Chapter 5 Managing Resources Flashcards
Greater stresses on food and energy resources present environmental management challenges. The causes and impacts of food insecurity and energy insecurity need to be understood in order to design management strategies that strive for food and energy security
Types of Resources:
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Natural Resources:
- Definition: Raw materials sourced from nature.
- Examples: Minerals, water, forests.
- Importance: Essential for production, subject to depletion.
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Human Resources:
- Definition: The workforce of an organization.
- Functions: Recruitment, training, motivation.
- Importance: Key drivers of productivity and innovation.
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Financial Resources:
- Definition: Capital and funds available for business activities.
- Sources: Equity, loans, profits.
- Management: Budgeting, investment, financial analysis.
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Technological Resources:
- Definition: Tools, machinery, and intellectual property.
- Role: Enhances efficiency, automates processes.
- Importance: Facilitates innovation, competitive advantage.
Principles of Managing Resources
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Planning:
- Definition: Setting objectives, outlining strategies.
- Steps: Assessing needs, setting goals, allocating resources.
- Importance: Guides resource allocation, ensures alignment with goals.
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Allocation and Utilization:
- Allocation Process: Prioritizing resource distribution based on need.
- Efficient Utilization: Prevents wastage, maximizes productivity.
- Techniques: Resource mapping, demand forecasting.
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Monitoring and Control:
- Monitoring: Regular assessment of resource usage.
- Control: Implementing corrective measures.
- Tools: Key performance indicators (KPIs), performance reviews.
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Sustainability:
- Definition: Meeting current needs without compromising future generations.
- Strategies: Renewable resources, eco-friendly practices.
- Importance: Ensures long-term availability, reduces environmental impact.
Challenges in Managing Resources:
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Resource Scarcity:
- Causes: Overexploitation, population growth.
- Solutions: Conservation, sustainable practices.
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Technological Advancements:
- Impact: Rapid changes, outdated equipment.
- Adaptation: Continuous training, investment in cutting-edge tech.
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Globalization:
- Challenges: Increased competition, diverse markets.
- Strategies: Market research, strategic alliances.
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Regulatory Compliance:
- Compliance Areas: Environmental regulations, labor laws.
- Importance: Avoid legal issues, maintain reputation.
Case Studies
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Apple Inc.:
- Efficient Resource Management: Apple’s supply chain optimization.
- Sustainability Efforts: Use of renewable energy, recycling programs.
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Toyota:
- Lean Manufacturing: Minimizing waste, maximizing efficiency.
- Just in time inventory: reducing excess inventory, cost savings.
Social and Economic Impacts
- Climate change can affect agriculture, water resources, and human health, leading to food and water scarcity.
- Increased frequency of extreme weather events results in property damage and displacement of communities.
Food Security
when all people, at all
times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets
their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life
Causes and threats of food security
- population growth
- unsustainable production, increase in homogeneity (quality or state of being of a similar thing, structure or kind) in global food supply
- price setting
- land degradation
- agricultural disease
- diverting crops for biofuels
- climate change
- water shortages
- poverty
Impacts of food security
- regional food scarcity
- nutritional deficiency and malnutrition
- poverty
- forced migration
- conflict
- famine
- death
Strategies for managing food security
- subsistence agriculture
- increase food production by intensification and
extensification - improved agricultural techniques and efficiency
– aquaculture and hydroponics
– use of selective breeding and genetically modified (GM) crops to developing pestresistant crops and crops with a higher yield
– controlling limiting factors, e.g. use of fertilisers in areas short of nutrients
– increasing productivity by removing
competition from weeds by the use of
herbicides, reducing fungal disease by use of fungicides, reducing pest species by use of biological control - reduction in livestock and increase in growing crops
- reduce food waste
- large-scale food stockpiling
- improve transportation of food
- protecting pollinating insects
- the World Food Programme and food aid
- rationing
ENERGY RESOURCE Classification
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renewable resources:
– biofuels (biomass including wood,
bioethanol and biogas), geothermal energy, hydroelectric dams, tidal energy, wave energy, solar energy, wind energy. -
non-renewable resources:
– fossil fuel (oil, natural gas, coal), nuclear energy using uranium as a fuel.
Energy Security
as the reliable availability
of energy sources at an affordable price with a consideration of the environmental impacts
2 Types of Energy Security
long-term energy security:
– supply of energy that is in line with economic developments and environmental needs
short-term energy security:
– systems that react promptly to sudden changes in the supply-demand balance
Causes of Energy Insecurity
- fossil fuel depletion
- inequality in global energy resources
- population growth
- differing energy needs of countries in different
income groups - climate change
- supply disruption
– natural disasters, piracy, terrorism
Impacts of Energy Security
- disrupted electricity supply to homes and industry
- increasing prices for energy resources
- increasing costs for industry
- job losses, economic recession
- increased levels of poverty and low standards of living
- reliance on imported sources of energy
- civil disruption and conflict
Strategies of managing energy security
- increasing energy efficiency
- increasing energy production
- reducing reliance on fossil fuels
- investing in renewable resources and carbon
neutral fuels - development of alternative energy technologies
- investment in local energy projects
- rationing