Need of Consumer Education for today Homemaker

Presented on

UGC SPONSORED STATELEVEL SEMINAR.

ON
“CONSUMER EDUCATION –A THIRDEYE FOR TODAY’S GENERATION”

11TH JANUARY 2010.

ORGANIZED BY:
B.D.ARTS COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF HOME-SCIENCE
Ahemadabad

Dr Urvashi Pande Prof. Manjari Acharya

Faculty at Department Of Home management P G department of Home science
Faculty Of Family and community sciences Sardar Patel University
The M s University Of Baroda Vallabh VidyaNagar
Introduction

Becoming fit is the key to survival in today’s world and economy. Families spend a lot of
time in this life earning, spending and perhaps worrying about money. Most families
need to spend more time managing their money. A job loss or poor money management
tactics can drastically reduce a family’s or an individual’s quality of life and increase
every day stress.

Importance of Consumer Education in Family Resource Management

Management is using what you have (resources) to achieve what you want (goals and
objectives). Family resources are all the resources the individual or family has available
to help them reach their goals. These include human resources such as knowledge,
skills, health, time and energy; material resources such as housing, money and
investments; and community resources. Through educational programming, we can
help individuals and families recognize resources they may be unaware of, and increase
their skills in managing all resources available.

Consumer education can help families improve their financial fitness through Family
Resource Management and consumer education. Consumer education …

• Providing basic financial education for limited resource including credit

management and debt reduction
• Encourage financial planning for retirement and increased savings and
investments
• Promote the use of all family resources including time, energy, skills and
money to improve the quality of life management including organization
• Support money management skills for youth audience
• Making informed choice
The past decades have seen significant changes in markets and services. These
changes increase the need for consumer education and make necessary a revision of
its themes and focal areas. Money no longer has to take the form of actual coins and
notes, but can be spent from virtual wallets. The number of products and public and
commercial services on offer has multiplied enormously, while increased globalization
has made it even more difficult to obtain a general overview of the economy. Marketing
has changed and is increasingly associated with entertainment and social interaction,
generating an ever-growing flow of information and advertising.
It is said that young people can better cope with media environments and devices and
have more interest in technology in comparison with their parents, but they lack life
experience and are quite possibly less aware of risks. Unlike their parents and teachers,
young people are brought up with digital media and digital domestic technology as an
ex-tension of their everyday lives. They are thus more accustomed to and familiar with
digital media and devices than are their parents and teach-ers. However, only adults
have the necessary life experience that makes them competent to make responsible
choices.
To be able to participate in society and utilize digital and real-time media requires
competence in the use of the corresponding tools. The general media environment has
changed radically from a past that was characterized by controlled channels of media
content. People today use these media to participate in markets, publish content and
support and facilitate communication and interaction with others. Most children learn to
use technology and online media with their family and peers. Adequate technological
skills have become an essential part of young peoples’ expertise and abilities.
Today, nearly all households have a computer and an Internet connection and most
devices employ digital technology. Online technologies are penetrating all areas of life.
Consumers need to be able to evaluate information and requirements as these apply to
products and services from the perspective of sustainable development and to form
opinions on these indicates that girls in our countries are catching up with boys with
regard to ICT skills.
Consumer Education Needed at Ever Younger Ages
Children are dealing with consumption and using money at an increas-ingly young age.
There are more products and services on offer and chil-dren spend their free time in an
environment that is increasingly con-sumption-orientated. Research shows that children
have a significant impact on families' consumption decisions. Due to changes in society,
media and markets, consumer education is now required in early years, as children are
assuming the role of consumers at increasingly younger ages. Habits learned in
childhood influence consumption behaviour later in life. Being a consumer involves the
process of being socialised into the role of a consumer. Children assume the role of
consumers during their early childhood – a fact that marketers exploit to a significant
extent. It has been shown1 that:
1. Children under the age of two years recognise brands and are able to request
the purchasing of goods.
2. Children under the age of four years are able to make purchases with help.
3. Eight-year-olds are able to make autonomous purchase decisions.
4. Nine-year-old begins to take on the role of consumers.
5. Ten-year-olds will have assimilated at least half of the key consumer attitudes
and models.
It was deemed sufficient in the past to provide consumer education to-wards the end of
basic education, with the goal of providing information and fostering skills and attitudes
required in adulthood. In more recent years, the focus has shifted to lifestyles, values
and reflection on one's own choices. This approach to consumer education does not
need to be reformed, but the changes in society and markets make it necessary for ever
younger children to have the skills to cope with their role as con-sumers in the
marketplace. As a result, education needs to begin at an earlier age, while continuing
into adulthood, and it needs to cover a greater variety of content.
New Challenges – New Responses
The new challenges and the relevant responses of consumer education are
summarized in the table below. The key elements of foresight, knowl-edge, practical
skills, ethics and emotional skills are emphasized as the main responses required within
consumer education programmes.
Table 1. Consumer education responses to educational challenges
Challenges
Global threats to living beings
Dependency on the world economy
Choice overload caused by affluence
Increasing inequality
Media complexity
New understanding of the human mind
Consumer education responses
Emphasising positive motivation, foresight,
systems thinking and product life-cycle
awareness
Developing critical awareness and the capacity
to evaluate situations and decisions at different
levels of economic systems as well as their
future and present effects on the own household.
Awareness of aims, knowledge of consumer
legislation and policies. Practical problem-solving
skills are emphasised.
Ethical motivation and awareness, the skill to
diagnose decision-making situations and make
ethical decisions.
Media literacy and critical evaluation. The skills
of navigating the world of media and finding
relevant information.
Reflective self-consciousness. The capability to
develop and employ new knowledge, attitudes
and motivations.

