Understanding Community Work and Recognising what Skills are Necessary to Work with a Range of Communities - Literature review Example

REPORT ON: UNDЕRSTАNDING СОMMUNITY WОRK АND RЕСОGNISING WHАT SKILLS АRЕ NЕСЕSSАRY TО WОRK WITH А RАNGЕ ОF СОMMUNITIЕS. Student’s name Professor’s name Course title Date Abstract As a community, it is important that people work together in order to solve most problems that jointly affect them. However, the question of whether people should work together in other instances and not in other instances is the subject of discussion among scholars. I personally feel the people in a community should work together continually and make it a habit to help each other because as pointed out by McKee (2012), people who work together achieve great success as far as solving social economic challenges is concerned. Working with the community necessitates the understanding of various approaches. People should aim at contributing to the community in general and becoming instrumental in triggering the much desired change. The best community approach empowers the community and consequently leads to balanced community development. It is important to develop special skills that facilitate smooth community development. In a community, decisions are made on a daily basis and it is therefore important to develop concrete decision making skills that enhance good community leadership (USA et al., 2007). Participative decision making is the best decision making technique since it allows other members of the community to participate and their inputs considered (Van der Plaat, 2005). This report therefore has analyzed the contributions of the course in understanding the community, approaches to community and development of skills of effectively working with the community Understanding the community Delanty (2009) defined a community as a collection or group of people living or staying in a common place sharing common beliefs. In these groups of people, there are various problems that surround their day to day living. Because people in a community are believed to share common problems, it is therefore important that each and every member of the community develop a virtue of caring for one another in order to overcome common problems faced by the community (Bay, 2012). I have learnt that working in partnership with communities is very crucial because it is through such media that social economic problems affecting the whole community are addressed and solutions sought. I have also learned that working with the community is quite an exciting and rewarding experience because you meet different people who introduce you to new things you never knew and enable you have an insightful understanding of what the community work really pertains. It’s worth noting that an understanding of the community and how it works is very important in achieving communal success. The common problems shared make a community work together in a bid to solicit for solutions jointly faced (Brogden, Nijhar, Ellison, & Roberts, 2005). Some of the joint problems a community faces are in relation to security and health (Mitrzyk, 2008). Through partnerships, and the development of concrete structures within the community, such social economic problems can be easily addressed. For example, unemployment being one of the problems that face a community should be rightfully addressed. This is because lack of jobs in a community affects income levels, which in turn affect housing and consequently affects the health and standards of living in general (Mitrzyk, 2008). Therefore, in a bid to find solutions to some of these problems affecting the community, it is important therefore that strong and efficient networks be established. According to McKee (2012), when strong networks and structures are developed which enhance togetherness within a community and the ability of a community to work with another community, most problems facing the community can be solved. I developed an understanding that the complexity of the community is found in the fact that the processes involved in community development are inter-related and therefore most of the things can’t be done in isolation Through the course, I developed this feeling of the need to help others out, of the need to make other members of the community have a sense of belonging. The understanding of the community triggered this desire and feeling to develop strong networked structures that bring about change. I developed the understanding the social economic challenges can be solved when structures in a community setup allow for communities to work with other communities. The course impacted on me by enabling me understand the technical environment in which the community is natured and in which development occurs. Additionally, I developed the feeling and the need to change the manner in which the community approaches social economic problems. The community is a complex system shaped by a lot of forces, ranging from economic, political to social forces and understanding of how these forces operate is the first move towards community development Approaches to community Through the course learnt that there are various approaches to working with the community. However, which approach to adopt is determined by a number of factors ranging from the role of the community in community development, the processes involved as well as the directives involved (Gutierrez-Montes, Emery, & Fernandez-Baca, 2009). Additionally, I learnt that contributions to the community can be made in various ways, not limited to voluntary donations and participation in community decision making. The need to undertake a feasibility study to understand the real needs of the community before identifying and implementing a project is one skill that I learned from the course and which has proved very instrumental in the understanding of community needs. The course equipped me with skills and techniques that encourage community participation in community projects which is an important move towards obtaining solutions to community problems. Additionally, through the course, I developed an understanding of the techniques to use in community empowerment to prevent a scenario where one group of the community is empowered at the expense of another group, an approach which Fraser (2005), denounces that brings about inequalities in community development The community plays a vital role in community development and an understanding of the best approach to working with the community is the first step towards achievement of community development, according to Martinez-Cosio & Bussell (2012). This understanding helps in developing strategies that ensure that community needs identified and rightfully addressed. Setting up objectives to achieve in community development is vital. The approaches to achieving these objectives should be set because at the end of the community development process, an evaluation should be done to determine the extent to which objectives have been achieved. Many participants, including the government, the community and other stakeholders contribute to community development The comprehension of the approaches of community understanding triggered a feeling in me to stand up, identify a gap in the community and develop strategies on how to solicit for solutions that jointly affect the community. However, in trying to look for solutions to community problems, in my opinion, the involvement of the community through community participation goes a great way in providing unique and workable solutions. The course impacted on me by equipping me with techniques of how to encourage community participation and build strong relationships with members of the community. My feeling is that the government should play the most crucial role in community development through empowering members of the community and the citizens in general. The government should equip members of a community with resources that help them get empowered (Martinez-Cosio & Bussell, 2012). Additionally, I have developed the feeling that since approaches to community understanding varies; the government together with non-governmental organizations should work hand in hand in delivering