Instructions for the classmate classmate response (around 125 words each)
Please, respond to the below two classmate main posts. (Please, the responses need to be a discussion, not an evaluation. You can agree with them and add/comment about their response. No citation required)
Thank you
Classmate discussion posts
Discussion 1:
Yvonne Lemons
Opportunity cost is a key concept in economics, and has been described as expressing "the basic relationship between scarcity and choice (Brickley & Zimmerman, 2015).
I received a surprise bonus check in the mail from my previous employer that I was not expecting back in January. My plan was to add this to my savings for a fence that I had been planning to have installed in my yard. However, that same month, I received an opportunity to go to Montego Bay Jamaica this past August with a friend close to the same price of installing my fence. Of course, I decided on Jamaica.
Now that I have returned from the trip, I wish I had used better judgment and use that money for the fence. The opportunity was going to Jamaica. However it costs me my fence. According to Parkin, “The two definitions of opportunity cost (hereafter OC) differ in what is forgone. For the “quantity” version, it is the highest-valued alternative: the physical thing or things that otherwise would have been chosen. For the “value” version, it is the value of the highest-valued alternative: the value of the physical thing or things that otherwise would have been chosen (Parkin, 2016).” I can agree with this statement in the choices that I made in regard to choosing trip over my fence that I valued more to spend time with my family in my new home with many fun outdoor gatherings.
Ironically, I enjoyed Jamaica and have great memories hanging out with the girls. I could have built my fence and invited family and friends over to my new home and enjoyed the luxury of my private fence consistently, which was my ultimate purpose. This fence would have been a gift that would have kept on giving for many reasons.
I do not feel that I did not use responsible stewardship in this role. Either way, the money could have set in my savings account until I fully understood what I wanted to do. It was not long after getting the money and the phone call to go to Jamaica, the money was spent. That was an impulsive purchase on my part. I knew deep down inside, to say “no.” In addition, I spent more money buying additional items for the trip. This was an expense that I did not budget or anticipate doing. I do regret the actions I chose at that time.
Brickley J. Zimmerman J. et.al, XXXXXXXXXXManagerial Economics & Organizational Architecture.
Parkin, M XXXXXXXXXXOpportunity cost: A reply. Journal of Economic Education, 47(1), 35–39. https:
doi-org.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/ XXXXXXXXXX1106366
Discussion 2:
Jennifer Sandell
I was at a turning point in my professional life, or so I thought. I had been working part-time for 6 years, while my kids were in elementary school. When my youngest started six grade, I decided it was time for me to go back to work full time. “The traditional economic model of behavior assumes that individuals are rational, in that they employ marginal analysis in decision making-They balance the incremental cost and benefits to a
ive at choices that maximize their personal happiness.” (Brickley, 2019, p. 49) In my own case for an economic model, I was balancing the process of going back to work full time or staying part-time. I received a bachelor’s degree and I wanted to make use of the opportunity cost and work on my career. “Opportunity cost is the value of the resource in its next best alternative.” (Brickley, p, 18) If we look at the cost of my bachelor’s degree it would be the marginal cost of my career. “Marginal cost (MC) is the change in total cost associated with a one-unit change in output”. (Brickley, p XXXXXXXXXXThe marginal benefits of my decision would be more money, and better benefits, such as health insurance and retirement. “Marginal benefits are the incremental benefits associated with making a decision.” (Brickley, p. 16-18)
What I found, instead was lower end paying jobs and an unbalance work-family life. I realized what I valued in a professional career had changed and I wanted more than my bachelor’s degree could provide. It has seemed that my desired job would require a master’s degree. I decided to be my own economic analysis and go back to school and get a master’s degree to help increase my own value. At present, I was able to go back to an old job, but full time and the flexibility to balance my work/family life. I enrolled in an online master’s degree program for opportunities.
Reference:
Brickley, J., Smith, C., & Zimmerman, J. (2019). Managerial economics and organizational architecture (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Education.