Register now or log in to join your professional community.
The difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that efficiency refers to doing things right, while effectiveness refers to doing the right thing. Efficiency focused on the means, while effectiveness focuses on the end result. Moreover, efficiency is short term i.e. current state, while effectiveness is long term. So effectivness is more important and long lasting. .
Effectiveness is measure of results of the work you have done and Efficiency is how much resource you consume for doing this.
Effectiveness is seen by the customer (internal or external) and is the very important for the existence of the business.
Efficiency seen by the management for better profitability and to become competitive and is very purpose of existence of the business.
Therefore, both are important for the survival of the business. It would be difficult to say what is long lasting...
These are the two most commonly misused business/marketing terms. If you want an easier way to understand the difference, remember this sentence: “Being effective is about doing the right things, while being efficient is about doing the things in the right manner.”
Let’s have a practical example to illustrate the concepts. Suppose that two guys, Majed and Sallam, are trying to change a flat tire on their cars each one has his own car.
Majed starts by taking out the jack and placing it under the car. He quite doesn’t know where to position it, so he goes by trial and error and wastes a lot of time doing it. After20 minutes he finally manages to fix it, so he proceeds to lift the car and change the tire.
As you can see Majed was doing the right thing, but he was doing it poorly. We can say that he was being effective, but not efficient.
Majed, on the other hand, starts by grabbing a towel and cleaning the tire. He wants to make the thing shiny before he changes it. And mind you he is very good and fast at cleaning every little detail of the tire.
We can say that Majed is being efficient, because he is cleaning the tire fast and thoroughly, but he is not being effective, because cleaning is a step that is not required at all when changing a flat tire.
Now if we had a third person, Shareef, who could change the flat tire using the right steps and doing it quickly, we could say that he was both effective and efficient.
(Hope you guys don’t mind using your names, and if you do I rely apologize for that but all I meant to express my consent with the answers and name the three scenarios not differentiate between my colleagues of this forum).
Effectiveness is doing the right things
Efficiency is doing things right
But Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.
So, Effectiveness is related to high management as a strategic point
but efficiency is related to executive management.
Effectiveness is doing the right things. Effeciency is doing things right.
Effectiveness is more important than effeceincy. performing the wrong task effeceintly will not get you where you want. on the other hand performing the right task effeciently will get you where you want faster and at a lower cost.
being effective is making a work done while being effiecient is making a work done uses less energy, time and resources just to achieve the desired outcome