24 RESIDENCE STAY PROGRAM, CONCEPT, OBJECTIVES, ORGANIZING THE RESIDENCE STAY – PLANNING MENU, DUTIES, BUDGET, EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES IN RESIDENCE STAY PROGRAM

Sarasvathi. V

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Introduction

 

HOMESCIENCE, the branch of knowledge with methodical base has developed very quickly. To teach Home Science, Residence stay is one of the established and conventional methods under the division of Resource Management. This course offers a superb opportunity for the practical training in the management of Home. The course included in the syllabi is well known as practice house, practice cottage, Home Management Houses in various institutions.

 

Atmosphere like a Home is provided to the students where the skills of performing all household activities are provided. The students undertaking this course performs household activities using the available resources wisely and run and manage the household to the best of their abilities. The management process basically includes the three steps, viz.

 

1)  Planning

2)  Execution or Controlling and

3)  Evaluating

 

Each student playing a double role, (as student and as a home maker) utilises her management skills to manage household duty as they attend the college regularly and manage the residence also. The philosophy, background, situation and environment of the institution preside over the role and work played by each student during her stay. The fundamental tasks do not differ in any institution which include staying in groups, planning, controlling, and evaluating the finance; food, time, energy, care of the house, leisure and the best possible utilization of individual and group abilities.

 

Importance of Residence stay in Home Science Education and its Modern Concept:-

 

Home Management study is the key to success of home making helps the women to provide themselves to meet the demands upon them by society and the home. Residence stay brings out the practical feature of management and provides a situation, which accurates the environment and conveniences of well managed house. Gross and Crandall says: This Course provides an opportunity to the students to build upon the practical application of management to a homelike situation. In meeting the needs of the particular students its more effective. It helps the students to develop awareness of managerial functions of resources, decision making and evaluation of the activities. As Read propose, “In residence stay, the students get an chance to make decisions and carry them out in action in an independent way. The stay provides an opportunity to the students, to use limited resources to solve their managerial problems. This acts as eye opener for them to understand the fact that homemaking is a co-operative activity and not an individual event. This stay helps them to develop certain basic skills and tasks that are necessary for good housekeeping. Students become aware of the importance of management of Resources and also to consider values and to formulate goals and making new decisions. Opportunities are provided to the students to use resources wisely and judge their actions. Group stay provides them with goodness like co-operation, adjustment and tolerance.

 

Aims and Objectives

 

According to Hayes (1928) home management course is

 

(1)To develop an appreciation of the ideas of the house and the family in the home like situation

(2)Developing knowledge of planning, decorating and furnishing of the house, its care and maintenance and hospitability

(3)Along with understanding of the bud getting of time and money to maintain the home with great efficiency.  Vickers(1971) says that students perceive the residence stay as valuable in the area of social competence, over all management ,experience appreciation of decorative principles, grouping of furniture, meal planning and marketing .residence course itself appears to develop student awareness on management of resources, decision making and evaluation in different situation. The main aim of the home management residence is to create and give experience for the student member to be in a group, to enjoy, to work and to cook

 

Organization of the house

 

Before the graduation of degree each student must undergo the residence course for at least 7 days. According to the taste and preference of the group the organization of the house is modified.

 

Student cluster will have to set up their own goals, own calendar, time plan, menu plan, rotation of duty chart, budget and so on. While one cluster wish to develop skill in entertaining/decorating, the other might wish to emphasize on the rapport development within the group. Group members discuss among themselves the work allotment and allocation of duties and they divide it into the number of jobs desired, thus having a job each day for each person. Once the division of work is decided, it is followed by determining the activities to be performed for each duty. Activities performed should be as equal as possible, and should alternate light and heavy jobs, such as assisting in preparation of food before responsible for all food preparation-according to this decision must be made.

 

Every case is unique in its own, some would be left to the judgment of the group example would be – free time to be taken, can it be either by individuals or the group as a whole, the amount and type of entertainment, and determining the distribution of the part of the budget used for flexible items, such as entertainment, meals out, reading materials etc.. Decisions and plans should be given a true form so that the group members can continuously verify and check that, they are doing their duties and responsibilities in such a way, that judgement can take place. The plan for group work should be shown by the list of activities under the heading of each task. A chart (Duty chart) showing the rotation of jobs and the dates during which each person holds a particular job will be necessary in the home management calendar. A calendar will also show planned entertainment and free time. The total money collected needs to be planned, and the management of the menu and duty chart should be decided by staff adviser and student. . A market list should be prepared and time schedule is written daily by student. A small project work needs to be planned and carried out during their leisure time activity.

 

Objectives

 

The major objectives are

 

1.      Practice the knowledge obtained in the theory

2.    Goals and standards are set

3.    Practice the household responsibilities

4.    Manage resource

5.    Live in groups and consume values

6.    Making decisions

7.    Forecast problems

8.    Skills and leadership qualities developing

9.    Dual responsibilities undertaking

 

1.    Practice the Knowledge gained in the theory:

 

The knowledge gained through this experience may be listed as identifying values, goals and standards

 

•  Decision making

•  Food management

•  Time and energy management

•  Simplification of work

•   Equipment usage including labor saving devices

•   Money management

• Interior decoration

 

During the stay in the home management house, the students get opportunities to put into practice the knowledge gained in a home like situation.

 

Rotation of work: In a Residence stay, if six students are grouped to be together and perform the various task of a cook, assistant maid or helper, treasurer or account keeper, hostess, maid, asst. cook etc. Six duties are to be allotted to each student and they are usually asked to perform these duties.

 

2. Set goals and standards

 

Setting individual goals and group goals is an essential aspect of the residence programme. Examples of individual goals are: Prepare new recipes, select appropriate furnishing, entertain guests; live harmoniously and celebrate function. Setting standards for the life style and work performance in the residence is also essential. Examples of standard setting are

 

•       Standard menu

•       Standard in cleanliness

•       Standard in etiquette

 

3.    Household responsibilities: There are many responsibilities to be shouldered in a home. Generally the homemaker depending upon the work culture perform the various activities by herself, or with the assistance of her family member or paid help,. Since a group of students stay in the home management residence the students need to share the responsibilities in turns so as to give experience in all the activities involved in running a home.Depending upon the number of student and rotation among them, these responsibilities are grouped under different roles. They are;

 

• Cook

• Assistant cook

• Hostess

• Maid

• Waitress

• Treasurer

•  Assistant maid

 

Care needs to be taken to the group related activities under each aspect. Proper allocation of work is also important.

 

Cook:-She plans menu, cook food pre-planning, cleans the kitchen, washes the vessels used for cooking, plans for new serve, prepare market list , and weigh the ingredients before cooking. She should also prepare tea, breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner and serving, pre- activities before lunch and dinner and laying table.

 

Hostess:- She is responsible for co-ordinating other works, maintenance of the house, decorate house, preparing menu and duty chart and displaying it. She supervises leisure time activities, check overall safety. She will also be responsible to purchase things required for the day to day activities like,

 

•  To check the overall arrangement and thorough checking of all rooms, bathrooms toilets

•  Arranging flowers, plants etc.

•  Receiving guests and entertaining them.

•  She should know the daily duty chart allotment of duties, rotation of duties if any

•  Overall supervision of the Residence

 

Waitress: Setting the table for meals, serving the food, clearing, cleaning table after meals and collecting water for cooking will be done by her. Also she will clean the vessels used for serving.

  Maid: She is in charge for the overall cleanliness. She cleans the front yard, put kolam sweeps and mops the room. Removal of garbage, cleaning the store room, arranging house and bringing drinking water is also completed by her.

 

Asst. Maid : She helps maid in her duties. She cleans backyard, mop floor, empty the dustbins, wash and irons and maintain garden. In the absence of assistant maid, the maid will have to do the responsibilities of cleaning. The responsibilities listed cover a major portion of household activities except a few aspects such as care of children and elderly.

 

Treasurer:– She needs to keep the accounts. The complete per day cost expenditure in the house, maintenance of accounts using an account book, submission of time schedule and purchase item will be done by her.

 

1)        Keeping daily accounts

2)        Purchasing

3)        Buying vegetables, milk etc.

4)        Receiving and entertaining guests etc will be carried out by her.

 

Group duties

 

1.        Planning and organizing house

2.        Rotation chart preparation

3.        Furniture arrangement and decorating the house

4.        Invitation card preparation.

5.        Purchasing the groceries and other required items.

6.          Accounts maintenance

7.        Evaluating the duties of each other,(self evaluation, group evaluation)

8.        Arranging teacher’s evaluation party

9.        Performing each duty effectively

10.       Co-operation and understanding, maintain good relationship among the inmates

 

Group finance

 

In the residence, students have to handle their own money and make their own budget for six days. Students may experience variation in their most important items of group expenditure – food and in less important items of service and entertainment.