Consumer education is concerned with the skills, attitudes, knowledge and

understanding necessary to become an effective consumer. It equips people with the
skills to make discerning choices, to sort out problems effectively and to seek further
information and help appropriately. Whilst laws and markets may change, these skills
will enable people to move through life as effective consumers. It sets out to change
behavior, strengthen responsibility, and motivate to participate and to empower the
consumer.
Consumer education encompasses the responsibilities of consumers as well as their
rights. This entails taking a shared view of society as a whole as well as the individual
concerns of the consumer. It focuses on issues such as the environment, the conditions
of producers, particularly overseas, globalization and sustainability. Informed, articulate
and demanding consumers are likely to be more effective individuals.

Consumer Education empowers consumers.

Information raises our awareness and knowledge of our rights and responsibilities. It
provides practical life skills enabling us to develop roles, values and behaviour within
society as citizens, consumers and workers. Armed with information consumers can
make good choices and wise decisions. When faced with problems or particular needs
we can use and analyse the information and become responsible consumers.

Confident consumers

Consumer confidence is built on knowledge, skills and attitudes. All three need to be in
place in order that the individual's life chances are maximised, and for the business
environment to flourish. The confident consumer knows his or her rights, how the
market operates and how to find information about what they are buying. They will be
skilled enough to negotiate where necessary, to budget for what they are buying and to
be able to sort out problems before they escalate. Assertiveness enables consumers to
complain and if they do not do so, this has implications for the business environment as
a whole. Consumer confidence can then help shape an effective business and social
environment

Identifying the 21st century consumer

In the 21st century consumers and consumer behavior are a central focus of economic
and political life. Consumption patterns have a great influence on society and the
economy society and the economy (labour market) also have a great influence in
consumption patterns.

50 years ago people were used to buy their daily goods in small corner shops where
they met other people. The range of goods available was clear and small, people could
buy in small quantities applicable to limited budgets and they paid in cash. Convenience
food for example wasn’t readily available and a lot of goods were still produced in the
homes. Today most people have quite different living conditions.

In the 21st century the range of goods available sometimes seems to be endless.
Shopping malls and out-of-town shopping centres offer a great variety of goods and
services for consumers. Consumers can buy convenience food or highly packaged
products; they can order goods or services via internet and paying cash is no longer
necessary. Most people driving to a shopping mall to purchase one week’s goods.
Consuming has become work.

In families and households preparation skills are forgotten and knowledge about the
quality of goods gets lost. Consumers value goods that are cheap, convenient and time
saving. Mass production serves these expectations. Individual mobility, worldwide
travelling for holidays and ever increasing purchases lead to an enormous depletion of
non-renewable resources.

Benefits for the individual and society

It is important to be able to make the right consumer choice for one’s own
circumstances and to accept the consequences. Educated informed consumers can
make their own decisions regarding sustainability, health aspects and the economic,
social and political consequences of their consumer behaviour.
Benefits for the individual

 New attitudes, better knowledge and improved or new skills lead consumers to
change their lifestyles, make them able to take responsibility and enable them to
participate in society and take an active role as consumers and citizens.
  As individuals are mostly workers and consumers a lot of contradictions might
appear in their daily life. They have to consider where their ultimate
responsibilities lie. To understand how the economy works and to understand
one’s own personal needs and wants and role as a consumer or a producer in
the economic system makes it easier for the individual to communicate
satisfaction or dissatisfaction as consumers.
 Individuals will be better prepared to ask for information about goods and
services or to ask for help from consumer advice centres and consumer
associations.
 Educated consumers can make efficient use of their personal resources like
money, health and goods.
 They understand their consumer rights and protect themselves and others.

