Home management - Values, Goals And Standards

VALUES, GOALS AND STANDARDS

Management plays an important role in shaping our lives. It enables to recognise the values, the allocation of resources to attain the family goals so as to enhance the standard of life.

Goals, values and standards are closely related concepts. Value is the base and from values stem the other two concepts - goals and standards. Values are important to the individual but vague to express in operational terms. The concept of goal is more specific. It signifies something definite towards which one works. A standard is defined as something used as a basis.

Value indicates the worth that is attached to any object, condition, principle or idea. Value is the capacity of something or somebody to satisfy the human desire. These are the ways behind our actions and the basis for setting goals.

All values are human. They are created, evaluated and enjoyed by persons. A value is always important to the person who holds it. It is desirable and satisfying. It has the ability to develop in self-creative way. It is relatively stable but tends to change gradually.

The intensity of values vary from individual to individual. Values help an individual to direct his effort more intelligently in seeking satisfactions.

Values are of two types - Intrinsic and Instrumental. An intrinsic value is one that is important and desirable for its own sake. e.g. art. The interest in beauty is an intrinsic value. An instrumental value is the means to attain other values, e.g. Efficiency in work. Some values possess both intrinsic and instrumental worth. The human values - love, affection, health; comfort, ambition, knowledge, wisdom, play, art and religion have both intrinsic and instrumental values.

The major values classified by Parker are

Love: It is the interest in relationship with people in its broad sense and its various forms are expressed as sex love, parental love, friendship and community love.

Health: It is the interest in physical and mental well-being.

Comfort: It is the interest in making life as pleasant and agreeable as possible.

Ambition: It is the interest or desire for success in life for a victorious achievement.

Knowledge and wisdom: It is the interest in truth and its use in all activities in living.

Technological interest or efficiency in work: It is the interest in the efficient making and using of things.

Play: It is the interest in beauty in all forms of expression.

Religion: It is the interest in goodness and rightness in unifying all aims and purposes in living.

Values grow out of human desire and interest. Values differ in cultures. The family has the major responsibility for fostering values among the members.

Goals

Goals are value based objectives. The goals grow out of desires, past experiences and environment. Goals are the ends that any individual or family is willing to work for. The family's goal will help in shaping the family's life pattern and setting standards.

The formulation and attainment of individual and family goals require the knowledge, judgment and understanding the ways of using family resources. Goals should be definite and attainable. Goal-setting is a continuous process. Many goals are immediately attainable. One goal stems from another and leads to a third.

Goals can be for short term, mid term or long-term. The short-term goals are the initial goals, which leads to the final long-term goals. The major goals that are created by the family grow out of its own environment and experience.

The major goals of home making are

1.     Providing optimum physical and mental health for the members of the family.

2.     Facilitating for optimum development of the individual members of the family.

3.     Satisfying family relationships.

4.     Recognition, acceptance and appreciation of human differences.

5.     Establishing satisfactory relationship with the community and other subsystems of the society.

Standards

Standard is defined as scale or parameter used for comparison. Standards are more specific than values or goals. Standards are related to specific materials. It is influenced by external factors.

Standards are set limits one will accept in working toward a goal. Standards are mental pictures of what is considered essential and necessary to make life satisfying. If achieved, leads to satisfaction, if not achieved leads to uncomfortable situation. Standards remain as part of one's pattern of living and habit.

Standards vary according to the values of the family or group. On this basis they can be classified as conventional standards and flexible standards.

Conventional Standards are fixed and arise from the values of social acceptance. In this people change to meet the standards. Conventional standards are traditional and are accepted by the community or by a social group within it. They are fixed at a given time and liable to change when condition change.

Flexible standards are developed and changed according to the individual's demand. They change to suit the human situation. But they are not widely accepted by the community.

Standard of living is the combination of many specific standards. It consists of a pattern of commodities, services and satisfactions which a person thinks essential for happy living. According to Hazel Kyrk, 'standard of living is made up of the essential values to be sought. It is an attitude towards a way of regarding or of judging, a given mode of life'. Standard of living determines the character of the real income of the family. The standard of living of a family encompasses not only the actual qualities and quantities of goods and services but also the ways of using these goods and services.