Community development essay

Community development essay

Community Development Essay,Introduction

WebMay 2,  · Community development is a course of action, where people not only work to increase their income or to produce more jobs but also helps in managing WebCommunity Development Essays 12 essay samples found Essay examples Essay topics Vulnerable Groups of the Population: Alcoholics Drug Addicts Homeless People Words: WebEssays on Community Development The Process of Community Development. Community development is a process where community members come together to take The WebJun 19,  · In an ideal world, community development is predicated on principles of social justice and environmental justice (Ledwith, , p). In other words, the end WebMay 21,  · Community development is a skilled process and part of its approach is the belief that communities cannot be helped unless they themselves agree to this ... read more

A community is not only formed by the people who live in it and their beliefs or religious affiliations, but also, it is mainly […]. The Community Meeting Paper: Core Principles and the Council on Aging Meeting Due to COVID the Tewksbury council on aging meeting was hold on virtually to present via video conference and via telephone. The council on aging community in Tewksbury is to provide and identify the senior needs. The national council on aging is a nonprofit organization that to help senior and elderly people get benefit to improve they retired life and get them to involve the local senior […].

To understand the sociology of a community, you must first understand the meaning of community. To understand sociology in the first place, or to be able distinguish it from other social sciences, you must develop a sociological perspective. Assessing your local community helps provide insight into the needs that arise and the resources that are available for those needs. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the community of Milan, Georgia, focusing on the elderly population. Overview of the Community Milan is a small town in southern Georgia located in both Telfair and Dodge Counties. It is located 11 miles west of McRae and 15 miles east of Abbeville. According to the United States Census Bureau, the […]. One thing, many people pride themselves on is their culture heritage.

Culture can be described as the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of indigenous or social groups that have been passed down through generations. All culture are different when it comes to their beliefs and values. One culture that is rapidly building its members […]. A nurse does not affect just one individual, they can influence a community. Throughout many researches the rate of individuals becoming unvaccinated is increasing every year, this is an issue because there have been vaccine-preventable infections that affect our community, if enough people get sick, it can lead to an outbreak.

However, if enough people are vaccinated against a certain disease, the germs cannotVaccine spread as much and the entire community is less likely to get the disease. The role […]. Nursing is a widespread profession that stretches across the world. One part of nursing includes the community. Everyone is impacted by the community in one way or another whether it is through screenings or events feeding the homeless. It is important to know about the community and be able to recognize vulnerable populations that need help. These vulnerable populations include the homeless, migrants, indigent, substance abusers, and victims of violence which can include children, women, and the elderly.

Within these […]. In Victorville, California, there is a shelter and outreach program that is centered around domestic violence to help victims of domestic violence have safe places to go, give support, and provide further education. She wanted to bring more awareness and safety to those suffering, because she […]. Officers become more familiar with the local residents. Police also conduct search and seizures to seize evidence from vehicles, homes, or any locations that complies with the fourth Amendment. Also, police officers may interrogate the suspect for questioning which does comply with the fifth and sixth Amendment.

Contraband is another idea that gives law enforcement to look for especially during a stop and frisk. It is the officers job to investigate and collect evidence of criminal activity. They must observe […]. The second step is to figure out why people are complacent and uninvolved. Some people actively thrive on new challenges and constant change, while others prefer the comfort of the status quo and strongly resist any change. Change is important for the positive transformation or renewal of a community ravaged by crime and poverty. However, residents are oftentimes unwilling to embrace change.

One of the primary reasons identified in related literature is the inability to absorb the impact of change. Even if the members of the community are not open to change, community leaders must persuade them. Needless to say, leadership is the key to an effective and efficient community development process. Leaders must help them understand that the community could be compared to a business entity that requires change and innovation. Without a doubt, political and civic leaders believe in the concept of community development. However, their belief and enthusiasm are limited to the conceptual level only because they are committed to the ideals of community development but not the process.

In reality, even leaders oppose change and they are not willing to embrace change because there are so many things to consider. The unpredictable nature of change may affect their political careers. At the same time, real transformation requires hard work. Many people are unwilling to provide such level of commitment. In other words, leaders must change the perspective regarding the benefits of change. Leaders oftentimes resist the implementation of certain because it is not to their advantage. In other occasions, a leader failed to deliver because of the inability to overcome problems placed before him Gallos, , p. Community leaders must come to realise that, in order to reap the benefits caused by change, they must be ready to make sacrifices. They have to make the necessary adjustments in order to satisfy the requirements of a particular strategy Bradford and Burke, , p.

It is important to point out that the change process begins at the top. Leaders must be persuaded first, before the followers are expected to embrace their programs. In the case of the leaders, the change process begins in studying the intricacies of the change process. Without a high-level commitment coming from community leaders, change is merely wishful thinking. Leaders demonstrate their commitment by learning how to develop a cost-efficient operation. It is not enough to simply talk about the desire to do something. It is imperative to develop short-term and long-term projects that residents of a community could feel, hear, and see.

