Resource

Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which help us to satisfy our needs. Resources can broadly be classified upon their availability — they are classified into renewable and non-renewable resources. They can also be classified as actual and non - potential on the basis of the level of development and use, on the basis of origin they can be classified as biotic and abiotic, and on the basis of their distribution, as ubiquitous and localised (private, community-owned, natural and international resources). An item becomes a resource with time and developing technology. The benefits of resource utilization may include increased wealth, proper functioning of a system, or enhanced well-being. From a human perspective, a natural resource is anything obtained from the environment to satisfy human needs and wants. From a broader biological or ecological perspective, a resource satisfies the needs of a living organism (see biological resource).
The concept of resources has been developed across many established areas of work, in economics, biology and ecology, computer science, management, and human resources for example - linked to the concepts of competition, sustainability, conservation, and stewardship. In application within human society, commercial or non-commercial factors require resource allocation through resource management.
Economic.
In economics a resource is defined as a service or other asset used to produce goods and services that meet human needs and wants. Economics itself has been defined as the study of how society manages and allocates its scarce resources. Classical economics recognizes three categories of resources, also referred to as factors of production: land, labor, and capital. Land includes all natural resources and is viewed as both the site of production and the source of raw materials. Labour or human resources consists of human effort provided in the creation of products, paid in wage. Capital consists of human-made goods or means of production (machinery, buildings, and other infrastructure) used in the production of other goods and services, paid in interest.
Biological.
In biology and ecology a resource is defined as a substance that is required by a living organism for normal growth, maintenance, and reproduction (see biological resource). The main essential resources for animals are food, water, and territory. For plants, key resources include sunlight, nutrients, water, and a place to grow. Resources can be consumed by an organism and, as a result, become unavailable to other organisms. Competition for resource varies from complete symmetric (all individuals receive the same amount of resources, irrespective of their size) to perfectly size symmetric (all individuals exploit the same amount of resource per unit biomass) to absolutely size-asymmetric (the largest individuals exploit all the available resource). The degree of size asymmetry has major effects on the structure and diversity of ecological communities, e.g. in plant communities size-asymmetric competition for light has stronger effects on diversity compared with competition for soil resources. The degree of size asymmetry has major effects on the structure and diversity of ecological communities.
Economic versus biological.
There are three fundamental differences between economic versus ecological views: 1) the economic resource definition is human-centered (anthropocentric) and the biological or ecological resource definition is nature-centered (biocentric or ecocentric); 2) the economic view includes desire along with necessity, whereas the biological view is about basic biological needs; and 3) economic systems are based on markets of currency exchanged for goods and services, whereas biological systems are based on natural processes of growth, maintenance, and reproduction.
Computer resources.
A computer resource is any physical or virtual component of limited availability within a computer or information management system. Computer resources include means for input, processing, output, communication, and storage.
Natural.
Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many natural resources are essential for human survival, while others are used for satisfying human desire. Conservation is management of natural resources with the goal of sustainability. Natural resources may be further classified in different ways.
Resources can be categorized on the basis of origin:
Natural resources are also categorized based on the stage of development:
Natural resources can be categorized on the basis of renewability:
Dependent upon the speed and quantity of consumption, overconsumption can lead to depletion or total and everlasting destruction of a resource. Important examples are agricultural areas, fish and other animals, forests, healthy water and soil, cultivated and natural landscapes. Such conditionally renewable resources are sometimes classified as a third kind of resource, or as a subtype of renewable resources. Conditionally renewable resources are presently subject to excess human consumption and the only sustainable long term use of such resources is within the so-called zero ecological footprint, where in human use less than the Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate.
Natural resources are also categorized based on distribution:
Actual vs. potential natural resources are distinguished as follows:
On the basis of ownership, resources can be classified as individual, community, national, and international.
Labour or human resources.
In economics, labor or human resources refers to the human effort in the production of goods and rendering of services. Human resources can be defined in terms of skills, energy, talent, abilities, or knowledge.
In a project management context, human resources are those employees responsible for undertaking the activities defined in the project plan.
Capital or infrastructure.
In social studies, capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. In essence, capital refers to human-made resources created using knowledge and expertise based on utility or perceived value. Common examples of capital include buildings, machinery, railways, roads, and ships. As resources, capital goods may or may not be significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process and they are typically of limited capacity or unavailable for use by others.
Tangible versus intangible.
Whereas, tangible resources such as equipment have an actual physical existence, intangible resources such as corporate images, brands and patents, and other intellectual properties exist in abstraction.
Use and sustainable development.
Typically resources cannot be consumed in their original form, but rather through resource development they must be processed into more usable commodities and usable things. With the increasing population, the demand for resources is increasing. There are marked differences in resource distribution and associated economic inequality between regions or countries, with developed countries using more natural resources than developing countries. Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment. Sustainable development means that we should exploit our resources carefully to meet our present requirement without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The practice of the three R's – reduce, reuse and recycle must be followed in order to save and extend the availability of resources.
Various problems relate to the usage of resources:
Various benefits can result from the wise usage of resources: