Social Welfare Management
Social Welfare Management
Social Welfare Management
19MSW011
3rd SEM
Introduction:
Social welfare management refers to the process of applying professional competence to
implementing certain program of social welfare through social agencies in fulfillment of
objectives and policy of the agency. It is a process which has defined knowledge,
understanding principles and ways of interactions. Its main focus is on the suitability and
accessibility of social services to the public.
In order to give a professional shape to social work services, it is necessary that systematic
knowledge, skill and resources to rendering such services should be made available in the aegis
of social welfare administration. The knowledge of social welfare administration as a method of
social work is necessary for a professional social worker, not only to perform the work of the
agency but to maintain the agency moving in positive direction. Meaning To understand the
actual meaning of Social Welfare Administration we have to understand the meaning of Social
Welfare and Administration separately. Social Welfare: Social Welfare in concerned with all
those forms of social intervention that have a direct concern with promoting both the well-
being of the individual and of the society as a whole. Administration or Management:
Administration and management can be defined as the process in which planned, organized,
directed, coordinated and controlled collective efforts are made to render the services to the
people. Social Welfare Administration: The administration which is directly related to the
rending social welfare services to society called Social Welfare Administration.
India is a welfare state and the government formulates various policies and programmes for the
welfare of the weaker sections of the population. The social welfare agencies work at the field
level with the general population, as it is difficult for the government to reach out to all in our
vast country. The social welfare administrator is actually the person who executes the program
favoring the common man. If the administrator is efficient, skillful and resourceful, then he will
be effective in meeting the goals of the agency and bringing about social change and
development. Some points that must be kept in mind, and which are necessary to make social
welfare administration achievable, are that socio-economic change has to be guided by social
justice. Decentralization in administration is required at different tiers of the government and
there has to be integration in the planning for welfare and development of the country, with
proper personnel policies, program and administrative procedures to cater to well-organized
flow of goods and services to all the people of our country.
Concept:
In all areas of health, medicine, education, law and manufacturing, administration and
management is very important in order to carry out services in the expected manner. Be it
school, college, hospital or offices there is need for people to follow rules, regulations and
administrative practices for the effective running of the institution or organization. So also,
every social welfare agency establishes a mechanism to work successfully, and to achieve its
objectives to work for the downtrodden and the deprived sections of our society. This
mechanism is called social welfare administration.
According to Arthur Dunharn (1962), "administration is the process of supporting or facilitating activities
which are necessary and incidental to services by a social agency. Administrative activities range from
the determination of function and policies, and executive leadership to routine operations such as
keeping records and accounts and carrying on maintenance of services.
Harleigh Tracker (1971) interprets social welfare administration as a "process of working with people in
ways that release and relate their energies so that they use all available resources to accomplish the
purpose of providing needed cornm~nit'~ services and programmes."
1. The Principle of Social Work Values: The values of the profession are the foundation upon
which services are developed and made available to persons who need them.
2. The Principle of community and client needs: The need of the community and the
individuals within it are always the basis for the existence of social agencies and the provision of
programs.
3. The Principle of agency purpose: The social purpose of the agency must be clearly
formulated, stated, understood and utilized.
4. The Principle of cultural setting: The culture of the community must be understood in as
much as it influences the way needs are expressed and the way services are authorized,
supported, and utilized by the people who need them.
6. The Principle of agency totality: The agency must be understood in its totality and
wholeness.
10. The Principle of leadership: The administrator must carry major responsibility for the
leadership of the agency in terms of goal attainment and the provision of professional services.
11. The Principle of planning: The Process of continuous planning is fundamental to the
development of meaningful services.
12. The Principle of organization: The work of many people must be arranged in an organized
manner and must be structured so that responsibilities and relationships are clearly defined.
13. The Principle of delegation: The Delegation of responsibility and authority to other
professional persons is essential.
14. The Principle of co-ordination: The work delegated to many people must be properly
coordinated. 15. The Principle of resource utilization: the resources of money facilities and
personnel must be carefully fostered, conserved and utilized in keeping with the trust granted
to the agency by society.
16. The Principle of change: The Process of change is continuous, both within the community
and within the agency.
17. The Principle of evaluation: Continuous evaluation of processes and programs is essential
to the fulfillment of the agency’s objectives.
18. The Principle of growth: The growth and development of all participants is furthered by the
administrator who provides challenging work assignments, thoughtful supervision, and
opportunities for individual and group learning. These Principles can be grouped as follows for
the sake of understanding
P- Planning
O- Organizing
S- Staffing
D-Directing
Co- Coordinating
R- Reporting
B- Budgeting
(2) Organizing: Organizing is a skill of arraigning the various resources and task systematically
in manageable manner in relation to the hierarchal status, capabilities of associates and
priorities of agency for smooth functioning. In every organization there is an integrated series
of offices, or hierarchal statuses, in which a number of functions are closely defined by specific
rules.
(3) Staffing: Staffing means the administration of staff. Staffing includes recruitment, selection,
service conditions, promotion, leave, working conditions, welfare etc. Staffing also includes
training, orientation, supervision grievance procedure, retirement rules etc.
(4) Directing: Directing is the giving instructions in orally or in written to staff for doing work in
properly. It is an important task to fulfill of the objective of the agency. The purpose of direction
is agency is to ensure the work is being carried out accordance with the instructions and rules
and to assist the staff for their better performance.
(5) Coordinating: Coordination means to bring into a common action, movement or condition
to relate and combine separate parts in harmonious balance and adjustment. Coordination is
an essential element in efficient and effective administration. Effectiveness of an individual in
achieving his aims in any social situation will depend not only upon his own activity, but also on
how well that activity relates to what the other individuals concerned are doing.
(7) Budgeting: Budgeting is a process of preparing and presenting the financial statement
including income and expenditure in a proper way. Social Work Administrator should be sound
in technical knowledge of at least bests of budgeting.
(8) Evaluation: Evaluation means assessing the work completed by agency in the light of
planning and instructions given before starting task. Evaluation is an important component of
social welfare administration for performance of agency. As an social welfare administrator
social worker has the supervisory function of allocating work, or seeing that it is done, and how
it is done. He evaluates the total performance of the agency.
(9) Feedback: Feedback in social service is very important task for the success of program. It is
useful for the beneficiary, community, funding body and also is policy framing or modification.
Generally feedback is the response of beneficiary or community. The feedback should be made
during implementation of program as well as the end of program. The finding from feedback
may be useful to restructure or modify the program.
P.M. Queen says that the study of administration deals with the three ‘m’ that is ‘men, material and
methods’.
REFERENCES:
ANTONY B., function, principles and scope of social welfare administration,
myindianacademy.com.
Waldo D., 2 April, 2020, Social Welfare Administration, www.Iknouniv.ac.in