Management is defined as a process of getting the work or the task done that is required for achieving the goals of an organisation in an efficient and effective manner. Here, the two key words- efficient and effective play an important role.
Effectiveness means completing the given work in the required time. In other words, it means doing the right things with focus on the end result. It is a very important aspect of management as it helps in reaching the set goals. Efficiency on the other hand, means completing the task with minimum possible costs and resources. Efficiency is said to increase if greater benefits are achieved using lesser resources or even if same benefits can be derived by cutting down on resources.
For an organisation, both effectiveness and efficiency play an equally important role in achieving the goals. While on one hand, being effective implies actually achieving the goals, on the other hand, being efficient would reduce the cost and thereby, increase profits. However, often an organisation has to compromise on one while achieving the other. That is, if the company focuses on effectiveness, it may have to compromise on efficiency and vice-versa. For example, suppose to complete a given task of production, the manager decides to hire more number of workers. This would mean that he will have to give more salary which in turn increases the total cost of production. In this case, the manager may complete the allotted task in time but the task would lack efficiency. On the other hand, if the manger continues to work with the available workers so as not to increase the cost, then this would result in the delay of the project. That is, in this case the manager compromises on effectiveness while achieving efficiency.
Hence, it is necessary to maintain a balance between effectiveness and efficiency. Undue emphasis on one without the other is of no good for the organisation.