 Educated consumers have a clear concept of product quality. Quality is more

than a good product for the cheapest price; it also means to look at the producing
conditions i.e. how is the product produced? Who is involved? Are all legal
implications fulfilled or are for instance children the producers? What about the
ecological footprint? All these questions give consumers a new concept of quality
when making choices.

Benefits for Society

 A better understanding of the relationship between consumers and producers

and the role of the market economy might ease communication and
understanding between the different partners in the field.
 Development of attitudes, skills and knowledge regarding common values like
sustainability, health, citizenship and responsibility, solidarity prevents social and
societal problems like overindebtness, waste of resources, bad working / living
conditions.
  Informed and educated consumers who are able and willing to be responsible
can value the work behind a product or a service and accept more easily a higher
price in order to secure the wages of the employees.
 Consumers’ knowledge about the health implications of producing, using and
recycling products combined with special health skills and attitudes towards
health lead to healthy lifestyles and reduce the costs within health system.
 Consumers consider sustainability when making choices thus reducing the costs
for protecting the environment and helping the local, national or regional
economy.
What makes consumers strong?

Consumers have a big influence in society and the economy but often they don’t realise
their power. They often feel powerless, maybe in conflict with a producer or supplier and
not knowing where and how to complain. But if consumers play an active part in
economy and society they can achieve a lot.

Sometimes it is necessary to change things through collective campaigns, through

independent consumer associations and organisations. If consumers unite they can
exert a great influence If millions of people decide not to buy an unsafe product the
producer has to react and change. If they decide not to buy products produced under
inhuman working conditions, working conditions will be changed because producers
want to sell their products and earn money. An important outcome of consumer
education and education for citizenship is that changes can happen and consumers can
bring improvements for themselves, for society and in a global context by making
responsible choices.

Consumer education is the most efficient tool to empower consumers both, in their role
as consumers and as citizens in their region and country.

Consumer education is about real life, about things learners buy, use and do within their
daily life, in work, at home and in their communities. Consumer education prepares
learners for consumer experiences and equips them to think and to act for themselves
as citizens, consumers, workers, partners, etc.…

Using learners’ personal experiences as a consumer is an important starting point in

consumer education to strengthen their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Objectives to empower consumers

 to reflect his/her needs, wants and resources in order to make conscious

consumer choices
 to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to make efficient use of their
personal resources
 to promote learner awareness of their role as a consumer and how she/he
interacts with the economy, society and environment
 to understand the rights as consumers in order to protect themselves or seek
redress if necessary
 to understand and to reflect the impact of information and marketing methods on
their consumer behavior and consumer choice
 to raise consumers awareness of initial responsibility for herself/himself, for
community life and ultimately for national and global developments
 to widen learners knowledge of consequences of consumer behavior on
environment, economy and social life
 to help learners to cope with new technologies and changes in the market places

Development of Confident consumers

Consumer confidence is built on knowledge, skills and attitudes. All three need to be
in place in order that the individual's life chances are maximized, and for the
business environment to flourish. The confident consumer knows his or her rights,
how the market operates and how to find information about what they are buying.
They will be skilled enough to negotiate where necessary, to budget for what they
are buying and to be able to sort out problems before they escalate. Assertiveness
enables consumers to complain and if they do not do so, this has implications for the
business environment as a whole. Consumer confidence can then help shape an
effective business and social environment.

Reference:

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from business , Government and public interest", Canfield Press ,San Francisco ,
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2. Drucker, P, "Consumerism and marketing". A speech to national Association of

MFG., NewYork.1972, p.ll.

3. Drucker, P, "Consumerism and marketing". A speech to national Association of

MFG., NewYork.1972, p.ll

4. Virginia H.K "The Consumer Revolution". U.S.News & Report, vol. LXVII (August
25, 1969), pp.43-46.

5. Buskirk Richard, H. & Rothe, James,T. “ Consumerism - An Interpretation”, journal of

marketing ,voL34,oct l970 ,p.63.

6. Srinivasan, K.,"A new era in consumerism”, The Hindu, consumer folio 31 October,
1999, p.6.