Effective - Efficient. They mean different things in English

54,833 views ・ 2015-03-18

Simple English Videos


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Here are some strong sleeping tablets, but don't take them until you go to be. Why not?
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They're very effective. Hmmm. They can't be that effective.
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The meanings of these words are different in English. Some languages have one word that
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covers them both, but in English we have two. So can you be efficient without being effective?
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Yes, and in this video we'll find out how. I start my day with a cup of coffee. Then
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I go online and see what's happening on Facebook. I start the day by setting priorities. I look
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at the list of jobs I have to do and work out which ones are most important. It makes
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me more efficient. So the second guy didn't waste time and he
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was more organized. That's what efficiency is about.
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The office secretary - that alert efficient person who plays such a vital role in the
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world of business. Promptness. Neatness. Orderliness. Efficiency is about how we do things. Effectiveness
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is different. It's about the things we do and how successful they are.
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The drain's blocked. I'm gonna try and fix it with this. Did this stuff work? It was
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very effective. So effectiveness is about results - achieving
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what we want to achieve. And if something doesn't get results then it's not effective.
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02:05
We're training Carter to be more helpful around the house. Carter, get my slippers. Carter,
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get my slippers. So far the training hasn't been very effective.
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Now it stands to reason that if we're efficient, we'll often be effective too.
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If we work in a quick and organized way, we generally get good results.
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But it's not always the case.
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Stop! Oh, it's more efficient
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So we found a more efficient way of working here. It was quicker and it required less
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energy. But was it an effective way of working? Probably not.
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To be effective, the job itself would have to deliver results. And that job didn't look
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very useful or important. An important part of efficiency is the idea
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of no waste. No waste of time, money or energy. Machines can make us more efficient because
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they can speed up work and do things more cheaply.
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And we can also talk about how efficient a machine or piece of equipment is.
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This is the heat exchanger for our house. It removes hot air in the summer and cold
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air in the winter. It doesn't cost a lot to run. It makes a lot
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of noise but it's very efficient. We can also say a piece of equipment is effective,
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but then we're talking about something different. Instead of talking about the way it operates,
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we're talking about how well it does the job we want it to do.
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Our windows are dirty so I've bought a new tool to clean them. Let's try it out. Great
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Great results! It's very effective. Now what about money? You'll remember that
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something can be efficient if it saves money. Is it the same with effective. Does money
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matter? And the answer is 'no'. Effectiveness is just about the results, not money.
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But we do have a phrase we use when money is important. See if you can spot it.
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Why don't we buy rechargable batteries? Because they cost more.
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Yes, but they're more cost effective in the long term. What do you mean?
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Well, after you've bought five of these you could pay for a rechargable battery. I have
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to think about that. Did you spot the phrase? Cost effective means
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delivering the best possible results for the lowest possible cost.
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It's about ROI - return in investment - what you get back from spending money.
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So let's recap. Efficient - doing things in a quick, cheap and organized way. And effective
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- achieving what you set out to do. If this video has been effective you now know
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the difference between these two words. And if it's been efficient, you've wasted
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no time or energy. Hey, maybe you've got time to watch some more of our videos.
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Vicki's mad at me. So how was your day? Don't talk to me. I'm very cross with you. Would
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you like some tea? No thank you. Flowers. Humph! Let me give you a foot rub.
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Oh? A foot rub? Oooo, that's lovely. I love you.
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I love you too. Foot rubs are very effective.
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