Community Based ORG PDF

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To be used for social work and community development students...

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ST STAND AND ANDARD ARD LECTURE NO NOTES TES

COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION FOR

DIPLOMA IN SOCIAL WORK&COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION Table of Contents 1. Introduction to community based organization ------------------------1-4 2. Organizations’ structure ---------------------------------------------------5-24 3. Classification of organizations -------------------------------------------25-27 4. Organization goals ----------------------------------------------------------28-34 5. Organization culture -------------------------------------------------------35-39 6. Change in community based organizations ----------------------------40-46 7. Leadership in community based organization ------------------------47-53 8. motivation in community based organization-------------------------54-59 9. management of community based organization----------------------60-63 10.Organization function------------------------------------------------------64-67 11.Capacity building in community based organization-----------------68-70 12.Conflict in community based organization-----------------------------71-75 13. Power and politics in community based organization--------------76-78 14.Emerging trends in community based organization------------------79-81

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION General Objectives By the end of this module unit, the trainee should be able to: a) Understand the role of Community Based Organization in the society. b) Appreciate the importance of organization in community development activities c) Appreciates the importance of partnerships in community development activities d) Manage community development organizations in the society INTRODUCTION This model unit is intended to equip the trainee with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable him/her to indicate and manage community based organizations. 1.1 Definition of terms Community  It refers to a geographical locality and its residents  Jensen (1939) mentions that a community is used in everyday language to refer to a number of persons who have similar interest e.g. sporting community, business community  Kayman (1972) indicates that a community refers to the local community/locality  Wilson (1912) he saw communities as a complex of economic and social processes in which individuals find the satisfactions that are not supplied within their home. Organization  Warren (1955) points out that organizations are resources which enables members of a community to work together to meet their needs.  Wiledon (1970) views an organization as individuals in a given situation who usually agree to work together for attainment of certain objectives  Organizations are also viewed as a collection of individuals formed into a coordinated system of specialized activities for the purpose of achieving certain goals over some extended period of time even tough individual membership may change. Community Based organizations Theses are social agencies that consist of a collection of individuals formed into a coordinated system of specialized activities for the purpose of achieving certain goals over some extended period of time even though individual membership may change and they are specifically based within a single local community. Like other non- profits, they are often run on a voluntary basis and are self funded.

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Within community based organizations, there are many variations in terms of size and organizational structure. Some are formally incorporated with a written constitution and a board of directors (also known as committee), while others are much smaller and are more informal. The recent evolution of community based organizations in developing countries has strengthen the view that these “bottom- up” organizations are more effective addressing local needs than the larger charitable organizations. 1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS Community based organizations have its outs in American social work where social work schools initially taught case work, group work and community organization Smith (1979) notes than case work was also taught by social schools in Britain but interest in community organization came from field work practice rather than from social work theory. Biddle and Biddle (1965) notes that the emphasizes of community organizations is structured in the sense that it perceives the community as made up of groups and organizations whose operations needs to be coordinated. Community based organizations are also emphasizes the raising of funds to support their work Rothman points out that it was not until 1947 that serious analysis of the theoretical aspects of community organizations was started which gave rise to NGO`s and community based organizations Development of C.B.O`s (KENYA) In Kenya CBO`s emerged from the social welfare organizations which was established in 1946. It was headed by Mr. Tom Asqwith as a commissioner of social welfare. In 1954, the social welfare organization became one of the departments of the newly crated ministry until around 1963, this department encouraged self help groups CBO`s grows to take control of most of the self help groups organized organizations and work for the benefit of the community they work in. Community based organizations activities Some of the activities carried out by CBO`s include the following;  community betterment in terms of improving the economic set up of a community through initiating developmental activities,  health and social welfare through initiating health facilities and good water systems,  home improvements due to improved source of income and life style,  better business which are in most cases profit oriented,  it’s a source of employment to the young people in that they can be self- employed,  due to joint efforts between the members, a better farming can be achieved which can led to high production and  Social enjoyment in that some of the members will enjoy leadership roles within the community based organizations. 3 ©

In Kenya, community based organizations are registered by the department of social services, under the ministry of gender, sports and social services.

1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS Typically, community based organizations have the following characteristic;  They are non-profit making organizations and are permanent,  They are community owned i.e. their survival depend on the support offered by the communities they serve,  CBO`s must register with the ministry of gender, sports and social services in their respective district offices,  They are autonomous (dependent),  They foster peoples self reliance,  They emphasize on community participation because they are owned by the community,  They initiate new and small scale projects,  They develop human resources including local leadership and  They focus on community level development. REVISION QUESTIONS 1. Define the following terms; a) Community b) Organization c) Community Based organization 2. Discuss in details the historical background of community based organization 3. Explain the characteristics of community based organization.

