Lecture 1 Social Welfare Administration

Overview of Social Welfare/Social Work AdministrationSW 115

Social Welfare Administration

Lecture 1

References:

•Administration and Supervision in Social Work by Erlinda A. Cordero, et. al.

•Social Work Administration: Dynamic Management and Human Relationships by Rex A. Skidmore

•SW 210: Social Administration and Development by Evelina A. Pangalangan

Administration is a significant Process

•Many social work educators and practitioners indicate there are five main social work methods, one of which is administration. Others describe one method in social work, the problem-solving method, that encompasses all of the other five, with a focus on understanding and solving problems related to social functioning and social relationships.


• A process is a way or manner in which change takes place. In this sense, administration is a significant process recognized in social work.

• It is in reality a kind of social work practice – the way in which social services can be facilitated and the delivery of such services takes place.

• Administration is the process that has to do with running an agency, and involves goals, policies, staff, management, services, and evaluation. Effective administration can really make a difference in the delivery of social services.


•Administration is the method that makes the other methods possible, the one that helps facilitate the functioning and operation of an agency and its practice methods. Administration and the other methods have much in common: they involve people, encompass relationships and problems, and share many techniques and principles in the helping process.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’• Administration is not unique to social work; it is an

important part of business, government, and the professions. In business, administration is a major interest and focus of training, and business schools offer students numerous managerial courses.

• In practice, management has become a major part of the business world.

• In government, likewise, the importance of administration has been recognized, at the federal, state, and local levels. Positions for administrators are advertised often, and salaries are among the highest in government or private agencies.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’• Although there are many differences, in terms of

administration, between social work, business, and government, they also have much in common. Spencer, in the historic 1959 Curriculum Study of the Council on Social Work Education, suggested some common characteristics of all areas of administration:

1. It is primarily a problem-solving process, involving identification of the problem, study of the various aspects of the problem, development of a possible plan for solution, implementation of the plan, and subsequent evaluating of its effectiveness.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’2. It is a system or constellation of

interrelated and interacting parts.3. Administration involves use of value

judgments in the selection of alternatives.

4. It is seen as an enabling process that makes it possible for individuals and groups to function more effectively.

5. It is concerned to a considerable degree with “futures”.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’6. It involves the creative rather than the

routinized use of knowledge and skill.7. It is concerned with structuring of program,

services, and staff to facilitate optimum efficiency and production of goods or services.

8. It is concerned to a greater or lesser extent with implementing the public will.

9. It involves an appropriate balance between objectifying management operations and the utilization of human resources.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’10.It is concerned with the individual staff

member in relation to status and recognition, and with the necessity for his or her positive identification with the goals, values, and methods of the organization.

11.Communication, interpersonal staff group relations, and participation in agency administration are major areas of professional concern.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’• Although social work administration shares many

qualities of administration in business and government, as has been indicated, it nevertheless has many distinct characteristics. A summary of Spencer’s pioneering description explains what these are:

1. Administration within social agencies is established to help them meet recognized needs within the community.

2. The services provided by these agencies may be classified as falling within three broad categories:

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’

a.Restoration of impaired social functioningb.Provision of resources, social and individual,

for more effective social functioningc.Prevention of social dysfunction

3. The typical social agency possessed a governing board that generally represents the community.

4. There is an enormous range and variety in the size, scope, structure, and type of programs of organizations in these agencies.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’5. The administrator has responsibility for

relating the internal operations of the agency to the community.

6. There is constant necessity for making choices about the use of resources.

7. Social agencies need to avoid using a disproportionate amount of their resources for survival. The principal responsibility for producing, maintaining, and guarding the agency’s optimum functions devolves upon the executive.

‘Administration Not Unique to Social Work…’8. The service performed by social

agencies has an increasingly large professional social work component.

9. All levels of staff participate in the administrative process and affect the total agency project to some extent.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration• Administration is an important area of organized

human activity. It has been considered a process, a method or a set of relationships between and among people working toward common objectives in an organization.

• Herman Stein describes the concept of administration as “a process of defining and attaining the objectives of an organization through a system of coordinated and cooperative effort.”

