Unit 2

Management of Family Resources

Definition and concept of family resource management:
Resources can be defined as anything we use to achieve what we want (our goals). In other words, they
are the materials and human attributes which satisfy our wants.
The concept of management involves planned use of resources directed towards the achievement of
desired ends. This involves the weighing of values and the making of series of decisions.
In home management, a home in which goals (ends) are being attained with some degree of satisfaction
may be considered as well managed home where management is practiced in an orderly manner.
Home management is the vital factor in every family contributing to the overall health, happiness and
well- being and higher standard of living for the family members. In simpler terms, home management is
defined as the mental process of utilizing the available resources to achieve what you want in life.

Types of Human and Non-human resources

Some resources become a part of an individual and can be used only by that person. Such resources are
called ‘human resources’. Examples of human resources are time, energy, knowledge, skills and abilities.
The resources possessed and utilized by persons are called human resources.
The amount of human resources available will vary from one person to another. Therefore, they can be
acquired and cultivated.
There are some other resources which are available for everyone to use.
They are more easily recognized than human resources. Some of these resources like park, and
community facilities are available to all of us. However, it is for us to make use of them properly and take
advantage of their uses. Such resources are known as ‘non-human resources’. Some examples of non-
human resources are money, house, land, material goods and community facilities Non-human resources
are external to individuals, but they can be possessed and utilized by them.

1. Human Resources:
These are the capacities and characteristics of an individual. These can be used only by the person who
possesses them. They have the high potential to achieve what we want and many a times may not be
cultivated or made available. Most of the time, families underestimate these re-sources and are unaware
of them.
i. Knowledge: It is important to be aware of things to be able to achieve what we want. If we
want to buy a T.V. we need to know what features to look for, brands available. This will
help in buying a better quality product.
 ii. Time: It is constant for everyone, 24 hours a day. The way a person manages and uses her
time is her personal choice. A student may finish all the work before going to play; another
may waste his time watching television or talking on the cell phone.
iii. Energy: This is both mental and physical power of a person. To achieve goals, one needs to
plan, organize and finally implement the plans. This would require both mental and physical
energy.
iv. Abilities and skill: These are inherited and acquired. These may include skills like cooking,
decorating, gardening. Each individual has particular abilities with which he/ she can achieve
his/her goals. These skills can also be developed by systematic learning and practice.
v. Attitude: These are opinions or feelings a person has towards a thing which may hinder or
help in achieving his goals. A positive attitude may help a person achieve what he wants
whereas a negative attitude may hinder her in achieving what she wants.
2. Non-human Resources:
These are tools and assets that families have at their disposal to achieve what they want. These are
available for everyone to use. A person works hard and earns money to be used by him and his family.
He/she may buy material goods or land from this money and may build a house on this land. Community
facilities like banks, post offices, parks, and library. These are tangible and are more identifiable
i. Money: It is the pivotal resource which can be exchanged to buy material things, commodities and
services. It can also be used for future use and thus gives a sense of security to the family.
ii. Material goods: These include durable goods or perishable goods used and owned by a family in their
everyday use. Land, house, furniture and vehicle are examples. These help to make life easier and more
comfortable for all family members. Durable goods like land can also help families to earn or save
money. If vegetables are grown on land, the family can save money on buying vegetables or sell these
vegetables to earn money.
Iii Community facilities: These are those facilities which are common for all members of a community.
Parks, libraries, post office, police and fire protection, banks, hospitals, transport facilities, roads, rail-
ways, electricity, water supply, markets, community centers and ration shops are examples of community
facilities. All families can avail these facilities without directly paying for them but indirectly paying for
them through taxes.

Characteristics of resources
Both human and non-human resources have some common characteristics. These are listed below.
1. Resources are useful:
Resources can be used to fulfill our needs and wants. That is why they are called resources.
For example: - A house provides shelter.
- A bus helps to reach our office and school.
- - Your mother’s ability to sew clothes helps the family to get clothes stitched on time and to save
money.
2. Resources are limited in supply:
Every resource is limited in supply. You have only 24 hours in a day. Similarly, the salary obtained in
cash is also fixed. You have only limited supply of energy. In the same manner, resources like water,
electricity, fuel, etc, are all limited in supply. To get maximum benefit, we must make efforts to conserve
them.
3. Resources are inter-related:
When you work, you need resources like time, energy, skill, equipments etc. Without adequate supply of
time and skill, you will not be able to use your energy to operate the equipment. Thus you will realize that
all these resources are used at the same time, because their uses are inter-related.
4. Resources have alternate uses:
Most resources have alternate uses. For example you can use the same time for a number of activities like
cooking, studying or watching television. Similarly, you can use your family savings for the purchase of a
house, equipment or for higher studies. Thus resources have alternate uses.
5. Resources can be substituted:
To achieve the same goal, we can use one resource or the other. To reach your school or office, you may
use your energy and time resource by walking or use money resource by traveling in a bus. Other
examples are the use of ready-made or convenience foods instead of preparing them at home. Therefore,
one resource can be substituted for of the use of another resource.

