A community is a term referring to a group of people who occupy the same geographical location, with shared values and norms (Rieske 67). Thus, there are several communities across the world separated by cultures, languages, and geographic areas. However, communities are usually interrelated, which makes the whole world a single community. One of the most valued concepts in sociology today is the idea of communities, which relates to a collection of people performing or engaging in shared activities for the welfare of both the community members and the society (Rieske 67). The idea of communities plays a pivotal role in the creation of value and sharing of knowledge for both the community members and society. Besides, communities bring people together and enable people to support one another to overcome various life threats. Human beings need a sense of belonging, which is essential in connecting people to different relationships (Bedford 259). This paper explores the role of the community (what communities do and what communities can do), as well as how communities interact.
The Role of Communities
In today’s world, most people rely on communities to meet their life needs, since life’s necessities often come from a sophisticated web of mutuality. Although some people find it essential to be part of a community due to the obligations of life, most people become part of a community because they feel there is something inexpressively lovely about being part of a community (Feehally 3). One of the roles of communities is that they help in empowering individuals to have control over their health and care. Through community engagement, people can have a voice on matters concerning their health. Communities can offer support to individuals with long-term conditions, as well as give them the confidence of sharing their health issues with health care professionals. Communities can also help in shaping or co-creating local services that best suit the needs of the community members (Feehally 3).
Communities also create a sense of togetherness. The creation of a sense of togetherness lies in the feeling of every community member. I a community setting, people tend to care for each other, which leads to the need for unity among community members. A sense of togetherness also enables people to enjoy festivals together (Bedford 261). Besides, communities promote division of labor since community members often share work or responsibilities. Communities allow people to depend on one another since people have different areas of specialization. Division of labor, therefore, contributes to creating well-functioning and well-formed communities (Bedford 261). The idea of community also promotes corporation since communities allow people to cooperate or work collaboratively. The sense of cooperation often begins at the family level and extends to a stronger feeling of community brotherhood. Communities also help in creating an atmosphere of association among community members. The sense of association is critical in the establishment of peace and harmony in communities. Therefore, communities can assist in the formation of a peaceful and progressive society (Bedford 262).
Additionally, communities play a pivotal role in every aspect of people's lives. Communities can exist in the form of families, friends, neighborhoods, or employment colleagues, and sports teams, among others. Thus, communities give people opportunities to connect with others, to pursue their goals, as well as feel safe and secure (Rieske 69). Moreover, strong communities can significantly benefit businesses and families in a broad range of ways. In today's world where the use of technology is predominant, a local community can substantially benefit people's well-being, as well as increase their satisfaction with day-to-day life. The technology-based connections among community members also help in easing stress and creating feelings of togetherness (Rieske 70).
Members of communities often have a common goal of helping each other both socially and professionally. Strong communities can support their members by offering the market for their businesses or through the provision of expert services for people's needs (Bedford 263). Communities can also help community members through the initiation of various school programs, which are essential in ensuring proper child development. Communities also act as places of opportunities since they provide endless avenues for people's experience and growth. In other words, strong communities can provide the necessary support that people need to succeed in life (Bedford 263).
Communities can also act as safe spaces for sharing knowledge and fostering collective innovation and creativity. When people exchange ideas, they do not just exchange facts, but they also transform, reshape, and draw different implications from the concepts. In other words, communities that consist of like-minded people can be a better place to share and build upon other people’s knowledge and experience (Feehally 5). Most community members usually feel a broader sense of contentment or satisfaction towards a concept when they can connect with other individuals who have similar experience or backgrounds. Besides, today’s technological world allows knowledge to move or flow freely, thereby empowering creativity, collaboration, and innovation (Feehally 5).
Communities offer better opportunities for networking, and the connections within communities can assist individuals to build lasting relationships, stay up-to-date on the current industry trends, as well as develop their careers. Communities can also provide opportunities for authentic mentoring relationships (Bedford 264). Communities can offer the right mentors, who can empower individuals and enable them to focus on their career goals, as well as make them realize their capabilities irrespective of the challenges ahead. Additionally, the opportunity to mentor others can help community members to re-energize their career, broaden their experience, as well as strengthen their skills. Most of the most influential leaders in today’s world relate their success to strong mentoring relationships within their communities (Bedford 264).
Interaction of Communities
Interactions of communities relate to various engagements among communities of members of communities with the aim of achieving sustainable or long-term outcomes, relationships, processes, decision-making, discourse, and implementation. Community members interact when they play an essential role in the discussions, deliberations, and decision regarding various community programs or issues (Matthews 117). The process of community interaction also requires the involvement of the government and organizational leaders, who act as facilitators, collaborators, and supporters of community interactions. The participation of corporate and government leaders in community interactions requires such leaders to believe that community members can and will adequately engage in various issues affecting the communities. The result of the leaders' involvement in communities' interactions' is usually a partnership that is generally healthy for communities and that can adequately address various community issues (Mathews 117).
