Community Organization

Community Organization• Part of a process that brings people together to

collectively address problems, concerns or issues with the goal of enhancing self-determination, achieving greater equality and affecting a shift in power relationships to benefit member of oppressed communities.

• According to Murray G. Ross, Community organization is a process by which a community identifies needs and takes action, and in doing so extends and develops cooperative attitudes and practices.

• Eduard C. Lindeman in 19211 defined community organisation as “Community organisation is that phase of social organisation which constitutes a conscious effort on the part of a community to control its affairs democratically and to secure the highest services from its specialists, organisations, agencies and institutions by means of recognised inter relations.”•Walter W. Pettit in 19252 defined it as “Community

organisation is perhaps best defined as assisting a group of people to recognise their common needs and helping them to meet these needs.”

• Community organization is a technique for obtaining a consensus concerning both the values that are most important for the common welfare and the best means of obtaining them – Sanderson and Polson (1939).

• Community organization is achieved whenever a group of citizens recognizing a need, band together to see that the need is met – Kurtz

• Community organization means enabling people to find satisfying and fruitful social relationships and not for specific and preconceived forms of relationship.

• Community organization is concerned with efforts to direct social resources effectively towards the specific or total welfare needs of any geographical area.

• Community organization has been defined as the process of bringing about and maintaining a progressively more effective adjustment between social welfare resources and social welfare needs within a geographic area or functional field.-Neil

• Community organization is described as the orderly application of a relevant body of knowledge, employing practice–wisdom and learned behavior through characteristic, distinctive and describable procedures to help the community to engage in a desirable procedure to achieve planned change towards community improvement – National Association of Social Workers.

• Community organizing is “a process through which communities are helped to identify common problems or goals, mobilize resources, and in other ways develop and implement strategies for reaching their goals they have collectively set.”

Philosophy of CO• The fundamental aspect of the community

organizations is the principle of cooperative spirit which promotes the people to unite together to address a common issue.• Community organization recognizes the spirit of

democratic values and principles with the focus on creating democratic involvement.• Organising is about empowering. When people unite

together, and get involved in community organisation, they develop confidence. This empowerment comes when people learn skills to help themselves and others. The collective action helps in community building.

• The community organization recognizes the power of individual. It believes, that through the collective strength of the people, better teamwork and adoption of scientific methods, can provide comprehensive solutions to social problems.• Coordination. It is concerned with adjustments and

inter-relations of the forces in the community life for common welfare.• Community organization is therefore, a continuous

process in which adjustments are made and remade to keep pace with the changing conditions of community life.

Principles of COArthur Dunham in 1958 formulated a statement of 28

principles of community organization and grouped those under seven headings. They are:• Democracy and social welfare• Community roots for community programs• Citizen understanding, support, and participation and

professional service• Cooperation• Social Welfare Programs• Adequacy, distribution, and organization of social welfare

services • Prevention.

Assumptions of CO• Communities of people can develop the capacity to deal with their

own problems• People want to change and can change• People should participate in making, adjusting, or controlling the

major changes taking place within their communities• Changes in community living that are self-imposed or self-

developed have a meaning and permanence that imposed changes do not have

•  A “holistic approach” can deal successfully with problems with which a “fragmented approach” cannot cope

• Democracy requires cooperative participation and action in the affairs of the community, and people must learn the skills that make this possible

• Frequently, communities of people need help in organizing to deal with their needs, just as many individuals require help with individual problems

Assumptions• Inherent dignity and worth of the individual -community pace • Everyone /community possess resources to deal with his problems • The inherent capacity for growth• The ability to manage one’s own affairs

Models of Community Organization

Social Action

Locality Development

Social Planning

Locality Development• According to Murray Ross the "process of self help and

communal action is valuable in its own right". The model of locality development is based on this particular thought process. It originated from the traditional community organization practice. The main focus of this model is whole community or a part of it. The basic belief is that communities have some common needs and interests and once the people realize this need and work together democratically they can take appropriate steps to improve the quality of life.

Role of the community organizer:• to enhance the involvement of the people in the community

and help the community to plan and help them find a solution to the problem. It is similar to work of community development, which is done in the underdevelopment world.

Social PlanningIt refers to the type of community work where a worker

or agency undertakes an exercise of evaluating welfare needs and existing services in the area and suggests a possible blue print for a more efficient delivery of services, it is termed as social planning. It is concerned with social problems For example. Housing, education, health, childcare and so on. Its aim is to affect a large population. The community planner works in greater capacity with the government and is often identified with power structure of the community but interested in the needs and attitudes of the community.

Social Action• According to Friedlander,W.A. ( 1963) " Social Action is an

individual, group or community effort within the framework of the social work philosophy and practice that aims to achieve social progress, to modify social policies and to improve social legislation and health and welfare services". Another model of community organization suggested by Rothman is that of social action. According to him social action is a strategy used by groups or sub communities or even national organizations that feel that they have inadequate power and resources to meet their needs. So they confront with the power structure using conflict as a method to solve their issues related to inequalities and deprivation.

• This has been used as a means to redress the social problems of the nation, redistribute the resources and power to the poor and powerless. Social action as model has an important role in community organization.• The community organizer uses all means to pressure

the power structure to give in to demands. The role of organizers may differ depending the issues they get involved in. The role may be of advocate, activist, agitator, broker or negotiator. It is a process. This organizing process goes through different stage .So the role of the organizer will also change as per the roles of the organizer at each stage.

Goal of Community Organizing• A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power

 for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence key decision-makers on a range of issues over time. In the ideal, for example, this can get community organizing groups a place at the table before important decisions are made.

Objectives of COMain Objective/aim: To bring adjustment between the resources available and felt needs of the people• To get information about the resources and needs• To arouse the people to work for the welfare of the community• To create sounds ground for planning and action• To create a sense of cooperation integration and unity among

people• To motivate the people to take better participation in the

developing community programs• To highlight the causes of various problems affecting the

community and hinder the way of progress and development• To implement programs required for the fulfilment of people

basic needs

• To develop better understanding among the people about the issues and needs

• To mobilize the resources to create a suitable ground for the basic needs completion and eradication of problems

• To bring coordination between the individuals, groups and organization to focus their point and challenge their objectives for fulfilment

• To launch necessary reforms in the community for eradication of community evils

• To develop democratic leadership among people through their participation in community programs

• To develop the idea of ability and better thinking to work for the betterment of community

• To abolish the differences among individuals, develop spirit of common interest and sacrifice and also participate collectively in community programs

• To organize the people for the promotion and progress of community

• Removal of blocks to growth (in individuals, groups as well as in communities)

• Release of full potentialities (in individuals, groups as well as in communities)

• Full use of inner resources (in individuals, groups as well as in communities)

• Development of capacity to manage one’s own (individual, group & community) life

• Increasing the ability to function as an integrated unit