SMP 1101 (5th Batch)

Assignment

Name: Md. Hajrat Ali

Student ID: SMP-I05402

Session: 2021-22

Course Teacher

Mr. Partha Sarathi Mohanta, Assistant Professor

Department of Social Work

Jagannath University
 Explain the concept of Social Work

Social work is a practice-based profession that promotes social change, development, cohesion
and the empowerment of people and communities. Social work practice involves the understanding
of human development, behaviour and the social, economic and cultural institutions and
interactions.

In social work, it is not possible to separate theory from practice or concept from action. In fact,
practice is the process of using knowledge and applying theory in order to bring about specific
types of change. A practice uninformed by theory tends to become repetitive and sterile, whereas
theory uninformed by the realities of practice tends to be merely interesting and usually irrelevant.
The many theories, models, and perspectives discussed in the social work literature can all be
considered conceptual frameworks. A conceptual framework is composed of a coherent set of
concepts, beliefs, values, propositions, assumptions, hypotheses, and principles. Such a framework
can be thought of as an outline of ideas that help one to understand people, how people function,
and how people change. These frameworks are important to social workers because they have
utility. For example: They provide a structure for analyzing complex and often highly emotional
human problems and situations. They organize information, beliefs, and assumptions into a
meaningful whole. They provide a rationale for action and decision making. They promote a
systematic, orderly, and predictable approach to work with people. They facilitate communication
among professionals.

In their practice, social workers use a variety of theories, models, and perspectives. Although these
terms have somewhat different meanings, they are often lumped together and simply
termed theory. However, it is helpful to make some distinctions as to types and usage of terms
used to describe these conceptual frameworks (see Figure 1). Howe (1987, 166) explains that,
broadly speaking, there are theories of social work and theories for social work. The theories of
social work focus on the profession and explain its purpose, domain, and character within our
society. They explain what the profession is all about, who it is for, and why it functions as it does.
By contrast, the theories for social work focus on clients and helping activities. They explain
human behavior, the social environment, how change occurs, and how change can be facilitated
by the social worker in order to benefit clients.

In their work with clients, social workers make use of orienting theories and practice
frameworks. Mailick (1990) explains that orienting theories describe and explain behavior and
how and why certain problems develop. They provide important background knowledge and are
usually borrowed from other disciplines such as biology, psychology, sociology, economics,
cultural anthropology, and the like. Examples include the various theories related to human
development, personality, family systems, socialization, organizational functioning, and political
power, as well as theories related to specific types of problems such as poverty, family violence,
mental illness, teen pregnancy, crime, and racial discrimination. Orienting theories, by themselves,
provide little guidance on how to bring about change. For such guidance one must look to a second
category called practice frameworks. There are three types: practice perspectives, practice
theories, and practice models.
The most overarching type of practice framework is a practice perspective. A practice perspective
can be described as a conceptual lens through which one views human behavior and social
structures and which, simultaneously, guide the selection of intervention strategies. Like a camera
lens, a practice perspective serves to focus on or magnify a particular feature while placing other
features in the background. Two perspectives, the general systems perspective and the ecosystems
perspective, are commonly used in social work for assessing the relationships between people and
their environment. Others, such as the generalist, feminist, and ethnic-sensitive practice
perspectives, focus more on the philosophy and processes to be followed in working toward
change.

A second type of framework is a practice theory, which offers both an explanation of certain
behaviors or situations and broad guidelines about how those behaviors or situations can be
changed. A practice theory serves as a road map for an intervention that will bring about a certain
type of change. Most practice theories are rooted in one or more orienting theories. An example is
the psychosocial approach that is based primarily on psychodynamic theory and ego psychology.
Another is behavioral therapy that is based on theories of learning. A distinction is made here
between a practice theory and a practice model, the third type of practice framework. A practice
model is a set of concepts and principles used to guide certain interventions. However, in contrast
to a practice theory, a model is not tied to a particular explanation of behavior. For example, task-
centered approach is viewed as a practice model rather than a practice theory because the action
steps of this intervention are not tied to any one explanation of problem situations. For the same
reason, the crisis intervention is termed a model rather than a practice theory. Most often a model
develops out of actual experience or experimentation rather than evolve from a particular theory
of behavior.

Briefly discuss the methods of Social Work

There are 6 methods in social work which can be categorized as Primary and Secondary. Primary
methods include

1. Social Case Work

2. Social Group Work
3. Community Organization

In primary methods the intervention is direct.

The secondary method includes:

1. Social Action
2. Social Welfare Administration
3. Social Work Research

In the secondary method, the intervention is indirect.

