The Meaning and Different Aspects of Development - Research Paper Example

The Meaning and Different Aspects of Development Introduction Development as a subject matter and/or field study is a very broad and even complex concept. It is a "multi-dimensional process involving the reorganisation and reorientation of entire economic and social systems ... [involving] radical changes in institutional, social and administrative structures ..." (CLSUIGS Handout) It is important to understand that the essential concept of development does not only mean the aggregate development of an area but also the development of the people living in this area. The concept of development can also refer to growth or state of improvement from a certain level of backwardness to a more stable and pleasant condition of quality of life Sustained increase per capita output and income, expansion of productive employment and greater equity in the distribution of the benefits of growth, are all mentioned as objectives of development (Desai 1991). According to Salcedo the term could be viewed from various perspectives (Salcedo et. al, 1999), each emphasising and implying a different "level" of this multi-dimensional term/concept. His four perspectives include the following: a) From a Layman: Seen from this perspective, development is closely related with progress and compared to economic sufficiency. b) From Economists: According to Economists, Gross National Product (GNP) and per capita income are indicators of development, thus comparing developing to economic growth. c) In Political Terms: Here development is seen as a process which prepares people for participation in political affairs. d) From the Social and Cultural Points of View: It is believed that development helps people to lead fuller and richer lives, less bound by tradition. Aspects of Development As was mentioned earlier, development is multi-faceted, involving (amongst others) social, economic, political and physical aspects. These are mainly regarded as the four major aspects of development. They are essentially interrelated and interdependent, and having one without the others is bound to lead to imbalance, incomprehensive or superficial development. Each of these four aspects will now be discussed separately. a) Social Development James Midgley conceives social development as a "process of planned social change designed to promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development" (Midgley 1995). Midgley believes the goal of social development in the context of modern welfare is to produce a social well-being that makes people capable of acting and making their own decisions in the broadest sense (Midgley 1995). Although social development aims to promote the social and economic well-being of societies or social groups, such units are always composed of individual actors. From a reflexive perspective, social development is conceived as development of the individual human being and is therefore associated with self-development. It stands for making specific individuals capable of acting, who then, with the help of participation, serve as motors to drive forward the economic and social well-being of the community as a whole (Homfeldt and Reutlinger). Further to the above-mentioned approaches "Development means creating the conditions for the realisation of the human personality" (Stevens and Jabara 1988). By now it should be clear that the whole idea of social development is mainly "to improve the human condition, to reduce or eliminate oppression, misery and poverty..." (Benzanson 2002). b) Economic Development Economic Development can be regarded as a process of growth and change aimed at raising people's living standards. It involves growth in total and in per capita income, and is accompanied by fundamental changes in the structure of an economy (Puthenkalam 1998). In other words, Economic Development entails the rise of investment, production and income that brings about a better quality of life for the population. It is the sustained capital formation in the country, resulting in higher productivity and the improvement of social institutions for efficiency in resource utilisation (Azanza et. al 2001). c) Political Development From a political point of view the term development refers to a process through which the people of a country are prepared for participation in political affairs. This is especially relevant to citizens in a democracy. One could this go as far as saying that when the people of a country are actively participating in their government's affairs, that country is indeed experiencing political development. Without this participation, political development is in fact not possible. It is of great important, nevertheless, that political leaders are basing their decisions and working for the common good, ensuring that the whole fundamental concept of politics, i.e. "[a] service to the public and not an ego trip for self-glory of self-gratification..." (Shahani 1991), are met. It should now be clear what the ultimate goal of political development is: for the people to be empowered in such a way that they would (and could) proactively and meaningfully take part in the political affairs of the government. d) Physical Development Physical and/or infrastructure development programmes and projects including (but not limited to) buildings, roads, bridges, landscape, parks, dams, water/irrigation systems, beaches, forests, etc. all refer to the concept of Physical Development. The protection of the environment as well as a maintained ecological balance is of great importance at this point. National Development – A Brief Overview The four major aspects of development are essentially interrelated and interdependent. If these are related to the systems theory, national development could be viewed as a system whilst social, economic, political and physical developments are the major subsystems that comprise the whole system. In other words, when the concept of National Development is studied and/or discussed, the four aspects of development should also be