Efficiency vs Effectiveness
Efficiency and Effectiveness are two words that are often confused when it comes to their meanings and connotations though there is some difference between efficiency and effectiveness. The word efficiency is used in the sense of ‘competence’, and the word effectiveness is used in the sense of ‘usefulness’. This is the main difference between the two words. Understanding this difference between efficiency and effectiveness becomes important in daily life because these two terms are often used in general conversation. Specially, in a business environment or a professional environment you will hear people speaking about efficiency of an employee or a piece of machinery and the effectiveness of a certain business plan.
What does Efficiency mean?
The word efficiency carries the meaning competence. Observe the two sentences given below:
The efficiency of the procedure is lauded by one and all.
He has shown a lot of efficiency in his singing.
In both the sentences, you can see that the word efficiency is used in the sense of ‘competence’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘the competence of the procedure is lauded by one and all’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘he has shown a lot of competence in his singing’. The word efficiency is used as a noun and its adjectival form is ‘efficient’. So, if you say someone is efficient then that is considered a compliment as that means that person is well-organized and he/she is working in a competent way. It is important to know that the word efficiency is often followed by the preposition‘of’.
What does Effectiveness mean?
The word effectiveness is used in the sense of usefulness. Keeping that in mind, observe the two sentences given below:
The effectiveness of the medicine is realized.
You will have to understand the effectiveness of HTML.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word effectiveness is used in the sense of ‘usefulness’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘the usefulness of the medicine is realized’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘you will have to understand the usefulness of HTML’. The word effectiveness is also used as a noun and its adjectival form is ‘effective’. On the other hand, the word effectiveness is also followed by the preposition ‘of’. The word effectiveness is often equated to the word ‘efficacy’ in terms of meaning.
What is the difference between Efficiency and Effectiveness?
• The word efficiency is used in the sense of ‘competence’, and the word effectiveness is used in the sense of ‘usefulness’. This is the main difference between the two words.
• Efficient is the adjective of efficiency.
• Effective is the adjective of effectiveness.
• The word efficiency is often followed by the preposition ‘of’.
• On the other hand, the word ‘effectiveness’ is also followed by the preposition ‘of’.
• The word effectiveness is often equated to the word ‘efficacy’ in terms of meaning.
These are the differences between efficiency and effectiveness.