Chapter 10
Summary - "Selecting Appropriate Strategies and Tactics"
“Making assumptions about how members of the
target system think without actually communicating with them may lead to
misconceptions that will threaten the change effort with failure from the
beginning” (Netting et al., p.344)
This first part of the chapter focuses on the
first task of how to read the political and economic climate in order to get
support to implement your intervention.
The authors say to expect conflict to some degree, and at some level when
analyzing the target system. They define “target system” as the individual,
group, structure……that needs to be altered in order for the main beneficiaries
to receive the desired outcome or benefit (Netting, et al., 2012, p. 334).
There are preparations beforehand to complete
before “selling” your intervention.
One should know how long the problem has existed, if the problem is
considered an emergency, and if the problem is reoccurring, then how often?
With this information in mind, consider who you
have to promote the change or intervention, and how they are thought of by the
decision makers. Consider who should speak for the group, and who should take a
back seat for the presentation.
For example, if the City of Ferguson decides to implement a change that
will largely benefit the black community, but needs the buy-in from the black community
for the plan to succeed, then the Chief of Police nor the mayor should be the
ones to present the proposal.
The 2nd tactic is to “Assess
Resource Considerations” by determining the cost to implement the change and
also the cost of doing nothing.
The 3rd task it to “Weigh the Likelihood
of Success” by considering ahead of time the position of the opposition, and
how much of a fight they will put up. And then, also consider the amount of
support to be shown for the proposal, and where it will most likely come from.
The 4th task is to “Select
Strategies and Tactics” by considering strategies to promote the proposal, deciding
if one or many will be needed, and which strategy to use for each target group.
The rest of the chapter discusses the specifics
of tactics and strategies. One of
them called “Consider the Pros and Cons of Campaign Strategies” uses terms that
we are all familiar with like education, persuasion, lobbying and mass media
appeal. The term that I was not
familiar with specifically, was “cooptation.” We have been talking about it, but I
had not heard that specific word.
The authors define cooptation as a way to “minimize anticipated
opposition by absorbing or including members of the target system in the action
system” (p. 349). This goes
along with the “buy-in” that we have discussed. Once these members “cross-over” to buy-in and achieve some
ownership, they may also be able to recruit others like them from the target
system to move over to the action system with them.
When the chapter spoke about having correct representation to initiate a change, it made me think of Ferguson as well. Particularly, it made me think of Bob McColluch being the prosecuting attorney residing over the Michael Brown case and how many in the black community (and some outside) feel he is unfitting for the role. People need to feel they can trust the leaders of their community in order to buy in to what they say or their position on things. Thanks for sharing Mary.
ReplyDeleteSusanna you are right about people feeling they can trust the leaders of their community. I also believe that as citizens of your community we need to challenge them to do the right things and hold them accountable for their actions. Its hard to do those things when most people in the community don't even know who their elected officials are allowing for a more corrupt environment to be able to take shape.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this chapter and Mary's summary I feel with Ferguson the group members will really have to work hard to engage some of the community members in change. The anger that has been repressed for so long regarding the oppression has boiled over into chaos. Although some of the members of the community do not feel equally represented by their political parties it is important for them to realize that their voice can be heard but in order for positive change to occur there needs to be collaboration and communication between the political leaders and the leaders of the protests such as Rev. Al Sharpton. The mayor seems to be making an effort to reach out to residents and hear what their concerns are but it will be important for him to keep the momentum and the communication going after the town hall meetings have ended. I do agree that the issue of the prosecuting attorney is one of great concern for the black community and it may have been a positive step for either McCullough to step down or Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor so that they relay a message of understanding to the community.
ReplyDeleteLori and Kara I agree with you guys that leaders in the community need to reach out to the community residence to hear their concerns in order to effectively bring about a positive change. Not just a change to correct the issues that some may see as a problem, but a problem that the community sees as an issue. More needs to be done to make community members aware of whom their elected officials are. This goes back to members of the community being acting in voting other than the presidential election. As I read this chapter I thought about the resident in the JVL community whom I interviewed about her neighborhood. Some problems that I assumed would be an issue for her in the community were not. Which was an assumption that I made, which the chapter specifically says is a huge MISTAKE. What I see as an issue or a need may not necessarily be a major problem to the community members in relation to other problems. The resident I interview also made it a point to say how important it is for the people in a community to feel as though change in their neighborhood is being done with them and not to them. I feel that this was a very key point for people to remember when they are trying to "help."
ReplyDeleteGood job Mary. I agree with you all about the residence of the community needing to feel like they trust the officials. This reminded me of my community interview and how my interviewee spoke of how the citizens felt like they do not matter and how the city officials do not even come into the community and acknowledge them nor the residence. They need to access the level of support within one another.
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