UNIT IV
MODELS/APPROACHES IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Definition and conceptions of community organizing vary markedly. There are
different forms of community organization practices but there appear major
orientation that maybe referred to as models or approaches such as the
following:
Models and Approaches in Community Organizations:
A. Jack Rothmans
Organization
Three
Development
Models
of
Community
1. Locality Development or Community Development
The objective of this model is to alter human attitudes and
behavioral patterns through education, exhortation, and a number
of other methods for stimulating self-development and fulfillment.
This model has two key aspects.
 Community Change or economic and social progress
comes about through the active participation of the
community people at their own initiative.
 The concepts emphasized are that of democratic
procedures, voluntary cooperation, self help, development
of indigenous leadership and educational objectives.
This model entails organizing the people at the grassroots level to
work out problems related to their socio-economic needs, it
provides a framework for improving socio-economic conditions
using the harmonious combination of government resources and
peoples effort.
2. Social Action
It aims to effect reforms in major legal and functional systems of
society. It relies upon political mobilization and host of other
instruments for coping with powerful trends and development.
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The approach presupposes a disadvantaged segment of the
population that needs to be organized, perhaps in alliance with
others, to make adequate demands on the larger community for
increased resources or treatment in accordance with social justice
and democracy. The aims include making basic changes in major
institutions or community structures with the end in view of
redistributing power resources, or decision making in the
community and/or changing basic policies of formal organization.
3. Social Planning
It aims to alter social conditions by changing the policies of formal
organizations. It is undertaken to modify the amount, the quality,
the accessibility and the range of good, services, and facilities
provided for the people.
Other objective of this model is to humanize the process of
development and to create the conditions necessary for the
exercise of equality and popular participation.
The model emphasizes a technical process of problem solving with
regard to substantive social problems, such as delinquency,
housing, malnutrition, mental health, educational wastage and
unemployment. Expert planners are needed for rational,
deliberately planned and controlled changes in the establishment,
arrangement, and delivery of goods and services to the people who
truly need them. The economic aim is to ensure the wise and
maximum utilization of resources in order to raise general levels of
living and to achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth and
property.
These models are set off as analytical extremes in actual practice.
These orientations overlap.
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Table I. A set of practice variable designed to help describe and compare
each of the approaches:
Components
1. Major goal
categories
(Task vs. process)
2. Assumption
regarding the
community situation
Locality Development
Social Planning
Social Action
Process Goal
Strengthen the horizontal
pattern of the community
integration, citizen
education, group
dynamics, cooperative,
problem solving
structures.
Lack of relationships and
problem solving skills
Task Goals
Deal with concrete
social problems in the
most efficient way.
Task Goals:
Need Legislation and
Social change
Process Goals:
Build strategic
organizations which
can be a variety of
problems.
Deprive people of
social involvement,
power and
organizations.
Let the people realize
who their enemy is
and help them focus
on visible scrap.
“Lets organize and
fight”
Large scale social
needs;
housing/employment
recreation etc.
Gather facts about
the problem and
decide on what best
course of action to
take. “lets get the
facts and make the
logical steps”
Planners do factfinding and analysis,
use interorganizational
relations. Consensus
or conflicts depend
on planners analysis.
Expert, fact gatherer,
implementer of plans,
influence formal
organizations and
professional (very
visible)
Manage formal
organization and data
3. Change strategy
Get a wide range of
people involved in
determining and solving
their own problems. “Lets
talk it over”
4. Change tactics and
techniques.
- consensus
- communication
- group discussion
5. Practitioner Role
Enables, encourage
catalyst, teacher of
values and problem
solving (very visible)
6. Medium of Change
Manage small taskoriented groups.
7. Orientation toward
power structure
The “power structure” is
part of the client systems
and reaches agreements
with other community
groups. Only goals which
are mutually agreeable to
all factions are
acceptable.
Planner represent
their employees, who
are in the power of
structure. Therefore
plans are compatible
with the power of
structure.
8. Definition of the
client systems (or
prime beneficiaries)
Total community:
All group and factions in
the community
Total or segment
(welfare council and
city planners) or one
neighborhood.
