TABLE OF CONTENTS By defining exactly what we mean by efficiency and effectiveness, we will have a better idea of how resources can be used efficiently and effectively.
3 mins
How would you define the word 'efficiency'?
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There are several ways to express what efficiency means; compare your answer with the following. Efficiency has been defined as:
'a measure of how well resources are transformed into outputs'
'working well with little waste'
'getting the most out of what you put in'
'the production of the maximum result from the minimum effort'
'the best use of resources to achieve production of goods or services'.
The last definition is the one most meaningful in the context of this workbook. To be efficient, we must make the best use of resources, that is, we have to find ways of utilizing resources to produce the goods or services we want, with the minimum of waste. To repeat the definition:
Efficiency means making the best use of resources in achieving production of goods or services.
The main purpose of the workbook is to investigate ways in which this can be done. Relevant activities in achieving efficiency at work are likely to include:
developing existing resources
reducing the amount or cost of resources
utilizing existing resources in the best way
finding better resources than the ones we have
minimizing waste.
It may seem obvious to say that all organizations want to be more efficient. But why? What...
