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A Note on that Dirty Word “Efficiency”

Author

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  • Henry Mintzberg

    (Faculty of Management, McGill University, 1001 Sherbrooke Street, West, Montreal, PQ, Canada H3A 1G5)

Abstract

Efficiency gets a bad name because it inevitably means measurable efficiency, with three unfortunate consequences. Because costs are typically more easily measured than benefits, efficiency all too often reduces to economy. Because economic costs can usually be more easily measured than social costs, efficiency often produces an escalation in social costs, which are treated as “externalities.” Because economic benefits are typically more easily measured than social benefits, efficiency often drives the organization toward an economic morality which can amount to a social immorality.

Suggested Citation

  • Henry Mintzberg, 1982. "A Note on that Dirty Word “Efficiency”," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 12(5), pages 101-105, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:12:y:1982:i:5:p:101-105
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.12.5.101
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    Cited by:

    1. Michel Magnan & Dominic Martin, 2019. "Executive Compensation and Employee Remuneration: The Flexible Principles of Justice in Pay," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 89-105, November.

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