Final answer:
In the scenario of a coffee shop, Maria and Charlie should specialize in the item for which they have the lowest opportunity cost. Maria should specialize in lattes, and Charlie in sandwiches, to maximize efficiency based on the principle of comparative advantage.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves the concept of comparative advantage, a key principle in economics that suggests each worker or entity should produce the goods for which they have the lowest opportunity cost. The scenario described is about two workers, Maria and Charlie, who work in a coffee shop and can both make sandwiches and lattes, but with different efficiencies. To determine what each should specialize in, we need to calculate their opportunity costs.
Maria can make 8 sandwiches or 24 lattes in an hour, and Charlie can make 5 sandwiches or 10 lattes in an hour. Maria's opportunity cost of making one sandwich is 3 lattes (since 24/8 = 3), and Charlie's is 2 lattes (since 10/5 = 2). Conversely, Maria's opportunity cost of making one latte is 1/3 of a sandwich, while Charlie's is 1/2 of a sandwich.
Because Charlie has a lower opportunity cost for making sandwiches, he should specialize in sandwiches. Maria, with a lower opportunity cost for lattes, should specialize in making lattes. By doing so, both maximize their productivity by focusing on the task where they hold a comparative advantage, which can lead to overall higher efficiency in the coffee shop.