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Written by key figures in the field of social care training and administration this much-needed volume provides good practice guidance for front line managers. The contributions are based upon recent research into management practice.
Reflective practice is at the heart of becoming a competent and confident social worker. It’s both a key element of learning and development on social work courses and an important aspect of social work practice. This accessible and introductory text explores a range of approaches to reflective practice that aims to help students become more confident in answering key questions, including ′what is reflective practice?′, ‘how do I develop as a reflective practitioner?’, ‘how do I maintain reflective practice in key contexts?’. There are sections on writing reflective journals, communicating well with service users and carers and reflective practice while on placements.
This fully revised and updated second edition looks at the study of social work management and organisations, focusing on relationships with crucial partners such as central government agencies, local partners and other social care organisations. Through an examination of current research and practice, the author explores the relationships between ideology, professional and personal values and decision making in organisational culture. Included in the text are case studies, activities and further reading lists to aid learning.
This accessible and introductory text explores a range of reflective practice approaches and personal development to help students demonstrate reflective practice in their assignments. It features extensive material on working collaboratively and using reflective practice on placements as well as practical activities and material on effective working with service users and care.
Social work is currently undergoing major change in its policies, organization and day-to-day practice and much has been written about the feminist presence in social work. In particular, feminist social work has focused on the role of women social workers in developing distinctive forms of practice, rooted in a commitment to egalitarian relationships with women service users. The State of Feminist Social Work challenges the limitations of this perspective. Tracing key ideas in feminist social work from the 1970s through to the present day, and using data from interviews with female social workers, this book draws out tensions between the literature and the actual experience of female social workers. In doing so, it: highlights the significance for feminists of social work's location in the state enables the experiences of women social workers to be explored and placed within their structural context opens up the possibility of diverse identities, identifications and stances amongst women social workers critically examines the current state of feminist social work. The State of Feminist Social Work provides an important appraisal of the subject and is essential reading for all those with an interest in feminism and social work theory, practice and education.
William Bryans provides straightforward ways to assist managers and front line staff to cope with various levels of management and supervisory responsibilities in work areas where they may have no great experience.
Published in 1998. The industrial model of the labour process developed by Braverman was applied to social work in the radical social work literature. The book engages in a more critical examination of the application of the labour process perspective to social work, with particular reference to front-line management in a local authority context. It begins with a review of the labour process literature which demonstrates the extent to which the independence of Braverman’s model on scientific management was undermined in the post-Braverman debate. The radical texts' orthodox Bravermanian approach to the social work labour process is considered. In those texts, the social work labour process is represented as having moved towards an industrial model which steadily encroached on the autonomy of front-line field social workers, through managers’ wresting of control over their work. The book advances an alternative model of the social work labour process which takes account of the distinctive features of social work, as a state-mediated, bureau-professional labour process. Findings from a small-scale case study of a social services department are presented. Data from the study are used to test the bureau-professional model of the social work labour process against the orthodox Bravermanian model. Developments in the social services department’s organizational structure are set out and the position of front-line managers is considered through an exploration of their identifications and commitments in relation to management and trade unionism. The data from their accounts support the bureau-professional model of the labour process and the position of front-line managers emerges as more ambiguous than the radical social work literature indicated. Front-line managers did not share global goals with senior management, nor were their interests merged straightforwardly with those of social workers.
Social Care Management, Strategy and Business Planning is a comprehensive guide to strategic social care management, covering all the knowledge and skills that managers in the 21st century must have, and showing how to make theory a practical reality. The book aims to make business planning a more accessible and user-friendly process, offering practical advice on how to tackle the everyday tasks which good social care management should involve. Topics covered include strategic planning, business development, commissioning and contracting, project management, decision-making, risk, and evaluation techniques. The book also acknowledges the challenges of working collaboratively within a complex legislative and policy framework and juggling different aspects of the management tasks whilst retaining professional identities and ethics. Also included are practical examples and lively tips and comments from practising managers on their experiences in different areas of business planning. This book will be essential reading for anyone involved in managing or leading practice either in the front line or at a more strategic level. It will be useful to post-qualifying social work students and is particularly valuable to anyone following a management training programme.
Social work and social care managers often find themselves in management positions without having had any formal management training, yet skills and knowledge specific to social care settings are essential for effective practice. This book offers a researched and practical guide to the fundamental skills and knowledge that a manager needs, underpinned by the values and ethics that are inherent to social work and social care. Core skills covered include time management, recruitment, managing meetings, working in partnership with service users, negotiation and conflict management, and mentoring and coaching. A self-improvement feedback assessment is included, and the book features learning activities, practical tools, case examples, summaries and action checklists. This must-have handbook will help social work and social care managers and students to understand and accomplish the core skills needed for excellent management practice.
