Tag: division of labor

Uber Eats – Who Has Time To Cook?

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay barges into home kitchens during major sporting events and scolds people for cooking instead of enjoying the game. Ramsay argues that preparing a meal is a poor use of time when professional chefs and delivery services can do the work for you. His solution is simple: order from Uber Eats and leave the cooking to someone else.

This advertisement provides a useful introduction to both opportunity cost and comparative advantage. Ramsay’s argument is that the home cook’s time is valuable and may be better spent watching the event, socializing, or doing other activities. Even if people are capable of cooking for themselves, they may still benefit from specializing in other tasks while restaurants specialize in meal preparation.

Thanks to Brian Lynch for the clip submission

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The Sandlot – Can Smalls Catch? How About Throw?

In The Sandlot, neighborhood kids play an “endless dream game” all summer long. There are two kids on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to baseball talent and natural ability. Benny is the superstar on the local sandlot team. He has a clear absolute advantage over all the others in running, hitting, throwing, and catching. On the other hand, this scene demonstrates the skills of Scotty (nicknamed “Smalls”), who is new in town, He possesses book smarts but is clueless about baseball. He can’t throw or catch and has little knowledge about baseball in general.

He’s still a valuable member of the team because Benny can only play one position at a time. While he may have an absolute advantage in all positions over Smalls, there needs to be a division of labor in order to field a team.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission and summary.

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