Subject: Is aluminum or iron a better conductor of heat?

Aluminum has a much higher conductivity rating than iron (235 vs. 80) but iron 
transfers heat to other objects much more effectively.  On one hand, heat moves 
through aluminum faster than through iron giving it a higher conductivity 
raiting.  On the other, if a metal rod connected a flame and an object, 
wouldn't the object at the end of an iron rod get much hotter than the object 
at the end of an aluminum rod?  Doesn't this make iron the better conductor of 
heat?  Doesn't aluminum's inability to transfer heat from one object to another 
make it a poor conductor.  How can aluminum be said to conduct heat well if 
that heat dissipates before it can be transferred to another object. Or, 
perhaps, it is this diffusion which defines conduction regardless of its 
ability to transfer heat to other objects.  So if aluminum is a better 
conductor of heat than iron, then iron would be defined as being a better 
what?  As with electricity, copper is a good conductor due to its excellent 
ability to transfer electricity from one object to another completing a circuit 
just as iron can well transfer heat.  I guess my question is this: Is 
conductivity defined as A) the speed at which heat moves through an object or B)
the effectiveness with which an object can transfer heat to another object?  It 
seems to me the characteristics which define aluminum to be a good conductor 
are exactly those which actually deem it a poor one.  I'm very confused.  
Please help!

Re: Is aluminum or iron a better conductor of heat?