 

The main important items of expenditure in Residence stay budget are:-

 

1)        Food grains

2)        Fuel (cooking gas)

3)        Milk and vegetable

4)        Maintenance (dhobi and sweeper)

5)        Stationary

6)        Rotation of duty chart

7)        Time plan, menu card, remarks book

Whatever amount the students contribute for stay shall be distributed under these heads.

 

4. Manage resources: Resources are generally limited hence wise management of resources are important among the various resources. In the residence Time, Energy and Money are the major ones to be handled carefully.

 

a. Time management: Time is the central resource around which the use of all other resources develops. As a result it needs to be managed carefully. As condition, along with their class work, the students need to do other duties allotted to them. The time demanded to obtain the standard expected by student in house stay are much supple. The students are responsible for only one phase of work. Thus to manage the time, students are asked to maintain time schedule notebook. Use of time and energy are interrelated, when time is expected for activity, energy is also utilised. Effort to conserve time leads to conservation of energy. Planning the use of time makes us time conscious, which is one of the stepping stone for efficiency.

 

b. Money Management

 

Money Management is an important aspect to be managed. It can be done efficiently by planning budget. One should see the requirement of members within the family and plan accordingly with some amount kept aside saving. The money collected must be managed cleverly by planning the budget, were all the members are satisfied. Money management involves budgeting which is planning for spending money. Maintaining account is also an essential aspect of money management. In the residence, food is the major item of expenditure, since home science education cater to student from various income group and localities, care needs to be taken to decide on the style of living. Spending plan for limited amount will help to practice to live within the allotted amount. This will also involve comparison of price of commodities in different shops, bargaining. The residence budget may have the following components.

 

• The daily menu should be balanced.

• Nutritious, yet inexpensive and locally available food materials will help to bring down the cost of foods.

• To avoid unnecessary expenditure, check what is on hand and buy the quantity required. Account should be maintain in the book to know the money is being spent .hence for the money spent and item bought bills/vouchers should be procured. Each voucher should have a number. The format to be used maintaining accounts may be as shown below;

 

| Bill. No|     |Name of the Article|       |Quantity|    |cost/unit|          |Total cost|  Every day the treasurer should write the account and tally the account

 

  • Calculate the amount spent on each day Check the cash on hand
  • Total the expenditure page wish
  • Calculate the total expenditure for the whole stay
  • Check money spent on the each category of expenditure

5.  Live in groups and imbibe values

 

Living in group ensures the following:

 

•      Adjustment

•      Co-operation

•      Concern for others

•      Love and affection

•      Respect for others

 

These are the example of human values. Teachers and peer groups influence the value of students in a conductive set up if given an opportunity to understand the worth of certain values. Home management stay experience provides many changes to imbibe important values.

 

6. Make decision

 

Decision making is the heart of management. Everyday decisions are taken by all the students. Many of all these are habitual decisions. Example are, time of getting up in the morning, eating breakfast at the scheduled time etc. Snap decisions are made on impulse without making any analysis of the pros and cons due to the urgency such as receiving guest, a member or an emergency home management residence experiences are provided to make the decisions-both individually and as group decisions Eg: The type of flower arrangements to be made and the colour combination to be used may be individual decision. Decision on celebration of festival and conducting the parties may require group decisions

 

7. Foresee problems

 

In the residence stay alternatives should be ready on the hands to overcome any problematic situation such as exhaustion of cooking fuels, electricity failure and storage of water and so on.

 

8. Develop skills attitude and leadership qualities

 

Scope is provided for the development of skills attitude and leadership qualities. Further group living also ensures those aspects. The provision made for leisure time activities helps one to utilize the leisure hours profitably. Activities like making table napkins, cushion covers, table covers and decorative pieces from waste materials maybe undertaken as leisure activities.

 

9. Undertake dual responsibilities

 

Interest in work, meeting the dual responsibilities, systematic approach to work and improving the efficiency are some of the qualities which can be developed during the residence course. One automatically develops self confidence too. All these lead to develop certain qualities essential for a leader.

 

Functions of home management residence: The home management house creates situation in which relatively small groups of students living together under limited period of supervision.

 

• Gain perception into managerial problems faced by families such as limited resources and limited space.

• To apply in a practical situation the principles learnt earlier.

• To make management and to evaluate consequences of such decisions.

 

Conclusion

 

Management is a mental process. It is essential because, skill in carrying out this process can be developed and the group is trained on the method of approaching different problems whether large or small. Management is however closely related to change, since its purpose is to bring about change and in utilizing the resource available and goals with which it deals. Home management as a field of learning, combines fundamental philosophical thinking and rather deep techniques for the use of resources. Hence the stay prepares the students as well as train students in all aspects of home living.

 

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