Resources and Decision Making – JSS2 Home Economics Lesson Note (Third Term)

Family resources are the things a family can use to meet its needs and reach its goals. They include human resources such as knowledge, skill, imagination, energy and time, and material resources such as possessions and money. Decision-making is the act of choosing between alternatives, and it follows five steps.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• define family resources;
• classify family resources into human, material, community and natural resources, with examples;
• explain the meaning of decision-making;
• list and explain the steps in decision-making;
• name areas of simple personal decision-making.

What are family resources?

Family resources are those things that families can use to meet their needs and reach their goals.

How are family resources classified?

Human resources

These are resources that exist within an individual. They are personal to each person. They include:

• Knowledge: everything a person has observed, learned and remembers. An example is knowledge of how to launder the family clothes.
• Skill: a special set of abilities that allows a person to perform certain tasks well. Examples are drawing, sewing, cooking, writing, cleaning and baking.
• Imagination: the ability of the mind to be creative and resourceful. The mind forms images that are not present to the senses. By working through a problem in your imagination, you can think through a situation before you act.
• Energy: the power that helps you get things done. Energy comes from the food you eat. Energy is used to do work.
• Time: time is used with other resources to reach goals. Everyone has the same amount of time, that is, 24 hours each day.

Non-human or material resources

These are resources that exist outside people but can be controlled, owned or used by the family. The two main types are:

• Family possessions: furniture, cars, houses, appliances, food, clothes, paper, pens, etc.
• Money: it can be used to buy most things, including other resources.

Other resources the family can use

• Community resources: schools, libraries, government agencies, hospitals, parks, etc.
• Natural resources: air, water, land, plants, animals and minerals.

What is decision-making?

Decision-making is the act of choosing from alternative courses of action or things. Decision-making can only take place when there are at least two things to choose from. When you are faced with only one course of action, there is no decision-making.

What are the steps in decision-making?

1. Identify the decision to be made. This involves defining the decision. For example, your problem could be to buy a new pair of shoes. You have to decide what you will use the shoes for, the type of shoes, the colour, where to buy them, etc. Then you have to consider your other needs and the money available.
2. List the alternatives. Alternatives are different ways of doing a thing. Using the example in step 1, the alternatives could be to buy from second-hand shops, from the market, from shopping malls or from a boutique. You also have to list the alternative colours and types of shoes, etc.
3. Choose the best alternative. To do this, you have to think about your values, goals, wants, money available and needs.
4. Act on your decision. Carry out your decision to the best of your ability. This means going to buy the shoes.
5. Evaluate your decision. This involves judging the quality of the decision made or how well it works for you. For instance, does the pair of shoes you selected go well with many of the dresses in your wardrobe? Sometimes the outcome of a decision is not what you expected or hoped for. In that case, you may have to make a new decision.

What are the areas of simple personal decision-making?

Some areas of simple personal decisions are:

• Food-related decisions
• Clothing-related decisions
• Housing-related decisions
• Choosing friends
• Educational decisions

Evaluation

1. Define family resources.
2. Name the five human resources and give one example of a skill.
3. What are the two main types of material resources?
4. Why is there no decision-making when there is only one course of action?
5. List the five steps in decision-making.

Assignment

Use the example of buying a new pair of shoes to explain each of the five steps in decision-making. Give two examples each of community resources and natural resources.