Scarcity
Scarcity refers to limitations—insufficient resources, goods, or abilities—to achieve a desired end. Optimizing decisions about how to make the best use of scarce resources is a fundamental economics challenge.
Scarcity refers to resources being finite and limited. Scarcity means we have to decide how and what to produce from these limited resources. It means there is a constant opportunity cost involved in making economic decisions, and a need to balance unlimited needs and wants against a limited supply (see Figure 3.9).
Figure 3.9: Dilemma of Scarcity
Scarcity is at the heart of the economics discussion because organizations do not have unlimited financial, human, or time resources. Consequently, organizations must master balancing their scarce assets against the nearly unlimited opportunities. And there are always more opportunities than there are resources (the real essence of the scarcity dilemma).
Data Ramifications: Scarcity plays...
