GRADE 9-UNIT 2 Revision Notes

Unit 2 Financial Awareness discusses the importance of understanding money as a medium of exchange and emphasizes financial responsibility through budgeting. It highlights the moral neutrality of money, the potential dangers of wealth and greed, and the role of financial literacy in promoting responsible financial behavior. Additionally, it covers the significance of entrepreneurship and the challenges of building a start-up, stressing the need for innovation, risk-taking, and a solid business plan.

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GRADE 9-UNIT 2 Revision Notes

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sharmaaryanvijay

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Unit 2 Financial Awareness

Realising the Value of Money

Being a medium of exchange, money is a means of change. In other words, you can use money to
change your situation or the situation of others.

The historical background of money

1. Barter
2. Commodity Money
3. Metal Money
4. Paper Money

To manage your money, you need to be financially responsible. money is a means of exchange. You
may have an income from investments (such as rent on property that you own, or interest on
savings). And you may earn a salary, from working in an office, The other side is expenditure; this is
what you spend. We all have living expenses, such as rent, groceries, health costs, transport and so
on.

Being financially responsible means balancing your income and expenditure, and ideally trying to
ensure that you don’t spend more than you earn! So, you need to carefully watch how much income
you earn and decide how much you can afford to spend. This is known as budgeting.

Short-term goal

Long-term goal

The Power of Money

to have a good understanding of what money really is, it is a means of exchange. It can be income or
expenditure, depending on whether we receive it or give it to someone else. It has no inherent value
in itself. Also, it is, in many ways, morally neutral. In other words, it’s neither a good thing nor a bad
thing. It’s how you use the money that gives it a moral value. Money can make some people greedy.
They just want to accumulate money for its own sake. This is the “love of money” that can lead to
evil deeds. But money can also be used for good.

The Dangers of Wealth and Greed

The Moral Value of Money Wealth can bring many good things to people. They have enough money
to meet their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing and so on). Once their basic needs are satisfied,
they can start to take care of their wants, maybe even treating themselves to the occasional luxury
item! And wealth doesn’t just benefit the owner. People who have wealth are better able to help
others, by donating to charitable causes, investing in businesses, or promoting the local community.
However, remember that money is neither good nor bad; it is morally neutral. It is how you use the
money that gives it its moral value.

Educating about Money

“Financial literacy is literally life changing,” The Esref Sah Programme also believes that banks
have a role to play and have introduced a bank-training curriculum to educate bank employees on
the right ways to market their products to young Emiratis. It is hoped that this will help young
people avoid the temptation of high-interest loans and credit cards. The aim is to encourage more
“responsibility” from the banking sector and some banks have taken a proactive stance. The
dangers of financial illiteracy include: Debt and financial stress, poor investment decisions,
inadequate retirement planning, Limited economic mobility, fraud and scams, ineffective
budgeting, inaccurate tax management, ignorance of financial rights, reduced economic
productivity, ineffective philanthropy and giving. Lack of long-term financial goals, wealth
inequality, economic instability.

In 2016, the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) announced a ground-breaking collaboration with
the Emirates Foundation aimed at increasing levels of financial literacy in the UAE. This will offer
branch based financial counselling to customers in an aim to encourage “the widespread adoption of
sound financial management practices”.

How Wealth Can Be a Force for Good

“Wealth is not money. Wealth lies in men. This is where true power lies, the power we value. This is
what has convinced us to direct all our resources to building the individual, and to using the wealth
which God has provided us in the service of the nation.”

Personal Responsibility and Social Responsibility

As an individual, you should always keep the welfare of society at the back of your mind. This is
known as your social responsibility. Everybody has a right and indeed duty to try and improve
himself or herself. Being socially responsible, on the other hand, involves being committed to
improving society as a whole. It might even require sacrifice and setting the priority of society ahead
of your own individual benefit. You realise that society’s needs are often more important than your
own needs.

A socially responsible person is aware of his or her responsibility to society and the role he or she
can play in making society better. When socially responsible people see social injustice, they are
proactive. Socially responsible people aim to act in a way that does not harm society and, in fact,
they hope their actions will improve society. They make decisions for the good of society as a whole.
This is known as individual social responsibility.

A common form of taking social responsibility is using your money for the good of others. This
could involve giving money to a charity to help those less fortunate than yourself. Or you could
donate to a non-government organisation (NGO) that works to promote a cause that you believe
in, such as ensuring that people have access to the health care that they need. The practice of
individuals or organizations providing financial or other forms of support to charitable causes or
initiatives for the purpose of promoting the well-being of others is called Philanthropy.

Non-Governmental Organisations Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are very important

contributors to development projects in Africa and other underprivileged regions. These not-for
profit groups have gained in popularity because many have genuine ambitions to create change.

The Role of Governments

Countries fall into two generic categories: developed (so called first world countries) and developing
(so called third world countries). We should all share the responsibility for creating a better
distribution of wealth, better living conditions, and better opportunities for the underprivileged.
However, the biggest responsibility lies with the more developed countries who have surpluses of
wealth and better access to resources and technology.
The role these countries take could be through direct or indirect interventions. There are multiple
approaches to intervention. For example, the UAE now contributes billions to fight poverty as part of
the joint humanitarian vision of the UAE government. The UAE has become a role model for its
commitment to achieve sustainable development goals and, previously, the millennial development
goals.

The United Nations’ Goals for Social Responsibility

The Development of Entrepreneurship Skills

An entrepreneur is a person who invests his money in the creation of a business that produces a
good or a service and bears the risks of that investment. This good or service may already be in the
market, but the entrepreneur sees an opportunity for his company to make profit in this market.
Or it may be the result of an innovative idea. Lately the entrepreneurship world has been bustling
with innovative businesses. Entrepreneurs don’t have a high level of job security and stability.

First, a start-up is a new venture, usually in a business. Second, it aims to meet market demand
with a new product or service. They are disruptive and innovative, bringing exciting ideas to the
market. And third, although they are small, they are scalable. In other words, they have potential
for growth over time. Some key reasons why some startups succeed while others fail: Problem-
solution fit, market research, strong leadership, execution, financial management, competition,
product-market fit, timing, adaptability, customer focus, marketing, and branding, legal and
regulatory compliances, team dynamics. Failure can occur due to a variety of reasons, including
market misalignment, poor leadership, financial mismanagement, and lack of adaptability.
Because they are innovative, start-ups can be risky ventures. But they can also be spectacularly
successful. Facebook, AliBaba, and Amazon are examples of start-ups that changed the world we
live in today. The individuals responsible for designing, managing, and growing the company are
called entrepreneurs. They have the vision and the resources to make their ideas a reality. If it
weren’t for Mark Zuckerberg, the emerging market of social media possibly wouldn’t have been
the same. Jack Ma of AliBaba revolutionised the concept of online shopping and changed the retail
world forever.

a. Entrepreneurs must be innovators.

b. Entrepreneurs must be risk takers.

c. Entrepreneurs must be dreamers.

The Start-Up Building a start-up company is very challenging. It requires a blend of creativity,
leadership, vision, determination, and financial and social responsibility.

To create a successful start-up, you need three cornerstones in place:

• An innovative business strategy

• A coherent operational strategy to implement the business strategy

• An information technology (or IT) strategy to support the business and operation strategy.

A business plan is a detailed outline for your business. It is a blueprint for turning your idea into a
reality. It describes what your product or service is, what market need it meets, who the target
market is, how you will finance the business, and how you expect the business to become
profitable.