CITIZENSHIP STRAND IV:
DECISION MAKING AND RESOURCES
Items in the Decision Making and Resources strand assess the student’s understanding of factors of production, economic decisions, competition, and trade.
12. Describe the role of each factor of production In producing a specific good or service and suggest alternative uses for the resources Involved.
This learning outcome requires students to identify how the four basic factors of production (land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship) are used to produce goods and services. A thorough understanding of the factors of production is required. Land refers to productive resources occurring in nature such as water, soil, trees, and minerals. Labor consists of the talents, training, and skills of people that contribute to the production of goods and services. Capital refers to productive resources made by past human efforts and includes resources such as buildings, machinery, vehicles, and tools. Entrepreneurship consists of the activities of profit-seeking decision makers who make decisions about which economic activities to undertake and how they should be undertaken.
Test items require students to identify the various uses that can be made of certain resources. Students need to recognize that any given resource can be used in a variety of ways. Students could be asked to provide examples of a given factor or to categorize a set of examples by the factor of production they represent. They could be asked to identify factors of production based on descriptions of the factors. Students could also be asked to suggest a use for a specific factor of production and to provide examples of alternative uses for a factor of production.
13. Identify the factors that Influence:
(a) consumer decisions to demand goods or services,
(b) producer decisions to supply goods or services.Consumers are people who purchase or use goods and services to satisfy wants or needs. Items for 13a require that the student be able to recognize elements that influence the making of consumer decisions (e.g., price advertising, quality, packaging). Test items could describe a situation and ask students to determine the factor which influenced a consumer decision. Students could also be asked to explain how a particular factor influenced a consumer decision.
Producers are people who are involved in combining land and capital to provide goods and services. Items for 13b require that the student be able to recognize elements that influence the making of producer decisions (e.g,, demand, competition, available resources). Test items could describe a situation and ask students to determine the factor which influenced a producer decision.
Students could also be asked to explain how a particular factor influenced a producer decision.
14. Identify the factors that determine the degree of competition in a market and describe the impact of competition on a market:
(a) identify advantages and disadvantages of competition in the marketplace,
(b) explain the general relationship between supply, demand, and price in a competitive market.Competition refers to the rivalry between businesses for customers. Such competition has both advantages and disadvantages to both the buyer and the seller, which the student must be able to recognize in items for 14a. Items could present students with a description of competition in a marketplace and ask them to select a particular advantage or disadvantage of the competition. Students could also be asked to explain the advantages or disadvantages of competition in a given situation.
There is a flow to a competitive market economy in which the connection between the supply of a good, the demand for a good, and the price of that good are closely related. Students could be asked to examine an economic activity and to indicate how the activity affects the relationship between supply, demand, and price.
15. Use information about global resource distribution to make generalizations about why nations engage in international trade.
Productive resources are unevenly distributed around the world. While one country may have an abundance of a particular resource, another country may be lacking that resource. Trade may develop between the countries involved in this type of situation.
Items for this learning outcome ask students to analyze actual trade relations between countries. Students could be asked to recognize the nature of a trading relationship. Students could also be asked to explain how nations can resolve a specific problem involving a disparity in resources.
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