We have all made mistakes and some of us are more prone to making
mistakes then others. And if that was not enough, many people are also partial
to some procrastinating, being lazy or simply doing nothing but contemplate the
infinite like penguins.
True as this maybe, this is not our topic on inefficiency. So what
is inefficiency and who are these inefficient people? And more importantly why
should this be an issue in philosophy?
A standard meaning of inefficiency is not maximising benefits from a
task we are performing for the time we have available to do it. In economics we
might consider inefficiency to be wasting time and resources and thus not
maximising productivity. Inefficiency is a big issue in economics and by
definition in political philosophy. But we should not mix up inefficiency with
redundancy or production below full capacity.
Redundancy is a sort of back up insurance and this is extremely
important in the digital information age. Basically redundancy in information
technology follows the rule of thumb that for every back up storage of
information we have, in real terms we have at least one storage device less:
for example, if we make a backup of the important data on our pc, we basically
have zero backups. If we make four backups of this important data then we have
the equivalent of three backup units. This is a well known principle amongst
photographers ( e.g. Hard Drive Secrets & Tips by Theoria Apophasis on
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nia-btvHx3o)
In productivity of goods and certain services, eg printing of books
and magazines, production at full capacity means that one might miss deadlines
especially if something goes wrong but there is no margin of error to play with.
But more importantly one might have to turn away clients with an urgent job
which might not be good PR but even worse if it affects relationships with an
otherwise good customer.
So going back to the meaning of inefficiency, the two key factors
are waste of time or reduced productive or both. At this point I feel obliged
to point out that this depends on all things being equal. Sometimes life is
really beyond our control no matter how much we plan or how diligent we are.
But then the efficient person can probably cope with this.
We also have to distinguish inefficiency from incompetence and
bureaucratic hell; and up to an extent waste which is also found in nature.
These two factors (maybe waste too) do have a direct and causal influence on
inefficiency. Incompetence is a matter of skill and abilities and hints at
taking on responsibilities beyond one’s capacity. I would argue that in a work
environment incompetent people are in their position because of the
incompetence of their superiors or because of nepotism or some other form of
corruption.
Inefficiency can happen in all aspects of our individual life: at
home, shopping, travelling, at work, dealing with institutions and even our
language. But inefficiency may also be the result of a group of people trying
to solve a problem. I would, however, argue that when a group of people come
together to solve a problem, the level of inefficiency in the solution would be
a function of the lack of communication and exchange of information amongst the
members of the group before the solution is implemented. Sometimes there are no
such groups trying to solve problems.
Group originating inefficiency cannot only cost us time and effort
but can easily lead to safety issues. This is very common in a work environment
especially in dangerous activities such as building sites. But even white
collar workers can be surrounded by inefficiency that can lead to a
bureaucratic nightmare if not company collapse. Take for example the
inefficiencies built into the Sub Prime saga that practically led to the
collapse of the global financial system.
The Measure of productivity, for example in economics and business,
is usually a function of output of goods or services minus input of “raw
material” (including services; basically costs). Productivity is usually
accepted as a reference for efficiency or maybe inefficiency so by this score
we can be proud to point out that basically Germany and Spain* are at the same
productivity level; Germany only leading by one point (2018: OECD Data
https://data.oecd.org/lprdty/gdp-per-hour-worked.htm) but as I said earlier
economic and business considerations also affect political philosophy. But when
we compare Quality of Life (2017: EU: Living in the EU
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/figures/living_en#tab-0-0) we find
that Spain is at a score of 91 whilst Germany is at 126.
My scope here is not to make an economic analysis of anything but to
point out that in business and economics, efficiency or inefficiency is not
just a matter of adding figures, especially monitory figures. Indeed an often
mentioned weakness of classical economics is that economics does not consider
non-monetary values in a model.
The EU comparison is quite unique in economic history because for
the first time we have 28 independent countries who belong to the same market
and each under the same regulations. Maybe inefficiency at this level is not
necessarily a matter of productivity numbers, but lost opportunities. And
inefficiency is certainly a cause of lost opportunity. Are we making the most
from what we have and the opportunities we can have? This is clearly a moral
issue in Political philosophy, including economics. It is not enough to
maximise profits but I would say it is also imperative to maximise opportunities.
At the personal level inefficiency in other people might cause us
real and serious personal inconvenience. We are all familiar with the treatment
of customers by some customer services
departments. Even if we accept that companies try to limit the number of
callers to the department, sometimes inefficiencies here can put us off a
company. This is why monopolies and cartels might lead to inefficiency, but
this is another matter.
What prompted me to consider this topic was a case I experienced two
or three years ago when I received a lens I bought from Japan; I left a comment
and a photo on my Facebook on this. What is particular about this experience is
that this is a case of inefficiency of the type when groups of people do not
liaise with each other maybe even intentionally to annoy people.
The second hand lens I bought was 60Euros which included transport,
but because the package came from Japan I had to pay customs duty. I first had
to go to the Post Office near the airport, to get some paper from there;
nothing spectacular here, standard post office stuff. From the PO I had to go
to the Customs office across the road five minutes or so away. It took me 10
minutes to get through security, found the window, but after checking my papers
the clerk told me that he couldn’t process the request because his colleague
was not at his desk and he couldn’t find the relevant book. After fifteen
minutes the clerk processed my paper: I had to pay 55 Euros duty. Apart from
that nothing spectacular just standard bureaucracy. Except that now I had to go
to a specific bank up the road in the sun which took about 30 minutes there and
back. At the bank I had to wait for one person then it was my turn. It took me
longer complaining to the cashier than for the cashier to process the paper and
take my money. Back to the Customs Office, through security, find the clerk and
give him a piece of paper. Then to the post office again to collect the lens. A
whole morning gone. An inefficient system keeps creating inefficiency years
after the event: look at the size of this paragraph.
I must say that all the people I met that morning were very helpful,
efficient and professional. But what should have taken no more than fifteen
minutes processing time took the whole morning. Hopefully the new trade
agreement with Japan does not involve such infuriating processes.
To conclude, you will be justifying in pointing out that other
countries and other people can be equally inefficient. Sure, but I did point
out that we have to distinguish inefficiency from incompetence and bureaucratic
hell. When I wanted to buy a modem in Italy my experience was a perfect storm
of incompetence with perfect bureaucratic hell!
My point of the topic is how much does inefficiency cost us, be it
our own inefficiency or that of others? And at the political level, how much
does the inefficiency of governments and state cost the nation and the welfare
of the population? But is inefficiency a natural phenomenon or a function of
civilization?
Best Lawrence
* The figures I mention for Spain are factual historical facts and
economic in nature therefore not subject to the Spanish politics embargo;
blaming a party or another would be. But I will let you decide that.
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