Efficiency is a subject on which there is much talk in management literature. It has, for some, almost assumed the level of a creed. Indeed, there is much to be said for it. It is a subject matter which has been explored from the point of view of finance, materials, and, of course, human relationships. Yet serious research gaps remain. Serious focused scientific thought on this topic is beginning to pick up but has not yet achieved the level of a specialization which would enable a spelling out of a methodology unique to itself.
Every branch of management, be it human resources, finance, manufacturing, marketing, or whatever else, has seen the issue of efficiency essentially from its own vantage point of objectives. There is nothing wrong with that. The larger point is that ‘efficiency’ could well emerge as subject area in its own right. Clearly, there is a case for further refinement, and this refinement has its own context and ambience.
To look at efficiency as an objective reality may be a need or indeed a necessity. All this means that certain...