Social Case Work

A social worker intervenes with a single individual. Identifying his/her problem for social well-
being. The social worker will educate the individual on the problem and solutions. The individual
should take decisions on how he/she can implement solutions practically.

Social Group Work

A group is a collection of more than one individual. They have a common goal with having similar
problems. For example, we identify a group of drug addicts (considering the example of Sherlock
Holmes in Elementary), in this case conducting meetings to share experiences and encourage each
other to avoid relapse. The entire group has a common goal to develop a drug-free lifestyle.

Community Organization

In this method, the social worker will go to the communities that include more members and
identify their problems. After identifying the problems they’ll prioritize the problems we’ll fix the
issues with the available resources in the community. Resources include anything like money,
manpower, machines, etc.

Social Action

Mass betterment through propaganda and social legislation. Consider an example of a factory
working in your village causing environmental and health hazards. We coordinate with other
people and as a group we conduct protests and an order was issued to close down the factory.
Intervention to bring new policies/laws or a social change is called social action.

Social Welfare Administration

This administration method does allocate the available resources in the community to the people
in need. POSDCORB is used here. POSDCORB stands for Planning, Organizing, Staffing,
Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting.

Social Work Research

Research is collecting of information. Social work research is done as part of improving the social
work knowledge or to know more about any issues/problems.

Explain the interdependence in Social Work methods with appropriate example

As a method of social work, social action mobilises the general population to bring about structural
changes in the social system. Also, the relation of social action with other social work methods is
significant to understand. The social action process heavily rests on other social work methods like
group work and community organisation. In fact, social action comes into the picture when
people's needs and problems remain unmet and unsettled through other modes of social work.
Social action seems to be a step forward for a community organisation. Social work research helps
in perceiving the social problem objectively. Group work and casework are the foundation of social
action where people are mobilised to confront authorities. Social welfare administration gives the
ground to social workers to prepare the community for social action. Social workers make use of
the skills and experiences gained through other social work methods in the process of social action.

Social problems and conflicts have remained an integral part of society from time immemorial.
For providing relief and solutions to these problems, social work and social welfare have also
remained a part of human society. Professional social work utilises specific methods of working
with people to empower them to solve their problems. Among the forms of social work, social
action is a new introduction in the professional social work practice. A method of professional
social work is a technique or approach having characteristics like an established process with easily
recognizable stages, based on the philosophy of social work, having principles or guidelines or
theories, skills of working with people which are learned and refined through professional
guidance.

Social workers or actionists, during social action, make use of these principles for achieving the
overall goal of social justice. Social action has a definite set of goals and objectives. The goal of
social action is redistribution with regard to resources and power to provide social justice to all.
Its objective is to shape and develop a socio-cultural environment in which a more prosperous and
fuller life may be possible for all citizens.

Social action aims to prevent needs, solve mass problems, improve mass conditions, influence
institutions, policies and practices, introduce new mechanisms or programs, redistribute power
resources (human, material and moral), and improve health, education, and welfare. Social workers
who practice social action are well-versed with specific skills developed through teaching-learning
and training. They have the skills of rapport building, objective analysis of the social situation and
problems, knowledge and ability to use other social work methods like casework, group work, and
social welfare administration adequately and appropriately. The social worker does have the ability
to use his relationship with clients and the community constructively.

This relationship is characterized by objectivity and confidentiality on the one hand and sensitivity
and warmth on the other. Social workers have the techniques of program planning, organization,
coordination, and administrative and managerial skills in their command. Social action is a method
of social work, which is, used for/with/by any unit of a society larger than a sociologically defined
community.

It is an organized effort to change or improve social and economic institutions, as distinguished

from other social work methods, which do not characteristically cover essential changes in
established institutions through confrontation with the authorities. It may be described as an
organized group effort to solve mass problems or further socially desirable objectives by
influencing or changing primary social and economic conditions or practices. It always involves
public pressure in one form or the other. However, it does not approve of physical coercion or
violence. Another aim of social action, which has been mentioned by many social work scholars,
is the formulation of or change in existing social legislation. Once the legislation comes into force,
its implementation at the ground level is another salient task of social actionists or social workers.
Thus, we see that social action, as a method of the social work profession, is a powerful tool for
bringing about positive changes in the social system for the betterment of the masses.

Social Action does utilize other social work methods to attain its goal of community
empowerment. And social casework is a social work method to help individuals cope more
effectively with their social problems. The client's psycho-social problem(s) is dealt with mainly
in a one-to-one relationship between the client and the caseworker. The relation of social action
with casework can be understood because individuals and society are interdependent. Most of the
problems, which affect an individual, have connections with or repercussions to their interpersonal
relations. These inter-personal relations could be within the family and/or with various institutions
in the community, say, educational institutions, workplace, legal, neighborhood, friends, etc. So,
the casework process may involve interventions at the family level and at the institutions in the
larger community.

