Work Ethics

What exactly is "work ethics"?

Work ethic is defined as the determination and dedication to one's job. Those with a strong work ethic place a high value on their professional success. They exhibit moral principles that make them outstanding employees in any position. If you have a strong work ethic, you believe in the importance of your job and typically feel that hard work is essential to maintaining a strong character (Indeed Editorial Team).

It is a soft skill, which means it is a non-technical skill related to working. This is the attitude of an individual that allows him to make decisions and perform his duties. An individual may consider the moral implications of his actions to determine what he considers appropriate and what is inappropriate in accordance with his values and principles.

Community Development

Community Development

The United Nations defines community development as “a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.” It is based on the principles of self-help, mutual support, the building up of neighborhood capacities for problem-solving and self-presentation, and the promotion of collective action to bring a community’s preferences to the attention of political decision-makers (Thomas, 1993)

Gilchrist and Taylor suggest there are three vital aspects of community development:

1.Informal Education – learning that takes place predominantly through direct involvement in community activities

2.Collective Action – finding the power of combined voices and determination; the strength of many people acting for their mutual benefit or to champion the interests of those who cannot stand up for themselves

3.Organization Development – helping groups and bodies to evolve a form that enables the members to achieve their goals, to act legally and to be accountable to the membership and wider community.

Five-Point Community Initiatives

This cyclical model is used to judge whether our initiatives to engage, plan, implement, develop, or sustain have the right virtues to effect sustainable growth and development in the community impact. 

1. Engagement is all about connecting people to the community. Methods includes key informant interviews, focus group discussions, or survey that can contribute to our engagement with community. For instance, knowing current pulse of the community, this helps leaders to identify the pressing problems that need to be resolved.

2. Planning the realization of ideas from the blueprint. On this stage, the community holds its conference or meetings with its members together with external consultants. The community leaders have rundown on all possible options and gather inputs for possible innovations and breakthrough that are vital in advancing solutions (Delos Santos, 2018)

3. Implementation the process of making something active or effective. Community leaders are in-charge of advancing the program or project. However, public support is needed to gain traction. Principle of transparency is essential in the implementation. Disbursement of funds must be supported by the documents. Information about the program or project must be open for scrutiny.

4. Development is a process in which something grows or changes and become more advanced. Programs implemented must adapt to constantly changing variables.

5. Sustainability focuses on the meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Grant, 2020). The term sustainability used to indicate programs, initiatives and action aimed at the preservation of resources. The four pillars of sustainability are: human, social, economic, and environmental.

Core Values of Community Development

To better understand the importance of community work. The following are the core values surrounding community development:

1.Collaboration is the relationship between interest groups, government, and citizens. It is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of communities and other collaborators. Teamwork is essential for a community development project to succeed.

2.Participative democracy is imperative in community development, this can lead to better understanding of the problems, benefits, services, and resources needed for the project. It can also lead to innovation and partnership. Contributions of community members have significant meaning and values toward change.

3.Collective Action is an act contributing to public good or welfare of the members of the community. It is the capacity of people to work together in their common interest. This includes small-scale and large-scale activities to meet local need, as well as action to promote for change.

4.Empowerment is based on power and influence to imposed solutions. It encourages the community members to learn how power relationships operate and to develop on their ability to find answers.

Sources

Community Action / Community Engagement

Community Action refers to the collective efforts of people directed towards addressing social problems, in order to achieve social well-being. This includes a broad range of activities; it is sometimes described as “social action” or community engagement”

Community is defined as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. It refers to a group of people that can be equated to stakeholders, interest groups or citizen groups. On the other hand, engagement derived from the principle of respect to all members of the community, which are the right to be informed, consulted, involved and empowered.

It can be deduced that community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioral changes that will improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices (CDC, 1997).