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Introduction to Household Management
Generally, management refers to the process of using all available resources in a planned, efficient, and effective manner to achieve common goals. Therefore, household management refers to the process of using all the resources and sources available in a household in a planned, efficient, and effective manner to fulfill family objectives.
This is an administrative aspect of the family. The capacity, energy, and experience of the household manager depend on this.
Household management has been defined in various ways by different economists, among which the main definitions are as follows:
According to the famous family economist Nichel, "Home management is the administrative aspect of a family. To attain the desired family goals, home management helps in planning, assessing, integrating, and evaluating human and material resources and ensures their best use for the betterment of family members."
Family economists Gross and Crandall have tried to define household management in very simple terms. According to them, "Home management is using what you have to get what you want."
According to family economists Nickel and Dorsey, household management is the planning, controlling, and evaluating the use of family resources and sources for the purpose of attaining family goals.
Therefore, from the definitions of family economics mentioned above, it is clear that household management is related to how to properly use family resources and sources to make family members happy and prosperous.
Planning is extremely important for the proper management of resources and sources. Similarly, it is not enough to have adequate resources and sources to fulfill the wishes and aspirations of family members. For this, the ability to make appropriate decisions at the appropriate time is also necessary.
In reality, household management is an intellectual process that fulfills the wishes and aspirations of the family by optimally using family resources and sources through proper planning, organization, control, and evaluation.
Key Aspects of Household Management
The important aspects of household management can be presented as follows:
(a) Household management is related to the proper use of resources owned by the household.
(b) Household management discusses how to properly distribute family income among family members.
(c) Human beings create their own households and try to manage them properly.
(d) The household itself is the source from which people achieve all their happiness and peace.
(e) The development of the entire nation is possible only through the development of the household.
Qualities, Duties, and Responsibilities of a Household Manager
The person who plays the main role in household management is the household manager. The household manager uses family resources, sources, or family income in a proper and rational manner to raise the living standards of the family, and also plays a major role in creating happiness, peace, and harmony in the family.
Therefore, the household manager has a great importance in household management. Generally, the housewife plays the role of the household manager in the family.
Qualities of a Household Manager:
Whether a household is happy or sad depends on the household manager. Therefore, the household manager should have the following qualities:
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Intelligence: The household manager or housewife should be intelligent. They should have the ability to think, reason, and remember, and also have a desire to acquire knowledge or be eager for knowledge. In reality, a person's intelligence is not something that can be measured but is something that is experienced. Intelligence is necessary for a person to adapt to the times, make decisions, prepare a family budget, manage the house, provide proper care for children, and purchase necessary goods for the family, etc.
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Enthusiasm: Enthusiasm is another important quality required to be a successful manager. Without enthusiasm, no one can achieve success in life. Similarly, for a successful family life, the household manager needs to be enthusiastic about learning new things and how to make the work they are doing even better. If parents are enthusiastic, its positive effect also falls on the children.
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Ability to Understand Human Behavior: Every person is different from each other. Their speech, behavior, interests, desires, nature, etc., are different. Therefore, if the household manager understands the speech and behavior of the family members and works accordingly, peace, good order, and happiness are maintained in the family.
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Creativity: Creativity is an indispensable quality in household management. A family where the manager is creative is organized and attractive. With this quality, the household manager achieves maximum satisfaction by purchasing good household items, such as furniture, decorative items, utensils, clothes, etc., at a lower cost. Therefore, imaginative ability and creativity are indispensable qualities for a household manager.
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Decision-Making Ability: Another important quality of a household manager is decision-making ability. The decision-making ability of the household manager plays an important role in maintaining peace and harmony in the family. Only with good decision-making ability can one decide what is good or bad, right or wrong, beneficial or optimal, and it helps in resolving problems when they arise. For example, the decision about which school to enroll a child in should be based on the quality of the school, fees, distance from home to school, etc.
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Self-Control: Various problems arise in the family. The household manager should resolve these problems by using their intelligence, discretion, and ability. Similarly, they should be able to control their emotions or mind and be patient while resolving these problems. Only with patience and self-control can the household manager, being calm and patient in a difficult situation, console other family members, and then the family members become united again.
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Personality: The overall form of a person's qualities is called personality. The essence that impresses others at the very first meeting is a person's personality. A person's personality is influenced by their thoughts, ideas, speech, behavior, social relationships, etc. Similarly, a person should also pay proper attention to their health for personality development. A good personality is also necessary to be a household manager. A household manager with a good personality is respected by other family members, and they also follow or accept what they say.
Duties and Responsibilities of a Household Manager
We have already studied the qualities required to be a successful household manager. Even if a household manager possesses all the necessary qualities, they may not be able to run their family happily as they envisioned. The reason for this could be that they are managing the household without understanding their duties and responsibilities.
When there is mismanagement in the household, the family may experience turmoil. Therefore, the household manager must understand their duties and responsibilities well and activate their role accordingly.
All the activities of the household revolve around the household manager, or no family work can be done well without household management. The main area of work for the household manager is the household itself.
In other words, the most important task of the household manager is to run the household, fulfill the basic needs of the household, provide maximum satisfaction to the family members from the minimum family budget, etc. Therefore, the household manager plays an extremely important role in running the household.
The role, duties, and responsibilities, or obligations, of a household manager can be illustrated with some examples. Not only choosing a balanced diet for family members but also choosing clothes or bedding falls within the responsibility of the household manager.
When choosing a balanced diet for family members, it should be different for children and the elderly. Similarly, when choosing clothes or bedding, it is necessary to consider factors such as season, tradition, necessity, and income.
When making decisions about all these things, the household manager has to consider the family income.
When fulfilling the demands or needs of the family, the household manager must do so within their limited resources and sources.
Duty and responsibility mean understanding who, when, why, and how to do this work. The duties and responsibilities of a household manager can be divided into two parts: family and social, as follows:
(a) Family Duties and Responsibilities of a Household Manager:
The family duties and responsibilities of a household manager can be mentioned in the following points:
- Maintaining good relations among family members.
- Promoting a sense of equal participation among family members.
- Distributing family or household chores equally among family members.
- Keeping family income and expenses balanced.
- Ensuring the peace and security of the family.
- Fulfilling the demands of the family members.
- Adopting the household management process.
- Trying to provide good education and health to the family members.
(b) Social Duties and Responsibilities of a Household Manager:
A household manager has not only family but also social duties and responsibilities. These can be mentioned in the following points:
- Teaching social customs, traditions, ethics, and behavior to family members.
- Encouraging family members to participate in social development programs.
- Involving family members in various social organizations, such as Rotary Club, Lions Club, etc., or encouraging them to become members of such organizations and be active in social work.
- Encouraging family members to participate in national programs, such as Republic Day, Martyrs' Day, etc.
- Helping family members to be aware of various national activities.
- Encouraging family members to be ready to help during natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, etc.
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