7400.362 - Family Life Management
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Instructor: David D. Witt, Ph.D.
Topic 4 - Resources
Resources are central to the management process; they are the means
to attain goals and meet demands for individuals, and for families,
provide a lifestyle to meet needs. Resource theory (first
by Uriel Foa in 1971)analyzes, predicts, and explains the nature,
exchange and use of resources. It contributes to the quality of life
several people by helping them be more resourceful about limited/scarce
Resources are what is available to be used, or anything with a real
or perceived value put to service for attaining goals. E.g. time,
energy. Also knowledge, personality, etc. Resourcefulness is the
(a learned ability, a skill) to recognize and use resources
When resourceful people encounter a problem, they are not defeated by
but find a way to solve it.
Resourcefulness is taught in many different ways:
- stumbled onto, or discovered
- learned from family members and friends
- provided by community, government, school, social
organizations (e.g. Boy Scouts)
- accessed through work
Resources may be classified in several ways:
Tangible versus Intangible resources
- Tangible resources can been
touched, seen or appraised – e.g. money, things, jewelry
- Intangible resources cannot be touched – e.g. confidence,
literacy, wisdom, power.
Human versus Material resources
- Human Resources are the skills, talents, attributes
that people have. These increase through use.
- The sum total of human resources
is Human Capital.
(A study by Peters and Waterman found that humans tap
4-10% of their full potential)
- Material Resources include natural phenomena (natural
resources like soil, water) and human-made objects (buildings,
- Resource Stock is the sum of readily available resources
an individual possesses.
Resources and Economics
Most decisions in life are affected by economic realities. Economics
refers to the production, development and management (also distribution
and consumption) of material wealth.
Scarcity is the idea of a shortage or insufficient amount or
of a resource. Obtaining any scarce resource involves some cost, and
leads to people engaging in economizing behavior and goal setting.
everyone defines for himself/herself what constitutes scarcity, the
as well as the poorest person will experience scarcity. Availability is
a related concept, and a resource is available or not depending on how
scarce or abundant it is. One scarce resource we all understand is
Schor (“The Overworked American”) says we have about 16.5 hours of
leisure time per week, which we often try to carefully spend and
Scarcity forces people to make allocation choices and decisions.
Choice and Opportunity costs
The more scarces (expensive) a resource is, the more likely we have
to encounter an Opportunity Cost in order to obtain that
Opportunity Costs are the highest valued alternative that must be
to satisfy a want or attain a resource. Many household activities
decisions about opportunity costs – seen as tradeoffs.(e.g time being
scarce, many families trade off healthy eating habits in favor of fast
food meals and takeouts).
Laws of Supply and Demand
According to the law of Demand, as the price of a resource rises, the
quantity demanded falls. As the price falls, the quantity demanded of a
The Law of Supply is the inverse: As the supply for a resource
the price will start to drop, and as the supply goes down, the price
In economic theory, the right price is reached only when supply and
demand are equal.
This is the degree to which individuals and families have economic
adequacy and security – degree of protection against economic risks
job loss, illness. How much is enough "stuff" - money, things,
This is more of a cultural and psychological question. Economic
is influenced by several things combined, like income, financial
human capital, time, management skills, feelings of control, values,
Allocation and Recognition of resources
Mangement is the process of using resources to attain goals through
planning and strategy - taking the steps necessary to meet short term,
intermediate and long term goals. (Often, resources are allocated more
to immediate demands, to the neglect of long term goals). This requires
an understanding of ourselves and of the environment in which our
reside. Resource recognition involves realizing what skills,
and materials one possesses.
Regulation of resources
This is partly a political topic. Many conflicts – domestic, as well
as international – have risen over the question of how to divide
and who controls them. Private resources are owned by individuals or
groups (e.g. Private companies, cars, stockpiles), while Public
are owned by many people – a nation or locality. (Public water works,
rainy day funds).
