FNC305 – Fundamentals of Resource Management

Meaning of Family Resources

Resources are those things individuals and families need to achieve their needs. Using
Resources wisely helps families to accomplish their goals.

Types of Family Resources

There are different types of resources.
Resources are grouped into three:
a. Human Resources.
b. Material or Non-human Resources.
c. Community Resources.

Human Resources
Human resources are those qualities which an individual possesses. Human resources
are parts of an individual; they exist within that person and can only be used by the
individual.

Human resources include

– Energy
– Time
– Skill; e.g. Sewing skills, Cooking, Writing, and Computer skills.
– Knowledge; e.g. Knowledge of how to bake cake.
– Talent; e.g. Talent for Singing, Dancing, Drawing, Playing Football.
Material Resources
Material or Non-human resources are money, possessions and equipment. They make
family works easier. These resources belong to the family, and family members have right
over them, control and make use of them the way they want. Examples include: houses,
cars, books, tools, refrigerators, gas, etc. Material resources give happiness and
satisfaction. Proper use of material resources makes life easier.

Community Resources
These are varied facilities available in the community for family use. Community
resources include market, motor parks, schools, hospitals, churches, recreational
facilities, police stations, courts, counselling centres and other institutions. Provision of all
these resources by the community helps in improving the proper uses of human and
material resources by families and individuals which help them solve their problems and
be happy.

Characteristics of Resources
1. Usefulness:- Usefulness is one of the most important characteristics of
all the resources. All resources are useful. e.g. Money is non-human
resource or material Resource which is used in fulfilling each and every want
or need of the family. It is a medium of exchange. Human resources like
skill, knowledge etc. are also very important. Many times we are not aware
of these resources. This group of resources is very important to the family,
for not only are they the means of accomplishing desired ends, but in using
them well the group acts together in such a way that common goals seem
more real and attainable and the quality of interpersonal relations can be
lifted.
2. Limitedness:- Resources are limited. Time has the unique characteristic
of being the one resource constant in amount for all. Its limited supply,
stems from the wide variation from person to person and from family to
family in activity patterns carried on in a given period. Limitedness of
resources is of two types; namely Qualitative and Quantitative. Human
resources are qualitatively limited whereas non-human resources are
quantitatively limited. Different resources vary in their limitations and in
accuracy with which these differences can be measured. Time is the most
completely limited resource, qualitatively speaking, since no day can
contain more than 24 hours, nor can any of these hours be ‘saved’.
Energy too, is a limited resource, differing from time in that the amount of
energy available varies greatly from person to person. After doing any type
of physical or mental work we feel exhausted or tired.
Non-human resources are limited. Money is one of the limited resources
and is difficult to manage things without money. Material goods – food
grains, vegetables, other things which we consume are costly and that is
reason we use it carefully.

3) All resources are inter-related. Inter-relatedness of resources is one of

the important characteristics of resources. Human as well as non-human
resources are inter-related. The use of one resource depends on the use of
another resource. It is difficult to attain your goal in absence of one, two or
combination of resources. For instance, if you wish to attend an embroidery
class, the things you require are combination of resources i.e. money for
tuition, material, extra time and energy, skill in embroidery, knowledge of
colour combination, different types of stitches, and interest in embroidery.
Thus it can be very well said that there is inter-relationship among all
resources .Decisions in family living deal not only with the use of individual
resources but with their inter-relationships. In management, the total
picture of resources is no doubt more important than the use of any specific
one. It is the sum total of resources available for reaching a particular goal.
4) Managerial process applicable to all resources: Resources are used
to achieve goals by applying to them the managerial process. Managerial
process involves three steps; planning, controlling-implementation, and
evaluation-evaluative feedback. This process is applicable to human
resources like time, energy, and non-human resources such as money,
material goods etc.

5) Quality of life is determined by the use of resources. Probably, the

most important similarity in the use of all resources is that the entire fabric
of life is determined by them, whether or not one is conscious of this overall
result. Certainly if a person is to be judged by others on the basis of his
management of resources, their use should be carefully and thoughtfully
determined.

The distribution of resources determines the degree to which a family is

actually striving toward a particular goal. It is easy to illustrate the use of
resources in achieving certain goals such as maintaining a comfortable
home, having a well-fed family or being suitably clothed for a variety of
situations. Time, money, energy and knowledge are necessary to fulfill
these goals.