Show off visibility of
political power, use
conflict,
confrontation, direct
action.
Advocate agitator,
negotiator (employee
and servant of the
people) (low profile)
Manage mass
organization and
organizational
processes.
The “power structure”
is the opposition
which must be
weakened so that the
people can have
more or a voice in
plans which affect
them (seek balance
of power)
A community
segment (a specific
group which suffers
from other groups)
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Components
9. Assumption
regarding interests
of community subparts.
10. Conception of
client population
Locality Development
Social Planning
Interest of community
(functions can be
reconciled through
rational persuasion,
communication and
mutual goodwill)
Normal citizens with
rights to receive social
help, who need
developing and educating
Interest may be
reconciled or in
conflict. Depends on
the various self
interest.
Factions have
conflicting interest
which are not easily
reconciled.
Consumers who will
use the social
services planned for
them, helping
program, etc.
The client planner
and professionals
can be best discover
the public interest nor
what is the best plan
and solution for all
factions and
members of the
community.
Clients are
consumers or
recipients of services
which are placed by
policy members and
planners.
Victims of society of
the disadvantage,
who need a voice.
11. Conception of
public interest
The common food can be
found through meetings
of a cross section of
people and interest
groups.
12. Conception of
client roles
Clients are participants in
the international process
with each other and the
practitioner. Learning and
growth take place through
community groups.
Social Action
Public interest are
transitory which
comprises various
interest groups
bargaining and
influencing public
officials.
Clients are
employees,
sponsors,
constituents or peers.
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B. Saul Alinsky’s Conflict-Confrontation Model
The conflict confrontation model was systematized and popularized by
Saul Alinsky based on his experiences in organizing black ghettos in
Chicago. He wrote his experience in several booklets such as “Roles for
Radicals”, “Reveille for Radicals” and “Get ‘Em Moving”. His approaches
were popularized in the Philippines via the training conducted within
church based NGO’s by one of his colleagues, Rev. Herbert Whitel. The
training took place in the mid 70’s. His ideas quickly took root and
flourished in those social action agencies, the foremost of which was the
Philippine Ecumenical Council for Community Organizing (PECCO), which
organized the Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO) with the urban poor
in Tondo. This approach became a leading and effective strategy during
that period of severe political repression because it allowed the tackling of
issues at the grassroots level while avoiding much of the “ideological
branding” that often led to detention by the military.
Nature of Conflict
Conflict occurs when there is a situation in which two or more persons
desire goals that they perceive as being attainable by one of the other, but
not by both. That is, when one person’s self-interest is different, in contact
with and in opposition to another’s. Unless the actions of one party will
have an effect on the other, conflict will not occur. Recognition of this
interdependence is pre-requisite to managing or resolving conflict.
Some Assumptions About Conflict
1. We face conflict all the time.
2. Conflict implies contact. If there is relationship, there will be conflict.
3. Conflict exists: it is neither good nor bad. How we deal with it
determines end results.
4. Where groups suppress conflict, there will be an accumulation of
feeling, leading toward the possibility of an eruption in a disastrously
polarizing row.
5. Conflict faced and managed creates real potential for growth and
change.
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Some Positive Functions of Conflict
1. Empowerment: energizes and gives power to group life. A healthy
amount of conflict, challenges and tension brings out best skills and
resources of members.
2. Establishing Identity: “He is not with me is against me, and he who
does not gather with me scatters” Differentiates between in-group and
out-group.
3. Unifying the in-group: having a common adversary has this effect.
4. Helps persons to Bear the Intolerable: Can be release, and can give
hope. Fact that one can confront organization when outraged by a
policy allows person to remain within the organization and support it
other areas of common life.
5. Facing and resolving conflict between two people or among a group
strengthens and deepens the relationship.
6. Can lead to real transformation: of situation, values of relationship.
Basic Features of Saul Alinsky’s Conflict-Confrontation Model
 The use of conflict or controversy to agitate action for change.
