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Special emphasis is given to the development of assessment and intervention
skills for beginning practitioners that are relevant to work with task
groups, organizations, communities, and social change. The development
of reasoning skills are discussed including those factors that influence
decision making processes and the need for ongoing self-evaluation.
Throughout the course, attention will be given to the critical relationships
between large systems (organizations and communities) and their general
and task environments. The role of race, gender, socioeconomic status,
sexual orientation, and disabilities in social work practice will be an
integral part of this course.
This class meets from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on January 28, 29, 30 and March 4, 5, 6, 1999.
Course content is covered through reading, listening, thinking, and
discussing social work practice in task groups, organizations, and communities.
Class sessions will be devoted to focused discussions which flow from assigned
readings and supplemental materials presented in class. In addition, small
group exercises will be used to gain understanding for the practical application
of theories discussed in class. Students are expected to ask questions,
share experiences, and actively participate in class discussions and group
exercises.
Morgan, G. (1997). Images of Organization. 2nd ed. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Erlich, J. L., Rothman, J. & Teresa, J. G. (1999). Taking Action in Organizations and Communities, 2nd ed. Dubuque, IA: Eddie Bower Publishing, Inc.
Tropman, J. E. (1997). Successful Community Leadership: A Skills Guide for Volunteers and Professionals. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Additional readings are on reserve in the library are listed by week
and will be available in a folder in the library.
| Assignment | Due date | % of Grade |
| Agency Analysis Paper | 6 March 1999 | 30% |
| Community Intervention Paper | 19 March 1999 | 30% |
| Take Home Final Exam | 2 April 1999 | 30% |
| Attendance and participation | 10% |
Agency Analysis Paper. Students will submit a paper (8-10 pages) analyzing their practicum setting. Below I have identified the major elements of the analysis along with a few questions to help you begin thinking about the agency analysis. Don't feel limited only to these questions. They are not intended to be a recipe for the paper. Rather they are suggestive of the kinds of questions you should be thinking about in each section of the paper. There are probably many other relevant questions that will be specific to your agency.
Mission, goals and objectives
Community Intervention Paper. Students will submit a paper (8-10 pages) addressing an issue in the community and interventions being initiated by their practicum agency. The paper should include the following:
Take-home exam. The take-home
exam will consist of several essay questions that will be written to allow
students to integrate and synthesize course content and to apply what they
have learned to specific practice situations. The exam will be distributed
during the first class session and is due on Friday, 2 April 1999. This
gives students four weeks to complete the exam and return it to my home
address or to my e-mail address. Both addresses are listed at the top of
the course outline. Students should allow 2-3 days for mail delivery to
my home address. To access the take-home exam click here.
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Student performance will be evaluated based on the following grade scale:
Class 1: Thursday, 28 January, 9:00 a.m. to Noon
This class session will introduce the course and provide an overview of the domain and content of the course. Social and economic justice have always been central to social work's mission. Helping to create access to opportunity and fair treatment for all members of society has long been at the heart of professional social work practice. To begin our discussion of macro practice in social work, it is important for us to examine professional practice in the context of social justice. We will also consider the importance of task groups, organizations, communities, and public policy in social work practice.
Required reading
McKnight, J. ( 1995). The Careless Society: Community and Its Counterfeits. New York: Basic Books. Professionalized Service and Disabling Help, pages 36-52 and Human Service Systems, pages 91-132. (Reserve)
Etzioni, A. (1993). The Spirit of Community: The Reinvention of American Society. New York: Touchstone Books. Introduction, pages 1-20. (Reserve)
Video: Ernie Cortez--Concern for Community
Class 2: Thursday, 28 January, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Formal organizations are pervasive in modern society. Organizations are societies tools for "getting things done." As such, they often reflect the institutional values of the broader society, including racism and sexism. We will define organizations in broad terms, and discuss some of the unique features of human service organizations.