Theoretical Concepts of Administration• Administration as a method of practice deals

primarily with the following:1. Determination of goals and/or setting

objectives;2. Formulation of policies;3. Creating and maintaining an organization;4. Making plans;5. Securing resources;6. Selecting necessary technologies for

operations;

Theoretical Concepts of Administration7. Designing programs and services; 8. Optimizing organizational behavior;9. Evaluating results for the improvement of

services; and10.Accounting for resource utilization.

Administration is a continuous process that leads to organizational growth and development. Administration therefore is a phenomenon occurring in governments, schools, business firms, labor unions, hospitals and in any organized goal seeking group of persons.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration•Characteristics

Different authorities offer different views of the field:1. Administration is a human enterprise.2. It is a continuous, dynamic process for a

common purpose or goal.3. The resources of people and materials

are harnessed and coordinated to achieve organizational goals.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration4. Leadership is implicit in administration.5. Coordination, cooperation and

participation are the means for achieving organizational goals.

ElementsOrganization and management are the two

primary elements of administration.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration•Organization is the setting up of the

framework or structure of the different units of the system to carry out or perform distinct tasks for the attainment of the goals of administration.

•According to Chester I. Bernard, “an organization comes into being when 1. ) there are persons able to communicate with each other, 2.) who are willing to contribute action, 3.) to accomplish a common purpose.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration• While communication, willingness to serve and

common purpose are found in all organizations; effectiveness and efficiency are necessary elements for its continued existence.

• Management is the activity that allocates and utilizes resources to achieved the goals of the organization.

• Management is essential in all organized activity, as well as at all levels of organization in an enterprise.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration• Administration in Human Service Organization

• Social Administration according to Hanlan focuses on the policies, planning, and administration of goods and services in relation to the political, social and economic institutions and to the determinants of the distribution of national resources to social welfare needs. This considers the social work profession as a subsystem of the larger social, political and economic institutions of society.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration• Generally, the term “social administration” is used

to refer to administration in the fields of health, education and other social development fields.

• Social Welfare Administration refers more specifically to the administrative processes in a social welfare agency, the formulation of its policies and plans and their implementation into programs and services for specific client groups. It is also referred to as social agency administration.

Theoretical Concepts of Administration• Edward Schwartz claims that the major

objective of social welfare administration is the enhancement of social functioning.

• Boehm has used the term “social functioning” in his definition of the profession of social work.

• Schwartz has implied therefore that “social welfare as a field of administration and social work as a profession may be considered to have a shared objective.

What is Social Work Administration?

• Human services have become a major part of the American way of life. The federal budget uses almost half of its monies for such assistance, and state allocations vary from about one-third to one-half of budgetary expenditures. Services for people in need have expanded rapidly in recent years, in public as well as private agencies. How are these programs administered, how effectively, and by whom?


•Social work administration, both in education and practice, has come to the fore in recent years and is recognized as an essential component in the delivery of social services. Administration usually connotes leaders in the top echelon of an agency who facilitate the work of the agency and staff. In actuality, it involves all staff members at all levels, in either leadership or teamship roles.


• Kidneigh, in 1950, suggested that social work administration is the ”process of transforming social policy into social services…a two-way process: 1.)…transforming policy into concrete social services, and 2.) the use of experience in recommending modification of policy”.

• Spencer suggests that there is general agreement that “administration is the conscious direction of the internal relationships and activities of the enterprise toward the achievement of goals.


• Stein – “central to those most accepted currently is the concept of administration as a process of defining and attaining the objectives of an organization through a system of coordinated and cooperative effort.

• Trecker interprets social work administration as a “process of working with people in ways that release and relate their energies so that they use all available resources to accomplish the purpose of providing needed community services and programs.

What is Social Work Administration?• He outlines principles of social work administration

defined by several authors, which include common important elements, as follows:

1. Administration is a continuous, dynamic process.2. The process is set into motion in order to

accomplish a common purpose or goal.3. The resources of people and material are

harnessed so that the common purpose or goal may be achieved.

4. Coordination and cooperation are the means by which the resources of people and material are harnessed.

5. Implicit in the definition are the elements of planning, organizing, and leadership.


• Social Work Administration is a method of social work concerned with the provision and distribution of societal resources so as to enable certain types of persons and people to meet their needs and fulfill their potentials.

