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.
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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.
Within the U.S. Healthcare system there are different levels of healthcare; Long-Term Care also known as (LTC), Integrative Care, and Mental Health. While these services are contained within in the U.S. Healthcare system, they function on dissimilar levels.
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
The Care Programme Approach Association, (2006) National Standards and CPA Association Audit Tool for the Monitoring of the Care Programme Approach. Chesterfield: CPAA
Leadbetter, D. and Lownsbrough, H. (2005) Personalisation and Participation: The Future of Social Care in Scotland, London, Demos.
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
Weinbach, R.W. (2008). The Social Worker as Manager: A Practical Guide to Success, 252-277. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Parker, J. and Bradley, G. (2003). Social Work Practice: Assessment, Planning, Intervention and Review. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.
In the article, the author noted that, to improve the quality of service delivery the most important thing to do is to identify and explain the needed competencies of managers. Consequently, she noted in her analysis that these competencies can be used as a yardstick to recruit or hire managers to evaluate their work in the agency, as a way of identifying developmental needs of managers and as a tool to enhance the skills of managers. In all Wimpfheimer put a great deal of knowledge and information on social work administration but she mostly focused on knowledge of managers on the various competencies and not skills. Skills like human, technical and conceptual skills are also important to enhance effective running of agencies. If a manager can exhibit all the competencies ranging from internal relations to external relations outlined by Wimpfheimer and employees are not happy at work whilst clients or service users are shunning away from the services provided, then that effectiveness she talked about cannot be
The overall impression from the naïve reading is that working with performance management in social work seems to be perceived as something that is necessary, yet difficult and complex. The perception is that the objectives and results pursued today are not always linked to the goal of social services and therefore not best practice or best client outcomes. If those who set the objectives and results of the social services do not understand the social service mission and objectives will be difficult and frustrating for staff and results focused then also easy on costs, economy and budget.
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
I was able to develop skills that will be relevant for practice in the future and support my professional development. This case study allowed me to focus on a specific case that developed my understanding of theory, law and policy that organisation use to provide services for families. I was able to enhance my understanding of the Cycle of change, Children Act 1989 and Working Together safeguarding policy. Developing my understating of evidence based practice and the importance of linking theory to
Firstly, remembering concerns so having ‘respectful scepticism’ and not taking everything at face value. This involves questioning things which appear untoward and using reflection and supervision to untangle dilemmas (Smith, 2012). Secondly, keeping parents fully informed throughout the process so they are aware of why change is needed (NSPCC, 2014). Thirdly, the questioning model is better suited for times when social workers need to take a more authoritative stance and make best interest decisions (Postle, 2014). Lastly, using the ‘Smart’ principle to personalise parent’s goals, giving targets precise direction and objectives including; specific and clear expectations, measurable progress, achievable results for the person, realistic outcomes for the problem and a sensible and agreed timescale (Scie, 2016). However, despite this procedure mistakes still happen, for example, Brandon et al (2010) claims that action plans fail to stipulate exactly what each involved agency is responsible for because of a lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities (Kasprzyk et al,
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Commission for Social Care Inspection (2005) Making Every Child Matter, Commission for Social Care Inspection
Watson, D & West, J 2006, Social work process and practice: approaches, knowledge, and skills, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York.