School of Social Sciences
101644 Community Management and OrganisationsSample Page
Spring 2020
Edition: Spring 2020
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Unit Details

Note: Students with any problems, concerns or doubts should discuss those with the Unit Coordinator as early as they can.
Unit Coordinator

Consultation Arrangement:
Please email for an appointment.
Teaching Team
Name: Corinne Harvey
Email: [email protected]
Name: Fran Kendrick
Email: [email protected]
Name: Dr Jeeva Sajan
Email: [email protected]
Name: Dr Kamel Taoum
Email: [email protected]
Note: The relevant Learning Guide Companion supplements this document
Contents
1 About Community Management and Organisations 2
1.1 An Introduction to this Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 What is Expected of You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Changes to Unit as a Result of Past Student Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Assessment Information 4
2.1 Unit Learning Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Approach to Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 Assessment Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.4 Assessment Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4.1 Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4.2 Log/Workbook – Workbook activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4.3 Report – Individual Report/Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.5 General Submission Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Teaching and Learning Activities 14
4 Learning Resources 18
4.1 Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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1 About Community Management and Organisations
1.1 An Introduction to this Unit
This unit focuses on community management in Australia and the social and economic factors that influence and frame
community management practices. At the macro level, it examines the effects of neo-liberal (economic rationalist)
reforms in the public and community sectors; and the rise of developments such as managerialism and ’third way’
approaches, on community management practices. The unit also explores developments in management practices
in response to social developments such as multiculturalism, recognition of diversity, equal employment opportunity
and recognition of contextual and local issues. It further looks at community management work practices, including
volunteerism, steering committees, management committees, and collectives.
1.2 What is Expected of You
Study Load
A student is expected to study an hour per credit point a week. For example a 10 credit point unit would require 10
hours of study per week. This time includes the time spent within classes during lectures, tutorials or practicals.
Attendance
It is strongly recommended that students attend all scheduled learning activities to support their learning.
Online Learning Requirements
Unit materials will be made available on the unit’s vUWS (E-Learning) site (https://vuws.westernsydney.edu.au/).
You are expected to consult vUWS at least twice a week, as all unit announcements will be made via vUWS. Teaching
and learning materials will be regularly updated and posted online by the teaching team.
Special Requirements
Essential Equipment:
Not Applicable
Legislative Pre-Requisites:
Not Applicable
Policies Related to Teaching and Learning
The University has a number of policies that relate to teaching and learning. Important policies affecting students
include:
– Assessment Policy
– Bullying Prevention Policy and
– Guidelines
– Enrolment Policy
– Examinations Policy
– Review of Grade Policy
– Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy
– Special Consideration Policy
– Student Misconduct Rule
– Teaching and Learning – Fundamental Code
– Student Code of Conduct
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Academic Integrity and Student Misconduct Rule
In submitting assessments, it is essential that you are familiar with the policies listed above and that you understand
the principles of academic integrity. You are expected to act honestly and ethically in the production of all academic
work and assessment tasks, submit work that is your own and acknowledge any contribution to your work made by
others.
Important information about academic integrity, including advice to students is available at https://www.westernsydney.
edu.au/studysmart/home/academic_integrity_and_plagiarism. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with
these principles and apply them to all work submitted to the University as your own.
When you submit an assignment or product, you will declare that no part has been: copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment; submitted by
you in another (previous or current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission
from the Unit Coordinator; written/produced for you by any other person except where collaboration has been authorised by the Unit Coordinator.
The Student Misconduct Rule applies to all students of Western Sydney University and makes it an offence for
any student to engage in academic, research or general misconduct as defned in the Rule.
The University considers plagiarism, cheating and collusion as instances of academic misconduct. The University
also considers submitting falsifed documentation in support of applications for special consideration, including sitting
of deferred examinations, as instances of general misconduct. You should be aware that changes were made to the
Student Misconduct Rule commencing 1 January 2020 that provide for minimum sanctions that apply to certain
conduct, including the provision of falsifed documentation to the University.
You are strongly advised to read the Student Misconduct Rule and the Inappropriate Behaviour Guidelines at the
commencement of each session to familiarise yourself with this process and the expectations of the University in
relation to work submitted for assessment.
1.3 Changes to Unit as a Result of Past Student Feedback
The University values student feedback in order to improve the quality of its educational programs. The feedback
provided helps us improve teaching methods and units of study. The survey results inform unit content and design,
learning guides, teaching methods, assessment processes and teaching materials.
You are welcome to provide feedback that is related to the teaching of this unit. At the end of the semester you will
be given the opportunity to complete a Student Feedback on Unit (SFU) questionnaire to assess the unit. You may
also have the opportunity to complete a Student Feedback on Teaching (SFT) questionnaire to provide feedback for
individual teaching staff.
As a result of student feedback, the following changes and improvements to this unit have recently been made:
– This unit has incorporated case studies and examples that highlight contemporary practices of community
organisations.
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2 Assessment Information
2.1 Unit Learning Outcomes
This unit will explore the functions, types and management practices of organisations that fulfl a social purpose for
community groups. It will establish the foundations for how community organisations are established, governed and
operated. It will also critique the contributions and limitations of community organisations compared to other public
and private sector models of organisational management. It will also explore the relationships between community
organisations and other stakeholders such as government, philanthropists and the private sector and implications for
resourcing and sustainability.
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:

2.2 Approach to Learning
The Unit is delivered by:
(i) 8 x 2 hour tutorials: These will be conducted on-line using the Unit portal in vUWS; and
(i) 3 x on-line lectures with assigned activities. These will be conducted every third week, and there will be no
tutorials in that week.
Instructions for accessing the on-line tutorial rooms will be emailed to you in advance of the tutorial. Please check
your calendar each week for delivery mode.
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2.3 Assessment Summary
The assessment items in this unit are designed to enable you to demonstrate that you have achieved the unit
learning outcomes. Completion and submission of all assessment items which have been designated as mandatory or
compulsory is essential to receive a passing grade.
To pass this unit you must:
Students are expected to engage with all lectures and to attend all tutorials and to participate actively in all class
activities. Failure to do so may seriously undermine a student’s ability to complete the unit satisfactorily. Attendance
records may be consulted in the assessment of any requests for extensions or Special Consideration. You should advise
the Unit Coordinator or your tutor if you are unable to attend a tutorial due to illness or misadventure. This unit is
worth 10 credit points, indicating that success in the unit requires at least 10 hours work per week. Two (2) hours
will be lecture/tutorial time and the remaining eight (8) hours should be devoted to reading and study, assessment
preparation, and revision. In this unit you will need to devote much of this time to reading the textbook and reading
materials. All requests for extension should be sent to: [email protected].

Feedback on Assessment
Feedback is an important part of the learning process that can improve your progress towards achieving the learning
outcomes. Feedback is any written or spoken response made in relation to academic work such as an assessment
task, a performance or product. It can be given to you by a teacher, an external assessor or student peer, and may
be given individually or to a group of students. As a Western Sydney University student, it is your responsibility to
seek out and act on feedback that is provided to you as a resource to further your learning.
Note: Before you receive your results for each piece of assessment they may be moderated. Moderation is a process
whereby the unit coordinator regulates the marking of individual markers to achieve consistency in the application of
unit objectives, performance standards and marking criteria. Marks for an individual piece of assessment will not be
changed after you have your mark or grade. You should note that, consistent with the Criteria and Standards Based
Assessment policy, the fnal marks for the cohort may be also adjusted if results are very high or low or there are
inconsistencies between groups. General submission requirements There will be a detailed marking criteria provided
on vUWS for all assessments prior to the due date/s. Students are to keep a copy of all assignments submitted for
marking.
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2.4 Assessment Details
2.4.1 Essay

Aim:
The aim of this essay is for you to explore the strengths and weaknesses of community organisations as a form
of management and contrast they ways in which they operate in contrast to other forms of organisation including
government agencies and private enterprise.
Instructions:
Using the reading materials, lectures and relevant examples of community management, prepare an essay in which
you will:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of what community organisations are, and the key concepts of in their management
that are covering in the unit.
2. Outline the unique role that community organisations can play in addressing gaps in the provision of social services.
3. Reflect upon the challenges that community organisation can face in achieving their purpose, and how they might
respond to these challenges.
You may choose to use a small number of examples of organisations that work in the community to support your
arguments. As these examples are designed to illustrate how the concepts apply in the practices of community
organisation, limit the use these examples to when they are relevant in supporting the arguments in your essay.
References:
A minimum of fve (5) references are required.
Resources:
This essay is to draw from the course reading materials, lectures, and discussion in the tutorials.
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Marking Criteria:
Marking Criteria:
This assessment will be graded according to the following criteria:
Comprehension of key concepts:
Demonstrates an understanding of the concepts of community organisation and management and can express them
coherently.
Critical analysis:
Demonstrates an ability to critique the role of community organisations compared to other forms of organisational
management. Applies examples from community organisations that are relevant and supports the main arguments
presented in the essay.
Expression:
Can express ideas clearly and coherently in written form, using a consistent style of writing and referencing.
The referencing style required for this Unit is: Harvard Western Sydney. Full details and examples are available on
the library website at http://library.westernsydney.edu.au/main/guides/referencing-citation.
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2.4.2 Log/Workbook – Workbook activities

