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)