 The recognition and use of self-interest to fan discontentment toward
involving people in personal and community issues.
 Mass mobilization involving the most number of people possible.
 Negotiation with conflict-confrontation
 Issue to issue approach, relating the macro issue.
 Developing organizational structures for people’s power
 Pressure tactics and pressure packed training.
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C. Paolo Freire’s Conscientization Model
Conscientization comes from the Portuguese word “Conscietizacao”
which means the process of developing the people’s critical awareness of
their situation in relation to bigger social realities and their own capacity to
transform realities.
Principles of Paolo Freire’s Model
1. The education is neutral or un-political
It either domesticates so many situations by imposing on the people
the value and culture of the dominant class or liberties, e.g. helping
people become critical, free, active and responsible members of
society.
2. Issues must have importance to the people
People will act on the issues on which they have strong feelings. All
education and development projects should start by identifying the
issues that the local people speak with commitment, hope, fear,
anxiety or anger.
3. Problem posing approach
The whole education and development process is viewed as a
common search for solution to problems with the people as partner or
active participants in all phases of problem solving. This is in contrast
to the banking approach where the people are seen as empty vessels
needing to be filled with knowledge and the organizers.
4. Dialogue
Education must be a mutual learning process. Community organizers
serve as facilitators or animators whose roles is to set up a situation in
which genuine dialogue can take place, where each shares one’s
experiences, listens and learns from the other.
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5. Reflection and action
A community organizer or animator can provide a situation in which
people critically reflect upon that they are doing. Identify any new
information and training that they need, get this information and
training, and plan their action. By setting a regular cycle of actionreflection-action in which the people are constantly calibrating their
success or analyzing critically the cause of mistakes and failures they
can become more capable of effectively transforming their daily life.
Freire suggests the action-reflection-action method of organizing
people. This process revolves around the following activities.
 People’s assessment and reflections of past activities and effects of
their own development.
 Clarification of goals and objectives in relation to identified
problems and issues
 Identification and analysis of problems and issues
 Planning and undertaking group activities.
 Peoples assessment and reflection of activities undertaken.
6. Radical transformation of life in the local communities and the
whole society.
A conscientizing type of education aims to involve the whole
communities in actively transforming the quality of each person’s life,
the environment, the community and the whole society. It is a dynamic
process in which education and development are totally interwoven. It
recognizes that each person has a contribution to make in building a
new society and tries to help each person and each community
became more capable and committed to the service of the people and
national transformation.
D. Eclectic Approach (The Alinsky-Freire Fusion)
Comparisons, evaluations and criticisms of both Alinsky and Freire’s
approaches led to an eclectic practice of these approaches in the
Philippines. Their ideas were expressed in this country not as separate
organizing experiences but rather as a fusion of two into an internally
coherent approach to social change.
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After experimentation, many organizers began recognizing some of the
inherent limitation of Alinsky’s approach, particularly that it did not offer a
long term program for training the people and because it was not
grounded politically on the class struggle unfolding around them. In the
light of these limitations, Freire’s theory of conscientization was grafted
into the Alinsky strategy serving as the educational component which gave
a sharper ideological focus/dimensions to their work with the oppressed.
A third dimension of the eclectic community organizing approach
especially with those who were working with basic Christian communities
was the Theology of Liberation mainly through the writings of Gustavo
Gutierrez.
Other influences on community organizing practice in the Philippines
would be strains of Marxist - Maoist thoughts and tools of analysis such in
the class and structural analysis and such emphasis on class-based
organizing.
Those models and influences have gone through the process of
adaptation and indigenization especially in terms of tactics and strategies,
thus making community organizing more eclectic. Today, different groups
and agencies – development NGO’s, church, the academe of schools,
business and government agencies have their own versions of community
organizing practice. Whichever type or combination of community
organizing models is preferred and practiced would depend on the
agency;s and/or the community organizer’s orientation, their analysis of
societal problems, their vision of an alternative society and the
corresponding methods and strategies to achieve the latter.
Meanwhile, the debate continues as to the most relevant and effective
model and strategies to achieve genuine national transformation.
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