I. Introduction
Resources are central to the management process; they are the means to attain goals and meet demands for individuals, and for families, they provide a lifestyle to meet needs.  Resource theory (first promulgated by Uriel Foa in 1971)analyzes, predicts, and explains the nature, perception, exchange and use of resources. It contributes to the quality of life for several people by helping them be more resourceful about limited/scarce resources.

II. Resources
    a. Definition:
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, money, energy. Also knowledge, personality, etc. Resourcefulness is the ability (a learned ability, a skill) to recognize and use resources effectively. When resourceful people encounter a problem, they are not defeated by it, 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

    b. Types
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, computers).

    -Resource Stock is the sum of readily available resources an individual possesses.

    c. 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 supply of a resource. Obtaining any scarce resource involves some cost, and this leads to people engaging in economizing behavior and goal setting. Since everyone defines for himself/herself what constitutes scarcity, the richest 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 time.
Schor (“The Overworked American”) says we have about 16.5 hours of leisure time per week, which we often try to carefully spend and allocate. 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 resource.  Opportunity Costs are the highest valued alternative that must be sacrificed to satisfy a want or attain a resource. Many household activities include decisions about opportunity costs – seen as tradeoffs.(e.g time being increasingly 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 resource increases.
The Law of Supply is the inverse: As the supply for a resource increases, the price will start to drop, and as the supply goes down, the price goes up.
In economic theory, the right price is reached only when supply and demand are equal.

Economic well-being
This is the degree to which individuals and families have economic adequacy and security – degree of protection against economic risks like job loss, illness. How much is enough "stuff" - money, things, possessions? This is more of a cultural and psychological question. Economic well-being is influenced by several things combined, like income, financial assets, human capital, time, management skills, feelings of control, values, etc.

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 resources reside.  Resource recognition involves realizing what skills, talents 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 resources and who controls them. Private resources are owned by individuals or small groups (e.g. Private companies, cars, stockpiles), while Public resources are owned by many people – a nation or locality. (Public water works, transportation, rainy day funds).

For example, the conservatives in government are prone to a laissez-faire attitude (government hands-off business), while liberals are more likely to espouse a more active, watchdog approach to guarding resources. Adam Smith's treatise on the economy, often referred to as “Wealth of Nations" has long been debated for its merits, but a more sensible approach is the one we often take - like a swinging pendulum government controls then deregulates in cycles.

Economic resources and employee benefits
Types of Economic Resources:

1. Wealth – measure of what has been accumulated: property, cash, valuables.
2. Income – that which is earned or given to recipient.
3. Employee Benefits – goods and services that form part of the individual’s or family’s resource base, that is given over  basic pay (health benefits, retirement funds, free turkeys). 96% of Americans receive Employee Bennies from medium-to-large firms.

These are constantly interacting, co-existing, and intradetermining each other.

Attributes
Attributes of Resources which may be human (time, skill, energy of people)
    or physical (material, artifacts, tools, elements, stuff) are also:

    1. interdependent
    2. sometimes exchangeable
    3. reliant on the user's ability to process information and make decisions
    4. can sometimes be stored for later use or barter.

1. Affective – feelings about resource use, like affection, gratitude
2. Cognitive – knowledge aspects of resource use, influenced by past experience and learning
3. Psychomotor – physical reactions to mental stimuli, readiness

There are other resource allocation factors:
Utility
Utility = the value, worth, applicability, productiveness or usefulness of a resource.
Utility is in the eye of the beholder; 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?

Four types of Utility:
1. time - when the resource is available and for how long
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 uses.

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 inevitably uses up time, a valuable resource.

Knowledge and Education – vital resources
Knowledge, gained through study or experience, may be our primary resource (Drucker, 1999). Schumacher, however, believes that education is the most vital resource, and the basis of social development. Investing in human capital may lead to wide pay-offs. However, think about all the educated people we produce – are they really knowledgeable?
Is literacy or a college degree a guarantor of wisdom?

    e. Cultural perceptions of resources
Culture is - everything - the sum of all the socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, arts, expectations, institutions and all other products of human work and thought characteristics of a group, community or population. 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 beliefs).

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

III. Resources, Families and Households
During the last 20 years, the family and households in the U.S. have changed.

- Induction of women into the labor force and a change in the economy from a labor intensive to information tech. based one
- growth of single households, single parent families, more divorce, aging population (boomers)
- smaller families - marrying later, having fewer children (later)
- economy – from one dependent on natural resources and industry to knowledge and service intensive
-changes in values and attitudes and overwhelming technological advances.

Consumption and resources
To consume means to use, expend or destroy. The US has often been characterized as a consumer society, as are many nations these days. This refers 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 little sensitivity to nature and little realization of the need for conservation, recycling, etc. (much less future proactive action) for the sake of convenience and immediate gratification.

Resource strategy
A strategy implies a well-thought out plan of action, conducting and following through on operations. A successful resource strategy includes 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:

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 something 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.
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