Modern organisations are facing many challenges that are threatening their survival. These challenges come in the form of social, political, economic and rapid ongoing technological change. As organisations search for appropriate designs for the nineties and beyond, clear schools of thought have developed, vehemently supporting either the organic or mechanistic approach. While these debates rage on, several critical considerations are being ignored. One such consideration is the effect of organisational design on organisational climate, utilisation of power and group cohesiveness. This research sets out to explore this consideration. Various questionnaires were utilized to measure employees' perceptions of climate, power utilisation and group cohesiveness within organistic and mechanistic orientated organisations. A systematic research and design process was undertaken within two business units of a large financial organisation, from which the sample for the study was drawn. Statistical analyses revealed that organisational design does have a significant effect on job satisfaction, work group support and employee support. The employees which perceived the organisation to be more mechanistically inclined reported higher levels of employee empowerment; workgroup support and job satisfaction than their counterparts who perceived the organisation as more organistically inclined. / Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis is a study and analysis of the introduction of group work services to the Boys' Receiving Home of the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver, British Columbia. When the project began, no group work services and no adequate leisure time program were readily available for the boys living in the Home. The current philosophy of institutional care for children, the principles and potentialities of group living, and the concepts of environmental control are outlined. Within this frame of reference, the origin and development of the Boys' Receiving Home is traced, and the experiences and general behavior of the boys are described. The basic function of the group worker and the values of group experiences in this setting are discussed. This purely experimental project, that at first contained many negative elements, showed little initial promise of being very successful. Group process records are analysed to show the gradual process of developing a group work program providing a variety of experiences for the boys, and contributing to the total program of the Receiving Home in other ways. Particular attention is given to three areas: (1) the series of co-ordinated meetings involving (a) the staff of the Receiving Home; (b) the boys themselves as they planned and participated in the leisure time program; (c) the staff of Alexandra Neighbourhood House; (2) the general changes that were brought about in the boys' behaviour; (3) the progress of the boys towards more normal behaviour. Other specific contributions of the project, such as working with the case workers and the house parents are mentioned. The project indicates the need for continuing group work services and a greater variety of modern institutions with a range of social services. Finally, suggestions are made on the most appropriate function for the present Receiving Home, and the role of the Children's Aid Society in developing such new institutions. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study is the seventh in a series begun in 1957 to relate social work theory to general systems theory. The purpose of this study was to assess, through the judgment of professional social workers, the use of the two concepts, self-determination and confidentiality, in casework and social group work situations. The two concepts were operationalized by construction of five practice principles for each concept. An instrument was developed in which a critical hypothetical situation exemplified each principle for both methods with a forced choice of four actions evidencing the degree of self-determination and confidentiality. Forty randomly selected trained social workers in the Portland area answered the questionnaire. Three propositions were tested. The first predicted that workers' judgments of the use of the two concepts would be significantly influenced by the unit of treatment. The second predicted that there would be a higher correlation on self-determination between casework and group work situations than on confidentiality between the two methods. The third predicted that five variables would be significantly related to differential judgments of workers of the two concepts in both methods. Findings: Proposition I was partially substantiated. The unit of treatment was significant for the use of self-determination, but not for the use of confidentiality. Proposition II was not substantiated. Evidence showed, however, that the exact opposite of this proposition had occurred. There was a significantly higher correlation on confidentiality between the two methods than for self-determination. Among the five variables selected for testing, group work experience proved to be statistically significant in the use of confidentiality in casework situations. The variance in the scores of those respondents having group work experience was over twice as large as those respondents having no group work experience in workers’ judgments of the use of confidentiality in casework situations. In addition, years of social work experience showed a significant positive correlation in the use of self-determination in casework situations. There was no statistical significance as far as professional education in group work method, other types of training in the two methods, and preference for either casework or group work. Though not statistically significant, it was found that those respondents with graduate education in group work showed more variance in their judgments compared with those respondents without such education, indicating that education in more than one method broadens the perceptual set of the worker but that actual experience in group work is more significant than is academic education. When years of social work experience were compared, it was found that more self-determination was allowed by those respondents with more years of experience, perhaps indicating that increased experience increases the personal security of the worker. The respondents' reasons for their choice of actions indicated that they were largely guided by practice principles relating to each concept but there was an overlap among these principles. The data also showed that other concepts such as the social work relationship and the worker's responsibility to society guided some workers' choices of action. The significance of this study is that it provided eclectic definitions of the two concepts from which practice principles were operationalized, thereby contributing to theory building; illustrated that perception theory can be used for research in social work practice; identified areas for curriculum planning and staff development; and pointed to areas for future research.

The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which a developmental approach to personality change can be applied to the later years in life. Chapter II is a brief introduction to the concept of development and its relation to aging. Chapter III contains a literature review of existing developmental theories of aging plus those theoeries which I feel can be integrated into a psychosocial developmental model. Chapter IV, a description of group work techniques with older people based on the developmental task approach , contains my own ideas for group practice. My primary intention throughout the paper is to conceptualize and seek ways of implementing the notion that personality growth can continue through old age; group social work practice is viewed as a way of facilitating such growth.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1982.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987.