When we have to talk about the same thing.
I listened to this while writing this post, try it while you read :o)
This is the second in a series of posts reflecting on our willingness to remember and the quality of that knowledge. These posts should be read in order of publication. Starting with number six, for example, would make no sense to the reader. Happy reading!
So let’s start by defining a few terms. Here are the definitions from Larousse.
Effectiveness: Character of an efficient person or organization that produces maximum results with minimum effort and means.
Efficiency: The ability of an individual or work system to perform well in a given type of task.
We are therefore talking about results, efforts, means and good performance. The first refers to productivity versus uselessness, the second refers to the first, but adding the notion of “good” performance.
Now let’s look at English. Efficiency is the quality of being able to do a task successfully, without wasting time or energy. This is about success and avoiding losses. We can also find the word Effectiveness, which is defined as follows: Something that is effective works well and produces the results that were intended. If you talk about the efficacy of something, you are talking about its effectiveness and its ability to do what it is supposed to.
From this starting point, we can conclude the following. In English, we talk about the variable of success (this notion can vary from one person to another, from one context to another) and avoiding losses, which is still a vague variable. Finally, we are talking about what was supposed to be, which is still a variable notion. In summary, the English for this concept is rather flexible and will vary from one person to another.
In French, we find a peculiarity. While efficiency remains somewhat vague, effectiveness is quite rigid. Produce maximum results with minimum effort and means. That’s pretty clear. We will start on these bases tomorrow.
To be continued…
-Danny
I’m Danny (aka CoachDanny). I have a passion: humans. Come with me and take this minute every day to explore what’s going on today and why is it trending. Click here to get your daily thought right on time for breakfast.
Sources: https://solomotivation.com
Translation by Abbie Sims: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acsims/
Last Updated on December 28, 2020 by Coach Danny