Empowerment
Empowerment is a construct shared by many disciplines and arena: community development, psychology, education, economics and studies of social movements and organizations among others. How empowerment is understood varies among these perspectives. In recent empowerment literature, the meaning of the term empowerment is often assumed rather than explained or defined. Rappoport (1984) has noted that it is easy to define empowerment by its absence but difficult to define in action as it takes on different forms in different people and contexts. Even defining the concept is subject to debate. Zimmerman (1984) has stated that asserting a single definition of empowerment may make attempts to achieve it formulaie or prescription like, contradicting the very concept of empowerment.
A common understanding of empowerment is necessary, however, to allow us to know empowerment when we see it in people with whom we are working and for program evaluation. According to Bailey (1992) how we precisely define empowerment within projects and programs will depend upon the specific people and context involved.
As a general definition, however, we suggest that empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important.
We suggest that three components of our definition are basic to any understanding of empowerment.
Empowerment is multi-dimensional: It occurs within sociological, psychological, economic, and other dimensions. Empowerment also occurs at various levels such as individual, group, and community.
Empowerment by definition, is a social process, since it occurs in relationship to others.
Empowerment is a process that is similar to a path or journey, one that develops as we work through it. Other aspects of empowerment may vary according to the specific context and people involved, but these (multi-dimensional, social and as a process) remain constant. In addition, one important implication of this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally connected.
Interconnection of individuals and community Wilson (1996) pointed out that recently, more researchers, organizers, politicians and employers recognize that individual change is a prerequisite for community and social change and empowerment. This does not mean that we can point the finger(s) at those with less access to power, telling them that they must change to become more like “us” in order to be powerful/successful. Rather, individual change becomes a bridge to community connectedness and social change.
To create change we must change individually to enable us to become partners in solving the complex issues facing us. In collaborations based on mutual respect, diverse perspectives, and a developing vision, people work toward creative and realistic solutions. This synthesis of individual and collective change is our understanding of an empowerment process. We see this inclusive individual and collective understanding of empowerment as crucial in programs with empowerment as a goal. It is in the critical transition or interconnection, between the individual and the communal or social, that programs such as ‘people empowering people’, can be invaluable for people and communities.
Community empowerment therefore involves individuals acting collectively to gain greater influence and control over the determinants of health and the quality of life in their community, and is an important goal in community action for health.
Underlying principles:
The core principles focus attention on the “community” aspects of community benefit, and on the health system’s role in a lager web of organizations and people responsible for helping to ensure the public’s health. In summary, the principles are:
1. Emphasize disproportionate unmet health-related needs.
2. Emphasize primary prevention
3. Build a seamless continuum of care
4. Build community capacity; and
5. Emphasize collaborative governance.
Areas of concern may include:
(a) Health- immunization, mortality rate, communicable diseases i.e,, eye diseases, HIV/AIDs, diarrhoera and malnutrition could easily be dealt with by use of team work. Also access to safe water and sanitation
(b) Agricultural support
(c) Having access roads
(d) Revolving Credit Fund
(e) Coordination and management of all social activities. With empowerment all these
can run smoothly and can bring about positive change in our communities.
With empowerment all these can run smoothly and can bring about positive change in our communities.
N.B. In conclusion, we see empowerment as a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, their communities, and their society by acting on issues that they define as important. People are taught skills and knowledge that will motivate them to take steps to improve their own lives – to be empowered.
Citizenship Participation:
Effective citizenship means, at its simplest, members of local communities being ready, willing and able to get involved in local issues. This is not simply about people having the opportunity to participate, but also about possessing the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to take part.
Harnessing the insights, perspectives and talents of local people can improve services, the quality of democracy, and the legitimacy of council leadership. There can benefit is to participants, too. As well as contributing to improving the quality of life of their community, getting involved in local affairs can provide individuals with opportunities to acquire training, skills and give them pathways into education and employment.
In recognition of these potential benefits, policy-makers at local and national level have taken an increasing interest in encouraging people to re-connect with government and participate in local decisions. In recent years local authorities have made huge strides in engaging with the public. Large numbers have adopted residents and user surveys, citizens panels, citizens juries, focus groups, neighborhood and area forums, to mention but just a few. E.g. when 255 of the tax collected at Sub County levels is brought back down to villages. It is up to the members within the given villages to decide how to spend. If any projects are to be conducted in communities, community participation is greatly called for. But simply providing opportunities for the public to participate only goes so far. Despite using a growing range of consultation and participation techniques, more than half of residents believe that their local council has not consulted them in the past year. And there is much more that can be done to draw marginalized and vulnerable people to local decision-making. It is therefore important to find new ways of increasing people’s capacity or desire to become more involved. This can be best done by governments, councils or any authority in consultation with professionals who can help put in place effective approaches.
· Effective communication – giving people the information and knowledge they need to understand local decision – making structures, but also taking steps to simplify the knowledge required, either by bringing together information on opportunities to engage or by combining opportunities into a single process.
· Capacity building – training and practical support that strengthen the existing skills, knowledge and confidence of individuals, community groups and council personnel to get involved in decision-making and develop solutions. This could include skills in communication, diversity issues, conflict resolution or community leadership.
