# Resource allocation

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{{short description|Assignment of resources among possible uses}}
In [economics](/source/economics), '''resource allocation''' is the assignment of available [resource](/source/resource)s to various uses. In the context of an entire economy, resources can be allocated by various means, such as [markets](/source/Market_(economics)), or [planning](/source/Economic_planning).

In [project management](/source/project_management), '''resource allocation''' or [resource management](/source/resource_management) is the scheduling of activities and the resources required by those activities while taking into consideration both the resource availability and the project time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pmhut.com/pmo-and-project-management-dictionary |title=PMO and Project Management Dictionary |publisher=Pmhut.com |date=2007-08-20 |access-date=2014-06-24}}</ref>

==Economics==

In [economics](/source/economics), the field of [public finance](/source/public_finance) deals with three broad areas: ['''macroeconomic'''](/source/macroeconomics) stabilization, the [distribution of income](/source/distribution_of_income) and wealth, and the allocation of resources. Much of the study of resource allocation focuses on identifying the conditions under which particular mechanisms lead to [Pareto efficient](/source/Pareto_efficient) outcomes, in which no party's situation can be improved without hurting that of another.

In a study on the [ethical](/source/Ethics) foundations of cost-effectiveness analysis in the context of [utilitarianism](/source/utilitarianism), two researchers suggest that "the long-term social and political project of re-directing resources away from activities that undermine human flourishing and toward those that are conducive, is one of the most urgent of our era".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marseille |first1=Elliot |last2=Kahn |first2=James G. |title=Utilitarianism and the ethical foundations of cost-effectiveness analysis in resource allocation for global health |journal=Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine: PEHM |date=3 April 2019 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=5 |doi=10.1186/s13010-019-0074-7 |doi-access=free |pmid=30944009 |pmc=6446322 |issn=1747-5341}}</ref>

==Strategic planning==
In [strategic planning](/source/strategic_planning), resource allocation is a [plan](/source/plan) for using available [resources](/source/Natural_resource),  for example [human resources](/source/human_resources), especially in the near term, to achieve goals for the future. It is the process of allocating scarce resources among the various [project](/source/project)s or business units.
There are a number of approaches to solving resource allocation problems e.g. resources can be allocated using a manual approach, an algorithmic approach (see below),<ref>{{cite web|title=Production planning |url=http://www.productionplanning.com/Production-Planning/Algorithmic-Sequencing.aspx |access-date=3 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607010749/http://www.productionplanning.com/Production-Planning/Algorithmic-Sequencing.aspx |archive-date=7 Jun 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> or a combination of both.<ref>Inteng [http://www.inteng.com.au/planning.htm "Planning manual and algorithm"] ''Inteng'' Retrieved on 3 June 2014</ref>

There may be contingency mechanisms such as a priority ranking of items excluded from the plan, showing which items to fund if more resources should become available and a priority ranking of some items included in the plan, showing which items should be sacrificed if total funding must be reduced.<ref>{{cite web|author=Samuel90 |url=http://www.slideshare.net/kbgluciaja/resource-allocation-16175159 |title=Resource allocation |publisher=Slideshare.net |date=2013-01-25 |access-date=2014-06-24}}</ref>

==Algorithms==
Resource allocation may be decided by using [computer programs](/source/computer_programs) applied to a specific domain to automatically and dynamically distribute resources to applicants.

This is especially common in electronic devices dedicated to routing and communication. For example, channel allocation in [wireless](/source/wireless) communication may be decided by a [base transceiver station](/source/base_transceiver_station) using an appropriate [algorithm](/source/algorithm).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mit.edu/~modiano/papers/C67.pdf |title=Wireless Channel Allocation Using An Auction Algorithm |access-date=2014-06-24}}</ref>

One class of resource whereby applicants bid for the best resource(s) according to their balance of "money", as in an [online auction business model](/source/online_auction_business_model) (see also [auction theory](/source/auction_theory)).

In one paper on [CPU](/source/CPU) [time slice](/source/time_slice) allocation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citeulike.org/user/zflavio/article/1043948 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208211140/http://www.citeulike.org/user/zflavio/article/1043948 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 8, 2007 |title=Tycoon: A Distributed Market-based Resource Allocation System |publisher=Citeulike.org |date=2004-04-05 |access-date=2014-06-24}}</ref>
an auction algorithm is compared to [proportional share scheduling](/source/proportional_share_scheduling).

==See also==
*{{annotated link|Allocative efficiency}}
*{{annotated link|Collective problem solving}}
*[Corruption](/source/Corruption)
*{{annotated link|Earned value management}}
*[Fair division](/source/Fair_division)
*{{annotated link|Health care rationing}}
*{{annotated link|Prioritization}}
*{{annotated link|Project management}}
*{{annotated link|Project planning}}
*{{annotated link|Stochastic scheduling}}
*{{annotated link|Welfare economics}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Population}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Resource Allocation}}
Category:Resources
Category:Strategic management
Category:Schedule (project management)
Category:Economic planning
Category:Public finance
Category:Contexts for auctions

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Resource allocation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_allocation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_allocation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.