Community Development Programs Contradict Normal Societal Norms and Solutions to Societal Problems - Essay Example

An essay on the thesis ment: Community development programs contradict normal societal norms and solutions to societal problems by       Code+ Course Name Professor’s Name University Name City Date Introduction Community development is defined as the process of empowering a community to have control and responsibility over their advancement and development (Beeton, 2008, P. 23). In order to do this effectively, communities require structures that can help them to assess their strengths, resources, weaknesses and needs. The implementation of these policies also demands for knowledge and sent skills which can be gained through training. In reference to the above-defined meaning of community development, a community can be defined as people who have a common aspect which might be their location, social or economic class or a particular concern that brings them together. Development is defined as change which stimulates an increase in the complexity together with the differentiation and integration of society in a manner that enables adaptation to the changes witnessed (Beeton, 2008, P. 24). Community development operates under the guidance of certain principles. One of the core principles includes the power principle. The power principle proposes that situations and or scenarios can be dealt with and or handled differently to produce better results (Beer and Swanepoel, 2006, P. 24). It gives the common man the power to make policies and influence decisions that affect society. This principle has been the crux of many revolutionary movements in history and hence holds tremendous political power. In community development, it is applied by enabling individuals to exercise their legal, social, economic and political rights Community development is implemented under various platforms. The platforms might be government or organizations that are self-sponsored. Self-sponsored organizations include community organizations. These are non-profit organizations formed by members of a particular region and are financed by the members or through social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship entails the community development organization running an income-generating project. The profits from the project are then used to run and expand the organization (Beer and Swanepoel, 2006, P. 98). Community organizations are composed of three kinds of employees. There are the paid workers who are hired by the organizations to perform particular roles that require professional expertise. The hired members may be from within or outside the community. There are also the organic members who work for the organization voluntarily (Deller and Brake, 2008, P.52). These are members of the community who possess respect from others and reach the top positions of the organization through their hard work. Then there are people who are employed in other professions but perform community development activities as part of their job portfolio. Community organizations hold particular core values which must be followed during community projects. The values include sharing of resources, information and skills (Deller and Brake, 2008, P.123). Community organizations work on the principle of unity hence they must work together using the limited resources available. The community development programs assist communities in various ways. The main agenda is to form a community whose knowledge base is impeccable and has outstanding skills (Deller and Brake, 2008, P.876); they should also have greater control over their lives .Other benefits include the betterment of the relation between members of the community. Communities that have members of different races in most cases have mistrust amongst each other. The programs provide platforms upon which they can interact and develop trust. Community development has evolved from the school of thought of charity to a more organized, systematic delivery of services to the community (Lyman, 2006, P.45). The evolution to a more industrial approach has filled fundamental loopholes by enabling the provision of a workforce that is professional, operation under contract with regulated wages and industrial conditions. It has also enabled the unionization of these organizations hence giving them more political influence. Community development approaches are also being used by profit oriented organizations .Concepts such as corporate social responsibilities have also emerged. The CRS mandate corporations to perform particular duties to the community for the enhancement of its welfare (Lyman, 2006, P.53). There are countries where the CRS is mandated by law while in other countries it is upon the corporation to decide. Community development programs also have international ties. The ties are based on the fact that community development programs are proponents of communities that are cooperative, active and responsible. They enhance participatory democracy and encourage active participation in the political arena (Ledwith, 2011, P.4-5). They focus on how communities can accurately identify problems and solve them effectively. The active involvement of these development programs in ensuring that marginalized communities receive access to resources and, participate in the discussion of socio-political issues. This paper evaluates the meaning of the statement ``the community development approach to the issues of disadvantage in our society challenges the common sense framework in which the social problems are often conceptualized.`` It outlines the connection of the meaning of the above statement to concepts of community development in society, social policies and social work. Argument Thesis statement: Community development programs contradict normal societal norms and solutions to societal problems. The citation infers that community development projects approach to social problems contradicts the measures that are normally taken to solve these problems. It states that in many situations solutions are developed to solve the impacts of the problems but not the problems themselves here referred to as disadvantage Development of Argument According to the statement (Kenny (2006, p. 21), society in most instances prefers to avoid tackling the disadvantage and settles in tackling its consequences. The problems that plague society in modern day times stem from our social system that promotes systematic inequalities in areas such as gender, race and ethnicity (Pittman, 2008, P.34). The institutional frameworks that are in existence facilitate these inequalities hence causing even more harm. Society however is not mature enough to make such fundamental changes that would affect its core values. Community development programs challenge these common sense frameworks since they take a critical look at the disadvantages rather than problems that occur as a result of them. They propose changes in the institutional frameworks that govern our societies, the socio-political influences and the ideological bases that are held by many (Pittman, 2008, P.123). The community development programs challenge the common ideologies held in society. The power principle which is a fundamental aspect of community development programs is pivotal in this role. According to the principle, an ordinary citizen has the power to influence social, economic and political decisions in a country or region (ledwith, 2011, P.124). Many nations gained their independence only because the ordinary citizens instigated the change. This principle stipulates that real change in society should come from the bottom up and not from the top coming down. It thus contradicts the commonly held ideology that policies should be implemented from the top management