Promoting cultural change – This means cultivating a belief in the value of collective action to address social problems and improve the quality of life; for councils, it means learning to operate in ways that are responsible to citizen input, and showing participants that their involvement is valued.
Address the wider context. It is critical that local authorities pay attention to wider issues which may affect people’s propensity to get involved, such as the condition of the voluntary sector and community groups in their area, race relations and the representation of marginalized groups on decision-making forums.
Partnership working: Promoting effective citizenship requires genuine collaboration between councils and a range of other public, private, voluntary and community sector organizations. As part owners of the citizenship agenda, schools, N.G.Os, and local community groups can all make significant contributions. When all these different organizations work in partnership, there is more scope for improving practice by learning from each other, and to deliver more effective learning opportunities. Thus, shared processes of organizational learning stands to be an important factor for effective citizenship.
Building on what’s already there:
In designing learning opportunities for citizenship, councils can usefully start from where people are at in terms of their life situation, experience, confidence and interest, and allow them to shape their own learning experiences. Recognize where particular communities already have assets and skills and build upon these.
In designing citizenship education activities, practitioners should remember that existing networks, umbrella groups and community organizations can provide knowledge and contacts, and maybe well placed to deliver information and capacity building to their members.
DEVELOPMENT (COMMUNITY)
Community development is a direct byproduct of empowerment and effective citizenship participation. Where communities are empowered and citizenship participation encouraged, high levels of community development are achieved.
Local action planning:- any process whereby the members of a community work together to produce a plan, especially insetting priorities for community strategies and local development frame works. Such activities offer a focused setting for the development of skills, confidence and experience indecision making processes at local level building the capacity for neighborhood governance.
Qualitative change:
In the end, effective citizenship is about better democratic outcomes, whether that is achieving social change, challenging inequalities or promoting sustainable communities. Measuring whether people feel more empowered can require qualitative information, including careful assessment of people’s individual development as well as tracking participants to assess how far they and the groups they represent are accessing power structures.
Tracking personal development staff working closely with sections of the public maybe able to identify signs of personal learning as individuals progress from simply participating in initiatives, to facilitating events and workshops, to becoming peer educators or deepening their involvement in civic life in other ways. Staff involved in user forums may be able to report on the quantity, social complexions and quality of public involvement in their service.
In summary community development cannot be enhanced without empowerment and citizenship participation. These are two key factors which must come into play if any development is to be experienced anywhere. It is now the role of those aware of this fact to educate others about the same and make sure that development in our local communities is highly promoted, for a “health” living in this world.
2
The Difference Between Management And Leadership
Leadership and management are two notions that are often used interchangeably. However, these words actually describe two different concepts. In this section, we shall discuss these differences and explain why both terms are thought to be similar.
Leadership is a facet of management
Leadership is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. Care must be taken in distinguishing between the two concepts. The main aim of a manager is to maximise the output of the organisation through administrative implementation. To achieve this, managers must undertake the following functions:
· organisation
· planning
· staffing
· directing
· controlling
Leadership is just one important component of the directing function. A manager cannot just be a leader, he also needs formal authority to be effective. "For any quality initiative to take hold, senior management must be involved and act as a role model. This involvement cannot be delegated."
In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self motivated groups may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is not always required proves that leadership is just an asset and is not essential.
Differences In Perspectives
Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically. "Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing." [2]. This means that managers do things by the book and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. A leader is more emotional than a manager . "Men are governed by their emotions rather than their intelligence" . This quotation illustrates why teams choose to follow leaders.
"Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They have a preference for innovation."
Subordinate As A Leader
Often with small groups, it is not the manager who emerges as the leader. In many cases it is a subordinate member with specific talents who leads the group in a certain direction. "Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the guide-post for action and behaviour rather than attempting to control others."
When a natural leader emerges in a group containing a manager, conflict may arise if they have different views. When a manager sees the group looking towards someone else for leadership he may feel his authority is being questioned.
Loyalty
Groups are often more loyal to a leader than a manager. This loyalty is created by the leader taking responsibility in areas such as:
· Taking the blame when things go wrong.
· Celebrating group achievements, even minor ones.
· Giving credit where it is due.
"The leader must take a point of highlighting the successes within a team, using charts or graphs, with little presentations and fun ideas"
"Leaders are observant and sensitive people. They know their team and develop mutual confidence within it"
The Leader Is Followed. The Manager Rules
A leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice, whereas a manager must be obeyed. A manager may only have obtained his position of authority through time and loyalty given to the company, not as a result of his leadership qualities. A leader may have no organisational skills, but his vision unites people behind him.
Management Knows How It Works
Management usually consists of people who are experienced in their field, and who have worked their way up the company. A manager knows how each layer of the system works and may also possess a good technical knowledge. A leader can be a new arrival to a company who has bold, fresh, new ideas but might not have experience or wisdom.
Conclusion
Managing and leading are two different ways of organising people. The manager uses a formal, rational method whilst the leader uses passion and stirs emotions. William Wallace is one excellent example of a brilliant leader but could never be thought of as the manager of the Scots!