The interaction of communities is often driven by a framework of strategies, principles, and approaches. The structure of community interaction is based on various policies that respect every community member's right to be consulted, informed, empowered, and involved. Community interaction entails the use of a broad range of strategies and tools to ensure success (Matthews 119). Besides, community interactions help in enhancing and fostering trust as a critical element in providing sustainable, long-term relationships among members of different communities. Interaction of communities is, therefore, a strategic process that aims at creating a working relationship between different groups of people. Community interaction also entails inclusiveness and diversity, which are critical aspects of strong communities (Reyes 89).
Communities also interact through community building or community development initiatives. Most processes of community interactions are focused on community development. Community interaction in the context of community development covers two primary aspects (Bedford 265). The first aspect involves members of the communities who form an essential underpinning of several bottom-up approaches. The second aspect relates to high levels of social capital, which is a critical component of healthy communities (Bedford 265; Reyes 91).
Another mechanism through which communities interact relates to public participation. Most community organizations, including health services, schools, and government institutions need the involvement of community members in a broad range of issues (Matthews 121; Rieske 74). By involving community members in various meaningful ways, such entities end up promoting interaction among members of different communities. Public participation provides a useful interactive tool that allows communities to consult each other and share ideas on the most appropriate decisions. Public involvement also forms the foundation for different levels of interaction among community members, such as knowledge sharing (Matthews 121; Rieske 74).
Communities also interact through commercial engagements. There exist a broad range of cases where communities engage in the process of striving to improve service delivery or achieve organizational goals (Reyes 92). Most of the non-profit or charitable organizations significantly rely on the interactions among communities and community members. In such cases, the activities of philanthropic organizations often promote the interaction or engagement of different communities. Through various non-profit or charitable organizations, communities can engage and enhance professional development, morale building, as well as recognize valued community members. Besides, through such organizational activities, communities can align their practices with corporate values (Reyes 92).
Social change is another process through which communities interact. The interaction of communities through various community groups and social change movements often focus on the implementation of different decisions. Voluntary community groups and social movements usually form part of the communities, and they often rely on other entities (such as governmental and non-governmental organizations) for funding or the implementation of various decisions (Matthews 125). Besides, well-designed community interaction efforts allow communities to identify and understand different priorities and values; various consequences and alternatives; different concepts and potential actions and solutions; the challenges and characteristics of diverse community issues, as well as the potential benefits and risks of different approaches to interaction (Matthews 126).
Communities can also interact through web-based engagement. Online public participation forms an essential tool for communities to engage with and reach to several stakeholders. The interaction of communities through online communications include the use of a broad range of platforms, including cloud or web-based survey systems, social media, and various online discussion platforms (Reyes 97). Web-based community interactions are usually effective in helping community members to reach large groups of people. Moreover, through web-based engagements, members of different communities can enhance discussions and reflections about various sophisticated issues (Bedford 266). Community meetings also provide a platform for interaction among community members. The various Town Hall or public meetings organized by various community leaders can be valuable ways of information sharing (Bedford 266). The face-to-face nature of such meetings provides essential opportunities for communities to demonstrate transparency and openness to stakeholders. Besides, such meeting offer opportunities for community members to present their opinions regarding various community issues and gather feedback from the community leaders (Reyes 97).
Consultations also form a mechanism through which communities can interact. Consultation relates to a two-way relationship where communities provide feedback on various issues raised by community members. The feedback entails the views of communities on policies, services, or programs that affect community members either directly or indirectly (Matthews 126). Consultation can take place at different points of the policy-making or program development process and can be used in shaping or framing a problem, identifying or accessing options, as well as evaluating existing programs, policies, or services (Matthews 126). Communities can embrace consultation on a broad range of issues, including both general and specific challenges. Some of the critical features of effective consultation include timely feedback to participants regarding the impact of their contributions on the final outcome and a shared understanding of the effect of the communities' input on the decision-making processes (Reyes 97). Some of the consultation techniques used by communities include the use of committees, anecdote circles, focus groups, online consultation, discussion groups, appreciative inquiry, petitions, public meetings, interactive displays, polls, open house events, one-on-one interviews, open space events, opinion surveys, and public scrutiny (Matthews 127).
Conclusion
The sense of community is essential in the establishment of peace and harmony among members of the society. Communities play a pivotal role in creating a feeling of association, cooperation, togetherness, and division of labor, all of which help in developing a healthy environment characterized by friendship and unity. Communities also play a critical role in fostering the feeling of international and intra-national brotherhood. The absence of the sense of community in the society often creates complete chaos due to the lack of common community norms and values. Also, without communities, people would lead very isolated lives with little or no contact outside their immediate social circles. Thus, communities allow people to get outside their close-knit groups to meet new people, thereby helping people to cultivate self-fulfilled lives. Communities also enable people to interact, support one another and share life experiences. The open bonds created by communities are what assist people in building valuable relationships and giving people a deeper sense of belonging. Through communities, people can share knowledge since one's weakness might someone else's strength and vice versa. In other words, communities have a diversity of skills, which contribute significantly to the achievement of common goals. The interaction of communities, on the other hand, requires the dedication of various community resources such as time and skills, and funding. Communities and community members often interact as they struggle to make the correct choices for their communities. The development and implementation of effective interaction strategies, therefore, require the use of best techniques, tools, and available information.
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