Final answer:
Efficiency measures the effectiveness with which an organization or machine achieves its objectives or produces output but always falls below 100 percent due to inevitable energy losses such as friction.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, efficiency indeed refers to the degree to which an organization achieves a stated objective. The concept of efficiency can be applied to various contexts, and it generally means making the best possible use of resources to achieve the desired outcome. For example, in the realm of simple machines, efficiency pertains to the ratio of useful work output to the total input of energy, which is always less than 100 percent due to factors like friction that convert some input work into heat energy.
In terms of organizations and economies, efficiency revolves around how well they use their resources to produce goods and services that are most in demand. Bureaucracies, for instance, aim for increased efficiency to boost productivity. Similarly, thermal efficiency in engines is about the ratio of work output to energy input, and the goal is to maximize this efficiency. However, 100 percent efficiency is theoretically impossible due to the second law of thermodynamics that dictates that some energy will always be lost in the process.