Self-help groups: a seed for intrinsic empowerment of Indian rural women

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallavi Mathur ◽  
Parul Agarwal
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Strength Capacity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Systematic Strategy ◽  
To Come ◽  
Self Help Groups

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-help groups (SHGs) in providing an environment for the empowerment of Indian rural women. The authors argue that the SHG empowerment strategy paves the way for the process of development of bottom-up empowerment of women. The authors argue that SHG is a systematic strategy and is not solely based on credit, but also incorporates many other dimensions necessarily required for developing an empowerment process. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was the choice of design due to the inherent inability of the structured surveys to understand women empowerment (Mayoux, 1998), as this study was basically interested in the women’s perception of their own empowerment. To explore their experience, a series of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. Findings The authors stand by the application of SHG empowerment strategy in India and go against the rhetoric statements that “top to bottom” approach does not lead to a significant bottom-up empowerment. Originality/value The survey was conducted by the authors in the vicinity of rural Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Moreover, during the survey, it was found out that participation in SHG facilitates women to know the current state of disempowerment and provides them strength, capacity to come out from the status of drudgery, poverty and seclusion.

scholarly journals A study on economic empowerment of women through self- help groups (IWMP-Morbi Taluka)

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-344
Author(s):  
Hemangi D. Mehta ◽  
Jyoti S. Han
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Social Harmony ◽  
Self Help ◽  
To Come ◽  
Self Help Groups

This paper focuses on the level of women empowerment in rural areas. Women are critical to a thriving rural economy, especially in developing countries such as India. Rural women today have been suffering a lot due to the feeling of helplessness and lack of decisionmaking capabilities in financial matters. Self-help groups (SHGs) are the most recent development for them which could enable them to come forward and make them self dependent and self employed. The main objective of this study is SHGs Contribution of empowerment level in rural areas women. Self –help groups have been playing considerable role in communication level of members, change in family violence, frequency of interaction with outsiders, change in the saving pattern of SHG members, achieving social harmony and sustainability-financial value.

Accountability in the financial management practices of school principals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agrippa Madoda Dwangu ◽  
Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
School Principals ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms employed in financial management practices of school principals in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Education. The strengths and weaknesses of the systems and mechanisms of the processes to hold school principals accountable are explored in detail in this study. The argument that this article seeks to advance is that accountability of the school principal to the school governing body (SGB) does not yield the best results in terms of efficiency. It creates a loose arrangement in terms of which the school principal takes part in financial mismanagement in schools.Design/methodology/approachData collection was made through semi-structured interviews whose purpose was to draw experiences from SGBs, particularly the finance committees who are in fact the sub-committees of the SGBs; as well as literature review. The finance committee is made up of the chairperson of the SGB, the secretary of the SGB, the treasurer of the SGB, and the financial officer who is a clerk responsible for the keeping and the management of financial records of the school. The process started with semi-structured interviews, then transcribing, coding, developing themes, making meaning of the themes and subsequently developing a principle.FindingsMechanisms employed by schools and the Department of Education to hold principals accountable for their financial management practices fail to make them fully accountable and effectively face the consequences of acts on their part that are illegal and unlawful. The mechanisms need a great deal of overhauling. The argument that this article seeks to advance is that this account of the school principal to the SGB does not yield the best results in terms of efficiency. It creates a loose arrangement in terms of which the school principal easily gets away with a crime when financial mismanagement occurs in the school.Research limitations/implicationsParticipants could possibly not be comfortable and willing, to tell the truth as it is. Participants might have the fear that telling the truth could land them in trouble with the law. Whilst participants were assured by the researchers of their anonymity and the confidentiality of the information given by them, there was no guarantee that the fear of being exposed would subdue completely. There was also a possibility that some participants would not be willing to say the truth as it is for fear of being victimised by other participants for exposing the status quo in their schools.Practical implicationsThe findings and recommendations from this study may be used by the Department of Basic Education as a source of information for policymakers and stakeholders to understand the effectiveness of their mechanisms to ensure the accountability of school principals on issues of financial management. On the basis of this study, policymakers will then be able to revisit their policies for the purpose of strengthening them. The principal is therefore responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of school funds because of this mandatory delegation. However, when things go wrong, it is the SGB that is held liable.Social implicationsSchool principals hold dual accountability in terms of which they are accountable to the employer only in so far as their professional responsibilities are concerned on financial management in the first instance. They are by no means accounting officers in schools. In the second instance, they are fully accountable to the SGB for issues relating to financial management. Section 16A of SASA lists the functions and responsibilities for which the principal as an employee of the Department of Basic Education, and in his official capacity as contemplated in Sections 23(1) and 24(1) (j) of the same Act, is accountable to the head of department (HOD).Originality/valueThe study provides a theoretical and empirical contribution to the existing literature on the effectiveness of the mechanisms employed to ensure the accountability of school principals in their financial management practices in schools. It offers practical recommendations putting in place mechanisms that effectively hold school principals wholly accountable for their financial management practices in schools. Most of the time, it is easy for the principal to get away with a crime even in instances where he or she is called upon to account for alleged financial mismanagement.

