Quadrant I
Items Description of Module
Subject Name Human resource Management
Paper Name Human resource development through community engagement Module Title Social change and development and role of community engagement
Module Id Mod-21
Pre- Requisites
Objectives To understand the process of development
Keywords Social development, change
Social change and development and role of community engagement 1. Learning Outcome
2. Introduction
3. Knowledge about economic and social development 4. Stages of development
5. Role of community engagement in social development 6. Summary
1. Introduction
Social change and development is the global agenda.It is based on the philosophy of creating an egalitarian society with a just social order where every individual would be given equal opportunity to participate and benefit from the resources and opportunities available.This agenda has emerged from the concept of social justice wherein everyone must be given equal chance to harness his potential to the maximum. This is concerned with creation of opportunity and providing all the social and economic support that is required to grow. Development is an all-encompassing word which comprises of economic, political and human development. In a vast, highly populated country with a diverse population and divisions based on gender, caste, language, urban-rural, organised -
unorganised; the task of social development at its best is people driven with their active participation in policy formulation and implementation. Current scenario in the wake of gradually reducing social capital owing to trust deficit resulting from systemic corruption and culture of work shirking needs to give a rethinking to the engagement of communities in the humongous task of social development.
How this can be achieved will be discussed in this module.
2. Change “Change is the only constant”
Change is a neutral term. It could be in any direction positive or negative; constructive or destructive; slow or fast.Change is evident when there is a geographical alteration due to climatic catastrophe, it may occur due to change in physical condition or lay out designed in any town. It may also be evident when, a river drifts apart, however the speed of the change may vary, as some changes may be immediate or fast like tsunami which led to catastrophe and changed the entire geopolitical and economic condition of an area. Change is evident when a bride refuses to marry into a family demanding dowry. It may occur when a girl from a poor family gets educated, clear civil service exam.
So we witness change in society at random speed and style. However every change is not desirable, what we need as a society is a positive change in a desired direction. When we make change “happen”
by our efforts in a direction , we call it development, in particular imposed or induced development.
3. Social development:
Social development is a process and as well as a goal. Since this goal is related to ‘society’ which is dynamic concept, comprised of individual, social institutions and groups which themselves are dynamic. This goal is forever shifting in the wake of emerging knowledge and ever emerging new problems. ‘The concept of social development is inclusive of economic development, but differs from it in the sense that it emphasises development of the totality of the society in its economic, political, social, and cultural aspects.’(Gore 2003)
Midgley (1995)defined social development as a planned social change designed to promote the wellbeing of the population as a whole and in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development. "A process of planned social change designed to promote the well- being of the
population as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development." The concept of social development as a policy process is critical to this perspective,as a process, social development is inextricably tied to economic development, interdisciplinary analysis and strategies, institusotional intervention, universal coverage, and comprehensive social welfare.’ Social development as a process seeks to enhance the wellbeing of each individual in a manner that is most economical, in terms of the costs to the society, in the form of natural resources, time consumed, and larger implicationson the masses and future generations. Social change and developmentif not planned and steered in the right directionmay not take care of the downtrodden, marginalized sections of the society. We cannot afford to believe in social Darwinism or the survival of the fittest where state is in a laissez-faire mode and market forces rule the development of the states. In the modern day we need to steer development in manner that it is all encompassing taking care of the economic, social, cultural as well as individual growth and development to the optimum. We need to look at the regulatory institutions like policies; market as well as economic, sustaining institutions like transport
&communication and nourishing institutions like education and employment all are working together for the nation development.
In the words of Midgley 1995 development ,"seeks to mobilize diverse social institutions including the market, community and state topromote people's welfare" using an activist administrative style known as "managed pluralism."
Society is compared to a living organism by Herbert spencer however he took it further to the notion of survival of the fittest, hence resulting in eugenic crimes against the weak and undesirable. Spencer believed that societies strive to survive, grow and develop on their own. But soon this concept was rejected.
Societies develop as a result of conscious efforts by the members to develop it. It is only when the major population strives towards it that the consciousness of a true collective organism leads to establishment of a development oriented state. It is in this context that the importance of community engagement which is a process itself becomes great.
In the initial understanding of development during 1950’s economic development was conceived as a panacea for social development as it was felt that once we are economically stable and well off most of the problems will vanish as they were perceived to be emerging from economic problems.