addressed and considered holistically. National Development should therefore encompass at least these four aspects of development, and essentially part of these is the building of national identity and attaining national sovereignty. The following include the essentials for which National Development should strive: - In social development: There must be a total human development and liberation as indicated by high literacy rate, longer life expectancy and a reasonable rate of population growth amongst others. People should be given more choice, be empowered and have social justice. - In Economical Development: There should be a sharing or equitable distribution of national wealth or resources, and resources should not be controlled by only a few. It is also important that there should be a sustainable development process which is to ensure future generations of equal or even better lives. - Political Development: The people should be participating in their government's affairs in an active and meaningful way. The political powers enjoyed by political leaders should be there to be used for serving the people and not for personal interest. - Physical Development: Primarily environmental protection, preservation and development in pursuing physical and/or infrastructure development, should be visible. Natural sources are to be utilised and developed responsibly. There should be infrastructure developments such as buildings, roads, bridges, transport systems, water systems, parks, forests, landscapes, etc. In conclusion Development should be seen as a total process which includes economic, social, political, cultural and moral aspects; a process which not only implies economic improvements, but also enhances the well-being of people as well as both the quality and quantity of life. Development should furthermore be sustainable, in other words there must be a responsibility towards ensuring that there are still resources left on earth for the generations (who are still to follow after us) to survive. Question 2 Development Administration and Processes Introduction Wherever development is taking place, questions such as "How will development be attained?" "How will such development be administered?" and "Which processes will be involved?" arise. In the following discussion these questions/issues will be looked at and explained. Administration There are various descriptions of the term Administration. According to Tendero (2000), it refers to the composite of those processes and activities that are primarily concerned with the means for carrying out government programmes and policy objectives. Nelmida-Miclat (1990) as quoting Johns perceives it as the process of setting objectives and establishing policies, creating and maintaining an organisation, making plans, carrying them out and evaluating the results. Battad et al (2003) quoted Naval and Aquino (1996) when the following was noted: There are two vital aspects of administration: organization and management. Organization is the structuring of individuals and functions into productive relationships. It is concerned mainly with the formal and rational aspects of administration. Management refers to the direction of individuals and functions to achieve ends previously determined. It involves both the human and generalising factors. Without management, individuals in any sizable number cannot work together efficiently over a sustained period of time. According to Santos (1999), management as a “process by which human efforts are coordinated and combined with other resources to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. It is “the art of getting things done through people” (Ibid, citing Follet). Management may thus be defined as a process of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling the operation of an organisation for the attainment of organisational goals and objectives utilising to a maximum and optimum, among others, the 6 Ms of management, namely men and women, money, machine, materials, method and market. It is important to understand at this point that even though Administration is often linked to governmental or non-profit organisations, and Management has been relegated to business enterprises, there is a considerable overlap in usage between these two concepts (Kast and Rosenzweig 1985). Development Administration Brillantes (1994) stated that development administration should be seen as the framework for managing the administrative machinery as development occurs in the various sectors of an economy. According to him, its overriding concern is the establishment of and administrative environment conducive to growth and increased productivity by the adoption of reforms to enhance administrative structures, processes, procedures and linkages. Relating to this, Tendero (2000) called attention to the fact the success of any development programme depends upon proper organisation of the administrative units and utilisation of resources, without which the programme could possibly fail or be defeated. Nelmida-Miclat (1990) mentions two aspects of development administration, namely the development of administrations and the administration of development. The first entails enhancing of the administrative capability (i.e. the capacity to obtain intended results through organisation) for development. It is a crucial factor in the success or failure of development efforts. She added that in development administration, the human input is the most important. Development Processes and Administrative Functions The normal cycle in effecting development starts with planning, then implementation, followed by monitoring and then evaluation. In all of these mentioned stages it is of the utmost importance that the development facilitators (such as the administrators and their staff) ensure a substantial participation coming from target clients or beneficiaries. The processes and strategies of development could be further understood by reassessing the five most important functions of management, i.e. a) planning, b) organising, c) staffing, d) directing and