What is a scarce resource?

What is a scarce resource?

• A. The budget for sales
• B. Any limiting factor other than sales demand
• C. An estimated unit cost
• D. A plan for production

Answer: (B)

A scarce resource is something that is limited in supply and actually limits how much you can produce. The best choice captures that idea by saying a scarce resource is any limiting factor other than sales demand. If demand were the constraint, production could keep up with supply, so that wouldn’t be the scarce resource—the real bottleneck would be components like machine hours, materials, or skilled labor that cap output. The other options describe a sales budget, a unit cost estimate, or a production plan—none of these are the constrained resource themselves, but rather plans or data.

A scarce resource is something that is limited in supply and actually limits how much you can produce. The best choice captures that idea by saying a scarce resource is any limiting factor other than sales demand. If demand were the constraint, production could keep up with supply, so that wouldn’t be the scarce resource—the real bottleneck would be components like machine hours, materials, or skilled labor that cap output. The other options describe a sales budget, a unit cost estimate, or a production plan—none of these are the constrained resource themselves, but rather plans or data.