The development of a strategic plan for an African village can seem a daunting task, especially
if the village is one created from diverse beginnings and different cultural origins, where
ethnicity, language, and custom are not homogenous. In this article, the authors explore
the outcomes of the traditional top-down approach. They contrast this with a collaborative
approach, bottom up, and propose the use of management strategies more commonly
found in an industrial environment. Deploying a case study approach the development and
implementation of a strategic plan for a post-leprosy rehabilitation village near Elmina in
Ghana, West Africare described and evaluated.
Learned helplessness is often an outcome of intervention aid. By approaching a project
with a top-down approach, the dependency of a community can become ingrained. However,
a partnership approach with the villagers is hoped to engender a sense of ownership in the
community, motivating optimism. The authors believe that the possibility of engagement
with the village is greatly strengthened using a collaborative approach and that this is key
to a successful outcome. The concept, strategy and initial results, as well as the ongoing
sustainability of the strategy, are described. The underlying hypothesis is that by empowering
an impoverished and disenfranchised community with tried and trusted, modern management
methods, engagement, as well as success, can be achieved.
History
Publication
Project Management Research and Practice;5, article 5465