce the desired effect and the actual obtaining of the effect.” The effectiveness measure relates, therefore, the objectives set with the accuracy and completeness of the results obtained.
But what does effectiveness mean in everyday experience? In general, the effectiveness is the ability to achieve a pre-established goal. In a business environment, for example, it may correspond to the acquisition of 10 customers.
Now that you know what efficiency is and what effectiveness is, in addition to the main characteristics of both concepts, it will be easier for you to understand the following differences between efficiency and effectiveness, here we go!
Quantity of resources
Effectiveness indicates the ability to achieve the set objective, while efficiency evaluates the ability to do so using the minimum necessary resources. With this example you will understand it better:
If two athletes aim to run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds and are successful in their attempt, both are effective; Between the two, the most efficient will be what will have achieved the objective with the least expenditure of resources (time dedicated to training and costs of technical material, trainer, nutritionist, supplements, etc.).
In conclusion, effectiveness refers to our ability to achieve 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 fewer resources.
Resource utilization
Another difference between and effectiveness, since efficiency refers to the best use of resourceswhile 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 make 50 units of a product in 6 hours, an efficient person would take 4 hours to optimize the resources used.
Assessment of the result
The concept is that the effectiveness only takes into account the resultwhile efficiency is the set of good practices, strategies and actions that allow us to achieve the expected objective through the optimal use of resources, time and energy.
Evaluation in the world of work
Effectiveness and efficiency are two concepts that acquire considerable importance in the world of work and, in general, in the planning and control of any activity, to the point of being identified as the two main dimensions of the evaluation process.
In relation to the evaluation, effectiveness is declined as internal and external. Internal effectiveness indicates the relationship between the products (output) and the planned objectives, while external effectiveness indicates the relationship between the products (production) and the results obtained (output).
On the contrary, efficiency in the relationship with evaluation highlights the relationship between the resources used (inputs) and the products (output) obtained, so its evaluation involves the analysis of the production process and the management of production factors.
A practical example To better understand the differences between business efficiency and effectiveness is the analysis of business activities. Every team (and every salesperson) typically has daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals.
Achieving these numbers can indicate the employee’s effectiveness in relation to their role. What happens if the goal of 70 calls a day, for example, is reached and even exceeded, but those phone calls do not offer even a sales opportunity and, therefore, no new contract?
This is where the analysis of the efficiency of commercial activities comes into play, which, for a Sales Manager, can mean having an updated report available on how many leads become opportunities and how many opportunities become real customers. In this way, one can have an indication not only of the effectiveness, 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 you want to continue investigating the topic, we recommend that you do ours, based on the level of self-confidence to achieve the objectives we set for ourselves.