of organisations coming downwards and not the other way round. The power principle can be illustrated by the case study of Southern Gardeners. According to the case study, there was a piece of land which was about to be sold for commercial development. The members of the community however decided to send a proposal to the minister for planning to the effect that the piece of housing estate be used to build a community garden instead. Presently, the garden is very successful and is managed mostly by the elderly in the community. From the case study stated, we see that there was a change in the decision made by the top management, which in this case was the minister of planning. The change in decision was directly influenced by the opinion of the ordinary people who saw it better to use the area as a community garden. The Southern Gardeners is therefore an excellent example of the power principle where ordinary people, in this case the members of the community influence decisions of government bodies. Community development programmes go against societal norms on female gender inferiority .Some of the activities which they undertake to remedy conflicts arising from such include the construction of women shelters and legal assistance to women who are victims of domestic violence (Gichrist ,2009,P. 23). A critical analysis of the case study of the Rocky hill refugee action group demonstrates this concept. In the case study, we are told that the chair of the meeting that was held to discuss plans for the multicultural night was an Iraqi lady. The occupation of the seat of the chair by a lady contradicts the social norm that ladies are not fit for leadership positions. From the above analysis we can deduce that community development programs encourage women to take over positions of leadership that would rather have been taken by men. This is a direct challenge to the societal norm that women should not be I a position of leadership. Community development programs also transcend cultural barriers. Society has unspoken barriers that it has put between communities of different cultures (Gichrist, 2009, P. 23). The different cultures encompass the different ethnic groups as well as races. Societies approach to these problems is to accuse individuals found of showing such discrimination as ethnic and racial. It however does not solve the disadvantages that underlie these problems such as mistrust and suspicion. Community development however seeks to remedy such disadvantages hence the contradiction. In the case study of Rocky hill refugee action group, we learn that the community organisation which was chaired by an Iraqi had organised a multicultural night that was supposed to be held the month that followed. We also learn that prior to the families moving into the region, there had been fears among the residents about their response to individuals of different cultures. We also learn that part of the responsibilities of Rocky Hill RAG was to ensure that there were good relations between the refugees and the Australian people. From these statements we can deduce particular points. The point that the organisation was chaired by an Iraqi shows that community development organisations do not discriminate leadership positions on the basis of culture. This is unlike in most society which certain employment positions are reserved for people of a particular culture. From the second point, we learn about the doubts and fears of the residents of the region. These doubts are quite normal human reactions to the unknown. These are the actual disadvantages in this scenario. Community development programs remedy this through holding interaction platforms such as the multicultural night that had been planned. These organisations also directly promote inter-cultural relations. The case study tells us that Rocky Hill RAG was involved in promoting intercultural relationships in the country. From the case study of arts in the community, we learn how community developments encourage cultural interactions. According to the case study, we learn that individuals from different cultural backgrounds were involved in the production of the play. We also learn that people from all cultures were involved in the decision making. The all-inclusive decision making is not usually experienced in many societies, many people from other cultures are not included in the decision making process. Community development programs hence contradict the norms of exclusive decision making in societies. Community development programs aims at protecting the rights of the minority groups (Lee, 2007, P.98) .Minority groups include women and children and sections of the community that have been neglected. These include indigenous people such as Aborigin. In the case study of arts in the community, a group of young Aboriginals form a band. The band is directly funded by the community development organisations in buying its equipment. From this, we can deduce that community development programs are aware of minority groups and that they actively support them. Community development programs also argue that in a community, everybody has the right to be involved in the decision making process. This is against social frameworks that state that only particular people in power or positions of leadership have the right to make decisions for the greater majority (Lee, 2007, P.123). In the case study of arts in the community, we learn that throughout the writing of the play everybody contributed to the production of elements such as theme, cast and the script. The participation shows inclusive decision making in community development organisations. Changes in institutional frameworks are accomplished in various steps. These steps include changing the existing structures such as tax systems (Lee, 2007, P.245). The tax systems have been known to be advantageous to the wealthy and disadvantageous to the poor. These changes will ensure a reverse of the same. Resourcing can be done through ensuring that the minority in a community receive certain resources such as land which legally belong to them.The provision of options to individuals in society who have no other option. The options provision can be done through the construction of orphanages for orphaned children, the building of women shelters for victims of domestic violence and the provision of housing for homeless families. Conclusion In conclusion, community development initiatives contradict the norms of society and the common measures that are put forth to tackle community problems. The measures that have been put in place are ineffective since they do not tackle the real issues. Hesitation by stake holders to make a shift to community development approach as a means of tackling social problems will lead to further decline of society as a whole. Governments and relevant stake holders should take swift action in order to ensure the continued prosperity of our societies. Reference list Beer, F and Swanepoel, H.2006.Community Development: Breaking Cycle of poverty. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Beeton, S.2008. Community Development Through Tourism. Oxford: Oxford University Press Deller, U and Brake, R.2008.Community Development: A European Challenge. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Gichrist, A.2009. The Well-Connected Community: A Networking Approach to Community Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press Lee, A.2006. Community Development: Current Issues and Challenges. New York: Hampton Press. Lynam, S. 2006. Community Development and Public Policy.New York: Hampton Press Ledwith, M.2011.Community Development: A Critical Approach. New York: Hampton Press, 239-260. Pittman, R and Philips, R.2008.An Introduction to Community Development. New York: Hampton Press . . Read More