¶ … enterprise, before creating a plan to help a community, it is essential that an assessment is conducted to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the population and also the available resources to structure the action plan (Vincent 133). Conducting assessments works to raise awareness about the issues at stake in the public eye given the information such assessments bring to light. The assessment, using both quantitative and qualitative information, can help define the parameters of the community and its needs. Data collection methods include researching and reading previous studies of the community; literally taking a 'windshield' or observational tour of the area to record initial impressions; taking photographs; conducting interviews of residents; holding community meetings; and facilitating focus groups. A more quantitative approach is to distribute questionnaires whose results can be tallied. The ideal is to gain a full portrait of the physical, social,...
For example, just as a business identifies specific productivity and quality goals, so can a community in terms of increasing access to education or improving the health of the overall environment by reducing pollution (Phillips & Pitman 286-287). To benchmark and determine what a reasonable goal is for a community, it is essential to study healthy as well as 'sick' communities as points of comparison: for example, although there has been an unfortunate trend of obesity in children spiraling upwards, not all communities have this issue. Studying why some communities are free of this problem while in others it is an epidemic can better highlight potential solutions and what aspects of community life to emphasize in creating…
Community Leadership Kolsow, D.R. Chapter 8: The chapter begins by pointing out that the development of community leadership skills is an integrated, and often complicated, process. The second component of this is the acknowledgement that leadership is a learned skill rather than an inherent one obtained by "birthright." The effective involvement of local leaders in their communities leads to the effective functioning of such communities, which makes a focus on developing such
Community Leadership Written documents on Leadership in political, public, governmental, social, industrial and community organization is something that began in the early 1900s and is quite broad in scope and content. Various dimensions of the topic have been explored such as perspectives of leadership, leadership sources and roots, traits in leadership, functions of leaders and how the environment impacts roles in leadership. This chapter looks at various literatures in the field
Community Leadership Excerpts from a Community Organizer's Tale (Mike Miller, 2009) The article by Miller is a classic and practical example of the daily challenges that organizations dealing with the community face on a day-to-day basis. It highlights the various challenges that are not necessarily universal but peculiar to each society and that may change due to the prevailing environmental, social and political realities of the time. The writer puts to the
Community Leadership Peter Hall's "Symbolism, Ritual, and the Deep Structure of Communities" provides an in-depth analysis of the forming of communities in the United States. The author considers the beginnings of communities from the outset of the country's inception, and discusses the fact how early on communities were centered around religious and cultural values -- especially with the pilgrims and their puritan lifestyles. What is key about this early version of
Community leadership is very important, and one of the best ways to lead a community is through getting grants to develop and improve that community. Urban neighborhoods are coming back in many parts of the country, and they are doing that, in part, through grants (von Hoffman, 2003). In order to get a grant, though, an agency or organization has to know exactly who to apply to, what should be
Community Leadership / Diverse Community Community Leadership: Effective Leadership for a Diverse Community Ethical and Social Responsibility There are both ethical and social responsibilities that community leaders need to be aware of, especially when they are working with a diverse community (Taylor, 2011). Communities offer valuable means of support for all of their members, but only if the leaders of those communities are able to provide for all of their members in a
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