• As a secondary method in social work administration according to Walter Friedlander is based upon the principles and techniques of administration in general but addressed to the specific social work tasks of defining and solving human problems and satisfying human needs.


•Characteristics1. The use of the principles and techniques

of administration in general.2. The use of the philosophy, aims and

functions of social work, its methods of social diagnosis, analysis, and synthesis of individual, group or community needs, and of generalizations for change or development in agency goals and functions.


3. Its primary focus is a helping process for individuals, groups and communities.

4. Social Work administration is working with people based on knowledge and understanding of human behavior, human relations and human organizations.

5. Social work methods are used not only in the services provided by the agency but also in the administrative process and staff relations.


•ActivitiesHarleigh Trecker spells out the following activities as major areas of administrative responsibility:

1. Study the community.2. Determine agency purpose as basis for

clientele selection.3. Provide financial resources, budgeting

and accounting.


4. Develop agency policies, programs, and procedures for the implementation of agency purposes.

5. Select and work with agency leadership, professional and nonprofessional, boards, committees, and service volunteers.

6. Provide and maintain physical plant, equipment and supplies.

7. Develop a plan, establish and maintain effective community relations and interpret programs.


8. Keep full and accurate records of agency operations and make regular reports.

9. Continuously evaluate program and personnel, plan and conduct research.

Importance of Social Work Administration• Social Work administration is the keystone for

maximizing the effectiveness of social work programs in the solutions of social problems and in the betterment of social conditions.

• Social Work administration provides the framework for social work practice that relates it to other agency functions. The quality of social work practice is greatly influenced by social work administration.

Aspects of Social Work Administration

A. FunctionsThe functions of social work administration are the following:1. It is the means by which identified social needs are dealt with by appropriate social services, whether under public or private auspices.2. It is societal action for improved or new services needed by specific client groups or the community as a whole.


3. It is decision-making at every level of administration.

B. StructureThe study of structure consists of:1. Studying it in relation to organization as an element in administration.2. Knowing that the social welfare agency represents the organizational structure in social work administration.


C. ProcessSocial Work administration is a continuous, dynamic and total process of bringing together people, resources, and purposes to accomplish the agency goal of providing social services. As a process, it is based upon knowledge of human nature and human organization to establish and maintain a system of participative and cooperative effort at all levels of the organization.


Trecker points out that as a process social work administration has at least three important dimensions:

1. A central dimension is the task of work assignment within the agency structure. There is wide distribution of responsibility in the agency with the allocation of tasks and functions for every level of work.

2. The community in which the agency works affects agency purposes and programs as it is the source of support as well as the object of services.


3. The psychosocial dimension in which people release their feelings and energies – the feelings and energies of people when properly harnessed by administrators constitute the human resources for achieving agency goals.

Need for Social Work Administration

• There is a growing need for social work administrators who both care and are competent in terms of knowledge, abilities, and skills in administration. Educators and practitioners recognize that caring is not enough; administrative skills must accompany caring, in order to provide effective services.

• All social workers are part of the administrative process, either in a positive, neutral, or negative manner.


• Top executives and directors, assistant directors, supervisors, and consultants are the formal administrators in an agency. In theory, they are the leaders, and in many ways carry the brunt of administrative responsibilities. Nevertheless, if administration is to be effective, all line workers – the caseworker, group worker, and others – need to be actively involved in the administrative process. They are the team members who provide the services for the agency.


• They can be powerful in a positive way, by making suggestions for agency improvement and for strengthening agency administration. When necessary, they can insist on and bring about changes in agency leadership and policies. As leaders and team members work together in a coordinated, integrated manner, they produce the kinds of human services that are desired and needed. The reality is that all levels of staff should participate in the administrative process –for the effective delivery of social services.


• Three major goals for the administrative component that is emerging:1. That all students should have some knowledge concerning administration to use in their direct-practice entry positions.2. That all students should have enough knowledge of administration to allow them to move from direct practice into later administrative positions.3. That students choosing to specialize in administration should acquire enough knowledge and skills to allow their entry positions to be in administration.