Required reading
Austin, D. M. Program Analysis and Design. (Reserve)
Hasenfeld, Y. (1992). The nature of human service organizations. (Reserve)
Morgan, G. (1997). Ch. 1, Introduction. Ch. 10, Developing the art of
organizational analysis. Ch. 11, Imaginization: A direction for the future.
(Text)
Class 3: Friday, 29 January, 9:00 a.m. to Noon
An overview of key organizational concepts is presented, including structure, goals, technology, role of participants, and environment. Central debates in organizational theory are discussed. A conceptual framework for understanding organizational theory is outlined and different theoretical frameworks are introduced with reference to distinctive metaphors. This session ends with a review of classic organizational theories.
Required reading
Hasenfeld, Y. (1992). Theoretical approaches to human service organizations. (Reserve)
Morgan, G. (1997). Ch. 2, Mechanization takes command: Organizations
as machines. (Text)
Class 4: Friday, 29 January, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
A significant limitation of classic organizational theory is the lack of attention to environmental concerns. With the emergence of open systems theory, knowledge about the environments of organizations were recognized as essential to understanding the internal functioning of organizations, as well as relationships between organizations. The general environment is distinguished from the task environment. Interorganizational networks are presented as important features of organizational environments. The environmental perspective allows us to view organizations as political systems comprised of multiple constituents and competing interests. Politics are a part of all organizations but are especially relevant to public agencies that depend directly on the political process for their survival. Power is an important element of politics. Strategies for obtaining power are also discussed, with specific attention given to methods of gaining power at lower levels in the organization. Culture in an important dimension of organizations. From this perspective, organizations can be viewed in two ways: (1) as a cultural phenomenon that varies from one society to another, and (2) as socially constructed realities which are created and sustained by patterns of beliefs, expectations, and interactions between and within organizations. Culture impacts all processes within the organization. Specific attention will be given to the impact of culture on communication and decision making.
Required reading
Morgan, G. (1997). Ch. 3, Nature intervenes: Organizations as organisms. Ch. 5, Creating social reality: Organizations as cultures. Ch. 6, Interests, conflict, and power: Organizations as political systems. (Text)
Mechanic, D. (1983). Sources of power of lower participants in complex
organizations. (Reserve)
Class 5: Saturday, 30 January, 9:00 a.m. to Noon
Several management innovations have emerged in the private corporate sector in the past two decade. For example, Total Quality Management (TQM), Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), Organizational Development (OD), Process Re-structuring, and Re-engineering. We will explore the relevance of these innovations for human service organizations. The meaning of quality will be discussed and quality assurance is compared to quality management. The underlying tenets of TQM/CQI are examined and their compatibility with human service organizations is discussed. Process re-engineering is presented as an approach to radically restructure organizational processes and to improve both organizational efficiency and quality of service to the "customer." The basic principles of re-engineering are discussed and their potential application to human service organizations are explored.
Required reading
Brannen, S. J. & Streeter, C. L. Doing it With Data: Total Quality Management and the Evaluation of Social Services. (Reserve)
Martin, L. L. (1993). Total Quality Management in Human Service Organizations. Ch. 1, Quality Management: The New Managerial Wave. Ch. 2, What is Total Quality Management (TQM)? (Reserve)
Video: Demming: Prophet of Quality
Class 6: Saturday, 30 January, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
The ability to work effectively in task groups is a critical skills for all social workers, particularly those engaged in macro practice in organizations and communities. Working effectively in task groups means that professionals must be both good leaders and good followers. This class session will examine issues in the formation of task groups. We will discuss different roles that social workers may take in leading task groups. We will examine two types of skills that are critical for working with task groups: (1) task skills (organizing, planning, facilitating decision making, sharing information, etc.) and (2) maintenance skills (team building, dispute resolution, building cohesion, etc.)
Required reading
Tropman, J. E. (1997) Successful Community Leadership:
A Skills Guide for Volunteers and Professionals. Washington,
DC: NASW Press. (Text) Read the entire book.