Ways of Maximizing Satisfaction

While using resources, we have to ensure that we utilize them in such a way that we get maximum benefit
from their use. This way we will be able to get maximum satisfaction. The different ways by which we
can achieve this are listed below.
• Identify all the available resources.
• Make use of only the right amount of resources.
• Substitute the less expensive resources for the more expensive ones.
• Develop the habits that can enhance the use of resources.
• Cultivate practices to increase the availability of resources.
• Learn to share resources so that you do not deprive others of their use.

Decision Making Regarding Family Resources

Decision Making
Decision making is the crux of management. Whether it is management of a business, an institute, an
event or that of a house, decision making is must. The decisions are always taken keeping in mind the
goal to be achieved and the resources available to a person or a family. Decision making is a mental
process which requires knowledge of certain information and imagination to see whether the information
will be useful or applicable to solve that particular problem. Whether decisions are less important or more
important, they have a definite role to play in a person’s life and use of family resources perfectly.
Decisions are based on the values held by a person. They help the person to achieve the goals and in the
process they set their standards in life too. Thus, the quality of life depends upon the types of decisions a
person takes and how correct they turn out to be.

Types of Decision
• Individual Decision
• Group Decision
• Habitual Decision
• Intellectual Decision
• Central Decision
• Economic Decision
• Technical Decision

Steps of Decision Making:

Factors affecting decision making
The following factors influence the decision making process.
Perception - people selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interest, background,
experience, and attitudes. Hence, people’s decision will be impaired by wrong perception.
Priority - Prioritizing the personal goals, the place of family, work, our career in our priority list is of
most importance while making good decisions.
Acceptability - Those who implement the decision must accept it both intellectually and emotionally.
Resources - Available resources helps to make decisions fastly.
Judgment - Practical strategies helps in improving decision making process

Qualities of Good decision makers

 Evaluate circumstances, consider alternatives.
 Use critical thinking skills.
 Able to make decisions under pressure.
 Problem solving attitude.
 Opposed to a “that’s not my job” approach.

Practical tips to help in decision making

 Stick to your mission
 Set a time limit
 Avoid decision fatigue
 Control what you can control
 Understand whether the decision can be reversed
 Make a daily decision quota

Factors Affecting Resource Management

1. Size of Income
Money is a very versatile resource. This resource has a number of alternate uses. It can be exchanged for
non-human resources such as material goods and also for human resources such as skill, time, energy,
etc. The size of income is correlated with the purchasing practices with decisions such as to when
clothing and furnishing should be discarded, with the amount of paid help available to the homemaker,
and with the presence of facilities and equipment in the home. When the size of income is more, there is a
possibility that the family will be able to attain more' number of these goals. Larger the money income,
higher will be the satisfaction of the family members. While the size of income affects the use of
all resources, most of the information available on-this resource stresses the effect of income size upon
its distribution oil the family needs.

2. Socio-Economic Status:
Social status indicates. a perceived relationship of a person to the social group. Social status accounts for
differences in family values, attitudes, decision making and in expenditures pattern. In the modem urban
areas, status is something which is achieved and not ascribed through birth. There is a social stratification
in the society, as all people do not enjoy the same life style. An individual has many different positions in
a society, each of which may have distinct status implications. Therefore, the individual's status is a
composite of these different and sometimes contrasting aspects, rather than the result of anyone. These
aspects and their interrelationships are constantly changing. The complexity of status determination
demands great care in the selection if indices to status. Status groups are classified as upper-upper class,
low-upper class, upper-middle class, lower-middle class, upper-lower class, and lower-lower class. Many
families consciously or unconsciously, choose upward mobility as their goals. Upward mobility occurs
only in terms of their education and occupation. To maintain a higher status, a family has to live up to it
and this directly governs their expenditure pattern, values, goals and standards of status.

3. Occupation
Traditionally the family's life-style, which include time schedule, the entertainment schedule etc. has been
influenced by the husband's or the head of the family's occupation. The time schedule of the doctors and
businessman's family differs from that of an ordinary middle income salaried family. The other factors
such as the size of income, the status of the family, and their social circle, are also to a large extent
determined by the occupation of the father. Traveling allowance, housing facilities etc. are all determined
by the occupation, which again affects the status and the living styles of the family.

