Opportunity Cost
Opportunity cost is an economic concept that refers to a benefit or advantage that a person could have obtained but gave up to take a different course of action. Put simply, it is the cost of making a decision.
In a business setting, opportunity costs can add up quickly. For example, if a business owner chooses to invest more money in one particular project instead of another, the opportunity cost could include any additional revenue he could have generated by investing in the other project, any additional resources he could have used, or any additional time he could have saved. When considering opportunity cost, it's important to look at potential alternatives and their associated costs.
When talking about opportunity cost, the foregone option is the one that was not chosen. In other words, it is the alternative benefit or advantage that is lost as a result of making a different decision. Consider a business that has to decide whether to promote one employee over another. The potential opportunity costs here may include productivity losses if the wrong person gets promoted, talent recruitment costs if they have to find a new hire, or lost time if the decision takes longer than expected.
Nowadays, when it comes to financial decisions, opportunity cost is one of the most important factors to evaluate. All financial decisions involve a tradeoff, and so evaluating the opportunity cost of an option helps to ensure that resources are used most efficiently. For instance, if a business only has a limited budget for research and development, choosing to invest in one product means forgoing the opportunity to invest in another product.
Although opportunity costs can be difficult to quantify and take into account, it's critical to factor them in when making decisions. Every decision a business makes has the potential to generate significant economic gains or losses, and understanding opportunity cost can help a business choose the option that most effectively leverages its resources and maximizes its profits.
opportunity cost课文翻译
Opportunity Cost是经济学中有关决策理论一种重要概念。指的是,在一个抉择中人($A$),必须在不同的选择中做出抉择,当他选择了一个选择($B$)时,将要牺牲掉另外一;个选择($C$),这被称为机会成本。为实现特定目标所付出的各种代价之和,可以看作是选择该目标的机会成本,只要它们影响了投资者还可以获得的收益率。
比如说,一个人想买房,但只有有限资金,那么他必须先考虑买房会放弃其他投资机会,不买(投资)房子又会放弃以后购买房子的机会,这就是所谓的机会成本。对该投资者来说,投资房产时需要考虑未来得不到的收益,这就是机会成本。
总而言之,Opportunity Cost是指一个人做出决定时,所放弃的其它潜在选择的总价值,他需要付出机会的代价来实现自己的目标。机会成本的关键在于进行一个有效的