Sometimes the terms are often confused efficiency and effectiveness, are used indifferently or given the same meaning, when in reality there is a marked difference between be efficient and effective, which we will see in detail based on examples from daily life, professional and business. But first of all a simple definition of each of them so that you are clear about the term as such.
In this article you will find:
Definition of efficiency
Efficiency is defined as the relationship between the achievements achieved and the resources used for it. Understanding that the greatest efficiency is achieved when fewer resources have been used to achieve an objective or when more objectives are achieved with the use of the same or fewer resources.
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Definition of efficacy
Efficacy is defined as the achievement of proposed goals and objectives. It refers to the ability to achieve what is proposed without evaluating how it is done.
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Efficiency vs. Effectiveness in personal life
Example 1
The housewife is a person who must carry out her day to day as efficiently as possible, since she performs various household chores that must be performed daily to achieve the goal of a home in order, clean, harmonious and calm.
It is well known that among the tasks carried out by the housewife are:
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- The preparation of three meals a day.
- Keep the order.
- House cleaning.
- Help and guidance in the education of children.
- Cleaning the clothes of family members.
At the end of the day you have as a result that everyone ate well, the clothes or clothes they used are ready to be washed, the house is impeccably clean and orderly, the housewife had a very productive day and has successfully completed the tasks that she proposed for that day and it can be said that this was a task effective.
With the global economic crisis, the housewife has evolved and in order to have an efficient work she must make the resources that she has, either financial or time, pay off. the efficient housewife also makes the three meals a day, makes the supplies yield, saves on water, keeps the lights off when not in use, prepares only the amount necessary food, tidies up and cleans the home, washes the daily clothes so as not to accumulate, supervises the children's homework and dedicates part of the afternoon to some recreational or sports activity with them.
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On the same day he has carried out a greater number of tasks and also saved the resources he has, maintaining the economy, cleanliness and order in the home.
Example # 2
A student whose goal is to pass all subjects, move on to the following year and finally obtain the degree that will allow him to perform as a professional. In life as a student there are different objectives to meet, jobs, practices, tests that must be passed, although the main objective should be to obtain the necessary knowledge to then exercise the career ethically or her profession.
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Juan and María are medical students, Juan passed all the subjects and passed for the last year, and next year he will obtain his title, without ever having postponed a subject. It can be said that Juan has been effective. On her side, María, she approved her subjects with an excellent grade, for which she has been awarded an award, with which she has also found a opportunity as an intern at a prestigious clinic, next year he will also obtain his title, with special honors for having achieved the maximum grades, it can be said that Maria has been an efficient student, since she has made the most of her intellectual resources and her weather.
Example # 3
Moving by car from one place to another to vacation, sometimes it can be a bit annoying, the cost of fuel, food In addition to the time that this transfer takes, many people prefer to use rail, plane or other means of transport. transport.
Whatever the choice, the goal is to reach a certain destination to enjoy a few days at the beach, mountains, rest and recreation.
Given this, different approaches are presented:
- The family decides to travel by car, the journey lasts 8 hours, they had to spend fuel, they made three stops to eat and refuel. The family arrived at their destination with some fatigue from the trip, in the afternoon, so they began to enjoy their rest the next day.
- The family travels by plane, it takes approximately 1 hour to reach their destination, the cost of tickets is a little higher than the cost of traveling in the car, but they arrived in the morning and can enjoy the day.
They were effective with both, but it depends on how this case is viewed or analyzed, the efficiency will be measured, since from the economic point of view with the first option spent less money and was more efficient in the trip, although the most important resource is time, option number two will have greater efficiency since despite having spent more the travel time was much less and gives the opportunity to enjoy the day of break.
Efficiency vs. Efficiency in the professional field
Efficacy and efficiency are present in any area or aspect of our lives, in the field professional level of these is measured according to the ability to excel in the work that we perform.
Example 1
An engineer dedicated to working in the fire area is a professional who must have the ability to design perfect systems that detect and prevent the spread of fire, in the event of a failure or other cause that will cause.