For example, the conservatives in government are prone to a
attitude (government hands-off business), while liberals are more
to espouse a more active, watchdog approach to guarding resources. Adam
Smith's treatise on the economy, often referred to as “Wealth of
has long been debated for its merits, but a more sensible approach is
one we often take - like a swinging pendulum government controls then
Economic resources and employee benefits
Types of Economic Resources:
1. Wealth – measure of what has been accumulated:
The five co-existing, interacting, interadtermining forces influencing
family management of resources:
2. Income – that which is earned or given to recipient.
3. Employee Benefits – goods and services that form part of the
or family’s resource base, that is given over basic pay (health
retirement funds, free turkeys). Nine six percent of Americans receive
from medium-to-large firms.
- Psychological - personal forces, values orientation
- shape choices and preferences.
- Economic - these regulate the exchange of money, energy,
material, services, information, goods
- Technological - these generate problem solving behavior
- inventions, tools, methods.
- Sociocultural - these regulate norms and customs
- Political-Legal - these allocate power and provide
constraining/protecting laws and regulations.
The Attributes of Resources which
may be human (time, skill, energy of
or physical (material, artifacts, tools, elements,
stuff) are also interdependent,sometimes exchangeable,reliant on the
user's ability to process information
and make decisions andcan sometimes be stored for later use or barter.
Resources may also be characterized as having affective, cognitive, and
1. Affective – feelings about resource use, like
2. Cognitive – knowledge aspects of resource use, influenced by past
experience and learning
3. Psychomotor – physical reactions to mental stimuli, readiness
Foa and Foa's Resource Model
This model shows the interdependence of resources, in a systematic
and meaningful way. In Foa and Foa’s theory, social interactions and
provide a means to obtain needed resources, which differ in terms of
particular people are about getting them. Resources close to each other
on circle are more likely to be exchanged. This model has been found to
be useful in understanding several relationships, and hardship
Utility is the value, worth,
applicability, productiveness or usefulness
of a resource. Utility is in the "eye of the beholder" in that it
is learned and subjective
- who would you rather be trapped on a desert island with? Someone you
find sexy and irresistible or someone who was really good at
fishing? There are four types of utility:
1. time - when the resource is available and for how
2. place - where the resource can be found (how far away).
3. form - accessibility or usability
4. diminishing utility - the first use is more desired than subsequent
To be useful, a resource must also be accessible. such as a handy ATM
that gives us access to our bank accounts. The internet makes
information accessible in a way different from libraries. People with
good memories and plenty of experience have personal access to their
own knowledge. All this speaks to the interaction between
decision making and resources.
Getting information about
availability and accessibility of resources,
clarifying utility of resources, etc. beforehand avoids some potential
problems with decision making. A lot of decisions involve cost-benefit
analyses, or probability estimates. However, decision-making almost
uses up time, a valuable resource.
The interaction between Knowledge
and Education is something that college students should keenly aware.
Knowledge, gained through study or experience, may be our primary
(Drucker, 1999). Even though much of what is learned educationally must
be stored away for later retrieval, it is the long term value of a good
education that makes it vital to our survival as a species.
Educationally inspired knowledge is very basis of social development.
Thus, investing in human
capital resources, such as public education always leads to a wide
range of continual pay-offs, both for the educated person and for the
society in which that person lives.
This brings up several related and
important points we should, at some point discuss. Here in Ohio, as
well as in every other state in the country, there are political
debates raging in state houses about the unbearable cost of supporting
the educational system on the one hand, and its immediate payoff to
state coffers. This is a case in which our immediate ability to
pay education negates our future development.
If we were to consider all the
people we produce, and ask if they are really knowledgeable, the
question depends on our definition of knowledge. Certainly
literacy or a college degree alone is not a guarantor of wisdom.
However, putting the degree to use by solving problems, or creating
solutions through collaboration with other smart people, is evidence
that the payoff of education is evergreen.
