scholarly journals Organizational culture in social services – focused on the workers’ well-being

2022 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 03003
Author(s):  
Lenka Chlebanova ◽  
Marketa Rusnakova

Objectives: In the field of social services, the organizational culture today is defined mainly through professional values, for individual social service providers by vision, mission, goal, or organizational values. In the context of increasing the quality of services and culture supporting the clients’ wellbeing, the workers’ well-being is an important subject of interest. The aim of the research is to find out the current state of the documents defining the organizational culture of social services. Materials and Methods: Review and theoretical analysis of the literature on the topic. Qualitative content analysis of documents. Documents defining the organizational culture of social service providers in Slovakia were analysed. The documents on the provider’s web page encompassing vision, mission, goals, and values were found. Results: From the documents, it was found out that support to employees is still neglected. At the practical level, the support to employees was expressed as the support of education, supervision of employees, a social fund for cultural or sports activities, rewarding of employees. Employee s’ satisfaction or a committed approach towards employees were expressed rarely. Conclusions: The provision of social services today faces many demands and dilemmas that “social work services„ bring with them. Incorporating support for employee’s well-being into the organizational culture of social services can be an essential step towards better client care and higher quality services.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.E. Gasumova

This article presents the author’s definitions of “digitization of social service provision” and “digitization of social services” concepts and identifies the difference between them. It presents the results of an interview with 18 experts — the heads of institutions and organizations of social service provision implementing the rehabilitation of disabled people in Perm region. The research was conducted in 2019 and sought to identify problems and prospects for the digitization of the social services sphere. Interviewees rated their satisfaction regarding the convenience and time cost of automated systems that are currently being used in their organizations; characterized their needs in introducing various innovative interactive services, mobile applications, and other digital software; and expressed their attitude to various innovations. Social innovations were developed by the researchers and offered to experts by interviewers (for example, services for assessing the quality of work of specialists by service users, quick selection of the right social service, filing a complaint, referring a citizen to another organization, counseling in video mode, electronic appointment service, etc.). The research has shown how innovations can improve the performance of social service providers’ work and the quality of their interactions with citizens, which will ultimately increase the satisfaction of social service users and will positively affect the level of social well-being in society as a whole. A number of problems have been identified that currently impede the development of digitization: they are related to staff resources, the level of computerization, the lack of motivation among managers and personnel of social service organizations to implement innovative IT, and a certain distrust that such technologies can facilitate the activities of the organization and increase its effectiveness. Keywords: digitization, social service provision, social services, social institutions, social work


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 732-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana M. DiNitto ◽  
Namkee G. Choi

ABSTRACTBackground: Epidemiological studies show that the number of older adults using marijuana is increasing. This study aimed to determine the correlates and patterns of marijuana use among older adults that might help health and social service providers better assist this group.Methods: Data are from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S.A. The sample consisted of 5,325 adults aged 50 years and older.Results: Of the sample, 2.8% were past-year marijuana users. Of them, 23% had used marijuana on at least half the days of the year. Past-year users were more likely to be younger (50–64 years old), black, and not married, and they had significantly higher psychological distress scores, but they did not rate their health as poorer than others in the sample, nor did they attribute many problems, including psychological problems, as being related to their marijuana use. Nevertheless, past-year users present a high-risk profile because, in addition to frequent marijuana use, they also are more likely to smoke cigarettes, engage in binge drinking, and use other illicit drugs.Conclusions: Health and social service providers should be alert to the small number of routine marijuana users among the younger members of the older adult population, especially those suffering significant psychological distress, so that these individuals can be encouraged to utilize services that will help alleviate this distress and promote a healthier lifestyle and increase general well being.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 669-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunae Kwon ◽  
Baorong Guo

