Friday, June 6, 2008

Overview of Efficiency & Effectiveness

Dear Students,

We often say that a manager should be ‘efficient’ and equally ‘effective’.

While efficiency means ‘doing things right’, effectiveness means ‘doing right things’.

However, how can a manager strive to do both? Below is a checklist in this direction.

An efficient & effective manager is one who:
  • Understands, respects and acts in accordance with the mission of the organization.
    Conveys, and clarifies the organizational mission to his team members and enlists their commitment.
  • Understands his own role and that of his team members and the relationship between them.
  • Conveys & clarifies to his team members their roles and role expectations and enlists their commitment.
  • Sets goals and priorities of the team and of each member through consensus.
  • Sets up systems and procedures to monitor own performance and that of team members.
  • Teaches guides and counsels his team members to achieve highest levels of performance.
  • Believes in and exhibits a personal stake in the development of his team members.
  • Understands environmental factors, foresees threats and opportunities and initiates action to deal with the situations.
  • Has the ability to identify opportunities and convert them to organization’s advantage.
  • Understands the value of resources and uses them effectively and optimally.
  • Obtains willing co-operation of team-mates in the performance of tasks and achievement of results.
  • Is sensitive to other people’s feelings and points of view, makes own points logically and persuasively and shows fundamental respect for human beings.
  • Willing and capable to appropriately and effectively share information, thoughts and feelings, both oral and written.
  • Responds to the needs of other individuals and functional groups in the organization and obtains response from other individuals and functional groups.
  • Identifies potential, strengths/weaknesses of subordinates judiciously and plans for their development.
  • Encourages subordinates to take initiative and make decisions.
  • Is capable of identifying and analyzing problems, develop and evaluate alternative courses of action and takes sound practical and timely decisions.
  • Has concern for economy.
  • Has knowledge of the environment.
  • Is free from biases and prejudices.
  • Is capable of adapting himself to different environments.
  • Has a vision of own career and an orientation to growth.

- Capability as a virtue has no intrinsic value. Its worth depends on how it can be applied in a given situation. Application skills are of paramount importance. This, to be developed will call for an in-depth appreciation of your play field. This appreciation is available only when one seeks it, consciously.

- Organizations look not to people who can just perform. This is efficiency alone. Rather, they look for those who can also transform-themselves and the organization. This is the hallmark of effectiveness.

Remember, conditioning oneself to fit into specific environments may provide short term bliss: this is working hard, being reactive. . What is needed is therefore a play which value adds to oneself and the organization: this is working smart, being proactive.

Best of luck in your endeavors to be equally efficient and effective,

Prof. D. P. Chattopadhyay

(Globsyn Business School)

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