1. (A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE)
COMMUNITY
(A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE)
Community is defined as a group of people in social
interaction within a geographic area and having one or
more additional common ties.
The meaning of community comprises:
 A territorial/geographic area
 Social interaction
Common ties (psycho-cultural)

2. The community as a Territorial Unit
an identified area
as a cluster of people living within a specific geographical area
The area determines the nature/type and identity of the community
eg. Campus community, community of
Sri Serdang, community of Putrajaya

3. Community as a Unit of Social Interaction
Consist of two dimensions:
Community as a Social Group:
- Social groups have several basic properties
such as a body of members, a collection of
social roles, and a set of norms
- Community as a group of human resources
eg. Association of Traders, Workers
Union, Student Association

4. b. Community as a Network of Interaction:
- interaction is defined as a face-to-face
encounter between two or more people
- as a chain of input-output relationship
(financial contribution, physical resources,
labour force)
- a Bank in which it consists of people giving
a service to a group of customers
- vertical and horizontal interaction

5. The Community as a Psychocultural Unit
Stresses the idea of common ties or bonds among community members.
eg. Religion, culture, values, norms, vision
Maintains identity, cohesiveness and security in the community

6. Exception in the Definition of Community:
Not all interpretations of community have the geographical dimension
eg. International community
Community of engineers
Community of entrepreneurs
Community of pensioners

7. Basic Functions of Community
Economic (production/distribution/
consumption)
Socialization (family/neighborhood) –
nonformal education
Political (social control)
Participation (voluntary associations)
Mutual support (welfare, health,
environmental resources)

8. THE UN DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The term ‘community development’ has come into international usage to connote the processes by which the efforts of the people themselves are united with those of external authorities (government and non-government) to improve the economic, social and cultural condition of communities, to integrate these communities into the life of the nation, and to enable them to contribute fully to national progress..
In relation to the people, community development is essentially both an educational and organizational process.

9. TWO RECENT DEFINITIONS
Community work is:
the process of assisting ordinary people to improve
their own communities by undertaking collective
action
and
a social work method (based on scientific process)
which is directed towards achieving one or more of
the following objectives:
to satisfy the broad needs of the community and to create and maintain a balance between the needs and the resources in the community

10. 2. to provide the community with the opportunity to exploit its strengths and potential (knowledge and skills) to develop these, in order not only to be able to deal with social problems and needs but also to prevent them.
3. to effect change in the community, in group relations and the distribution of decion-making powers.