The social service industry in South Korea is undergoing significant changes as the Korean government has changed its approach to financing social services from direct funding support for service providers to voucher programs. This market-oriented policy has forced social service nonprofits to adopt the market practice and culture. As a result, nonprofits are becoming business-like entities striving for a share of the social service market. This study examines organizational factors that give competitive advantage to nonprofits in the social service market under the voucher system. Specifically, the study uses data collected from 35 nonprofit organizations in Busan, South Korea, to examine whether voucher revenues, an indicator of market share, is associated with organizational characteristics, including organizational culture and structure. The results may suggest strategies that help nonprofits to gain a greater share in the social service market.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu.M. Zabrodin

The paper presents an analysis of the occupational standards development abroad and in Russia. It focuses on interdepartmental occupational standards for social service providers. While creating occupational standards for social services as an integrated industry it is advisable to consider the design of whole system and its macro-level effects in a document called “sectoral qualification framework”. It is pointed out that 1) real professional activity in social sphere has a clear humanitarian focus, and its objects are radically different population groups; 2) the complexity of the social work is often associated with the interaction between various professionals and their activity have to be interdepartmentally organized. The author identifies the factors influencing development and implementation of professional standards in different countries and consider the main strategy directions of development and application of occupational standards of education and social service providers in Russia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara M. Powell ◽  
Paula J. Yuma ◽  
Jennifer Scott ◽  
Alexia Suarez ◽  
Ivelisse Morales ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Schnobrich-Davis ◽  
Desiree Gardner

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain the perspectives from social service providers that are a key component in focused deterrence programs. All focused deterrence/pulling levers programs have at least two essential elements: first, the message to the target population that reoffending will be met with swift and certain punishment, and second that social service providers are available to assist in their transition to a law-abiding lifestyle. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was used to gather qualitative data with open-ended interviews of social service providers that participated in Operation RASOR, a modified focused deterrence initiative that identified cross-jurisdictional, chronic offenders across three cities in New England. Findings The results showed that many providers were unable, and sometimes unwilling, to participate in the strategy due to their lack of awareness of what focused deterrence strategies encompass, participant eligibility restrictions, and lack of funding. These findings may impact the success of focused deterrence programs. Research limitations/implications Future research should include a larger sample from programs operating in different cities. The importance of the social services component of focused deterrence strategies and their capability of serving clients within those programs needs further examination for the integrity of these programs to adequately serve the participants. Originality/value The perceptions from social service providers on the program elements and ability to provide necessary services to the targeted offenders have never been examined. This study aids in expanding the literature on focused deterrence programs. It can also inform law enforcement agencies on the services that are most needed by the target population and the importance of coordinating their initiatives with service providers.


Author(s):  
Olha Stoliaryk ◽  
Olha Zubchyk ◽  
Tetyana Semigina

The family social work in Ukraine is only at the stage of its developing. Deriving from the paternalistic philosophy, the demonopolisation of the market of social services places new demands on social policy aimed at implementing and regulating social work with families as a separate social structure. The purpose of the research is to characterise the institutional structure of family social work, to determine the assessment of social services and their quality on the example of a study of families raising children suffering from autism, basing on the system- and structure-centred analysis. The paper highlights the indicators of family-oriented practice, describes the market of social service providers for families, identifies the functions of individual institutions, structural entities and the specifics of their activities. It is revealed that in Ukraine there are two types of social work with families: regulated (state bodies and structural entities) and unregulated activities (individuals-entrepreneurs, public organisations, charitable foundations, volunteers), but this does not ensure its integrity, because most social service providers are not focused on the needs of families of certain social categories. The family social work in Ukraine could be divided into three types in the framework of its professionalization: a professional activity, a non-professional activity and a "mixed" (partly professional) activity. The survey provides an assessment of individual indicators of social services by the families raising children who suffer from autism (targeting family social work, access to services offered in the region, the presence of stigma, the effectiveness of social advertising of existing services, their compliance with family needs, etc.). It was discovered that most of the services offered are not in demand; they do not take into account the contextual and environmental background in which families operate either; service providers are biased towards families raising children with autism. Many families are in an information vacuum, which becomes an obstacle to expanding their rights and opportunities, the work done with them can be defined as fragmentary and chaotic; it does not take into account the role of the community in maintaining family resilience.


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