Do people choose to be homeless? An existentially informed hermeneutic phenomenological analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Wharne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hermeneutic Phenomenological ◽  
The Status ◽  
Housing Shortages ◽  
New Locations ◽  
Rational Calculation

Purpose – Homeless populations are a politically contentious problem and researchers struggle to achieve a balanced approach. They place emphasis on sharply contrasting factors, such as; institutional structures, ideologies or individual dispositions and differences. Central questions remain unanswered, i.e., is homelessness an outcome of society’s failings related to housing shortages, or a personal choice, as in the status of “intentional homelessness?” The purpose of this paper is to set aside assumptions, to explore experiences of homelessness and psychosis. Design/methodology/approach – An existentially informed hermeneutic phenomenological analysis; exploring transcribed narratives from semi-structured interviews with three men. Findings – These participants started to wander as a spontaneous response to distressing life experiences. Without any plan they travelled to new locations living on the street. Being contained and treated against their will in the psychiatric system was another source of distress. They did not choose homelessness through a rational calculation of their best interests. They felt at odds with society, which did not protect them and failed to meet their needs. Research limitations/implications – In qualitative research, findings are not generalisable to other settings. Practical implications – Homeless services should be enhanced by psychological expertise along with more person-centred emphatic approaches; the authors of social policies should consider their philosophical assumptions. Social implications – Systemised mental healthcare does not solve complex problems; fails to meet needs. Originality/value – The analysis informs the design of further research, prompts practitioners to review their understandings and provides grounds for the rewriting of policies.

scholarly journals Transformation of Women Status through Self- Help Groups in Pudukkottai Block

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. N. Rameshkumar
Keyword(s):  
Rural Area ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Active Process ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Productive Activities ◽  
Traditional Work ◽  
Self Help Groups

The rural area peoples are mostly suffered of human life style because it is based on the reason of economic. The present study focused area of psychological, social and economic empowerment of women in Pudukkottai block specified rural area of Perungalur, Athanakottai, Varapur, Mullur and Vadavalam. It is; therefore, women need special attention to ensure their development and active participation in the decision-making process at home. It is also widely recognized that apart from managing household, bearing children, rural women bring income with productive activities ranging from traditional work in the fields to working in factories or running small and petty businesses. They have also proven that they can be better entrepreneurs and development managers in any kind of human development activities. The empowerment of women also considered as an active process enabling women to realize their full identity and power in all spheres of life. The empowerment of women is modified in our life with help of Self Help Groups in Pudukkottai area.