Class 7: Thursday, 4 March, 9:00 a.m. to noon
Ewalt et. al. (Eds.) (1998). Community Building: Renewal,
Well-being, and Shared Responsibility. Washington DC: NASW Press.
Part I: Comprehensive Community Initiatives. (Text)
Class 8: Thursday, 4 March, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Just as there are many ways to define and understand communities, there are many models of community practice. Some models place greater emphasis on mobilizing people at the grassroots while other emphasize the technical nature of problem solving in the macro arena. Some models emphasize the inequality and injustice that exists in most communities and seek to radically alter the broad social structural factors that contribute to these problems. Others believe that people in the community must identify and define problems for themselves and that professionals may be able to support their efforts but they can't do it for them. Some models place considerable emphasis on the process of electoral politics. Others seek to ignore the role of political systems in favor of encouraging local self-reliance, thereby freeing the community from the broader political environment. Some models are most appropriate for mobilizing support for mass movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Nuclear Disarmament Movement, and more recently, the environmental movement. Other models are more suited for addressing locality based problems that are of special concern to local neighborhoods. In this class session we will consider alternative models of community practice.
Ewalt et. al. (Eds.) (1998). Community Building: Renewal, Well-being, and Shared Responsibility. Washington DC: NASW Press. Part III: Community Action Through Collaboration. Part IV: Community Action Through Affiliation. (Text)
Rothman, J. (1996). The Interweaving of Community Intervention Approaches. Journal of Community Practice, 3 (3/4), 69-99. (Reserve)
Checkoway, B. (1995). Six strategies of community change. Community
Development Journal, 30 (1), 2-20. (Reserve)
Class 9: Friday, 5 March, 9:00 a.m. to noon
In this class we will discuss the application of different models of practice for initiating planned change at the macro level. Planned change is contrasted with unplanned change and a simple framework is presented to help professionals select appropriate models of intervention and develop tactics that will help further their change initiative. We will discuss how to select a target for one's change effort and how to overcome resistance. Change at the macro level sometimes involves confrontation and conflicting interests. We will consider the costs and benefits of conflict/confrontation and review some of the counter-tactic that might be used by the opposition.
Erlich, et. al. (1999). Taking Action in Organizations
and Communities, Second Edition. Dubuque, IA: Eddie Bowers
Publishing, Inc. (Text) Read the entire book.
Video: Earth keeping: Environmental Racism in America .
Will be shown in class.
Class 10: Friday, 5 March, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Ewalt et. al. (Eds.) (1998). Community Building: Renewal, Well-being, and Shared Responsibility. Washington DC: NASW Press. Part II: Economic Revitalization and Community Self-Sufficiency. Part V: Housing Initiatives. (Text)
Video: From the Bottom-up. Narrated by Barbara
Jordon. Will be shown in class.
Class 11: Saturday, 6 March, 9:00 a.m. to noon
Education and health care have been at the center of much political debate in recent years. Business and political leaders decry the inadequacy of the American public education system and have called for major reforms. For many populations traditionally served by social workers, access to quality education is one of the few avenues available for achieving economic self-sufficiency and some measure of the American dream. Likewise, concern over escalating health care costs has produced unprecedented political debate and initiated far-reaching changes in the financing and delivery of health care in America. The development of fair and equitable systems for the delivery of quality education and health care for all members of the community is important for any community to remain strong and viable. In this class we will consider these two critical community systems and looks at specific case examples of how social workers engage the community around these important issues.
Ewalt et. al. (Eds.) (1998). Community Building: Renewal,
Well-being, and Shared Responsibility. Washington DC: NASW Press.
Part VI: Schools and Community Development. Part VI:
Community Health Partnerships. (Text)
Video: Bertha Gilkey: The Cochran Gardens Tenant Management Corporation
One of the major social phenomenon of the past few years is the rapid growth of the World Wide Web on the Internet. The growth of the World Wide Web has meant that we, as citizens and as professional, have unprecedented ease of access to an astounding array of information. The internet has literally made it possible for us to access information and maintain contact with people and organizations all over the world. Increasingly, our ability to successfully manage human service organizations, to safeguard the scarce resources available to social service programs, and to promote social change will become a function of our ability to locate, manipulate, and synthesize information relevant to program planning and management, public policy, and community resources.
