The Organization of Knowsley Leaving Care Team
For this assignment I will discuss the relevant managerial and
organisational theoretical concepts that I observed whilst working on
placement at the Knowsley Leaving Care Team. Within this assignment I
will show an understanding of: organisational structure,
organisational goals and the culture of the organisation. I will also
look at the level of service user involvement within the organisation.
For the last part of the assignment I will address, through
reflection, whether the organisation helped or hindered my attempts to
apply social work knowledge, skills and values.
The term organisation can be described as “structuring activities into
operational groups each of which contain employees who are allocated
roles and duties and given varying degrees of authority and
responsibility” (Bets 1993 p25).
The Leaving Care Team is located within the Children and Families
Division of Knowsley Borough Council’s Social Services Department. The
agency’s structure (Appendix B) clearly shows that the Children and
Families Division is structured into operational groups or divisions.
Max Weber (1864 – 1920), a German sociologist, defined this structure
as a hierarchy of offices or posts. Weber describes the hierarchical
structure as a pyramid with the head of the organisation at the top,
middle managers in between and the frontline workers and their
assistants at the base. This can be related to the Children and
Families Division, as the Assistant Director is at the top, the
Service Managers are the middle managers, the Social Workers are the
frontline workers and the administration staff are ...
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...ave.
Harris, J. (2003) The Social Work Business. Oxon, Routledge.
Hatch, M. J. (1997) Organization Theory. New York, Oxford University
Press.
Mullins, L. J. (1996) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 4th Ed,
London, Pitman.
Rose, A & Lawton, A. (1999) Public Service Management. Essex, Pearson.
Statham, D. (2004) Managing Front Line Practice in Social Care.
London, Jessica Kingsley.
Web Pages
Harris, J. (2006) Display Single Profile.
www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk
Additional Information
Business Plan (2005-2006) Knowsley Council, Children and Families
Division.
Information and Guidance for Social Work Practitioners (2001) Knowsley
Council, Children and Families Division.
Quality Protects Management Action Plan (2005) Knowsley Council,
Children and Families Division.
My research study was stimulated by my personal interest in social work, particularly services devoted to children. Exploring what issues affect the quality of these services can assist social workers, and society in general, to find solutions. This research attempts to highlight how
Organizational leaders are responsible for establishing standards of behavior and for effectively communicating those standards to all managers and employees in the organization. One of the traditional ways by which organizations and top management have fulfilled this responsibility is through the use of code of ethics or codes of conduct. The code of conduct acts to clarify what behavior is expected to the employees. It provides employees with a chance to confirm whether their behavior is acceptable to the company. It also allows employees to try to convince others and warn them of their inappropriate behavior (Carroll & Bunchholtz, 2011, p. 255).. This paper will create an ethical code of conduct for Angelique Home Care. This paper will also
This class, Social Work Theory & Practice was made to be able to introduce me to social work theories, ideas, and skills needed to work in the social work profession. This class main tool used was a book called A Brief Introduction of Social Work Theory by David Howe which discusses social work theories in a compressive and explainable way. This class is important to my higher learning because it break down the theories that I will need to use during my practice and a...
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Weinbach, R.W. (2008). The Social Worker as Manager: A Practical Guide to Success, 252-277. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
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Galpin, D. and Bates, N. 2009. Social work practice with adults. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.
Chenoweth, L & McAuliffe, D 2012, The road to social work and human service practice, 3rd edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne.
Bell and Bain Ltd, Glasgow.. Tompson, N., 2009. Understanding Social Work - a new approach. 3rd ed. of the year. London: Palgrave Macmillan, c. 1895.
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