Everything Is Economics

Everything is economics, and everything is measurable. Any behavior, decision, non-behavior, or non-decision has an economic value and is quantitatively measurable. Economic value is not unique, nor is it objective. It depends on the methodology used and the temporal depth to which it is analyzed. Therefore, the principal analysis methodologies are vital for supporting management in decision-making and strategic processes. This chapter describes the principal analysis and measurement techniques to support decision-making: opportunity cost, economic marginalism, differential analysis, and break-even analysis. Over the years, the economic value of every behavior, decision, non-behavior, and non-decision has changed the composition of organizational systems in the relationship between subjective management (i.e., human capital) and objective management (i.e., managerial tools). Managerial tools are becoming increasingly important in decision-making processes, representing a real threat to subjective management (i.e., management that takes no responsibility and tends to delegate the decision to objective evidence produced by its various analysis techniques). Technology, big data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are essential in this context. Companies’ almost obsessive pursuit of numbers is the basis of surveillance capitalism. This tug-of-war between subjective and objective management in the digital age must make us reflect on two essential issues in companies' decision-making and management processes: the relationship between humans and technology and the relationship between rationality and irrationality.