The client may be having the same social problem, which the social worker is addressing, at the
macro-level through social action. In such a situation, the caseworker needs to build confidence
and faith among the client and prepare them to be a part of the social action process.

Apparently, there appears no connection between the two methods of social work. However,
during the initial process of credibility building in the community, the social worker uses casework
to deal with those members of the clientele group. They face some adjustment problems and
require therapeutic help for harmonious social functioning. To exemplify, if the social worker finds
a member showing problematic behavior in the group sessions, which affects the group's working
and integrity, they take up separate casework sessions with that member.

After making the social investigation (psycho-social study), an adequate social diagnosis is made.
Once the member having problematic behavior starts showing better social functioning, the group
also becomes cohesive. It may be noted that casework is required not only in the initial stages of
social action but may also be needed when the community is organized to take appropriate action
against the authorities. At that time, any member of the core group may start showing deviant
behavior and require counselling from the social worker.
Added to this, the skills a social worker uses for social investigation and diagnosis during the
casework process, learning human behavior, psycho-social problems, using the caseworker-client
relationship for building confidence and courage in the client for solving his problems become
pretty handy in the process of social action when the social worker has to deal with not only one
individual but many types of personalities simultaneously and keep them integrated for the targeted
social goals.The importance of social group work can be understood because a man is considered
a group animal. Group experiences are the essential needs of human beings. A human turn from a
biological being to a social being through group life. Attention may now be paid to social group
work, which is a method through which individuals develop the ability to establish constructive
relationships with each other through group activities. Social group work acts as a building block
in social action. Group members learn organization, cooperation and coordination. They know
interdependence and democratic values. In the group work process, while participating in the
group's activities, the group members learn to live and work together to attain some specific goals.

Social group work solves adjustment problems and enhances positive interpersonal relations. It
prepares the individuals to learn and share responsibility in working together. All these factors
contribute to the success of social action taken up for a social cause influencing a large segment
of the population. During the social group work process, the group members learn to respect each
other's views and take criticisms positively. They learn emotional control and tolerance, empathy
and sympathy, breaking down prejudices and enhancing problem-solving capacity. It teaches the
individuals to keep their personal likes-dislikes, aspirations, perceptions, ego hassles aside and
work towards the goals planned by the group as a whole. Such a learning opportunity prepares the
individuals for a social change, and the chances of failure of a movement due to internal conflicts
are substantially minimized. Social group work also explores leadership qualities among its
members.

These leaders, in turn, take up the responsibility of mass mobilization and targeted activities in
the social action process. Added to this, social group work also helps social worker to refine their
skills in dealing with different personalities to work for common goals. The social worker resolves
various intra-group conflicts and personality clashes. These skills and experiences become handy
while dealing with conflicting situations between different groups during the process of social
action. The group worker makes use of program media in social group work. It contributes to
program planning and management better while dealing with many groups during the social action
process. Experiences of social group work with one group help manage many groups when the
whole community is mobilized for a common social cause.

In addition, the social worker, during the initial stage of group formation and during the group
work process, establishes rapport with the community people and gains knowledge about various
structural and functional aspects of the community, a precursor to studying a social problem, which
is affecting a large section of the community and undertaking mass movement and social action
for remedies. The social worker gains credibility in the community during the group work process,
which is one of the main requirements of social action. So, social group work acts as a slapping
stone in the process of social action.

Social action shares many similarities with a community organization. Sometimes, there is a debate
about whether social action is a part of a community organization or a completely different entity.
Some believe that it is a part of community organization. Social Action as a problem of confusing
social action with community organization arises mainly because of a lack of agreement as to what
the term community stands for in social work. While community organization is meant for a
limited geographical area – the 'community', social action has a larger context. It signifies the
society, say, nation-state. Social action definitely has a larger scope and impact. Some of the
techniques used by both methods (social action and community organization) may be common,
but they differ in their approach. Community organization is a process of effective coordination of
different agencies within a particular area and involves cooperative planning and implementation
of social policy relating to the area. However, social action as a process is used for tackling issues,
which are of a much wider nature than issues affecting a particular area. Community organization
is an integral part of social action. It is the precursor or pre-requirement to social action. In fact,
many social work professionals consider social action as an extension of community organization.
Community organization, as defined by Ross (1955), is a process by which a community identifies
its needs or objectives, orders or ranks these needs or objectives, develops the confidence and will
to work at those needs or objectives, finds the resources (internal and/or external) to deal with
these needs or objectives, takes action in respect of them, and in doing so extends and develops
cooperative and collaborative attitudes and practices in the community.

