This document discusses the factors of production needed to create goods and services. It identifies the key factors as natural resources, human resources, capital resources, and information. Natural resources include materials from agriculture, fishing, mining, etc. Human resources are the laborers. Capital resources include financial assets and machinery. Information includes knowledge about technology, customers, etc. The public sector provides services through government employers while the private sector's primary purpose is profit. Both sectors have pros and cons. The document asks students to analyze which factors of production were used to create different goods.

1. UNIT 1: FACTORS OF PRODUCTION

2. Questions from Day 1:
1. Create a list of (what you believe to be)
essential (necessary) goods for all
member of our society.
2. Create a list of essential (necessary)
services for all members of our society.
3. Do “essential” goods and services differ by
geographic region? Explain and give
examples.

3. THE PRIVATE SECTOR
▪ Businesses are individually owned and
operated.
▪ The primary purpose of most private sector
businesses is to make a profit.
▪ Pros:
▪ Usually more efficient.
▪ Profit motive and competition drive innovation.
▪ Cons:
▪ May be more concerned with profit than with
providing high quality service at an affordable
rate

4. THE PUBLIC SECTOR
▪ Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments (“employers”)
▪ Employees of the various levels of government are often called
“public servants”
▪ Pros:
▪ Purpose is to provide services to meet the needs of society
▪ Services are more affordable
▪ Cons:
▪ Often “slow”, inefficient.
▪ May create artificially low prices (education, electricity).

5. TYPES OF BUSINESSES:
▪ Crown Corporations: A business that is owned and
operated by the municipal, the provincial, or the
federal government.
▪ Purpose: Provide services to the public.
▪ For example: VIA Rail, Canada Post, the CBC.

6. PRIVATIZATION
▪ When a publicly (government) owned business or
industry is sold to the private sector:
▪ Saves government money.
▪ Private sector may be better suited.
▪ The government may stop providing the service and
let the private sector fill the gap.
▪ Or the government may sell their assets to a private
buyer

7. THE FACTORS OF
PRODUCTION
▪ “inputs” needed for the creation of G & S
▪ Natural Resources
▪ Materials supplied by nature from which everything in the
world is made. (primary or extractive industries)
▪ Agriculture, fishing/trapping, mining, water, fuel/energy,
logging/forestry
▪ Raw Materials
▪ items used in the manufacturing of other goods.
▪ Often the items gathered from extractive industries

8. THE FACTORS OF
PRODUCTION
▪ Human Resources (labour/human capital)
▪ the people who work to create the goods and services
(e.g. farmers, factory workers, construction workers,
website designers, teachers, nurses, pilots)
▪ Management
▪ The individuals who make strategic decisions for
organizations; including the allocation of the
factors of production such as capital and human
resources

9. THE FACTORS OF
PRODUCTION
▪ Capital Resources
▪ Financial resources (money, stocks, bonds) and
machinery, equipment, tools, trucks, factories,
buildings, etc (long-lived assets)
▪ Information
▪ Knowledge and data about new technology,
customers, competitors, political conditions and
sources of supply

10. ECONOMIC RESOURCES
▪ In most cases, it takes a combination of all 6
economic resources to create the G&S that
businesses provide.
▪ What happens if there isn’t enough of an
economic resource? (e.g. oil)
▪ The price of the G&S increases ↑
▪ Alternatives must be found for the resource.

11. ACTIVITY: groups of 2
▪ In groups of 2, determine which factors of production
were involved in the creation of your goods
▪ Be specific: e.g. if raw materials were involved – name
the specific materials
▪ Be prepared to share with the rest of the class
▪ GOODS (You will be assigned 1-2 goods, then
complete your analysis):

12. Questions:
1. Complete this statement: “without _________ , businesses would
have no need to produce anything.”
2. Identify 2 non-profit and 2 for-profit businesses in your
community and explain the type of services (or goods they
provide).
3. List 5 natural resources in or near your community. Are any of
them environmentally at risk? Explain.
4. Explain how money can function as a capital resource for both
producers and consumers.
5. Research and list 3 public sector (be specific about company
and/or department) employers and 3 private sector employers.
What do these organizations do?