Historically we have witnessed many models of development. During colonial era the main aim of the colonial powers was to improve their own economy on the resources of their colonies. Their motivation for any kind of development activity was largely economic. Besides they induced certain aggression as well as subjugation of the inhabitants. The territorial demarcation for the easy administration of their areas of jurisdiction led to development of boundaries. (Smith 1983,p.p.27 ed.
Cox &Pawar 2006).
4. Economic development
4.1 Trickle-down theory
Westhas always been a model to be imitated; after independence we followed the west on the path to development and we relied on economic theory of development. We believed that as we will become economically independent and developed; the benefits willtrickle down to the masses in terms of jobs and goods /services. Since poverty reduction has been an agenda which remains unfinished, it was assumed that once we are able to have enough wealth we would be able to focus on other developments.
“Trickle-down economics is a theory that says benefits for the wealthy trickle down to everyone else.
These benefits are usually tax cuts on businesses, high-income earners, dividends and capital gains”.
‘A theory that financial benefits given to big business will in turn pass down to smaller businesses and consumers.’( marriamwbster dictionary)
Few models of economic development were developed. The most used ones are as follows.
4.2 HarrodDomar model: This model was known asHarrodDomar growth model. India’s five year plans were based on HarrodDomar’s growth model for a considerable number of years. This model shows how sufficient investment through savings can accelerate growth by increasing demand they looked at both the sides
-increasing capital by savings and
-increasing demands by generating employment..
Because if demand and income did not increase while annual invest-ment went on occurring, the additions made to the capital stock would remain un-utilised and also employment could not be provided to the growing labour force which would result in unemploy-ment of these two major resources. Investments generate income and supplements productivity of the economy by increasing the capital stock. The Harrod-Domar model is based on the following assumptions:
Laissez-faire; where there is no government intervention
A closed economy; no participation in foreign trade
Capital goods do not depreciate as they possess a boundless timeline
Constant marginal propensity to save
Interest rate remains unchanged, etc.
4.3 Linear stage theory:
Propounded by Walt Rostow has shown five stages as follows:
The Rostow Model - The Stages of Economic Growth,Walt Whitman Rostow (1916- 2003); 14.
4.3.1Traditional society. This is an agricultural economy of mainly subsistence farming, little
of which is traded. They have low labour productivity and little surplus output left to sell in domestic and overseas markets
4.3.2 Pre-conditions for take-off. Agriculture becomes more mechanised and more output is
traded. Due to mechanisation, labour is free to participate in other economic ventures like factories. Savings and investment grow although they are still a small percentage of national income (GDP). Some external funding is required – forexample in the form of overseas aid or perhaps remittance incomes from migrant workers living overseas
4.3.3 Take-off. Manufacturing industry assumes greater importance, although the number of industries remains small. Political and social institutions start to develop - external finance
may still be required.Agriculture assumes lesser importance, although the majority of people may remain employed in the farming sector. There is often a dual economyapparent with rising productivity and wealth in manufacturing and other industries contrasted with stubbornly low productivity and real incomes in rural agriculture.
4.3.4 Drive to maturity. Industry becomes more diverse. Growth should spread to different
parts of the country as the state of technology improves - the economy moves from being dependent on factor inputs for growth towards making better use of innovation to bring about increases in real per capita incomes
4.3.5Age of mass consumption. Output levels grow, enabling increased consumer
expenditure. There is a shift towards tertiary sector activity and the growth is sustained by the expansion of a middle class of consumers.
4.4Law of diminishing returns:
This states that for the means of production, if we keep all factors constant and increase another factor for increasing output, a point will come when addition in the factor would not gradually increase the output and at one point its effect of increased input will become diminished. In other words, a point will eventually be reached at which additions of the input yield progressively smaller, or diminishing, increases in output.
The combination of land and labour would be less efficient because the proportional increase in the overall output would be less than the expansion of the labour force. The output per worker would therefore fall. This rule holds in any process of production unless the technique of production also changes.https://www.britannica.com/topic/diminishing-returns
4.5Structural change model of economic development
This speaks of establishing industries and capitaland labour intensive activities, that will attract labour from rural areas and lead to developed and modern urban spaces and gradually reducing agricultural
activities. In Structural Change and Pattern of Development, in addition to the accumulation of capital, both physical and human, a set of interrelated changes in the economic structure of the country are required for the transition from a traditional economic system to a modern one.
