Importance Of Community Organization In The Philippines

Mary Michelle Mercado
PHPE 202 Community Organization

I. What is community organizing?

According to Murray G. Ross in his book, Community Organization: Theory Principles and Practice (Harper & Row, 1955), he defined Community Organization as the process wherein a community identifies their needs or objectives and orders, in which they develop the confidence and be able to work at these needs or objectives, find the resources (internal/external) to deal with these needs, take action in respect to them and therefore, can extend and develop cooperative and collaborative attitudes and practice in the community. After several decades, Minkler and Wallerstein, in the book, Health Behavior and Health Education (Jossey-Bass, 3rd edition, 2002)

They defined Community Organizing as organizing which takes place in a geographically defined living area, both in urban or rural community. It is a means for empowering people, and is both a process and an orientation for genuine liberating social transformation, wherein it aims to transform an apathetic, individualistic and voiceless poor community into a dynamic, participatory and politically responsive one (COM, 2008).

II. What are the principles of community organizing?

Murray Ross (1955) has presented principles of community organization. These are elementary and fundamental ideas for initiation and continuation of the community organization processes.

1. Discontent with existing conditions in the community must initiate and/or nourish the development of the association
Discontent, as well as personal satisfaction must also be expressed within the community, for this may be an effective means to create development of motivation. This principle is similar to as that of psychiatry wherein pain is considered as a pre-requisite to

The association must develop active and effective lines of communication both within the association and between the association and the community.
Communication is the essence of community. To be able to do this, social climate must be created to permit and facilitate communication. Communication must also be structured in a way that people are to be arranged to facilitate communication.

9. The association should seek to support and strengthen the groups which it brings together in cooperative work
If an association is to be strong, the unit that composes it must also be strong themselves. This can be done by creating an atmosphere in which members feel accepted and needed to achieve common goals.

10. The association should be flexible in its organizational procedures without disrupting its regular decision-making routines
Flexibility does not mean argument for disruption of established procedures, but means there is an opportunity to use variety of methods.

11. The association should develop a pace for its work relative to existing conditions in the community.
Different groups must acquire a pace for its own work, reinforce working together once procedures are established, and agreements for required tasks are given. However, one community cannot proceed with the same pace of s different community even if they have begun the same time or