Consumer Choice
Stage 5 Commerce

Consumer Choice – Commerce and Choice
Students learn about:
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Decisions affecting the quality of our lives
◦ Consumer
◦ Financial
◦ Business
◦ Employment
◦ Legal
◦ Environmental

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◦ Selling the rights to use a business name, image or management system.

Lingo List
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Budget
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Goods and services provided for the community by governments.

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An agreement (either written or spoken) between two parties; for example, a buyer and seller..

Liability
◦ The degree of financial responsibility for any losses incurred by a business or individual. Anyone who buys goods and services.

Contract

Good
◦ An item that is tangible. It can be seen or touched.

Consumer
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Collective wants
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A spending and saving plan.

Franchise

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Liquidity
◦ Funds available to finance spending on a day-to-day basis Lingo List cont.
Service

Needs
◦Goods essential to our survival, such as food, water, shelter and clothing. Personal

wants

◦Luxury or non-essential goods and services that we, as individuals, would like to consume. Savings
◦ The amount of money a person has available after paying for needs and wants.

◦ An intangible good that is provided by an individual or organisation; for example, legal advice or a haircut.
Standard

of living

◦ A person’s quality of life; a person’s economic, social and personal wellbeing.
Wants

◦ Luxury or non-essential goods and services

Quality of Life?
The consumption of goods and services has an important impact on the quality of people’s lives.
 Goods that are essential for our survival are known as needs.
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◦ They include food, water, shelter and clothing.
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Goods and services that we buy are not necessary for our survival are known as wants.
◦ Examples are DVDs, perfume and movie tickets.

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Wants may not be essential for our survival but they do help to support the lifestyle or standard of living that we aspire to aka Quality of Life

Quality of Life

What Influences Our Quality Of
Life?
One important factor influencing the quality of our lives is the amount of time that we spend working.
 On average, Australian employees are working longer hours than they did in the past.
 Often the decision about how many hours to work will depend on the person’s preferred lifestyle.
 Many people work longer hours to help support the material standard of living to which they have grown accustomed.
 Some people choose to work shorter hours so that they have more time to consume leisure-related services 

Clickview Video: Consumer
Choice & Protection
Worksheet found at http://www.studyismybuddy.com/consumerchoice.html  This video gives you an overview of various factors that you may/not be aware of when making a purchasing decision
 What things that have you consumed today?  Are they a good, service, need or want?
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Consumption of goods and services
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Write definitions for the following terms and find a picture to illustrate each:
◦ Goods
◦ Services
◦ Needs
◦ Wants
◦ Consumers
◦ Personal wants
◦ Collective wants

The Decision Cycle
Consumer
decisions Should I purchase new clothes or save money for a computer ?
Legal decisions
How can I exercise my legal rights as a consumer ??

Financial decisions
Where should I invest my savings ?

Business decisions.
Is there a need I could meet by setting up a business ?

Employment decisions What should I do for work experience ?

Personal Decisions
Family
decisions
How do my actions impact upon others in my household? Legal decisions
How can I exercise my legal rights as a consumer ?

Decisions based on values and beliefs.
What are my attitudes towards people from different cultural backgrounds ?

Social life decisions. How will I respond to pressures from my peers? Health decisions.
How
can I stay fit and ensure that I get enough exercise ?

Learning/educat ion decisions.
What subjects should I choose for Year 11 and
12 ?

Consumer decisions
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choosing what to buy ◦ types of goods and services ◦ different