Structural change model focuses on the mechanism by which underdeveloped economies transform their domestic economic structures from a heavy emphasis on traditional subsistence agriculture to a more modern, more urbanized and more industrially diverse manufacturing and service economy.( Cox &Pawar 2006)
…..Cox and Pawar 2006 have explained in brief,few popular models of economic development
4.6 International dependency revolution:
This argues essentially that the underdevelopment of many countries is due to highly inequitable and exploitative capitalist system favouring the rich and powerful states.
4.7 Neo classical counter revolution:
This focuses on the importance to economic development of the neo liberal endorsement of supply side economic policies and policies such as privatisation of public corporations, encouragement of free market and trade and minimisation of government regulation of economic activities.
4.8 New growth theory:
New growth theoryexplains the disparities in economic developmentby endorsing the neo classical approach while focussing strongly on human capital formation and promotion of knowledge intensive industries……..
5. Critiques of economic development model :
Critiques were sceptical about economic development as it did not give a true reflection of the societies prevailing at that time, nor does it speak of individual health and status in the society.
For example, “My feet are in ice and my head is on fire ; how should I feel . Well I must feel good as the average temperature of my body is just fine.” This was the irony of calculating the development of the nation on the basis of averages and per-capita income After much impetus was given to the economic growth many critiques of it were explaining it as Jobless growth , ruthless growth, voice less growth. However as (Medley 1995eds Cox and Pawar 2006) has pointed that development has become distorted ,“The phenomenon of persistent poverty in midst of affluence is one of the most problematic issues in development today. In many parts of the world, economic development has not been accompanied by an attendant degree of social progress, is called distorted development,” (Cox and Pawar 2006)
6. Political development:
Pattern of political development defines the kind of economic and social development of asociety.
Democracy is a prerequisite to social development, whereas authoritarian and autocratic governance may maintain economic development at the cost of social development. A democratic form of governance ensures both economic and social development. A democratic system believes in people’s participation in the governance as well as policy formation as well as implementation of the policy in terms of plans, actions and programs. The right blend of both is the prerequisite for the progress of a nation and its people.
7. Capability approach
The view that income and wealth are not ends in themselves but instruments for other purposes goes back at least as far as Aristotle. AmartyaSen, the 1998 Nobel laureate in economics, argues that the “capability to function” is what really matters for status as a poor or non-poor person. As Sen put it, “Economic growth cannot be sensibly treated as an end in itself. Development has to be more concerned with enhancing the lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy.” In effect, Sen argues that poverty cannot be properly measured by income or even by utility as conventionally understood; what matters fundamentally is not the things a person has—or the feelings these provide—but what a person is, or can be, and does, or can do. What matters for well-being is not just the characteristics of commodities consumed, as in the utility approach, but what use the consumer can and does make of commodities.(Todaro& Smith 2012)
Sen identifies five sources of disparity between (measured) real incomes and actual advantages:
First, personal heterogeneities, such as those connected with disability, illness, age, or gender;
Second, environmental diversities, such as heating and clothing requirements in the cold, infectious diseases in the tropics, or the impact of pollution;
Third, variations in social climate, such as the prevalence of crime and violence, and “social capital”;
Fourth, distribution within the family: Economic statistics measure incomes received in a
family because it is the basic unit of shared consumption, but family resources may be distributed unevenly, as when girls get less medical attention or education than boys do.
Fifth, differences in relational perspectives.( Todaro and Smith 2012)
It is for these arguments that the relevance of people centred development has taken a centre stage. But due to the development economics where International NGO’s are providing humongous funds for certain programs “development centred people’ is taking precedence over the “people centred development”. The phenomenon speaks volumes about the program being developed according to the amount of fund available in the international development sector rather than the program being driven by the actual needs of the community and their participation.
8. Development defined:
“Development is the process of improving the all human life and capabilities by raising the peoples’ level of living, self-esteem and freedom” (Todaro and Smith 2012 Economic development, Addison Wesley)
8.1 Developmentas defined by Todaro in 1997 “Development must (therefore) be conceived as multidimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes and national institutions as wellasthe acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of poverty.Development in its essence must represent the whole gamut of change by whichan entire social system tuned to the diverse basic needs and desires of the individual and social groups within that system, moves away from a condition of life widely perceived as ‘unsatisfactory’ towards a situation or condition of life regarded as materially and spiritually better.