4. Gainful Employment of the Homemaker

Women in the paid labour force affect resource allocation of all family members. Adding to a family
income is considered one of the major reasons for married women for taking up gainful employment. The
expenditure pattern also changes with the employment of women. Gainfully employed women use more
purchased services, spend more on transport, clothes, labour saving devices, fast food etc.

5. Size and the composition of the family

The family size, age and sex make up the family composition that affects their resource usage. If a
large family attends to maintain the same level of consumption as that of a small family, it is clear that it
will require more commodities and services. Food, clothing, personal care, medical care and
entertainment expenditures vary quiet directly with the size of the family while expenditures for
equipment, housing and home furnishings are less variable as the size of the family changes.
The availability of the resources like time and energy for use increases as the size of the family increases.
Similar to the size of the family, in the use of time, energy and other resources the composition
of family assumes importance, If a large family is made up of adolescence and adults, more human
resources are available' and extra demand on money resource may be expected. In a family where there is
a grown up daughter, she may contribute to the availability of human resources by sharing the activities
of her mother whereas a grown up boy may not be able to do so. Thus, the composition of the family in
terms of sex affects the availability and use of their resources.

6. Motivation! Attitude
Motivation is an internal attitude. It is the way people use what they have that is important in meeting and
establishing their goal. It directs or limits the quantity, quality, and the mixture of resources that a person
is willing to use in goal attainment. When two children of the same family have two different attitudes,
the one with increased motivation and positive attitudes than the other child, will do a better job as
compared to the other. In a family where there is no motivation of family members with unfavorable
attitudes towards the availability and use or resources, it is likely to affect the kind and number of goal
achieved by them.

7. Education
Formal education has direct influence on the amount of income earned. Person with increased education
have more likelihood of earning better than others. Women with more of formal education tend to take up
gainful employment and so have less number of children thereby affecting the size of the family.
Educated people have more geographic mobility, increased income and economic stability.

8. Family Heritage and Cultural Background

This is an influential factor in transmitting family values. In our Indian society, we have
joint family system in which grandparents, parents and children live together. The traditions, values,
beliefs of the family are transmitted from older generation to the younger generation orally.
The cultural background of the family also affects the use of resources as the eating and spending,
hobbies, their beliefs, festivals, superstitions etc. all are governed by this factor. This directly influences
the way family utilizes its resources on various occasions or similar situations.

9. Location of the family

The location of a family within any community in relation to shopping areas, schools, place of husband's
work and so forth will affect the homemaker's use of time, energy and other resources. Families living
near the city, all the community facilities such as markets, schools, parks, dubs, banks, post office, etc.
will be easily available to the family that may affect the use of resources such as time, energy and
specially the money.
There is some marked difference in the use of their resources between the families in village area from
the city families. Village families make up for an exchange of values because of the close, almost
enforced association of families. In a city, families are so busy within themselves that they have no time
for socialization or to think of culture. Whatever they, need, they buy them from tl1e market. Similarly,
families living a good shopping complex will have the tendency of spending more on clothes, eating out,
shopping, etc. and so on. Nearness to or being away from the place of work or a school may affect the
expenditure on transport or similar needs.

10. Health
Health of all family members is important in home management. It is a state of complete physical, mental
and social well being. Illness can make increased demand on managerial activities and resources such as
money, time and energy. All such major resources are diverted when a family member's health is affected.
A family, which enjoys good health, has an increased availability of resources to utilize or to meet more
of their needs.

The efficient utilization of resources for attaining the family goals is influenced by the following factors
according to Bharti and Jecintha(1994).
1. Aim and objective: Any resource can be utilized differently by different families/individuals
based on the aim and objective set by them and the specific needs.

2. Family set up: The use of resources differ greatly with the size, set up, stage of family life cycle
and the values, goals and standards of the family.

3. Surroundings and environment: Effective use of resources is also influenced by the social as
well as natural environment.

4. Education of family members: If the family members are educated, the resources are utilized
more efficiently and effectively. Lack of education may lead to wastage of resources. Ex: time
utilization.

5. Skill and abilities of the home maker: The use of family resources is affected to a maximum
content by the skill and abilities of the house wife. A skillful and able home maker will use
the resources more efficiently than the unskilled person.
 6. Economic conditions of the family: Money is the most important resources both for attaining
other resources as well as their usage. Ex: use of soaps and detergents to wash cloths by a
machine or a maid servant.
On management of resources, the essential thing to consider is the use of resources and not just the
acquisition of goods, goals can be achieved only through the use of resources. Therefore the optimum
distribution of resources determines the degree to which a family is actually striving towards a particular
goal. Families should gear their management process towards achievement of short term and long
term goals and increase the satisfaction of the family members.