Social Welfare Agency

Management SW15 

Module 1
Theoretical Concepts of Social Work
Administration
This module is basically a presentation of theories and concepts on
social work administration. They are drawn from organizational
theory, social work concepts, and other social and behavioral
sciences that serve as foundation knowledge to social work
administration. It also brings into focus the distinct aspects of
social work administration, the social welfare agency, and the
social system as necessary for efficient and effective social service
delivery. 
Why We Need Administration

Administration is an important area in organized human activity.

It has been considered a process, a method, or a set of
relationships between and among people working toward
common objectives in an organization. Every organization
requires administration to function effectively to achieve its
goals. Administration is necessary to orchestrate the myriad
activities of the organization Definition Herman Stein describes
the concept of administration as the process of relining and
attaining the objectives of the organization through a system of
coordination and cooperative effort.
 Administration as a method of
practice revolves primarily
on the following activities: 
1. Determination of goals and/or setting of objectives; 
2. Formulation of policies: 
3. Maintenance of an organization; 
4. Formulation of plans; 
5. Securing of resources: 
6. Selection of technologies necessary for operations; 
7. Design of programs and services; 
8. Optimization of organizational behavior; 
9. Evaluation of results for the improvement of services; and 
10. Accounting for resource utilization 
Characteristics of Administration
The basic characteristics spelled out in pertinent literature include the following
1. Administration is a human enterprise that involves the activity of people in the
organization.
2. It is a continuo's, dynamic process for a common purpose or goal that is pursue
through an uninterrupted, continuing interactive activity between and among
people in vertical and horizontal positions in the organization.
3. The resources of people and materials are harnessed and coordinated to achieve
organizational goals. 
4. Leadership is implicit in administration. Leadership has been defined as the
ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute
toward the effectiveness and success of the organization of which they are
members. Leadership occurs at all levels of the organization. 
The task o leadership varies with the position that it occupies in the organizational
hierarchy, be it at the toplevel, mid-level, etc. Coordination, cooperation, and
participation are the means for achieving the organizational goals.
 Complementation-working and acting together involves people taking part in
organizational tasks for shared goals. 
 Elements of Administration

An organization comes into being when:

a. There are persons able to communicate with each other, 

b. Who are willing to contribute action, and 

c. To accomplish a common purpose. 

While communication, willingness to serve, and common purpose may be found

in all organizations, efficiency and effectiveness would be essential for its
continued existence.
 Management 
       Management is the activity that allocates and utilizes resources to
achieve the goals of the organization. More specifically, it is the scientific
utilization of manpower, money, machines, materials, methods, time,
space and other resources for the attainment of organizational goals. It
involves the tasks of establishing and maintaining an organizational
climate or internal environment in which people working together in
groups can perform effectively and efficiently towards the attainment of
group goals. Management is essential in all organized activity, as well as
at all levels of an enterprise. It is undertaken by a manager who gets
things done by working with people and other resources to attain
organizational objectives. It can be "conceptualized as various ways of
shaping and exerting an influence over the work environment." As such,
it is primarily a proactive than a reactive activity. Management is the
function of the university president and the army general, as well as the
shop foreman and the social welfare agency supervisor.
 Administration in Human Service Organizations

Social administration, social welfare administration, and social work

administration are found in social work literature as they apply to human service
organizations. Conceptually, they need not be differentiated as they are not
separate nor mutually exclusive entities although they focus on the macro to micro
continuum in organizational development Social administration, according to
Archie Hanlan, focuses on the policies, planning and administration of goods and
services in relation to the political, social and economic institutions and to the
determinants of the distribution of national resources to social welfare needs.
Social Work Administration 
Social work administration is a method of social work concerned with
the provision and distribution of societal resources so as to enable
people to meet their needs and fulfill their potentials toward
empowering their lives. It is assumed that in transforming social policies
into programs and services, the social work administrator applies a
synthesis of social work methods in the administrative processes. As a
secondary method in social work, administration, according to Walter
Friedlander, is based upon the principles and techniques of
administration in general but addressed to the specific social work tasks
of defining and solving human problems and satisfying human needs.
Major Characteristics of Social Work Administration 

1. The use of the principles and techniques of administration in general

2. The use of the philosophy, aims, and functions of social work, its
methods of social diagnosis, analysis and synthesis of individual, group or
community needs, and of generalizations for change or development in
agency functions and goal. Its primary focus is a helping process for
individuals, groups, and communities. 

3. Working with people based on knowledge and understanding of human

behaviors, human relations, and human organizations.

4. Methods encompassing not only in the services provided by the agency

but also in the administrative process and staff relations.