e) controlling. Each of these functions will now be discussed separately. a) Planning The concept of planning as a function of management has been defined in more than one way: ...deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it, who is to do it, and how to measure performance. (Franco, citing Hick and Gullet 1976) And: ...management function of determining in advance what a group should accomplish and how the goals are to be attained. (Miranda and Miranda) Also: ...process of setting objectives and determining what should be done to accomplish them. (Schermerhorn) Nelmida-Miclat (1990) refers to planning as a systematic procedure in preparing activities to achieve a desired goal, taking into consideration available resources, time and efforts needed. It is translating formulated policies into programs and services in answer to needs, problems and aspirations of the people. Thus, planning may be defined as a participatory process of determining in advance what a group should accomplish and what should be done to accomplish them. Planning comprises different steps: (a) definition and analysis of the problem; (b) setting of objectives; (c) formulation of programs and services; (d) implementation; (e) monitoring and evaluation. Development planning, in particular, is a series of efforts or a process to effect economic and social changes. In area development, planning fulfils different roles: it is considered a vehicle for harnessing resources to bring about economic and social progress among the people, share in the general prosperity, narrow the gap between poverty and prosperity, maintain peace and security and attain political stability. Planning furthermore signifies government direction of socio-economic activities by knowing what the people needs, thinking ahead, coordinating various socio-economic factors and attaining set objectives (Calling 1991). b) Organising According to Flippo, organising refers to "designing the structure of relationships among jobs, personnel, and physical factors", whilst Koontz and O'Donnel described it as "the grouping of activities necessary to attain objectives, the assignment of each grouping to a manager with authority necessary to supervise it, and the provision for coordination horizontally and vertically in the enterprise structure." One could thus define organisation as the process of identifying and grouping of the works to be done and designing the structure of relationships among jobs, personnel and physical factors geared towards the attainment of the organisational goals or objectives. Organising as a function of management, is a continuing process to keep the organisational structure in proper shape in order to ensure that it is more efficient, economical and more responsive to the prevailing needs. c) Staffing Staffing could be defined as a process of supplying the organisation with the necessary human resources and keeping every position in the organisational structure operated by the most qualified individuals. The latter should be done by means of proper recruitment, selection, placement, training and development programmes. d) Directing Directing refers to the process of getting every member of an organisation to work willingly, effectively and efficiently for the realisation of the organisational goals or objectives. e) Controlling Controlling may be defined as a process of regulating the activities in accordance with the plans or standards and making adjustments or corrections when new developments or unforeseen circumstances necessitate. In conclusion By now it should be clear as to how important the development administration is and how big a role it actually plays within the whole concept of development. The primary value of the administration system in any society is in fact its contribution to stability and continuity. Brillantes (1994) states that development administration is essentially the process which focuses on the need to implement certain fundamental reforms in the country's politico-administrative machinery. He emphasises that development administration strives towards making the bureaucracy an effective, efficient and more productive form of machinery for translating into reality the government's vision of human development. Question 4 The significance of NGO participation in governance and development processes Introduction The abbreviation NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organisation, in other words an organisation which does not form part of the formal hierarchical structure of a country's government. But before NGOs and the significance thereof are discussed in more detail, one should first take a look at the concept of organisation as a whole – the different types as well as the nature thereof. Organisations The term organisation tends to refer to a group of people/persons who work together to accomplish common goals. Social unit of people systematically arranged and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals on a continuing basis. All organisations have a management structure that determines relationships between functions and positions, and subdivides and delegates roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out defined tasks. Organisations are open systems in that they affect and are affected by the environment beyond their boundaries. (www.businessdictionary.com) There are different types of organisations, which are classified according to purpose/orientation and also according to nature. - According to purpose/orientation Generally, organisations may be classified as either a) Profit Orientated (e.g. Stock Corporations) or as b) Non-Profit or Service-Orientated (Non-Stock Corporations). The main difference between these two forms of organisations is the fact that the proceeds of Non-Profit/Service-Orientated organisations' proceeds are not distributed amongst members as dividend or benefit. All incomes generated by these are appropriated, allocated, applied and exclusively used for programmes, projects, activities and general operations of the particular organisation. - According to