On the World Wide Web, you will find literally thousands of links to information that is relevant to this course. Below I have provided a few links to some of this information. These links are provided as a sample of the kind of information you can find on the internet. I am not advocating on behalf of any of the organizations represented on this list, nor do I necessarily support their positions.
I encourage you to explore these links as a way to begin to develop your skill at accessing information from the internet. If you are not familiar with the internet, you might find it helpful to work through one of the on-line tutorials available on the internet. One that I have found to be particularly helpful is called Internet 101: Introduction to the Internet.
Professional Organizations
National Association of Social Workers
(NASW)
NASW/Texas
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
International Federation of Social Workers
(IFSW)
Association for
Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA)
Grant Writing and Fundraising
Grant Writing and
Fundraising Information Resources
Thoughts on fundraising
for non-profits
Philanthropy Journal
America's Charities
The Grantsmanship Center
Grants Web
Administration and Management
Strategic
Planning - Education and Training
Alliance for Redesigning
Government
Internet Resources
for Leadership/Management Development
Handbook
for Strategic Planning
History of
Strategic Planning
Academcy of Management
Organizational
Development
Imaginization, Inc.
Non-Profit Organizations
Internet Resource
for Not-For-Profits In Housing, Health and Human Services
Internet
Resources for Non-Profit Public Service Organizations
Tools for Nonprofits
and Community Organizations
The Peter F. Drucker Foundation
for Nonprofit Management
Nonprofit Resources
Catalogue
Resources for Nonprofit
Organizations
Internet Nonprofit Center
Nonprofit GENIE
Total Quality Management
Guide to Quality
Methods, Tools, Techniques, and Referneces
The W. Edward Demming Institute
American Society for Quality Control
Association for Quality
and Participation
Malcolm Baldrige
Criteria Reference Book
Leaders in the Making
Quality Wave
QualiNet
Community-Based Organizations
Civic
Practice Network
Grassroots Leadership
Community Development Society
Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Alliance for National Renewal
Consensus Organizing
Institute
National Network
for Collaboration (NNCO)
NeighborWorks Network
CYFERNet
Labor/Community Strategy Center
National Housing Institute
Community
Building & Community Organizing
New
Social Movements Network
People Escaping Poverty Project
MIT Center for Coordination
Science
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Resources for Community Practice
Strengths
and Needs Assessment in Impoverished Communities
Sticky Figures: Using a Needs
Assessment
Needs
Assessment Tools
Multimedia Development
Tools
Community Needs
Assessment Survey Guide
Public Health
Resource Group
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Community Tool
Box
On-Line
Conference on Community Organization and Development
Action Without Borders
GrassRoots
Organizing Weekends
The Citizen's Handbook
The Community
Toolbox
Organizing
Tools
for Activists
Training Institute for Careers
in Organizing
A Resource Guide
for Community-Based Economic Development
The Community Information Exchange
Community Networking
Resource Site
The Planners Network
Community Networks
Public Policy
Missouri State Government Web
Missouri Association for Social Welfare
Center for Public Policy Priorities
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Electronic Policy Network
OMB Watch
The Welfare Information Network
Center for Policy Alternatives
The Center for Law and Social Policy
The Public Involvement Network
Alliance for Justice
Association for Public
Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Internet Resources for Social Workers
Social Work Access Network
(SWAN)
University of Indianapolis
List of Lists
Michael McMurray's Web
Resources for Social Workers
Gary Holden's WWW Resources
for Social Workers
Social Work History
Station
The New Social Worker Online
The Search Intitute
Praxis
HandsNet
On the Lighter Side
The Dilbert Zone
The
Plan
Administratium
Job
Performance Rating Scale
Morale
Social Work
Jokes
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Last updated on 9 January 1999
Send comments to cstreeter@mail.utexas.edu