5. Hayes playing a significant role.

Activities Undertaken in Social Work Administration
Harleigh Trecker spells out the following activities as major areas of
administrative work and responsibilities:
1. Study and analyze the community
2. Determine agency purpose as basis for clientele selection or people to be served
3. Provide financial resources, budgeting, and accounting 
4. Develop agency policies, programs and procedures is the implementation of
agency purposes 
5. Select and work agency leadership, professional and nonprofessional staff,
boards, committees, and service volunteers 
6. Provide and maintain physical plant, equipment, and supplies. 
7. Develop a plan, establish and maintain effective community relations, and
interpret programs. 
8. Keep complete and accurate records of agency operations and make regular
reports. 
9. Plan and conduct research on a regular basis.
10.Continuously conduct regular evaluation of program and personnel.
Importance of Social Work Administration

Social work administration is the keystone for maximizing the

effectiveness of social work programs in the solution of social problems
and in the betterment of social conditions for all people. Social work
administration provides the framework for social work practice that
relates it to other agency functions. The quality of social work practices
is greatly influenced by social work administration.
Aspects of Social Work Administration

The aspects of social work administration are:

1. Functions - The following are the social work administration
functions:
a. The means by which identified social needs are dealt with by
appropriate social services, whether under public or private auspices.
b. The societal action for improved or new services needed by specific
groups or the community as a whole. There is decision-making at every
level of administration.
2. Structure - The study of structure consists of:
a. Studying it in relation to the organization as an element of
administration.
b. Knowing that the social welfare agency represents the organizational
structure in social work administration.
3. Process - Social work administration is a continuous, dynamic, and total
process of bringing together people, resources, and purposes to accomplish
the agency goal of providing social services. As a process, it is based upon
knowledge of human nature and human organization to establish and
maintain a system of participative and cooperative effort at all levels of the
organization. Trecker points out that as a process, social work
administration has important dimensions that include: 

a. Central dimension - This is the task of work assignment within the

agency structure. There is a wide distribution of responsibility in the
agency with the allocation of tasks and functions for every level of work.
The community in which the agency works affects agency purposes and
programs as it is the source of support as well as the object of service. 
b. Psychosocial Dimension - This presupposes that people release their
feelings and energies and that these feelings and energies, when properly
harnessed by administrators, constitute the human resources in achieving
agency goals.
 Evaluation of Organizational Management
and Leadership in Social Work
Administration
Based on the field practicum evaluation guidelines used as reference, her are 10 areas for
evaluation:
 1. Appropriate use of self in relation to the agency's organizational structure and
individual staff functions, 
2. Effective communication and handling of conflicts. 
3. Ability to initiate and maintain systems for implementing ideas. 
4. Skill in assessing available information, including budgets, for planning, 
5. Initiative in analyzing and designing program components. 
6. Skill in utilizing management information technology.
 7. Capacity to coordinate activities, develop leadership, and delegate tasks in working
with staff, committees, or coalitions
. 8. Ability to overcome staff o,r organizational resistance to task completion. 
9. Ability to monitor and evaluate outcomes and determine alternative strategies. 
10.Capacity to strategically utilize seif and a variety of leadership styles to mobilize others
Social Welfare Agency 
A social welfare agency is a structured framework
within which the administrative tasks are carried out.
It is an instrument society, established through
government initiative or through voluntary efforts to
achieve a social goal. Peter Drucker outlines how a
social welfare agency in its simplest form comes into
being when "several people see an unmet need, want
to meet that need, get community permission to meet
that need, and accept legal responsibility for seeing
that the resources secured, or made available, are used
for the specific purpose for which they were given
rather than for some other purpose
 Types of Social Welfare Agencies

Traditionally, the types of social welfare agencies include:

 1. Governmental or public agencies - organizations supported
by public funds or taxes. 
2. Private or voluntary agencies - organizations supported by
private contributions or donations or income from services.
These are popularly referred to as nongovernmental
organizations (NGOS). 
3. Semi-government or quasi-governmental organizations -
organizations that receive some form of subsidy, either in cash or
kind, from the government
Characteristics of Public Agencies 
The characteristics of public agencies are:
 1. They are created through any of these: constitutional
mandate, legislative act, executive order, presidential
decree, or letter of instruction
 2. Their existence, functions, and programs are created
by law or instruction. Executive order, hence, may only
be changed or modified by law or executive order.
3. Their organizational structure is bureaucratic and less
flexible than private agencies.
4. They must conform to government procedures,
especially the accounting and auditing of funds,
property, and other resources.
 Characteristics of Private Agencies
Private agencies are characterized by the following: 
1. They are organized as a form of response of private organizations to meet people's
needs in the community. 
2. They may be national chapters of international organizations such as the Red Cross,
Young Man Catholic Association (YMCA), World Vision, and others. 
3. They may have been established by sectarian or non-sectarian organizations.
 4. They are governed by their own charters, constitution and by-laws, and by a
governing board. 
5. Their organizational structures do not generally follow a bureaucratic pattern, and,
therefore, are more flexible ir: their policies and programs that enable them to readily
respond to people and community needs. 
6. Private agencies can pioneer and initiate demonstration projects which may
subsequently be turned over to the government. The latter can adopt the program on a
larger scale with more available resources and organizational capacity. 
Size of a Social Welfare Agency
The social welfare agency may be a small
organization with a few people involved in the
program or a complex social system involving a great
number of people. For a large social welfare agency,
the personnel would include administrators at various
levels, professionals, members of different related
professions, clerical, technical, and manual staff, as
well as volunteers and paraprofessionals. 
 Nature of Social Welfare Agencies
Rosemary C Sarn and Robert D. Vinter suggest that social
welfare agencies must be viewed both as administrative
bureaucracies and as social systems. They are administrative
bureaucracies in that they are established to attain specific goals,
and their internal structures, technologies, and procedures are
designed to implement these goals. An example is the Standard
Operating Procedures (SOP) of agencies meant to guide agency
workers in the performance of their tasks to serve particular
client groups in accordance with agency goals. They are social
systems that adaptively respond to external and internal
pressures, and they generate informal patterns that may both
facilitate and hamper goal attainment. 
Other Types of Social Agencies
Other types of social agencies may be created by
foundations set up by individuals, business
corporations, religious organizations, or even
universities. An example is the Philippine Business
for Social Progress (PBSP), a corporate led non-profit
social development foundation in the Philippines that
is committed to poverty alleviation and people
development.
 Social System
Conceptually, a social system is a whole with each part bearing a
dynamic relation to every other part and all are interdependent. A
system, according to William Link, is "a purposeful organized
interrelationship of components in which the performance of the
whole exceeds the individual outputs of all the parts. When
applied to social work administration, it refers to the concept of
agency purpose and interrelationship of different units as sub-
systems of the organization. The interrelation and coordination
of the various sub-systems are brought about by the information
and communication network, the decision-making mechanism
and other built-in mechanisms which exist in every organization
Basic Components of Social Systems
The components of social systems are the following:
1. Input - The input into the system may be human
resource, work method, or a set of beliefs from the
environment. They find a way of relating with each
other within the system. A change in one input may
affect the entire system.
 2. Output - The output represents what the system is
doing in relation to its goals.
3. Throughput - This refers to the conversion process
of inputs to outputs.
The following illustration by William Link cf a basic systems
model is applicable to the social agency as a social system.
Properties of Systems
Systems may demonstrate open and closed properties,
described as follows:
1. In an open system, the clientele to be served comes
from the community as well as the resource inputs for
its support and maintenance. This is the characteristic
of an open system Most systems are open and the
social agency is a good example of this. 
2. A closed system is one that is not affected by its
external environment. In reality, there are very few
closed systems. The closed system may apply to an
agency the programs and services of which remain
constant despite changes in the socioeconomic and/or
political situation.
Relation of the Systems Approach to the Management
Process 
The following figure is an illustration in the "Manager's Job: A Systems
Approach" by Seymons Tilles to relate the systems approach to the
management process.
Levels
1. Policy level - At this level are the following parameters:
a. Policy-making in public agencies is a function of higher officials
based on constitutional mandate, legislative act, executive order, or
presidential decree. 
b. In non-governmental organizations policy-making is vested in
duly constituted board of directors. The other functions the board
are to:
I. Review and approval of recommendations, reports, and budget:
II. Negotiation, contract signing, and other legal matters; 
III. Upholding of professional standards: 
IV. Provision of directions for the reports, 
V. Provision of directions for the interpretation of the agency to the
community, a
2. Administrative or executive level - The functions of the executive are:
a. Participation in the formulation and determination of policy:
b. Provision of guidance and direction the planning process; 
c. Staffing and organizing: 
d. Provision of guidance, direction, supervision, coordination, and fiscal
control: 
e. Provision of continuous interpretation of the agency to the public, including
the preparation of the annual reports
 f. Provision of continuous evaluation to improve agency standards: and
g. Representing the agency in councils and other organizations in the
community. 

3. Supervisory level-The supervisor enables the workers to perform their

functions more effectively and provides the means for them to grow in their
jobs. His/her functions are: 
a. Ensuring that work is done as mandated and expected (administrative).
b. Provision of guidance in the best use of worker's knowledge and skills and
assisting in the development competence required by their functions
(educative). 
c. Provision of support and assistance whenever needed by workers (service)
4. Direct service level - The direct service workers have directfield contact
with the people or clients needing agency services or assistance in the
context of professional values and ethics. The functions of the direct service
level workers include the following:

a. Interpretation of policies and procedures in rendering services and in

helping the client system (individuals, groups and communities) in the
context of professional and ethical values.
b. Provision of concrete, psycho-social, and other services needed by the
clients. 
c. Referral of clients to other services in the community when indicated. 
d. Advocacy on clients' behalf for needed services or benefits.
e. Use of a range of interventions in helping clients in order to
empower them to become independent and self-determined to
help themselves. 
f. Provision of opportunity for client participation in decision-
making
 g. Preparation of appropriate and timely agency
documentation, 
h. Use of information technology to enhance ability to help
clients. 
i. Availment of assistance/service experience in helping
evaluate programs and services. This serves as the basis for the
agency to transform or modify policies to meet more
effectively the changing needs of individuals, groups, and
communities.
 End
of 
Module 1