nature ­When categorising organisations according to nature, one can distinguish between Governmental Organisations (GOs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Private Corporations, Partnerships and Cooperatives. For the purposes of this assignment, the focus will mainly fall on the first two. In the case of Governmental Organisations (GOs), the government is responsible for organising or creating the organisations by means of enabling law or by authority of the law. The term Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), on the other hand, refers to generally non-profit, non-stock corporations. Broadly defined, NGOs are privately funded, non-profit development organisations mainly engaged with promoting, empowering and providing their members with legal means to improve their socio-economic and political status (Brillantes and Palabrica 1991: 28). According to an online source: Non-governmental organisation (NGO) is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organisation created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status and excludes government representatives from membership in the organisation. (www.wikipedia.org) The PBSP and PHILDHRRA (1991: 7) categorised NGOs in line with organisational concerns: 1) Resource agencies: These agencies provide material assistance, including technology, to its beneficiaries. 2) Implementing NGOs: These NGOs develop programmes and implement a package of services in direct work with their beneficiaries. The following are sub-categories of this type of NGO: a) Welfare organisations b) Socio-civic and professional organisations c) Developmental organisations d) Issue-orientated organisations e) People's and grassroots organisations f) Networks NGO participation in governance and development processes Generally, non-governmental organisations that are private have either a community or environmental focus. They address varieties of issues such as religion, emergency aid, or humanitarian affairs. They mobilise public support and voluntary contributions for aid; they often have strong links with community groups in developing countries, and they often work in areas where government- to-government aid is not possible. NGOs are accepted as a part of the international relations landscape, and while they influence national and multilateral policy-making, increasingly they are more directly involved in local action. (www.wikepedia.org) Now that the concept surrounding Non-Governmental Organisations has been discussed and explained, the significance of its participation in governance and development processes should also be given attention. It is said that the realisation of development depends entirely on the government's internal capacity to intervene competently and efficiently, and on its ability to define its appropriate role in relation to the private and non-government sectors. Three major roles that NGOs could play in local development were identified, namely to supplement and complement the government's local development works, or be alternative modes for the delivery of basic services altogether. NGOs have through the years performed a wide range of activities in the implementation of development work which are dependent on their specialisation and capabilities. The particular services include: a) the delivery of basic social services, including health, education and social services; b) management of natural sources; c) enforcement of environmental laws; d) agricultural development, including extension and credit delivery; e) maintaining infrastructure; f) monitoring the implementation of governmental projects; g) human resource development; h) community organisation and mobilisation; and i) training of extension workers. (Brillantes 1993) The participation of NGOs in the process of governance might be considered as one mode of decentralisation, in other words a way of spreading the power away from the centre to local branches or governments. Additionally, their participation in local governance has also led to a redefinition/reinvention and even deconstruction of the fundamental notion of governance which before was limited only to the formal structures and processes of government (Brillantes 1994). Some donor countries have made it a condition to their grants that they be implemented by NGOs instead of government agencies. Foreign funding of projects has been channelled directly to the NGOs in the hope that the funds will be less vulnerable to the bureaucratic vice of fund transfer and diversion (Tendero 2000). Local NGOs have been very active in development work in Third World countries. They have taken interest in reform issues like land distribution, debt reduction and greater mass participation in decision-making (Tendero, 2000 citing Williams, 1990). Privatisation Since NGOs are considered to be privately funded, non-profit development organisations, the concept of privatisation and its role in governmental development processes should also be brought under attention. De Guzman and Reforma (1993) refer to privatisation as the transfer of responsibility for certain governmental functions to the private sector. The latter may be done by, for example, the contracting of private agencies for infrastructure projects, management of public markets and other public enterprises, and encouraging the private sector to invest in support facilities for the delivery of certain government programmes (e.g. community health insurance and provision of agricultural credit). They further added that the rationale behind this approach is that certain services can now be delivered much more efficiently since privatisation decongests the government of functions that could have been performed by the private sector, thereby enabling the government to focus its attention on services that only the government can deliver. In conclusion NGOs play a significant role in governance as well as development processes. They play a vast part in relieving the government from certain tasks and functions by decentralising the latter to the private sector. Read More