CHAPTER TWO 2.0 ORGANIZATIONS’ STRUCTURE Specific Objectives By the end of this topic, the trainee should be able to: a) Explain the meaning of organization b) Discuss types of organization 4 ©

c) Discuss importance of organizational structures in the society d) Explain the importance of policy in community based organization. INTRODUCTION Farnham and Horton defined organizations as social contracts created by groups in a society to achieve specific purpose by means of plan and coordinated activities. These activities involve using human resources to act in association with their in animate resources in order to achieve the aims of the organization. They are also defined as a collection of individuals formed into a co-ordinated system of specialized activities for the purpose of achieving certain goals over some extended period of time even tough individuals may change. Robins in his book “the reality of management’ third edition defines an organization as a consciously coordinated social unit composed of two or moa people for the achievement of some common explicit, purpose or goal through division of about and function and through hierarchy of authority and responsibility. 2.1 Meaning of organization They pervade social life, people are born, brought up, live and die in an organization i.e. hospital, families among others. People are socialized and reared in organization man cannot avoid organizations, whenever people think of alternatives turn out to be organizations. They came into being in one or two ways. They enable objectives to be achieved that could not be achieved by the efforts of individuals on their own organizations are an integrated part of society involving both public and private sectors. There are many different types of organizations which are set up to serve as a number of different purposes and to meet a variety of needs. Organizations come in all forms, shapes and sizes. The structure, management and functioning of organizations vary because of differences in he nature and type of organization, their perspective/goals and objectives and the behavior of people who work with them Common factors in an organization Despite the differences among varies organizations there are at least three common factors in any organization  people  objectives  structure It is the interaction of people who help achieve objectives which form the basis of any organization. Some form of structure is needed by which people’s interactions and efforts and efforts are channeled and co-ordinate. However some process of management is required so that the activities of the 5 ©

organization and the efforts of its members are directed and controlled towards the pursuit of objective. The actual effectiveness of the organizations depends upon the quality of its people, its objectives and structure and the resources available to it. There are two broad categories of these resources  non-human-physical asset, materials and facilities and  Human-members abilities and influence and their managements. 2.2 TYPES OF ORGANIZATION There are two major types of organizations;  Formal and  informal organizations a) Formal organizations This is the planned coordination of the activities of a number of people for the achievement of some formal, explicit purpose of people for the division of labour and function and through hierarchy of authority and responsibilities. The formal organization is; i) Deliberately planned and created ii) Cornered with the coordination of activities iii) Hierarchically structured with stated objectives, and iv) Based on certain principles such as the specification of tasks and defined relationships of authority and responsibility. The formal organization can be seen as a coalition of individual with a number of sub-coalitions. Membership of the coalition depends upon the type of organization but would include managers,administrators,workers,union officials, leaders of interest groups,customers,clients,patrons,donors specialist, consultants and representatives of external agencies. Politically all the large organizations of the modern society such as factories office complexes supermarkets and schools are formal structures, to an extent, formal organizations in modern societies have taken over supplemented functions previously performed by formally kinship and community groups.

b) Informal organization An informal organization develops and exists within all formal organizations. They are freely created by social group’s relationships outside and inside formal organizations. They arise from interaction people working in the organization their psychological and social needs and the development of groups within their own relationship and norms of behavior irrespective of those defined with in the formal structure;  the informal structure is flexible and loosely structured  relationships may be left undefined  Membership is spontaneous and with varied degrees of involvement. 6 ©

Functions of an informal organization a. It provides satisfaction of the members, social needs and serve of personal identity and belonging b. It provides for additional channels of communication for examplethrough the `grapevine` information of importance to particular members is communicated quickly. c. It provides a means of motivation-for example through status, social interaction, arty in routines or tedious and informal methods of work d. It provides a feeling, stability and security through informal norms of behavior can exercise a form of control over members e. It provides a means of highlighting deficiencies or weakness in the formal organization-for example areas of duties or responsibilities not covered in job descriptions or outdated systems and procedure. f. It may also be used when formal methods would take long or not be appropriate to deal with an unusual or unforeseen situation. g. The informal organization therefore has an important influence on the morale, motivation, job satisfaction and performance of the staff. h. It can provide members with greater opportunity to use their initiative and creativity in both personal and organizational development. Basic components of an organization Any organization can be described broadly interims of operating component and an administrative component. The operational core-this is concerned with direct performance of the technical and productive operations and carrying out of actual of a task activities of the organizations e.g. people teaching a classroom, treating a patient, cooking meals in a hotel, serving in a bank, repairing potholes on the road among others. Operation support-its concerned with the technical or productive process but closely related to the actual flow of operational work e.g. people working in quality control, work study, progress planning, store keeping, technical services, work maintenance etc. Organization support-it is concerned with provision of services for the whole organization including the operational core but which are usually outside the actual flow of operational worker people working in personnel, medical services etc. Top management-is concerned with broad objectives and policies, strategic decisions, the work of the organization as a whole and interactions with external environment e.g. managing director,governors,management team, chief executive, board of directors and council members. Middle management-is concerned with coordinated and integration of activities and providing links with operational support staff and organizational support staff between the operational core and top management.

