Abstract:
The notion of efficiency has existed in management literature for more than one hundred years. Its original
application to management praxis was relatively unambiguous, even though English-language meanings of the word
are diverse. A century ago, managers who were also professional engineers, clearly enunciated their meaning of
efficiency and its implications for productivity. Since that time, the combined effects of the emergence of the
management development discipline, a decline in the managerial influence of engineers, and the ascendancy of
notions of economic efficiency have seen significant levels of confusion arise about the meaning and application of
the notion of efficiency in management praxis.