Exploring destination brand disengagement in a top-down policy context

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narcís Bassols ◽  
Thomas Leicht
Keyword(s):  
Place Branding ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Brand Strategy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Study

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the case of Cartagena, Colombia, as a case of a failed destination branding. It also broadens the findings by connecting them to the extant literature about place branding, thus making this paper more explanatory. It tries to fit the fieldwork’s findings into the two main streams of branding research (bottom-up vs top-down). This paper also gives practical insights into the destination’s network of stakeholders and discusses ways to improve the destination’s management and branding. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a mixed methodology approach. Field work consisted of online questionnaire to hospitality employees in the city plus semi-structured interviews conducted with 18 “expert” stakeholders in the destination. This paper is of empirical nature. Findings The main cause of the destination’s brand failure is found to be the top-down approach to the place brand strategy. The literature shows that cases such as this one are more common than assumed, and a possible way out of the problem is the application of bottom-up or “mixed” approaches, as these may circumvent the problems found. Research limitations/implications Cases like this one illustrate very well a local context but might be difficult to transfer to other contexts, so the generalization power of this paper is limited to similar places in the sociopolitical sense of the term. Practical implications For place branding practitioners and destination management organizations , this paper is a call for participative approaches which include all of the stakeholders of a place. Originality/value This paper offers an in-depth study of a branding case in Latin America, a part of the world relatively unexplored in the branding literature. On the basis of the presented case, this paper pitches top-down versus bottom-up approaches. Finally, it explains the findings by connecting the place to its broad geographical context.

scholarly journals An analysis of women’s self-help groups’ involvement in microfinance program in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 2-11
Author(s):  
Gaurav Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Logit Regression ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Self Help Groups ◽  
Logit Regression Model ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this is to classify the social and economic factors which impact the involvement of women in self-help groups (SHGs) for their economic as well as social empowerment. Design/methodology/approach The research has been conducted in Nainital district of Uttarakhand (India) in 2018. Primary data have been gathered from women respondent only on factors relating to the ownership of asset, housing characteristics and other demographic details. Both SHG and non-SHG women members have been chosen as key informants during the survey. Multi-stage purposive and stratified random sampling has been used for the selection of respondents and SHGs. The logit regression model has been formulated to describe the causes that influence the participation of women in SHGs. Also, an empowerment index has been constructed to measure the effect of SHGs on women empowerment. Findings The results show that factors including age, education, family type and distance from the market have a significant impact on the participation of women in SHGs. Also, there is a significant difference in both these values which suggests that the value of the empowerment index gets significantly increased after joining the SHGs. Practical implications Analytically derived factors have been used to develop an empowerment index. Hence, the present research is valuable for marketing practitioners, entrepreneurs and professionals from the development sector who intend to work amongst SHGs, primarily with women. The paper is valuable for academic researchers in this area so that the limited body of knowledge, on the empowerment index, could be developed. Originality/value The present research is unique because the authors did not find work, especially in the context of rural India, in the said area. Factors impacting the participation of women in SHGs along with the impact of participation on empowerment have been explored using the logit regression model, leading to the development of an empowerment index.

An empirical study on the impact of micro enterprises on women empowerment

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Arul Paramanandam ◽  
P Packirisamy
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Skill Training ◽  
Development Economic ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Help Groups ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Micro Enterprises

Purpose – This study aims to find whether the micro-enterprises lead to women empowerment and entrepreneurship and make them to be wholly involved in income-generating activities by having them choose a business venture of their own. Design/methodology/approach – Women empowerment is very important for the acceleration of economic growth. The economic empowerment of women is being regarded these days as a sine qua non of progress for a country; hence, the issue of economic empowerment of women is of paramount importance to political thinkers, social scientists and reformers. The self-help groups (SHGs) have paved the way for economic independence of rural women. The members of SHGs are involved in micro-entrepreneurships. Empowerment is intellectual capital. Capital is a life blood of any industry. Findings – Without women development, economic development will not take place. Women should be imparted technical knowledge, skill training and marketing techniques in the process of establishing an enterprise by them for more sustainability. Originality/value – Micro-enterprises add values to a country’s economy by creating jobs, enhancing income, strengthening purchasing power, lowering costs and adding business convenience.

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