After residents of the community are involved and funding has been released, the next step is to look for ways on how to improve the change processes. It is a prerequisite to efficiency and waste reduction Huczynski and Buchanan, , p. Strong leaders may not relish the thought of asking help from outsiders. However, an effective leader knows the value of asking assistance from experts. Strong and effective leaders are not only knowledgeable about the probable conflicts and resistance that may arise due to the implementation of a new program. At the same time, they are also proactive in mitigating the effect of resistance and conflicts Cummings and Worley, , p. Hiring consultants make leaders aware of the problems areas that they need to focus on.

In addition, consultants help leaders understand the various stakeholders that would be affected by a proposed change in the community. Consultants could also help leaders when there is a need to communicate community development strategy to all stakeholders. Consultants can help them develop a more appropriate message that would in turn help them reach out to a greater number of people. It has become clear that leadership plays a major role in reducing conflict but at the same time it must be pointed out that incompetent leaders increase the probability of conflict.

Incompetent leaders increase the degree of resistance towards a particular project. Therefore, planning must become a major part of the change process. It is quite obvious when leaders are not serious in their desire to implement change. The first thing that one would notice is the absence of focus. The second glaring flaw is the lack of commitment towards sustainable development. If an evaluator wants to find out the presence of sustainable strategies, the first thing that he must examine is the presence of a system geared towards knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. It is impossible to have continuous growth if the change process is dependent on one person. The strategy would likely fail if there is no one in the community who understands how to maintain or sustain the development plan.

Finally, an effective leader is someone who has the desire to improve the efficiency of the system Cummings and Worley, , p. There must be continuous improvement. At the same time, leaders must be on the lookout for talented people and build a team that would handle critical projects for the community Bradford and Burke, , p. Needless to say, leaders must always think a few steps further down the road and invest in training the staff and other team members. A significant part of the change process is data gathering. Conflicts arise because leaders make decisions based on faulty data. For instance, it is imperative to find out the socio-economic background of the members of the community. It is also critical to determine the cultural background of the members of the team.

Another important source of conflict and resistance to change is the lack of understanding with regards to cultural diversity. It is an example of ineffective leadership a leader designs a plan without consulting other members of the community. There is a great chance for success if the leader consults all stakeholders, especially in a community that is a melting pot of cultures. The lack of understanding with regards to different social backgrounds could give rise to inappropriate strategies. It could also create a lot of hurt feelings because of a poorly handled issue. A leader must seek to learn more about the different aspects of conflict resolution. Another major reason why leaders should study cultural diversity is based on the realisation that diversity is an asset rather than a liability.

In fact, diversity should be considered as an important component of collaborative leadership. In a globalised world, wherein immigrants are free to live and work abroad, it is easy to find communities filled with families that came from different parts of the planet. At first glance, diversity seems to be a liability considering for instance the language barriers and other problems caused by different beliefs and values. However, if the leader could help team members set aside their differences, then, the leader could harness a pool of talent comprised of different skills set and different worldviews. Imagine for instance the effect, if a team of engineers trying to construct a bridge in Mexico and not a single one of them knows how to speak Spanish.

There is no need to employ a Mexican, but they need someone who speaks fluent Spanish. Diversity does not only mean racial difference but it could be about the social and economic background of the members of the team. A person who works in Wall Street may have little experience when it comes to carpentry and landscaping. In a global context, it is important to have different team members that compliment each other in terms of different experiences, education, and even cultural values. If community leaders are considering hiring professionals and consultants, then, they must also consider the cultural diversity issue.

They would be courting disaster if they hire people who do not know how to deal with cultural diversity. However, assembling a team composed of people with different socio-economic and even cultural background is not an easy thing to do. In the previous discussion, conflicts were identified with regards to cultural diversity within a community. However, conflicts can occur within a workgroup or teams. It is therefore important for leaders to study how to diffuse the tension and conflicts within culturally diversified teams. It is inevitable for conflicts to occur because of their different worldviews; nevertheless, leaders must have an insight into the dynamics of internal relationships within a team.

During moments of significant stress, team members may not be able to cope with the pressure. At the same time, deadlines and other pressures could push them to the brink. As a result, words are spoken that could lead to conflict. Community leaders will benefit from studying the various theoretical frameworks with regards to dealing with cultural diversity in the community and within project management groups. One of the pioneers in this field is Holfstede. He was able to articulate the significance of cultural diversity.

