LEC –MISS MWAI
Implement specific environmental programs
Introduction
This learning outcome covers identification of programs/activities guidelines, determining
individual roles/responsibilities based on the identified programs, resolving problems
encountered and consulting stakeholders according to organization’s policies and
guidelines
Definition of key terms
Environmental programs: These are a set of measures and interventions aimed at
ensuring compliance with national, county and institutional environmental regulations and
the overall goal of reducing negative environmental impacts.
Stakeholders: A stakeholder is either an individual, group or organization who has interest
or concern in a certain area or who is impacted by the outcome of a project. They can be
within or outside the organization that is sponsoring or funding the project.
Roles: These are the positions team members assume or the parts that they play in a
particular operation or process.
Responsibilities: These are the specific tasks or duties that members are expected to
complete as a function of their roles.
Problem solving: It is the art of defining a problem, determining the cause of the problem,
identifying prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing
solutions.
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Content/procedures/methods/illustrations
6.1 Programs/Activities are identified according to organization’s policies and
guidelines
Environment Programs
These are a set of measures and interventions aimed at ensuring compliance with national,
county and institutional environmental regulations and the overall goal of reducing negative
environmental impacts. Environmental programs can be initiated at the national level by
the government of Kenya, or international environmental organizations such as the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) or at the county level by county governments.
The nature of a project and the shareholders involved or affected by a project depend on
the type of project and what it seeks to achieve. One important step before initiating a
project, is understanding the needs and expectations of the community affected by the
project.
Community Needs and Expectations
These are the things or services required by a certain group of people because they are
essential for survival and for a life of dignity. Needs can be identified through assessing the
strengths and resources available in the community to meet the needs of children, youth,
women and families. The assessment also focuses on the capabilities of the community
including its citizens, agencies and organizations. In the environment sector, sustainable
development is key where needs of the current generation are met without compromising
the needs of the future generations. Sustainable development has three pillars namely;
social, economic and environmental. Problems that usually face communities include:
Health
Food security
Lack of employment
War and conflict
Poverty
Identification of programs
The following process can be used in identifying programs and activities;
Developing a plan for assessing local needs and resources
Understanding and describing the community and stakeholders
Conducting stakeholder meetings and forums
Collecting information about the problem(s)
Analyzing community problems
Identifying community assets and resources
Developing baseline measures
Collecting feedback from the community
Developing and using criteria and processes to set priorities
Producing a final report on program interventions
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Developing a plan for assessing local needs and resources
Developing a plan helps gain a deeper understanding of the community. A community
assessment helps to uncover not only needs and resources, but also the underlying culture
and social structure that will help you understand how to address the community’s need
and utilize its resources.
Understanding and describing the community and stakeholders
This entails understanding physical aspects, infrastructure, patterns of settlement,
commerce and industry, demographics, history, community, leaders, culture and existing
institutions. This will give a general idea of the community’s strengths and the challenges
it faces.
Conducting stakeholder meetings and forums
Stakeholder meetings and forums are a valuable resource in upholding open lines of
communication with the public. Community participation can help identify and solve
problems.
Collecting information about the problem(s)
Quantitative information is crucial to building awareness and gathering support for
community issues. Analysis of data provides concrete approach for assessing, planning and
implementing community projects.
Analyzing community problems
This is a way of thinking carefully about a problem or issue before acting on a solution. It
first involves identifying reasons a problem exists, and then identifying possible solutions
and a plan for improvement.
Identifying community assets and resources
A community asset or resource is anything that can be used to improve the quality of
community life. It can be a person, physical structure, community service or business.
Developing baseline measures
One of the first activities needed to be done is figuring out how much the different factors
and trends to be examined are happening in the first place.
To have an effective program, you have to know how much of an effect your efforts are
having and this can be achieved the baseline measures.
Collecting feedback from the community
It’s important to collect input from members of the community when working on plans to
address environmental problems and concerns. Actively soliciting the involvement of
community members in the process as it begins and continuing to approach them for their
input will help them become more interested and actively involved.
Developing priorities
This is meant to bring to light issues of the community that need to be addressed. Criteria
are standards for making a judgment and provide guidelines for making decisions. In this
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step, the order of important things in relation to others is determined. A set of criteria
priorities may change in people’s concern or knowledge.
Producing a final report on program interventions
After all these steps have been followed and there’s a clear understanding of what needs to
be done to remedy the environmental issue, a final report is made. This report is important
because it will guide the implementation of the program and will clearly state the issues
experienced so as to improve in subsequent projects.
6.2 Individual roles/responsibilities are determined and performed based on the
activities identified
Setting of individual roles/responsibilities
A lack of clarity regarding roles, responsibilities and expectations of the various agencies
or individuals can impede success of teams. It is therefore important for team members to
understand their roles and responsibilities and to share their expectations about the roles
and responsibilities of others.
Roles – These are the positions team members assume or the parts that they play in a
particular operation or process.
Responsibilities –These are the specific tasks or duties that members are expected to
complete as a function of their roles. These activities or obligations are specific to a person
who is accountable for a role on a project that has been assigned to them.
Importance of assigning roles and responsibilities
Efficiency
Having a clear understanding of project roles allows the leader to develop a timeline. This
gives a clear idea of which task and when the specific portion is expected to be completed.