The aim of this assignment is to allow students to apply their understanding of the key concepts into the creation of
a proposal to establish their own community organisation.
Each of the following elements should be incorporated into the proposal:
– The organisation’s name;
– The nature of work it undertakes (purpose);
– A Vision and a Mission Statement;
– A set of organisational goals/objectives;
– An organisational chart that describes key roles in the governance and management of the organisation;
– Core funding and resourcing strategies.
This assignment allows you to be creative in the style and format for the presentation of the proposal. This may
include: the provision of a proposal in report or document form, presentation slides, and the inclusion of visual means
of presentation into the proposal.
Further guidelines on the preparation of this assessment will be covered in the tutorials.
Resources:
There are no set resources for this assessment. You will be required to provide a Reference List a lists all of the
websites and other resources that have been utilised in the creation of the proposal.
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Marking Criteria:
Marking Criteria:
This assessment will be graded according to the following criteria:
Application of key concepts:
Demonstrates an understanding of the concepts of community organisation and management and can apply them in
practice.
Consistency and coherence:
Demonstrates a logical coherence between the aspects of the proposal.
Creative Expression:
Can express ideas clearly and creatively in the chosen form of presentation, using a consistent style of presentation
and referencing.
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2.4.3 Report – Individual Report/Typology

Aim:
The aim of this assignment is for you to research and explore the ways in which the concepts of community management covered in this unit are applied in the practices of community organisations.
Instructions:
the activities and practices of two (2) community organisations, and prepare a report that outlines the key issues to
their operation including:
1. What is the community that they aim to serve?
2. How and why did they come to be established?
3. How do they describe their purpose?
4. What activities do they undertake?
5. How is the governance and management organised to reflect their service to community?
6. How do they resource their activities?
7. What are the important issues that these organisations need to address for their future sustainability.
References:
A minimum of fve (5) references are to be cited. These are in addition to any references sourced from the
community organisations researched for the report (eg. websites, annual reports)
Resources:
This essay is to draw from the course reading materials, as well as additional resources that are located through your
research.
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Marking Criteria:
Marking Criteria:
Research:
Demonstrates a capacity to research, analyse and present materials on the practices of community organisations.
Application of key concepts:
Demonstrates a capacity to relate the practices of community organisations to relevant concepts of community
organisational management.
Critical analysis:
Demonstrates an ability to identity the key issues affecting the management of community organisations and their
sustainability.
Expression:
Can express ideas clearly and coherently in written form, using a consistent style of writing and referencing.
The referencing style required for this Unit is: Harvard Western Sydney. Full details and examples are available on
the library website at http://library.westernsydney.edu.au/main/guides/referencing-citation.
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2.5 General Submission Requirements
Submission
– All assignments must be submitted by the specifed due date and time.
– Complete your assignment and follow the individual assessment item instructions on how to submit. You must
keep a copy of all assignments submitted for marking.
Turnitin
– The Turnitin plagiarism prevention system may be used within this unit. Turnitin is accessed via logging into
vUWS for the unit. If Turnitin is being used with this unit, this means that your assignments have to be
submitted through the Turnitin system. Turnitin from iParadigms is a web-based text-matching software that
identifes and reports on similarities between documents. It is also widely utilised as a tool to improve academic
writing skills. Turnitin compares electronically submitted papers against the following:
– Current and archived web: Turnitin currently contains over 24 billion web pages including archived pages
– Student papers: including Western Sydney University student submissions since 2007
– Scholarly literature: Turnitin has partnered with leading content publishers, including library databases,
text-book publishers, digital reference collections and subscription-based publications (e.g. Gale, Proquest, Emerald and Sage)
– Turnitin is used by over 30 universities in Australia and is increasingly seen as an industry standard. It is
an important tool to assist students with their academic writing by promoting awareness of plagiarism.By
submitting your assignment to Turnitin you will be certifying that:
– I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged
– No part of this assignment has been copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except
where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment
– No part of the assignment has been written for me by any other person/s
– I have complied with the specifed word length for this assignment
– I am aware that this work may be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for
the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future plagiarism
checking).
Self-Plagiarising
– You are to ensure that no part of any submitted assignment for this unit or product has been submitted by
yourself in another (previous or current) assessment from any unit, except where appropriately referenced, and
with prior permission from the Lecturer/Tutor/Unit Co-ordinator of this unit.
Late Submission
– If you submit a late assessment, without receiving approval for an extension of time, (see next item), you will
be penalised by 10% per day for up to 10 days. In other words, marks equal to 10% of the assignment’s weight
will be deducted from the mark awarded.
– For example, if the highest mark possible is 50, 5 marks will be deducted from your awarded mark for each late
day.
– Saturday and Sunday are counted as one calendar day each.
– Assessments will not be accepted after the marked assessment task has been returned to students.
– This is consistent with Clause 51 of the Western Sydney University’s Assessment Policy – Criteria and StandardsBased Assessment.
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Extension of Due Date for Submission
Extensions are only granted in exceptional circumstances. To apply for an extension of time, locate an application
form via the Western Sydney University homepage or copy the following link:
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/forms
Application forms must be submitted to the Unit Coordinator/Convenor. Requests for extension should be made as
early as possible and submitted within policy deadlines. Appropriate, supporting documentation must be submitted
with the application. An application for an extension does not automatically mean that an extension will be granted.
Assessments will not be accepted after the marked assessment task has been returned to students.
Resubmission
Resubmission of assessment items will not normally be granted if requested.
Application for Special Consideration
It is strongly recommended that you attend all scheduled learning activities to support your learning. If you have
suffered misadventure, illness, or you have experienced exceptional circumstances that have prevented your attendance
at class or your completion and submission of assessment tasks, you may need to apply for Special Consideration via the
Western Sydney University website. http://www.westernsydney.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/services_
and_facilities/special_consideration2 or the Student Centre/Sydney City Campus Reception. Special Consideration
is not automatically granted. It is your responsibility to ensure that any missed content has been covered. Your
lecturer will give you more information on how this must be done.
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3 Teaching and Learning Activities