Pedro has calculated and designed a fire detection, alarm and extinguishing system for a new shopping center and for him he has hired a team of installers, who agreed to complete the installation within 2 months, the work was completed in 2 and a half months, the test was carried out and The system worked perfectly, despite the fact that the design was appropriate and its operation as expected, the project ended efficiently since it exceeded the expected date, perhaps if Pedro had in addition to designed carried out continuous supervision, the work would have been carried out in the established time, achieving greater efficiency.
Example # 2
A doctor is a professional who cannot afford to be effective, he must always manage himself with excellence and achieve efficiency.
For this reason, they are constantly improving, doing postgraduate courses and specializations that improve their skills and knowledge.
A doctor with little experience examines the patient and orders a series of tests that are quite extensive to rule out, detect and diagnose the discomfort. The doctor with the most experience examines and with one or two examinations it is enough to establish the diagnosis, This experience gives you efficiency in your work, making better use of the time to solve the problem of the patient.
Example # 3
An athlete trains hard to stay fit and face competitive events, the main goal is successfully conclude the event and of course obtain a medal or recognition, but this second one is not always is achieved.
Luis and Ángel are two sportsmen friends who decided to participate in a triathlon, Luis made an effort to finish in the first places and concluded in second place the first two stages, in the third his performance fell due to a strong muscle fatigue and he managed to reach the goal almost last place. Luis acted with effectiveness since he reached the goal and but having tried so hard in the early stages caused a small injury that did not allow him to efficiently reach the goal in second or third place as he did in the first two stages. Ángel stayed behind saving energy for the closing and finished the three stages in third place, I take better advantage of his resources, ending with efficiency each of the stages, it is worth noting that the athlete's work does not end with the competition, there must be a arduous training and knowledge of skills to avoid abusing physical condition and causing injury to the Body.
Efficiency vs. Efficiency at the enterprise level
Measure the effectiveness and efficiency in companies it is really important for the growth and maintenance of the same, since the level of efficiency depends the profitability of it, since it involves the fulfillment of the goals and objectives giving the best use of resources business.
Example 1
In a production plant, the productive level of the worker is rewarded, to motivate productivity and minimize downtime and unproductive staff time.
In an 8-hour work day the cabinet painting team aims to paint 9 cabinets, the team consisting of 3 workers paints 10 cabinets, having an efficient as they exceed the goal using time stipulated. Two of these workers paints 3 each and the third worker paints 4, which means that the worker who paints 4 is being more efficient at his job. The other two workers seen from the individual point of view are being effective because they have met the established goal.
Another way of looking at efficiency in this case is that one of the workers who painted 3 cabinets spent less paint than the one that was foreseen, then this worker, was more efficient in terms of the use of the material resources of the business.
Example # 2
The sales area is very competitive, especially if there are similar products on the market that satisfy the same needs at a lower or equal price. If a company wants to be a leader in the market, this boils down to attracting a greater number of clients, consequently greater sales and greater profitability. To do this, you must create a competitive image, either by differentiating your product, by better quality, lower price or better sellers.
A determined company dedicated to the wholesale marketing of beauty products, has an administration that keeps a record of monthly sales and makes an estimate o Sales projection of its flagship product of 20 million units as a sales goal to reach this year, based on the previous year sales were 15 millions.
To increase and achieve scheduled sales, the company incurs an expense of advertising and promotion and quarterly goals are created to effect changes in the action plans if necessary. In the second quarter, sales had not reached the desired increase and the company reinforces sales by hiring an additional group of salespeople, by Third quarter sales increase considerably and at the end of the year it is possible to sell a little more than the 20 million raised, the company was efficient when exceeding the sales goal in the scheduled time, but if the additional costs of the sales force are administratively analyzed in detail, it is said that the cost effectiveness obtained is effective since it had to have more resources to reach the goal.
Example # 3
A family business that makes brownies, it started with retail sales and has set out to expand by offering and capturing the distribution of the product to supermarkets, kiosks and cafes.
The monthly production and sale is 24,000 units and the profitability of the product is high, but they have realized that in cutting the brownie a small piece is wasted, the which before they ate it because the quantities produced were small, the idea arises of taking advantage of that piece and making a new product with it which only needed a new component, tests are carried out and truffles begin to be produced, making the most of resources, now more than 24,000 units of brownie were sold 5,000 units of truffles achieving greater efficiency not only in profitability but also in production, an additional product was made in the same working day and made the most of the resources.
