Thoughts on Efficiency
One is efficient when one is able to do what is required of
him. To consistently do what is required
calls for dedication. To be dedicated, motivation is required, but where does one get the motivation. From the Latin word “movere” where the loose
translation is “to move”- an individual must find his own internal reasons to
do things and make it happen.
People could be efficient for a factor of reasons. It could be based on intrinsic motivations or
extrinsic motivations. Like clockwork,
these motivations propel an individual to do better, to be efficient and exceed
expectations.
An efficient system produces an output with the least amount
of input. Businessmen have corrupted
this concept by always insisting on cost-cutting. Instead of focusing on activities that
increases the revenues, they focus on cost-cutting, hence the agonizing
resistance of people chance, especially if the aim is to drive down the cost of
producing a service or a good.
In the academe, the nature of the business is delivery of
instruction which is better characterized by a production of service. Simply put, one is efficient (or the
university) when there is a large volume of graduated students every
semester. The more students who
graduated, the more efficient is the university.
Quality here is still not factored into the equation. There are many working definitions of quality
1) conformance to requirements 2)fitness for use and/or 3)that which exceeds
expectations. For an
organization/university to claim quality, such must at least meet all the
enumerated working definitions.
The fusion of quality and efficiency is inevitable – one
cannot have one without the other. One
cannot claim efficiency without exceeding expectations.
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