Assigning roles enables team members to get a better idea of which members have closely
related tasks. Coordination in the workplace is easier and efficient.
Productivity
When the responsibility is assigned closely to the strength of an individual, productivity is
enhanced. It increases only when all members agree on the responsibilities assigned to
them. If they agree and own their roles and responsibilities, they will easily understand how
to achieve success.
Enthusiasm
Issuing responsibilities to team members gives each person a sense of ownership. They
become invested in the project’s outcome, thereby increasing their efforts to create a quality
product. If roles and responsibilities are not defined, team members lack morale, get
disinterested and detached. Leaders should ensure work is evenly distributed to avoid
conflict and creating stress for some workers.
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6.3 Problems/constraints encountered are resolved in accordance with
organization’s policies and guidelines
Resolving problems and issues
Problem solving is the act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem;
identifying prioritizing; selecting alternatives for a solution and implementing solutions.
Problem solving gives us an opportunity to improve the system and relationships.
Steps in problem solving process
a) Define the problem
This involves differentiating facts from opinions, being specific with the underlying causes,
identifying what standard or expectation has not been met and what can be improved, and
determine in which process the problem lies.
b) Generate alternative solutions
In this stage there’s room for creativity and ideas can be shared through brainstorming.
All parties affected should be involved in generating alternatives. The alternatives should
be consistent with the goals of everyone involved in the process.
c) Evaluate and select alternatives
There is a need to go deeper after generating alternatives so that realistic and appropriate
options can be prioritized. The evaluation should be relative to a target standard and the
selection should not be biased or favor a particular individual or a group.
d) Implementation and follow up
Implementation of the chosen alternatives is the final step. It is important to gather feedback
from the stakeholders as implementation is taking place. This can be part of an ongoing
monitoring and evaluation. Long-term results should be evaluated so as to learn on areas
that can be improved in future initiatives.
6.4 Stakeholders are consulted based on company guidelines
Stakeholder Consultation
A stakeholder is either an individual, group or organization who has interest or concern in
a certain area or who is impacted by the outcome of a project. They can be within or outside
the organization that sponsoring or funding the project. It’s important to get output from
members of the community when working on plans to address environmental problems and
issues. This will help them become more interested and more actively involved.
Public participation is one of the fundamental principles of democracy. Democracy is
premised on the idea that all citizens are equally entitled to have a say in decisions affecting
their lives. Citizens’ participation in government decision making and projects is
fundamental to the functioning of a democratic system of governance as stated in chapter
one of the constitution of Kenya, 2010. Stakeholder consultation or public participation is
not only important in government initiatives but also in any project so that community
members can be fully involved and own the project.
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Importance of stakeholder consultation
It increases the likelihood of stakeholders getting actively involved and staying
involved throughout the implementation process.
It increases understanding of the priorities of the community members and what
problems and issues are the major concern. This information may not be known by
professionals.
It is a reliable, systematic and easy way to acquire information from the
beneficiaries of a project.
It provides a useful source of data, information and direction for donors,
government and participants.
It keeps the government’s agenda and organization objectives to reflect the interests
of the community by getting their perspective.
5 S of Good Housekeeping
This method contains five steps and is essential for being organized and working
efficiently. Henry Ford originally developed what we know now as the 5s methodology in
1972. It was however popularized by Hiroyuki Hirano in Japanese in 1980. 5s of good
housekeeping is a management technique that is aimed at optimizing the workplace and
improving the efficiency of work performance. These five steps include:
i. Seiri – Sort
First you should identify what is necessary and what is unnecessary. Items can be physical,
such as broken equipment, or non-physical such as outdated files in a network and
information that is no longer needed. Enlist a team to identify which items are needed and
classify them by frequency of use. This should extend to software. Sorting out software
needs will reduce costs, increase available storage space and make organization more
effective.
ii. Seiton - Straighten
After sorting resources and removing what is unwanted, you can put them in order.
Resources should be clearly labelled and stored in an appropriate place where they can be
found easily.
Physical resources used often should be kept close by, while items that are used less often
stored further away. For computers, files should be saved appropriately, in distinguishable
folders with appropriate names using dates where applicable.
iii. Seiso – Shine
After the workplace is in order, it should be cleaned. This should be a regular event, making
it easy to monitor the condition of machinery and tools. This will make it easy to do regular
maintenance. Clean files regularly to ensure that only the latest versions are left, and ensure
that the computer is regularly updated to the latest version.
iv. Seiketsu – Standardize
Creating a standardized procedure to ensure the good work practices are maintained is the
next step. Having a standard in place will serve as best practice and will remove uncertainty
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amongst your team. It should be communicated in written form, and checklists be created
to help team members perform all of the steps correctly.
v. Shitsuke – Sustain
Finally, the new processes and standards need to be sustained. This can be attained by
building the whole process into performance evaluation. The process can evolve over time,
and so 5s should be modified appropriately, and changes communicated to team members.
Assessment of adherence to standards and success of the process can be done through
project review or meetings.
Conclusion
This learning outcome covered implementation of specific environmental programs
through identification of programs/activities, individual roles/responsibilities, resolving of
problems/constraints and consulting stakeholders based on organization policies and
guidelines.
