Feedback and opinions when replying to post think about these questions

When making your response posts (and there need to be at least two) try to consider the following questions (and if you can come up with more that is great...it leads to better discussions).

1) What did you give up when you made your choice?

2) Did you consider both the implicit costs as well as the explicit costs?

3) Does being "rational" (weighing marginal cost to marginal benefit) mean you never make choices that you later regret? Why or why not?

Do not forget to use support in your responses (just like you need to in initial posts). This support can be a relevant quoted definition from the text and/or a citation from other material, like a journal article. Having support does not mean you should not give your own opinion...just that you should find the support to strengthen your argument.posts

 

 

Topic: 

After watching the video clip from Saving Private Ryan, what were the marginal benefits and marginal costs of the mission to save Private Ryan? Make sure to consider both the explicit and implicit costs involved. Answer the following questions:

a) What costs and benefits were relevant to Tom Hanks' character when considering the choice between "the mission and the man?" In his mind, could he rationalize whether the marginal benefits outweighed the marginal costs?

b) Describe a choice you made at some point in your life, and explain it in terms of marginal benefits and marginal costs.

c) Can you think of a time in your life when comparing marginal benefits and marginal costs would have been inappropriate?

 

Post1:

Tom Hanks' character talks about the fact that he has lost 94 men in his time and yet he rationalizes this with the fact that in the process of losing those men he has saved 10 to 20 times that amount. He basically says that even though it sucks to have lost that many men that it made it worth it to have saved the amount that he has. When speaking of saving Private Ryan he states these facts and talks about the lives he may lose. The marginal cost is the risk of losing his men and that the marginal benefits are the fact they could save Private Ryan. Also, he talks about two previous soldiers he had and the fact that he would trade Private Ryan for either of the two. Finally, he states that if they save him, he had better go home and do something great with his life. This to me does mean that he had completely conducted and explained his marginal analysis by weighing the marginal benefits against the marginal cost and determined that saving Private Ryan was worth doing. 

Many years ago, when I was first deciding what to do with my life after completing high school, I was looking at my options. The two choices I saw were to find a job in my home area or join the Army. When I started looking at the marginal benefits for joining the Army, I found that taking care of my growing family was top of the list because I got health care for my wife, my unborn child, and myself, along with a steady income and always having a place to live. The marginal costs that I had to deal with were time away from my family, moving around a lot, and the inherent danger of being a soldier. Some of the explicit cost was the price of moving my family and buying the items that I needed to take with me. Ultimately, for my family and I the marginal benefits outweighed the marginal costs, and I ended up joining the Army, which I feel ended up being the right decision. 

One situation I had to deal with where it would have been inappropriate to take the time to conduct a marginal analysis was when my daughter was choking on a chicken nugget. It all happened so fast that there really was no time to think, however if I had taken the time to weigh the benefits against the cost, I could have lost my daughter. I feel that any time that life is at risk it is not really appropriate to conduct a marginal analysis. 

 

 

 

 

 

Post 2:

Tom Hanks' character, Captain Miller, has been given the mission of finding and returning Private Ryan to his home.  In choosing between "the mission and the man," Miller considers the costs to be the men he loses in completing a mission.  These would be explicit costs, because they are tangible expenses that can be measured. (Indeed 2023) Although they are not monetary, they are the lives of men that can be measured.  Miller considers the benefit to be the men who are saved by carrying out the mission.  So far, Miller states that his costs had been 94 men, but he estimates that the benefit has been saving the lives of ten or twenty times that many.  

Using marginal analysis, Miller cannot rationalize whether the marginal benefits outweigh the marginal costs in the new mission he has been assigned. Marginal benefit is defined as the additional benefit received from one more unit of an activity.  (Madariaga 2010) The marginal benefit in Captain Miller's mission will be one man.  Marginal cost is defined as the additional cost of one more unit of an activity. (Madariaga 2010).  The marginal cost of the mission is unknown, but if it is more than one, the mission is questionable.  Captain Miller knows that the cost in the number of men lost could be very high.  A rational decision is when the marginal benefit is greater than or equal to the marginal cost.  So, if the loss of life in the mission is more than one man, the decision is not rational in economic terms.  Captain Miller states that Private Ryan had better be worth it, and hopes there will be marginal benefits of him being worthy in other forms than just the one man consideration.

At one point in my life, I chose to go to college instead of working full time.  My costs have been paying tuition and the difference between a full-time salary and a part-time salary.  The benefits will be realized upon graduation.  I will be able to make a much higher salary with an accounting degree than I could make with only a high school diploma. So, although it will take a few years to even out, the benefit of a college degree will outweigh the cost.

There are times when marginal analysis is inappropriate.  I recently took time off from work to volunteer in a VBS program.  The time off had a marginal cost to me that was greater than the marginal benefit.  It also had opportunity costs because I gave up enjoying the time off to have some fun.  However, sometimes the sacrifice of monetary gain should not be considered over the responsibility we have to volunteer and help others.

 

 

References:

Indeed Editorial Team. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/explicit-cost

Madariaga, B. (2010). Economics for life: 101 lessons you can use every day! (Third). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Post 1 provides a detailed analysis of Tom Hanks characters decisionmaking process in Saving Private Ryan and relates it to the concept of marginal be... View the full answer