community services. Further, I have feelings that through community engagement, ways can be developed that enhance strong community relationships and ties for achievement of common goals. Working with the community I have come to understand that working with communities is one of the most interesting and fulfilling roles yet complex on the other. The interesting thing about working with the community is that boundaries of existing knowledge are expanded besides gaining an insight of how communities work. However, I developed an understanding that the complexity of working with a community is found in decision making. The course equipped me with an understanding that since the community is made up of different people, developing a dictatorial kind of decision making approach is inappropriate, but rather, the use of participative decision making approach is the most suitable. I learnt that in as much as participative decision making approach is the most suitable approach in community decision making, the approach is not short of limitations. One of the limitations is that it proves to be difficult to reach a consensus using the approach. Additionally, participative decision making is time consuming. The advantage of participative decision making approach to working with the community is that it engulfs all ideas of the community members, thereby arriving at concrete and wholly inclusive solutions (Bray, 2015). The complexity found in community structures can be best solved through the development of the best approach of working with the community. Decision-making, being the hardest thing that characterizes a community, should be approached from a participative point of view (Icheku, 2011). Participative decision making involves incorporating in the ideas and suggestion from relevant stakeholders before arriving at a final and conclusive decision. Despite the fact that the approach is time consuming and creates difficulty in arriving at concrete decisions, participative decision making approach is wholly inclusive. Participative decision making approach enhances the spirit of togetherness. According to McKee (2012), benefits are gained in a community by working together. Working together brings about strong partnerships among stakeholders (Rogers & Gravelle, 2011). However, in partnerships, a cost benefit analysis should be done in order to establish the cost and the associated benefits (Schweigert, 2007). It is important that community barriers are identified, a common ground is established and a consensus is reached on whether to agree or disagree on a unified common solution. The course impacted me with the skills necessary to lead a community. I have a feeling that community leadership is not the same as the common kind of leadership found in organizations. Schmid (2006) asserts to the fact that community leadership is not like corporate leadership because community leadership entails commanding strong levels of influence and having huge followers. Through the course, I have developed the feeling to drive change through community leadership for the benefit of the whole community. The course has changed my whole view regarding community leadership. For a fact, i have become very humble and courageous, traits a successful community leader should possess in order to be successful. Additionally, the course has enabled me to learn various problem solving techniques and an understanding that in community leadership, conflicts and problems do occur and people’s opinions vary therefore necessitating the development of effective problem solving techniques. The course has enabled me to understand that community work requires full and total commitment Conclusion The course has been instrumental in empowering me towards community works. I have learnt three important things. Firstly, I have learnt that to achieve success in community development, it is important that community leaders develop structures that allow clear identification of community needs. The understanding of community needs helps in development of strategies that ensure that the specific needs are addressed. Achieving community development is one of the things that make people work together. However inorder to achieve the core objective, a clear understanding of the community setup is very important. Secondly, I have learnt that community development necessitates an understanding of various approaches. It is worth noting that continuous contribution of community members in community work leads to development in the long run. However, the extent of contribution by community members if largely influenced by the nature of structure put in place (SHIN, 2014). The process towards community development is continuous and subsequent evaluations should be done inorder to measure the extent of objectives’ achievement. Members of the community should be encouraged to work together as a team inorder to jointly seek solutions for the social economic challenges facing them Thirdly, I have learnt that community needs require the inputs of various stakeholders, including the community members themselves. It takes appropriate leadership skills to nature and develop an environment that encourages community participation (Tate, 2009). Participative leadership is the best decision making technique in a community setup though the technique has its own limitations. Participative decision making allows the input of community members and creates a feeling of belonging. However, the technique is time consuming besides being very challenging with a lot of community people waiting to influence. Bibliography Bay, U. (2012). Understanding community: Politics, policy and practice. Community Development Journal, 47(3): 448–450. Bray, R. (2015). Developing a participative multi criteria decision making technique: A case study. International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 14(1): 66. Brogden, M., Nijhar, P., Ellison, G., & Roberts, J. (2005). Community policing: National and international models and approaches. Portland, or: Willan Publishing. Delanty, G. (2009). Community (2nd Ed.). New York: Routledge. Fraser, H. (2005). Four different approaches to community participation. Community Development Journal, 40(3): 286–300. Oxford University Press (OUP). Gutierrez-Montes, I., Emery, M., & Fernandez-Baca, E. (2009). The sustainable Livelihoods approach and the community capitals framework: The importance of system-level approaches to community change efforts. Community Development, 40(2): 106–113. Icheku, V. (2011). Understanding ethics and ethical decision-making: Case studies and discussions. United States: Xlibris. Martinez-Cosio, M., & Bussell, M. R. (2012). Private foundations and community development: Differing approaches to community empowerment. Community Development, 43(4): 416–429. McKee, K. (2012). Understanding community. Housing Studies, 27(5): 720–721. Mitrzyk, B. M. (2008). Understanding global health. Family & Community Health, 31(4): 335. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). Montgomery, C. (2010). Understanding the international student experience. Hound mills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Rogers, C., & Gravelle, J. (2011). Partnership working in the “big society.” Safer Communities, 10(2): 26–31. Schmid, H. (2006). Leadership styles and leadership change in human and community service organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 17(2): 179–194. Schweigert, F. J. (2007). Learning to lead: Strengthening the practice of community leadership. Leadership,3(3): 325–342. SHIN, J. K. (2014). OPINION DYNAMICS APPROACH FOR IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY STRUCTURES IN COMPLEX NETWORKS. Advances in Complex Systems, 17(06): 1450023–1–15. Tate, W. (2009). The search for leadership: An organizational perspective. United Kingdom: Triarchy Press. USA, O. B., Bound, Carter, J., Raynolds, J., Garrett, J., & Chatfield, R. (2007). Leadership the outward bound way: Becoming a better leader in the workplace, in the wilderness, and in your community. Seattle: Mountaineers Books. Van der Plaat, M. (2005). Building community capacity in governance and decision making. Community Development Journal, 41(1): 25–36. Read More