He said that leaders must be sensitive to cultural diversity so that their respective organisations will survive and thrive in a globalised economy. In one of his discourses, Holfstede said that Asians and Westerners have different worldviews and they have different interpretations when it comes to power Rhee, Uleman, Lee, and Roman, , p. Holfstede said that it is imperative to learn about these things because leaders must be able to work in harmony with their subordinates and vice versa.

When one person gets wealthier in the society, it is difficult for others to enjoy the benefits that come with that increase in wealth. It has been, therefore, the aim of every society to ensure equal distribution of income such that everyone in the society can have access to resources that will enable them to improve their living standards. The community tries to find ways in which it can develop as a whole, providing accessibility to basic requirements that are essential to every member. For a long time now, people have believed that for the society to prosper then the poor or less privileged in the society should be empowered in various ways.

Consequently, community development is found to be inevitable and requires special attention for it to be effective in the society. But community development proves to be an all-round issue that is very flexible, open-ended, accommodating and doctrinaire at the same time. Community development is the process by which people of a certain community are involved in tackling the problems that they face in the society. It is about trying to solve the problems that face the community through community groups who are thought to understand the effects better rather than applying a nationalistic approach.

The concerned people are used to come up with ways that they can tackle their own problems using the available resources because it is believed that unless one decides to be involved in the process of development, any efforts to develop the person are futile Morin Community development is also concerned with long term solutions because people are taught on how to fend for themselves as opposed to one-time support, for example food aids. On the other hand, community development tries to follow some laid down procedures on how the whole process should be carried out. Community development has some procedure that, those who advocate for it believe that, if followed properly then the aims can be achieved easily and early enough.

Community development theory requires total elimination of all forms of inequalities, exploitation and social injustices while cultural, economical and human rights should be promoted. On top of that, community development theory outlines that every human being should have relatively average living standards which should be improving continuously as wells as adequate food, shelter and clothing. Theory of community development is doctrine that strictly defines what strategies to be followed depending on the already existing human behaviour theories, which sometimes are not a reality. It has been said that this theory is based on unrealistic ideas and thus setting out targets which can not be achieved in the real world.

It should, however, be noted that there are some problems which are similar in every society for example poverty but the method of solving cannot be the same because every society has different resources which can be exploited differently. Community development theory describes how various situations should be defined, the reasons behind every situation and steps that should be taken in the event that something goes wrong Hughes As impractical as community development theories may be, they set out the initial stages that help in understanding the way society works and therefore, guiding the professionals who are involved in community development projects on how to approach different situations.

Community development theory relies heavily on the content from other disciplines in its attempt to define the society and the different situations that human beings find themselves in since community cannot be approached in a linear way given that human behaviour is diverse. Therefore, though the framework of community development theory might not be effective per se, it is inevitable in introduction as to how various problems can be solved and it lays the guidelines that are used to achieve practical solutions Ledwith Community development theory is based on the assumption that community problems are similar in one way or the other across the societies and can, therefore, be approached in a more or less same way.

Unfortunately, societies are different from one another and in many occasions they have different problems and even those that have similar problems attempts at solving these problems cannot be given the same approach since the endowment is diverse Achatz Theory, therefore, just provides a skeleton of what can be done, but the flesh should be added depending on the circumstances on the ground. Community development, therefore, does not bind one to the stringent rules of the theory but provides an open for one to choose the options that are more feasible to the community that is being supported. An agrarian community which is based in a place where there is an abundance of land will find it very comfortable if irrigation is suggested as a means of increasing income.

On the other hand, a poor community in slums somewhere in an urban center will find agriculture highly infeasible since in the first place finding a piece of land will be very expensive, but starting small businesses can be the best solution to the poverty problem. The opponents of theoretical approach to community development argue that, theory is generated by people who rarely understand the situation in the ground and cannot be applicable to problems that people are facing in the societies. They perceive theory as restricting and impractical efforts by professionals to exercise their authority in the whole process while the main question is left out. They, therefore, propose that theoretical framework should be done away with and let community development personnel deal with the situation as they find it on the ground or use their past experience gained from areas of similar conditions.

In understanding how to approach the community development factor, it is important that we understand what the community is defined to be. Often, a community has a geographical distinction and is expected to be there for ages, besides the fact that the operation of the community brings about numerous interaction perspectives. Additionally, community has been defined as a social system that involves people with a common interest but which is complex and large such as to allow predomination of instrumental relationships and one which is very dynamic. From the above definitions, it is clear that community is a complex social system that requires care and maximum diligence when dealing with matters that affect its affairs.

On the same note, it is important to note here that development as far as the community is concerned, cannot have a specific definition but can be taken to refer to improvement. Unfortunately, there is lack of clear cut indicators that can be used to measure community improvement thus, making community more subjective. Community has very entangled operations which make it impossible to handle community matters in one specific way but rather calls for mixture of approaches in order to come out with conclusive solutions. Though most of the problems that face the community require practical solutions, understanding the way the community operates in general is very vital in enabling one to prepare on how to tackle the situation at hand.