Thus, we should consider our
cultural perceptions of resources.
Culture is everything we can see and know. It is the sum of all the
socially transmitted behavior
patterns, beliefs, arts, expectations, institutions and all other
of human work and thought characteristics of a group, community or
Culture is the domain of anthropology here at the university, but it is
much more than a mere scientific element to be studied. The
computer I'm typing on, the language I'm using, the thoughts I'm
having, the feelings I have for my subject matter, the energy I'm
willing to expend on my teaching - all this is bound up in the culture
in which I live --- you too.
Culture has both material (e.g.
tools, clothes) and non-material (e.g.
customs, language, music and ideas) aspects to it.
People of a common culture share many common interests and goals (and
The Six Attributes of Culture
1. develops over time
2. supplies boundaries or limits (called “norms”)which affect how we
think and act
3. provides a sense of belonging or identity
4. is pervasive and taken largely for granted
5. can be constrictive - inhibiting our behavior
6. can also be expressive and enriching
Cultures and Subcultures
Subcultures are subsystems of a dominant culture, which may have a
religious, ethnic, political, racial, social or economic base.
Cultures are transmitted through several channels: parents, schools,
community, religious organizations, government, peer group.
Resources, Families and Households
During the last 20 years, the family and households in the U.S. have
changed. Just since 1950 we have seen the massive induction of
women into the labor force brought about from a fundamental change in
economy. Right around this time, as our economy was poised to
move from a labor intensive industrially based system to one based on
information technology. The economy had previously changed from an
agricultural production model pushing families into the cities and
factories. By 1950 the changes continued, the factories were beginning
to closing down one by one and moving to locations with cheaper labor.
While causing severe disruption in the status quo, the change began
funneling men and women back into the nations colleges. With no
need for big families, and a huge need for fewer children with more
training, families started to shrink in size, economic mobility started
to rise - the result being more temporary, single family households, a
rise in the number of single parent families, more divorce,
and finally an aging population.
And here we are today living in
smaller families, staying in school longer, finding (hopefully) more
satisfying imployment, marrying later, having fewer children and having
them later. The economy continues to change, requiring more
flexible workers, and all this brings changes in our values and
attitudes. While we might pine away for a simpler time, there
never was a time of "good old days"..
This storyline is not without its
disappointments. With these changes, families are finding it very
difficult to raise children,
and look outside for resources to help them. Today, it does take a
to raise a child, and in many sectors we, as a society, are failing. We
do get help from family friendly community and religious
organizations, policies, and legislation (e.g the Family and Medical
Act, 1993), bu tthese are becoming fewer and farthere apart..
Consumption and resources
To consume means to use, expend or destroy. The US has often been
as a consumer society, as are many nations these days. This
to the productive capacities and the market forces that have made life
comfortable for the average person in this society, but at the cost of
the environment, and safety of the future of this planet. There is
sensitivity to nature and little realization of the need for
recycling, etc. (much less future proactive action) for the sake of
and immediate gratification.
A strategy implies a well-thought out plan of action, conducting and
following through on operations. A successful resource strategy
what is owned and compares it to what is desired, setting up a plan to
achieve it optimally, with least expenditure.
IV. Here is an exercise to think
about: For the moment, accept the idea
that the USA is a Throwaway Society.
Look at Page 93 in the textbook, Figure 4.5 – compare the US and China
with respect to consumption indicators,
or look at the chart below:
Can you make an argument that the
U.S. population deserves to use as much
as five times its rightful allotment of energy, wood, raw materials and
water? List out some possible reasons why different
may have different resource uses, other than simply being
If you feel that the U.S. population
and larger consumers, such as U.S.
manufacturing, could benefit themselves and the world by using less of
everything, list out 10 different ways you personally could conserve
in your everyday routine life.
For example, bringing your own bags to the grocery store instead of
using plastic or paper ones supplied by the store.