Development’ is actually an utopian idea which usually is in the process of ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’. It isdesirable but almost unachievable. This hierarchy of developed v/s under-
developed has been created post 1990’s when we started to pay attention to not only economic but also social development which includes political development as well as human resource development. ‘The world conferences and summits since 1990 have been the best attempt in the history of the United Nations to give concrete content to these objectives of the United Nations Charter. Although United Nations forums had long been the locus of policy debates, the conferences and summits of the past two decades were exceptional in responding to calls by leaders from many countries for the United Nations to more actively adopt the normative role outlined in the Charter by defining values, setting goals, articulating strategies and adopting programmes of action in the different dimensions of development.’ (UNDA 2017http://www.un.org/esa/devagenda/UNDA_BW5_Final.pdf ) Being a new concept this measures and ranks countries notonly on the grades of economy but also how individual, women and children are maintaining health, mortality , fertility as wellas education (read literacy) and child sex ratio; to actually keep a check on intangible measures of development by developing indicators for quantitative analysis. Underdeveloped countries strive to become developing and developing countries always strive to become developed. While developed countries start to invest in contributing to research to lead a better life and develop a greener earth roping other nations too. So we see all the countries are working on an agenda depending upon their place and position on the path to development. With the changing time, the developmental issue also pose new challenges to the societies and nations. The new development discourse known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to
1. End poverty, 2. End Hunger 3. Well being 4. Quality education 5. Gender equality 6. Water sanitation for all
7. Affordable and sustainable energy 8. Decent work
9. Technology to benefit all 10. Reduce inequality 11. Safe cities and climate
12. Responsible consumption by all 13. Social climate change
14. Protect the ocean 15. Take care of the earth
16. Live in peace
17. Mechanism and partnership to reach the goal.
The SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. The MDGs, adopted in 2000, aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation. Enormous progress has been made on the MDGs, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets. Despite this success, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all.
8.1Human resource led developmentis based on human capital and human resource development.
8.1.1Human capital is (Todaro1997), Productive investments embodied in human persons. These include skill, abilities, ideals, and health resulting from expenditure on education, on the job training programs and medical care.
8.1.2 Human resources are the quantity and quality of a nations’ labour force.
9. Social capital:
Social capital may be defined as those resources inherent in social relations which facilitate collective action. Social capital resources include trust, norms, and networks of association representing any group which gathers consistently for a common purpose. A norm of a culture high in social capital is reciprocity, which encourages bargaining, compromise, and pluralistic politics. Another norm is belief in the equality of citizens, which encourages the formation of cross-cutting group.
The decline of social capital is a theme of social capital theory. Articulated by Putnam (1993, 1995a, 1995), the argument is made that the level of social capital has been declining in the United States at least since the 1970's.
The presence of social capital is prerequisite to community engagement . This social capital is the foundation of the community engagement in social development program. It is the
latent energy which if tapped properly can lead to tremendous force which has the
potential to bring structural changes in the
societyhttps://www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro/web%20docs/GarsonSK06syllabus.htm
10. Community engagement and community based organisation.
Generally, a charity paradigm involvesoffering assistance to individuals who are in need of help with immediateproblems. In contrast, a social change paradigm focuses on making changes inthose societal structures that lead to inequities among groups of individuals.The policies and programs of countries are developed as per the development goals prescribed by the donor agencies, however the countries plan for meeting these goals as they are in sync with the development needs and progress of the country. No matter how much we try to negate the importance of economic development, the social development requires people to move from basic necessities to a better quality of life, which is not possible without a parallel economic growth which is equitable with minimum income disparity but as has already been stated that mere economic growth may not lead to social development. The thrust may be on the social development but the basic principle of needs hierarchy requires countries to have the basic needs fulfilled along with the other needs. This is the reason for international non- profit organisations are investing a lot of money in human resources.
As the governments are trying to engage in the pursuit of social development, the reach of the government may not be till the last person of the society. Whereas most of the development plans are ‘top down’ but the approach of ‘bottom up’ is what is required. The macro level development is possible with the top down approach but micro level development is achieved only by the direct involvement of the masses in the development. Civil society acts as a buffer between the government and people and ensures that the policies are conveyed and translated into action plans. They ensure the involvement of the local people into the implementation of the plan and assess the impact of the intervention whatsoever on the people. A number of organisation are involved in the research on the problems of the polity, such researches are great source of enhancing the bottom up approach of social development.
