Organisations and Management in Social Work

Front Cover
SAGE, Sep 7, 2007 - Social Science - 216 pages
What role does social work play in human service organisations? How do social workers experience and initiate organisational change? How can they engage and negotiate with managers and other professionals? How does a social worker deal with ethical and interpersonal conflicts within organisations?

Organisations and Management in Social Work grounds these complex questions in a comprehensive and accessible overview of the organisational context of social work practice. The book demonstrates how effective service delivery is dependent on organisational and managerial activities and procedures, and emphasises the importance of critiquing existing organisational structures.

This invaluable book:

" critically examines organisational theory, managerial techniques and organisational structures

" develops strategies for ethical and reflective organisational practice

" promotes an understanding of how to plan and manage change in learning organisations

" helps readers understand the nature of social work professionalism, including partnership and teamwork, and the inherent tensions in human service organisations

" discusses important themes such as leadership, supervision, risk, decision making, and accountability

" explores the potential for increasing service user and worker participation in organisations

" includes extended practice examples and reflective questions.

Organisations and Management in Social Work will be essential reading for social work students and professionals who wish to better understand the organisational context in which they work.

Dr Mark Hughes is a Lecturer and Dr Michael Wearing is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales.

 

Contents

Introduction
1
1 Social Work in Organisations
9
2 Theorising Organisations
32
3 Organisational Change
56
4 Leadership Decision Making and Risk
78
5 Organisational Practices
100
6 Accountability and Participation
128
7 Experiencing Organisations
151
8 Reflexive and Ethical Organisational Practice
172
References
187
Index
204
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About the author (2007)

Senior Lecturer - First Aid Officer, School Grievance Officer, Faculty Coordinator of Optional Subjects for FASS Postgraduate Research Studnets

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