Social action is a conflictual process of varying intensity to bring about or prevent changes in the
social system through the process of making people aware of the socio-political and economic
realities conditioning their lives and by mobilizing them to organize themselves for bringing about
the desired change or to prevent the change that adversely affects them, through the use of
whatever strategies they may find workable, except for violence.

Thus, we see that 'organizing people or community or target population' is the common thread
between a community organization and social change. In both social work methods, people are
helped to realize their needs or problems and find out the solution to their felt needs. People
organize themselves, collaborate, and work together for a commonly accepted goal. In both the
processes, that is, community organization and social action, need or problem identification is the
first step. It is followed by making the people aware of their pressing needs or problems and
prioritizing the issues. An environment is created in which the community people feel confident
and gain faith that together they would be able to solve their pressing issues or meet their needs.
Both processes are inherent in the emotional impulse to meet the need and take required action
quickly. However, a change of authority and the power structure is involved in social action, which
invariably requires some conflictual process. It is the redistribution of resources and power. So,
we see that social action is a community organization to bring about or prevent long-lasting social
change where confrontation with the existing authority is involved. The strategies and tactics
involved in social action like propaganda, picketing, strike, boycott, sit-in, fast, etc., make social
action different from a community organization. When just by integrating the community to work
together and mobilizing the available resources, the development is not sufficient for achieving
the set goals because of accumulation of power and resources is in the hands of a few people who
are not ready to work for the community development, social action comes into play. The goal of
social action is to redistribute power and resources so that all the sections of the community get
equitable share and opportunities for optimum growth and development. Once this objective is
achieved, people's participation is used for constructive activities in the community. People's
participation is a crucial term common in community organization and social action. Social action
is, thus, one step further to a community organization.

Social Welfare Administration is the process by which we apply a professional approach to

specific goals and transform social policy into social action. It is a process of planning,
implementing, directing, monitoring, organizing, coordinating, and evaluating services rendered
for the welfare and development of the people. Social welfare administration is mainly concerned
with providing social welfare services like activities related to child care, women's development,
etc., in an organizational set-up and thus translating the social mandates into operational policies.
The organization delivering these social services does have a definite set of goals, staffing patterns
and adequate administrative and managerial skills.

An example in order to understand the social action in relation to social welfare administration.
An NGO working with children in a slum area provides night shelter, mid-day meals, non-formal
education and other developmental and recreational activities. Soon, the social workers realize that
just providing these services is not providing any relief to the working children.

Parents want their children to work and earn rather than participate in the activities of NGOs. The
employers of these children not only pay significantly less for their hours of tedious work but also
abuse them physically, emotionally and even sexually. Many children are lured by drug peddlers,
and they are used for illegal work. Added to this, an apathetic attitude of the police towards the
whole situation worsens the situation. In such circumstances, the NGO realizes it cannot play a
substantive role in the well-being of the children just by adhering to its already set policies and
programs. No matter how well the NGO is performing its services, it cannot improve the living
conditions of the children unless and until it decides to take up firm steps for bringing about
structural changes in the social system. It needs to take up interventions like shaking up the
conscience of the family members, police, government administration, general public, school
authorities and most important the employers, change in government policies which are pro-child
welfare and development and effective implementation of the same at the ground level.
So, it’s clear that unless strict and firm steps like confrontation, negotiation, demonstration, etc.,
are done, which is social action, the services rendered by a social welfare agency remain
superficial. It clearly shows the relationship between social welfare administration and social
action. Social welfare agency, working in the community, provides a working ground to take up
the social cause at the macro level with people's participation. Social welfare administration does
all the preliminary works needed for social action, such as rapport building, in-depth knowledge
about the community and its social problems, credibility building, and the like. And then, the social
worker does the planning of social goals and policies for the agency. Planning is an intellectual
and crucial activity requiring adequate knowledge and vision about the social causes. Good
planning is a prerequisite for successful service delivery. This skill is of crucial importance while
carrying out social action for a social cause. Secondly, organizing skills have been referred to as
the administrator's raw material.

Needless to mention how crucial this skill is for mobilizing people for taking up social action
against authorities. The social worker also requires skills in staffing. Staffing means recruitment,
training, orientation and supervision. During social action, though these skills are not applied
apparently and directly, experiences of working with people, training them, dealing with their
aspirations, different working patterns, conflicts, etc., help the social worker manage the people
participating in mass mobilization and collective action taken during social action. In the same
way, skills acquired and refined by a social worker in social welfare administration like budgeting,
evaluating, reporting, and directing all become handy during social action.