Efficiency is a concept related to the capacity of an organization to fulfill its mission. However, effectiveness does not imply efficiency since an organization can be effective, since it correctly fulfills its mission, but this does not imply that it is efficient, since it invests large resources in achieving its economic results.
In the same way, it can achieve efficiency and the mission is poorly formulated (it does not correspond to the economic and social need) so that the management of the company could be ineffective. Both terms are implicit in business excellence and in turn the term is identified with the achievement of sustained advantages in the market so that excellence is associated with competitiveness.
Competitiveness is the ability of a company or organization, of any kind, to develop and maintain comparative advantages that allow it to enjoy and maintain a prominent position in the socio-economic environment in which it operates.
Comparative advantage is that ability, resource, knowledge, attributes, etc., that a company has, that its competitors lack and that makes it possible to obtain higher returns than these. For Michael Porter, in his article "How the Competitive Forces shape the Strategy", this advantage has to do fundamentally with the value that a company is capable of creating for its buyers and that exceeds the cost of that company per create it.
Competitiveness is a relative concept, it shows the comparative position of the systems (companies, sectors, countries) using the same reference measure. We can say that it is a developing concept, not finished and subject to many interpretations and forms of measurement. Depending on the dimension to which the organizational systems belong, different indicators will be used to measure it.
Business competitiveness can be considered in a double aspect; as internal competitiveness and as external competitiveness. Internal competitiveness refers to the competition of the company with itself from the comparison of its efficiency over time and the efficiency of its internal structures (production and services.) This type of analysis is essential to find internal reserves of efficiency but in general it is given less importance than the external competitive analysis, which expresses the most debated, disclosed and universally analyzed concept.
It is essential to understand how to reach competitiveness, linking at least the following link elements: What are the factors that condition it? What is the strategy-competitiveness relationship? These answers are complicated and do not have unanimity in their consideration, but trying a minimum clarification, based on current management practice and the criteria of the scholars of the subject, is always a valuable help to clear the path to competitiveness.
In short, business competitiveness requires a dynamic, up-to-date management team, open to organizational and technological change, and aware of the need to consider the members of the organization as a first-rate resource that must be cared for. However, it can be said that this is usually one of the weaknesses of a large number of companies that have disappeared or have survival problems. As we know, the management team largely determines the attitude of the members of the organization towards work. Experience shows that companies that maintain sustained competitive positions over time, pay great attention to the future, while constantly monitoring their environment.Michael Porter from the definition of "value chain" identifies the lines of action that the company can take to design its competitive strategy appropriate to its needs.
