Effectiveness
Effectiveness or effectivity[1] is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression.[2]
"Effective" redirects here. For the album by Side Effect, see Effective (album). For the database of predicted bacterial secreted proteins, see Effective (database).Etymology[edit]
The origin of the word effective stems from the Latin word effectīvus, which means "creative, productive, or effective". It surfaced in Middle English between 1300 and 1400 AD.[3]
Related terms[edit]
Efficacy, efficiency, and effectivity are terms that can, in some cases, be interchangeable with the term effectiveness. The word effective is sometimes used in a quantitative way, "being very effective or not very effective". However, neither "effectiveness", nor "effectively", inform about the direction (positive or negative) or gives a comparison to a standard of the given effect. Efficacy, on the other hand, is the extent to which a desired effect is achieved; the ability to produce a desired amount of the desired effect, or the success in achieving a given goal. Contrary to the term efficiency, the focus of efficacy is the achievement as such, not the resources spent in achieving the desired effect. Therefore, what is effective is not necessarily efficacious, and what is efficacious is not necessarily efficient.[12]
Other synonyms for effectiveness include: clout, capability, success, weight, performance.[13]
Antonyms for effectiveness include: uselessness, ineffectiveness.[14]
Simply stated, effective means achieving an effect, and efficient means getting a task or job done it with little waste. To illustrate: suppose, you build 10 houses, very fast and cheap (efficient), but no one buy them. In contrary to building 5 houses same budget and time as 10 houses but you get all 5 sold and the buyers are happy (effective). You get the desired result selling your houses and happy customers (effect).