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15

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The above timetable should be used as a guide only, as it is subject to change. Students will be advised of any changes as they become known on the unit’s vUWS site.
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4 Learning Resources
4.1 Recommended Readings
Prescribed Textbook
Hudson, M 2009, Managing without proft: leadership, management and governance in third sector organisations in
Australia, UNSW Press, Sydney
Essential Reading
Howieson, B and Hodges, J 2014, Public and Third Sector Leadership – experience speaks Emerald: UK
Lyons. M. (2003) third Soctor: The contribution of non-proft and cooperative enterprises in Australia. Sydney:
Allen and Unwin.
Additional Reading
Avery S. (2018) Culture is Inclusion: A narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. First
Peoples Disability Network (Australia). Sydney.
Casey, J. & Dalton, B. (2003). Ties that bind? The impact of contracting and project-based funding regimes on
advocacy. Lindfeld: Centre for Australian Community Organisations and Management (CACOM).
Dwyer, J, Stanton, P, & Thiessen, V (2004) Project management in health and community services: getting good
ideas to work. Allen & Unwin. Crows Nest (NSW).
Gevers, Leslie. (2003) Managing a community organisation in Australia: A handbook for managers, coordinators and
management committee members. 4th Edition. North Fremantle: Leslie Gevers Community Management Services.
Kenny, S. (2016), Developing communities for the future. Cengage Learning, Sth Melbourne (VIC).
Koenig, B. (2004). Going global for the greater good: Succeeding as a nonproft in the global community. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
McLelland, A & Smyth, P (eds), (2014), Social Policy in Australia: understanding for action, 3rd ed., Oxford
University Press, Sth Melbourne (VIC).
Mendes, P (2008), Australia’s welfare wars revisited: the players, the politics and the ideologies, 2nd ed., UNSW
Press, Sydney (NSW).
Sidoti, E. et al (2009), A question of balance: principles, contracts and the government not-for-proft relationship,
The Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University, Sydney(NSW).
Steger, M.B. & Roy, R.K. (2010), Neoliberalism: a very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Sth Melbourne
(VIC).
Available online through WSU library website.
Sullivan, C. T. ( 2020) Who holds the key? Negotiating gatekeepers, community politics, and the“right” to research
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in Indigenous spaces. Geographical Research, https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/10.1111/1745-5871.12415
Literacy and/or Numeracy Resource
Journals
Voluntas Community Action Community management: managing community services in Australia, New Community
Quarterly
Public Management Review
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