Resource Management - Basics

A resource is a source or supply from which benefit is produced. Typically resources are materials, energy, services, staff, knowledge, or other assets that are transformed to produce benefit and in the process may be consumed or made unavailable. Benefits of resource utilization may include increased wealth, meeting needs or wants, proper functioning of a system, or enhanced wellbeing. From a human perspective a natural resource is anything obtained from the environment to satisfy human needs and wants.

Definition of Economic Resources

Economic resources are the factors used in producing goods or providing services. In other words, they are the inputs that are used to create things or help you provide services. Economic resources can be divided into human resources, such as labor and management, and nonhuman resources, such as land, capital goods, financial resources, and technology.

Importance of Economic Resources

An economy is a system of institutions and organizations that either help facilitate or are directly involved in the production and distribution of goods and services. Economic resources are the inputs we use to produce and distribute goods and services. The precise proportion of each factor of production will vary from product to product and from service to service, and the goal is to make the most effective use of the resources that maximizes output at the least possible cost. Misapplication or improper use of resources may cause businesses, and even entire economies, to fail.

Resource Management

Definition : 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 is the efficient and effective deployment and allocation of an organization’s resources when and where they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology. Resource management includes planning, allocating and scheduling of resources to tasks, which typically include manpower, machines, money and materials. Resource management has an impact on schedules and budgets as well as resource levelling and smoothing.

In order to effectively manage resources, organizations must have data on resource demands forecasted by time period into the future, the resource configurations that will be required to meet those demands and the supply of resources, again forecasted into the future. Forecasts should be as far out as is reasonable. Resource leveling, as it relates to inventory, is a resource management technique aimed at keeping the stock of resources on hand level, reducing both excess inventories and shortages. In project management, resource leveling is scheduling decisions, which are driven by resource management concerns, such as limited resource availability. As opposed to leveling, resource smoothing may not delay the project completion date, only particular activities within their float.

Many organizations use professional services automation software tools to make resource management tasks more efficient and effective. The automated tools may include time-sheet software and employee time tracking software, which calculate skill sets, experience and workload in selecting the most skilled employee in an organization to handle any specific project. This enables the organization to forecast future staffing requirements prior to project implementation.