Comparison of formal and informal organizations characteristics Formal organizations 1.structure Planned a) origin Rational b) rationale stable 7 ©

Informal organizations Spontaneous Emotional Dynamic

2.positon terminology 3.goals 4.influences a)base b)type 5.Control mechanism 6.communication a)channels b)network c)speed d)accuracy 7.charting the organization 8.miscellanous a)individuals b)inter personal relations c)leadership role d)basis of interaction e)basis of attachment

job Profitability/service to society Position Authority Top-down

Role Members satisfaction

Threat of firing, demotions Formal channel, well defined, follow formal lines, Slow high Organization chart

Physical or social sanctions (norms) Grapevine Poorly defined across regular channel Fast low sociogram

All individuals in a group work Prescribed by job description assigned by organization Functional duties or positions

Only those acceptable Arise spontaneously Result of membership agreement Personal characteristic, ethic background cohesiveness

Personality Power Bottom- up

2.3 THEORIES OF ORGANIZATION Cognitional theories evolved during the first half of the 20th centaury. They are the backbone of the field of organizational studies, which has its objectives in the investigation of organization, particularly human organizations, in order to better understand their structure, functions and properties for the purpose of enhancing productivity and satisfaction. It encompasses the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations. They include; a) Bureaucratic and systems theories The theory is associated with Max Weber. The word bureaucracy is carried from a combination of Greek and Latin phrases. The Greek word `bureau` meaning table and chair. The word `cracy` means rule, Weber laid down the classical or bureaucratic model of organizational theory. His model is a functionalist one; he maintained that bureaucracy is the most functionally efficient form of organization even though it can sometimes operate in a rather inhuman way.Bureacracies is formal organizations generally cognizable by certain characteristics. He constructed an ideal type of bureaucracy to show what these characteristics are. They include:  Specialization-the existence of different offices (or positions) governed by rule, the purpose of which is to fulfill a specific function or functions. 8 ©

     

Hierarchy-the hierarchical organizations of offices that are some positions have more authority and status than others Rules-officials are required to observe established, usually written rules and procedures Records-management is based on files and records and is used with the assistance of office staff Officials-the appointment of trained personnel to occupy roles in the bureaucracy Impersonality-officials and clients are subject to the same rules and procedures Public and private-organizational matters are governed by publicly stead rues, not by private preferences.

Webber saw the growth of bureaucratic organizations as a major example of the application of rational thought to practical problems. He regarded the triumph of a nationality as a characteristic feature of modernworld.Another of its manifestation was the massive development of science and technology, above all it involves a commitment to performing the functions the officials is appointed to do, and not to any powerful person or patron who might want to interfere with the officials course duty. It was important for Weber to make this point because in the middle age, this principle did not apply. However, Weber’s theory can be citied in the sense that there is an implicit contradiction in his bureaucratic functionalism and his more usually emphasized or conflict. Again he did not fully develop the perspective that as well as fulfilling useful functions, organizations are also frequently the focus of conflict between groups.

b) Organic system theory This theory was developed by Burns and Stalker (1961).It refers to the type of organization that most obviously contrasts with the bureaucratic organization. Burns and Stalker contrast organic system with what they call mechanistic systems. Organic systems according to Burns and Stalker are characterized by a less rigid division of labour than mechanistic ones, they are less rulebound, less hierarchical and more open to the influence of the informal group. The skill and experience of the individual can be communicated literally (sideways) across the network of those involved in the task. The team as a whole shares power and responsibility, overall, the organic approach shows a more subtle awareness of the complex nature and effects of interaction, formal and informal than doe’s bureaucratic approach. Organic approach is often considered appropriate for relatively high level technical or scientific employees in; say the electronic industryfor example a team of computer programmers. Although the bureaucratic or mechanistic, and organic systems models of organizations are to some extent, in competition with each other, there are circumstances in which one model may be more appropriate than the other. Burns and stalker suggest that bureaucracy is often suitable for the pursuit 9 ©