Despite the differences that exist among various communities in the world, societies are intrinsically the same and to some extent similar methods can be used to solve the given problems. The poor have more or less the same needs throughout the world but may not necessarily have the same abilities. It is therefore important if both theories of community development and the practical solutions are interacted in attempting to solve the prevailing problems. Just as community development theory outlines, the community issues cannot be solved in isolation and this has been reiterated even by the advocates for practical solutions.

The political, economical or social aspect of the community cannot be improved in isolation as they are all entangled and an attempt to tackle one brings the other aspect in view Homan As such there is no one very important aspect than the other hence an understanding of how the community works, which is provided by theory, is instrumental in community development. Though community development does not restrict per se on the specific procedure to be followed, community development theory does give a framework of what is expected to be done at any given stage and in case of in outcomes.

And both the theory and practical must be applied when carrying out any activities while putting the whole community in mind. It is possible as it has happened in various communities for technological advancements to meet cultural opposition because culture was not understood before the introduction of the advancements though theory could have systematically outlined what procedure to be followed. Wrongly understanding the needs of society, has also led to rather pronounced opposition to development projects in communities because sometimes what is given priority is not what the members of the community give importance Morin Though it is assumed that some groups in the community especially the poor will be less concerned with the political system but practical cases have proved the idea wrong where politics has manifested itself as important as any other component of community.

In these instances, therefore, community development cannot be achieved without involving the knowledge of political theory. In order to effective achieve the targets of community development, the then two sides of the argument need to be connected and be applied together in solving the community problems. People of the community need to be understood and they are generally more concerned with the average improvement of their lives as opposed to only one aspect performing well, while others are lagging behind. Theory gives the understanding of the mechanisms that are available in the society which must be understood before any step is taken, while at the same time freedom is given for the professional to include feasible ways, according to their judgment, to solve the practical issue.

Community people are also involved at the grass-root levels so that they can suggest methods that they think can work for their situation. In some instances, a specific framework is a must for progression to occur for the whole process requires a specific framework for example, production after all requirements have been met while others require a more open approach. Community development is a wholesome approach to community problems and cannot be inclined to one line of argument. Due to the interdependency of community development system, borrowing from other disciplines is inevitable preempting the reason why community development cannot have just a single approach.

Therefore, community development should be open-ended to allow for freedom of participatory as well as involving the doctrines of human society. Achatz, A , Community Development: A People Centered Initiative to Achieve Sustainability , GRIN Verlag, Munchen. Homan, SM , Promoting Community Change: Making it Happen in the Real World , Cengage Learning, Stanford. Hughes, C , Dependent Communities: Aid and Politics in Cambodia and East Timor , SEAP Publications, New York. Need a custom Analytical Essay sample written from scratch by professional specifically for you? Community Development in Theory and Practice. Table of Contents. Introduction Definition Community Development Theory The Open Approach Holistic Approach Integrated Focus Conclusion References. Learn More. We will write a custom Essay on Community Development in Theory and Practice specifically for you!

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Community Development Essays,Top 10 Similar Topics

WebCommunity Development Essays 12 essay samples found Essay examples Essay topics Vulnerable Groups of the Population: Alcoholics Drug Addicts Homeless People Words: WebCommunity Development Essay Implementation Of Section Of Companies Act Essay. India is ranked as th amongst countries as per the latest The WebMay 2,  · Community development is a course of action, where people not only work to increase their income or to produce more jobs but also helps in managing WebMay 21,  · Community development is a skilled process and part of its approach is the belief that communities cannot be helped unless they themselves agree to this WebEssays on Community Development The Process of Community Development. Community development is a process where community members come together to take The WebJun 19,  · In an ideal world, community development is predicated on principles of social justice and environmental justice (Ledwith, , p). In other words, the end ... read more

Self-stigma is a complex phenomenon, in which an individual endorses and internalises the stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination held and driven by the public. Project selection must start with a need. Community Development Is a Journey Not a Words: Community is established locally but community development is a process that includes actors from inside and outside of the community to achieve sustainability. They have to comply and opt into programs which deal with specifically for a wider, bi- cultural community Kaki, Badre, B.

Nolte, J, community development essay. The main priority is to completely remove guns from the streets of New Haven. Mondragon: Experiment in Cooperatives or Community business? the growth has trickled down the large population of the nation with lack of access to basic amenities such as sanitary, clean water, health facilities and the list goes on. Community Outing isk eport: Touring Old Mesilla The outing proposed needs to be a four hour tour for a group of 20 individuals with varied backgrounds, experience, and physical abilities. Community development essay Research Methods for Community Development.