10.1 Community engagement
Locality development model is based on the premise that people’s participation in the planning and program formulation will lead to better adherence to the programs. Concept of community engagement is based on the democratic principles of governance. This includes engaging the communities in the achievement of social development goals. There are various policies and program, which reflect the Govt. commitment towards the development challenges and issue. However, keeping the various perspective in view, the situation demand effective community engagement strategies and programs, which ensure on ground mobilisation of communities, provide them knowledge and information and ensure informed decision making.
The engagement of community will ensure the following:
Provide necessary knowledge and information to the communities on the various development challenges. Communicating to the community about the policy directions of the government.
Build the capacities of the people and communities, especially socially and economically excluded communities to address the issue effectively.
Effective planning and implementation of program at the community level.
Informed decision making
Information sharing at the family and community level.
Effective planning of resources.
‘Nothing about us without us’ is the slogan of community engagement. Here consulting the community as part of a process to develop government policy, or build community awareness and understanding. This requires analysing the social situation qualitatively to understand the nuances of a phenomenon and sending the report to the government to help get some insights before developing a policy about them.
Involving the community through a range of mechanisms like giving employment to the stakeholders in the NGO or having regular participation from them to incorporate their input in the decision making process. .
Collaborating with the community by developing partnerships to formulate options and provide recommendations.Any program needs to have the stakeholders who possibly should be from the community as this will help creating a connection between the two.
Decisions which are taken by the community in collaboration with the NGO are more likely to be followed and adhered to, program emerging out of such interaction are likely to be
successful and can implement and manage change.
Sourced from International Association of public participation.
10.2 Benefits for policy makers:
Community input can improve the quality of policy being developed, making it more practical and relevant, services are delivered in a more effective and efficient way for that community.Engaging with communities is a way for government to check the health of the relationship face-to-face. It can also explore ways in which government and community could work more closely on issues of concern to the community.
Communication with the government is proactive and helps resolving a conflict before it becomes flared. Engaging communities enhances the reputation of the organisation representing government
among the community with which it needs to work hence enhances its public relation. The real test of engaging communities is to involve people from all cadre of the community rather than only the vocal and active ones as they tend to dominate the discussions and decisions. It enhances transparency which further leads to trust building as communities are able to identify their priorities for themselves.
Individuals may become empowered and proactive with regard to issues that affect them.
‘In relationships between the state and the citizen, fundamentalfreedoms and human rights create a climate enabling personal initiativesto contribute to socio-economic development. Development ofpublic policy can be improved by including civil society in publicdecision-making and implementation. There can be value in publicsector partnerships with the private sector and civil society, thoughthere are also risks from the increased opportunity for selective advantageto particular interest’
11. Development Challenges and Role of Community Engagement
there are various policies and program, which reflect the Govt. commitment towards the development challenges and issue. However, keeping the various perspective in view, the situation demand effective community engagement strategies and programs, which ensure on ground mobilisation of communities, provide them knowledge and information and ensure informed decision making.
The engagement of community will ensure the following:
Provide necessary knowledge and information to the communities on the various development challenges.
Build the capacities of the people and communities, especially socially and economically excluded communities to address the issue effectively.
Effective planning and implementation of program at the community level.
Informed decision making
Information sharing at the family and community level.
Effective planning of resources
Keeping the above in view, the solution of the today’s development issues, lies to better engagement of families and communities in addressing the issues and challenges, affecting their lives. In the absence of institutional mechanism, the role of family engagement is crucial and contributes substantially in addressing development challenges.
Summary:
Currently the civil society is undergoing a transition phase when society is laden with the problem of corruption, social capital is at all-time low, the mutual trust between people is shattered. Crime is high. Incomes are polarised, amidst the plush society there is an underbelly of malnourished , illiterate, impoverished lot which is vulnerable to crime , drugs trafficking and sex. Besides this the civil society itself is losing out on the credibility due to questionable practices regarding fund management.
This is the time when the role of social worker can not be overestimated , such social worker or community worker must try to treat the problem of trust deficit, corruption and intolerance.