published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The personal social services in Sweden have undergone major changes during recent decades, partly due to the reforms caused by the influence of New Public Management (NPM) and partly due to the trend towards greater specialisation. These changes have had consequences for both social work management and for social work practice. The consequences for practice have gained attention both from research and from the field, but the consequences for managers have rarely been discussed. In this thesis therefore, the attention is directed towards the managers. Inspired by a mixed methods approach, this thesis aims to explore the personal social service managers’ perceptions of their organisational conditions and the content of their everyday work, as well as to interpret the managers’ experiences against the background of NPM influence, increasing specialisation and the specific circumstances that come with managing politically governed organisations. The results show that the personal social service managers in general were former professionals with extensive social work experience. The managerial work was to a great extent perceived as reactive, entailing constant interruptions and acute situations. The managers experienced a heavy workload that appeared to prevent them from engaging in strategic work and leadership to the extent that they would have liked. Substantial proportions of managers were dissatisfied with their own levels of influence compared to that of politicians and, in general, the managers perceived themselves to have more influence regarding aspects that were operational (such as methods and working procedures) compared to aspects related to organisational structure. Through the managers’ descriptions of their relations with politicians, it was revealed that the roles could be muddled, and that both managers and politicians could have difficulties in distinguishing between politics and administration, or politics and profession. Several changes that could be attributed to the influence of NPM were described by the managers. Some changes had consequences for the more technical side of management, e.g. decentralised budget responsibility, increased focus on cost effectiveness and downsizing of support functions. Other changes were more related to the overarching concept of management, which had consequences for the choice of managerial training, the expectations placed on the managers, and to some extent the managers’ own views on what good management should be. Despite the many indications of changes that may be attributed to NPM, an important result in this thesis is that NPM does not appear to have permeated social work to the degree that might have been expected. Rather, there are clear indications of a remaining professional identity among managers on all managerial levels, as well a continuing bureau-professional regime within the personal social services.

Thesis (M. A. (Social Work)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Social Work supervisors experience a lot of challenges when supervising inexperienced social workers. The overall aim of the study was to explore and describe experiences of social work supervisors in supervising inexperienced social workers in the Department of Social Development Malamulele Area Office. The study objectives were to identify supervisors’ training needs that enable them to manage inexperienced social workers; to appraise how supervisors manage poor confidence among inexperienced social workers; to assess how supervisors manage time to meet deadlines coupled with supervising; and to establish knowledge gaps between supervisors and inexperienced social workers in terms of relevant theories, skills and techniques. The researcher used both explorative and descriptive research designs. The data was collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews from eight (8) social work supervisors who are employed by the Department of Social Development, Malamulele area office. The sample consisted of social work supervisors who were available and ready to participate in the study. Eight social work supervisors who had supervised inexperienced social workers were interviewed. The researcher followed the steps of thematic data analysis which are transcription of data, checking and editing, analysing and interpretation, and generalisation to analyse data. Ethical considerations such as voluntary participation, permission to conduct the study, anonymity, confidentiality and no harm to respondents were considered. The researcher found that Social Work supervisors who render supervision do not have relevant and up-to-date theoretical knowledge. They still apply relevant theories that they learned during their time as undergraduate Social Workers, and the fact that they do attend supervisory training makes the supervision to be poor. The researcher found that a lot of Social Work supervisors rely on their experiences because they do not have formal supervision training. The researcher also found that inexperienced Social Workers are not receiving enough supervision from their supervisors. The researcher concluded that these Social Workers are receiving enough supervision because their supervisors have a lot of work such as attending clients and meetings. Social Work supervisors in Malamulele area office are currently practising without supervisory training, but they are appointed based on their working experience. The researcher recommended that the Department of Social Development, Vhembe x District Municipality should encourage inexperienced Social Workers and supervisors to attend courses in supervision offered by different service providers and to understand their role.

Although learning organization theory evolved in corporate settings, literature suggests that the theory has much to offer human service organizations. This dissertation examines the implementation of a modified learning organization model in three small field offices of a publicly-funded vocational rehabilitation organization in the Pacific Northwest, at a time when the organization was negotiating financial cutbacks and organizational changes. The model - known as Strengths in Action - was based on Senge's five learning organization disciplines, and informed by organizational culture theory. In each participating office, all staff worked together to set a goal, make a plan, and achieve the goal. This dissertation covers the implementation of the modified learning organization model; the factors that facilitated and impeded the model's implementation; the model's impact on participating offices' climate and culture; and the similarities and differences among participating offices. This primarily qualitative study utilized mixed methods: observations, interviews, and an online survey. Implementation of the model resulted in individual and team learning, better staff communication, more productive teamwork, stronger staff relationships, stronger office/community partner relationships, and improved office morale. This study shows that such a model can be effective in a human service setting, moving workgroups away from a mode of individual workers reactively handling individual cases, and toward a mode of proactive collective problem-solving. It also provides strong evidence that a learning organization model, implemented during a period of resource retrenchment, can produce substantial benefits for small workgroups within human service organizations, even when the model is not disseminated organization-wide.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and support needs of community mental health and addiction services providers in the context of rapid social and economic change in communities in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada. Two main questions guiding this inquiry were: How do community mental health and addictions workers experience and respond to rapid socio-economic change in relation to their professional practice? What are the support needs of practitioners in light of continued change in the region? Primary data consisted of personal interviews with 15 community-based mental health and addictions practitioners throughout the NWT. Findings drawn from the thematic analysis of these interviews highlight the positive and negative changes taking place in communities with respect to mental health and addictions, the significant impact of organizational change on front-line practice, and the possibilities that exist for the future of mental health and addiction service delivery in the NWT. In the discussion chapter, community-based practitioners’ views are related to key themes within the literature and recommendations to improve the NWT mental health and addiction services policies and practices are made.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Social Work / (M.A.(Social Work)