In this thought-provoking book, Lawler and Bison provide a thorough review of, and framework for, management, leadership, and organizational theories for social work scholars and leaders. Their dis...
The goal of this research is to qualitatively explore the role, function, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs about lobbying and social welfare nonprofit boards. Focus groups and telephone interviews were conducted with 53 nonprofit leaders. The findings suggest that nonprofit leaders understand the need for lobbying but barriers included fear, lack of resources, and inadequate knowledge of nonprofit lobbying laws. Board members experienced ambiguity about the lobbying process, and executive directors often orchestrated the board's lobbying activities. However, boards have opportunities to engage in the relationship-building and capacity-enhancing activities to promote social justice using lobbying as a strategy.
Evaluations in child welfare settings present challenges and opportunities for administrators. This paper presents a framework for considering such evaluations and proposes mixed methods to assess participatory interventions for sustainable organizational change. A progression of three studies illustrates this approach and draws on results to demonstrate how evaluation designs impact findings.
This article analyzes the shortcomings affecting social services in Spain and highlights how the control function contributes to transparency and efficiency, with the consequent improvement of citizens' confidence. The results from a survey are presented, reflecting the opinions of the statutory auditors in Spain as to these matters.
The transition from direct service to management in human service organizations requires newly promoted managers to engage in significant role transformation that calls into question their self-concept and identity. This analysis draws upon the for-profit and nonprofit literature to construct a conceptual model of managerial identity formation. The model is then applied to a case vignette of a managerial leadership development training program developed by a regional network of nonprofit human service agency directors. The analysis concludes with implications for managerial training and leadership development in human service organizations.
Nonprofits rely heavily on their employees, and employee performance depends on job satisfaction. Using qualitative research methods, this article examines employee expectations, work experiences, and job satisfaction in German nonprofits. Expectations do not match the workplace reality, and this gap leads to job dissatisfaction. Ways to ameliorate this are discussed.
A case study is used to illustrate the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) as an organizational change process. EBP implementation is presented as a systemic process reliant on executive leadership and organizational culture. Qualitative findings suggest that effective EBP implementation requires engagement of staff across the organization. Strategies for staff engagement are identified, including the development of communities of practice. A model for organizational analysis is presented to assist preparation for EBP implementation.
Social workers' health and well-being in the workplace has received a great deal of attention in the international literature. Since social work in the field of health has experienced many changes in Saudi Arabia over the past two decades, this study attempts to investigate personal experience among hospital social workers. The study used the quantitative approach and gathered its information by a survey that was distributed to 260 practitioners. The conclusion highlights a considerable level of detrimental work-related reactions (e.g., frustration) in the individual Saudi social work practitioners.
Annually, almost 2,000 children die from maltreatment; 30%–40% are known to child welfare agencies. Critics attribute these deaths to young, inexperienced, untrained workers. This study used a multi-state sample of 123 child welfare workers who had experienced a fatality to address: 1) the characteristics of workers, 2) how workers approached the case, and 3) the fallout after the fatality. Workers were in their late 30s, were well educated, and had several years of experience. They felt confident in handling the case leading up to the fatality, felt supported by coworkers, and did not use formal support. Implications for administrators are discussed.
Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgments This material draws on a longer tremens by Tropman and Wooten. See Executive Leadership-A 7C Approach. (2010) Problems and Perspectives in Management, Volume 8, Issue 4, p 47ff.
Developing evidence-based or research-informed approaches to practice in human services requires research-oriented cultures in organizations. One feature of this is frontline staff that are engaged with and supportive of evidence-based practice (EBP) approaches. This paper reports on a study of staff support for EBP in an organization where senior management made a commitment to EBP. Utilizing several measures of support for EBP, including two standardized scales, the study found strong support for EBP. Findings indicate that, in this organization, being female, having higher qualifications, and being at a higher level in the organization are associated with greater support for EBP and that years employed in the organization is negatively correlated with support for EBP.
My bookshelf has become crowded in recent months with review copies of new general management textbooks for the human services. Given the fragile state of the human service industry, it seems many ...
This article presents a framework integrating theoretical concepts and reform movements that shape the contemporary environment of social work administration. The framework incorporates several major environmental forces including issues of authority, market exchange and community cooperation, and new public management influences promoting market-based management, privatization, and downsized government.
The study investigated the influence of role conflict, workload, centralization, and formalization on job satisfaction of long-term care staff. Regression analysis revealed that role conflict, workload, centralization, and formalization together contributed 40.0% variance in job satisfaction. Role conflict and workload decrease job satisfaction while centralization and formalization increase it.
This study treats the administrative effect factor as a moderator in LISREL analyses to build an explanatory model that best explains Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program caseload changes. The analysis reveals that the administrative effect factor, followed by fiscal expenditure, social needs, and political factors, directly contribute to changes in TANF caseloads in the United States.
Increasingly, human service agencies are facing revenue shortfalls, which are endangering important social programs. Unless human service leaders find sustainable revenue sources to support programmatic efforts, their programs will remain financially unstable. Social entrepreneurship (SE), which balances organizational economic and social goals, offers one possible solution. Unfortunately, very few human service administration programs offer SE training, and those that do utilize a mono-disciplinary education model. In truth, effective SE requires skills/knowledge that traverse various academic disciplines and community groups. The authors recommend that human service administration programs collaborate and offer transdisciplinary, problem-based SE programs to prepare human service administrators.
