The achievement of goals with the least amount of resources is :
Effectiveness
Effectiveness — option 1, as recorded in the official answer key.
A note on the wording, stated plainly. The sentence in the question blends two ideas that management texts usually keep apart. In the standard treatment — Robbins and Koontz alike — the phrase “with the least amount of resources” is the defining mark of efficiency, while “achievement of goals” is the defining mark of effectiveness. On that reading the sentence describes both together, and option 4 would be arguable. The official key records Effectiveness, and that is the answer given here; the standard distinction is set out below so the concept itself is not learnt wrongly.
| Efficiency | Effectiveness | |
|---|---|---|
| Slogan | Doing things right | Doing the right things |
| Concerns | The means — resource usage | The ends —> goal attainment |
| Asks | Is the output obtained from the least input? | Have the intended objectives been reached? |
| Measured by | Output ÷ input; cost per unit; waste | Targets met; goals achieved |
Why both are needed, and why either alone fails. The two are independent, and a firm can be strong in one and weak in the other :
| Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| Efficient but not effective | The wrong thing done very economically — a product nobody wants, made at minimum cost |
| Effective but not efficient | The goal reached, but at wasteful cost —> profitable today, uncompetitive tomorrow |
| Both | What management aims at, and what Drucker meant in saying that effectiveness is the foundation of success while efficiency is a minimum condition for survival after success is achieved |
Where productivity fits. Productivity is the arithmetical ratio of output to input :
\(\text{Productivity}=\dfrac{\text{Output}}{\text{Input}}\)
It is a measure, and it is closest to efficiency; it says nothing at all about whether the output was the right output to produce. That is why it cannot be the answer to a question phrased around the achievement of goals.
Drucker’s formulation is the one worth remembering: “Efficiency is concerned with doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.”
Hence, the answer recorded is Effectiveness.
Similar Questions
The ability to integrate new ideas with the existing processes and to innovate on the job is a crucial __________ for today's managers.
An approach to managing, where managers are guided by organisations shared values in their management practices, is called :
As __________, managers receive a wide variety of information and serve as the nerve centres of internal and external information of the organization.
The ability to understand, communicate with, motivate and support other people, both individually and in groups, defines which of the following management skills?
The ability to integrate new ideas with the existing processes and to innovate on the job is a crucial __________ for today’s managers.
‘Negandhi Estafen’ is recognised as a good model for the analysis of:
Arrange the following steps in the correct order of Controlling Process :
A. Comparison of actual performance with the standards
B. Measurement of actual performance
C. Corrective action wherever required
D. Establishment of standards
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
The major strategies and policies, for a business enterprise, that give an overall direction to operations are likely to be in which of the following areas?
A. Growth
B. Finance
C. Needs
D. Personnel
E. Marketing
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Important Questions from Concepts of Management
The ability to integrate new ideas with the existing processes and to innovate on the job is a crucial __________ for today's managers.
An approach to managing, where managers are guided by organisations shared values in their management practices, is called :
As __________, managers receive a wide variety of information and serve as the nerve centres of internal and external information of the organization.
The ability to understand, communicate with, motivate and support other people, both individually and in groups, defines which of the following management skills?
The ability to integrate new ideas with the existing processes and to innovate on the job is a crucial __________ for today’s managers.
