Week 6

So.. today in class we spoke about resource management. You here this term in economics usually, opportunity cost, you weigh the pros and cons of the decisions we make. Looking at this from a gamers view, cooperative games, resource management is key. Today well now that it is 2:07 am, actually yesterday in class we learned about RPG's, role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft games as those and they are in a sense games in which resource managment does occur.


According to BusinessDictionary.com this is the meaning of Resource managment.

The process of using a company's resources in the most efficient way possible. These resources can include tangible resources such as goods and equipment, financial resources, and labor resources such as employees. Resource management can include ideas such as making sure one has enough physical resources for one's business, but not an overabundance so that products won't get used, or making sure that people are assigned to tasks that will keep them busy and not have too much downtime.

You use this not only in games but in real life as well making sure that your company is sufficient in what ever they are trying to produce. Opportunity cost, a big factor in business, you spend your money on a neccessity but have to give something up and make the decsion, "I may need this but if I do this then I will end up with a profit in the long run, yet I may loose business in Boston for example."


Professor Hansen gave the class an exercise in class today having to do with the game Dungeon and Dragons and we had to maximize the number of VP that you will get and by doing so you have to look at the opportunity cost of the items that you can purchase. You are given 5 hit points and 200 gold pieces to start off with.


Here is a list of the items:
Sword 125 gold and you have a 60% chance of defeating your opponent per round
Dagger 25 gold yet you have a 40% chance of beating your opponent per round
Leather Armor 75 gold and you have a 70% chance of being damaged per round
Chain Mail 150 gold and you have a 50% chance of being damages per round
Healing potion 60 gold and you can restore two hit points anytime you would like


You had to roll a ten sided die and beat ten opponents in a row in order to complete your mission and you had to figure out which of these items where worth it to buy so you can get, let's say the best bang for your buck. He explained to me how to figure this out and even though for instance the Sword may beat your opponent 60% of the time it still costs 125 gold and the opportunity cost of purchasing this item may not be to high. Maybe by purchasing the dagger and the chain mail you have a good chance to beat your opponents.


Going on to corporations they do indeed having building exercises and they need to in order for the employees to have trust in one another and be comfortable in their enviroments, communication is important as well as finding the best way to be rescourceful in your company. It makes perfect sense to have to have these books written on this fact. If you can trust your teammates and your fellow game players then you will do a whole lot better than not trusting them. Human beings rely on trust. It is part of our nature.


Cooperative games, the corporate business world, no matter what you are doing weigh out your pros and cons, be resourceful and look at you opportunity cost. Everything is intertwined....and relates to each other.