Final answer:
The proper etiquette is to allow the coworkers to make their 10 copies each before finishing your own 1000 copies; this minimizes wait times and promotes workplace harmony. Similar considerations apply to sharing cleaning tasks with roommates, leveraging efficiency could save time but might lead to a perceived unfair distribution of work.
Step-by-step explanation:
The proper etiquette in the situation where there is one copy machine and a conflict of copy-making tasks would be option c: Let your coworkers do their copies and then finish your own. This option is the most considerate and efficient choice because the two other employees only need to make a small number of copies each (10 copies), and allowing them to proceed before you complete your large task (1000 copies) minimizes the waiting time for them without significantly impacting the overall time it would take for you to finish your task. It also establishes goodwill and professional courtesy in the workplace.
In scenarios like the shared responsibility for cleaning with roommates described in the question, assigning tasks should be based on effectiveness and fairness. When one person is significantly more efficient at a particular task, it may be more pragmatic for them to take on that task to maximize overall free time. However, this approach can create problems, such as resentment or unfair workload distribution. An analogy to trade specialization could be drawn from economics, where countries focus on producing goods at which they are relatively more efficient, leading to mutual gains through trade.