Job Satisfaction in the Workplace

This study examines the relative importance of background, perception, and organizational variables in explaining differences in job satisfaction levels of black female managers in human-service agencies. Correlational analysis revealed that nine out of twenty independent variables were significantly related to the level of job satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis revealed a six variable predictive model for job satisfaction. Implications of the findings for organizational policies and programs are discussed.     

Implementing and sustaining evidence-based practice in health care: The Bridge Model experience

This qualitative study analyzed the experience of community-based organizations (CBOs) implementing and sustaining the Bridge Model of Transitional Care, a social work-based health service intervention for reducing hospital readmissions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with clinical supervisors from 13 CBOs that received Bridge Model training between 2012 and 2015. CBOs faced significant challenges implementing and sustaining transitional care programs, particularly related to building effective and sustainable partnerships with hospitals. Additional barriers to program implementation and sustainability included financial barriers and staff turnover. Facilitators to implementation and sustainability included organizational champions, organizational culture, and value of evidence. Recommendations for CBOs to implement health service interventions include gaining early buy-in from hospital partners, creating a contractual arrangement with the hospital partner, understanding changes in health-care payment models, diversifying funding sources, developing an evaluation plan, and nurturing organizational champions.     

Leading Practice Improvement in Front Line Child Protection

Front line child protection managers are a vital conduit foreffective outcomes for children, young people and their families.However, little is known about the change processes that theyneed to implement to effectively intervene in such a complexcontext to support improved practice. This article describeshow organizational action research and Organizational LinkageTheory were used to establish an in-depth understanding of theinhibitors and facilitators of the implementation of an outcome-focusedmanagement model in three child protection offices. This analysisidentified that five interrelated compensatory processes actedto offset the impact of the implementation inhibitors. This,in turn, enabled direct service staff to experience an increasedcapacity to undertake effective service activities. This articleexplores each of these compensatory processes and makes a numberof suggestions for how child protection managers and their organizationsmight seek to embed them.     

A Model for Implementing an Evidence-Based Practice in Student Fieldwork Placements: Barriers and Facilitators to the Use of “SBIRT”

ABSTRACT

This article reports on focus group data analysis that was used to understand initial, largely positive outcomes from a university-based initiative to disseminate and implement an evidence-based practice (EBP)—Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment for Substance Use (SBIRT)—into student fieldwork placements, which are usual care social work settings. Focus groups were conducted with three groups of stakeholders involved in the ongoing project: social work department faculty (n = 10), bachelor- and master-level social work students (n = 8), and social work fieldwork instructors (n = 6). Dimensional analysis of the focus group data yielded results indicating that dissemination and implementation of SBIRT was influenced by agency- and school-level factors and perceived fit between the EBP and individual professional identity, intrapersonal characteristics, and timing. The resulting model, developed through the focus group analysis, is offered and shows how these factors interacted and affected training, supervision, and use of the EBP. The model provides social work educational programs and agencies a working tool for diagnosing and proactively addressing barriers and breakdowns in the EBP implementation process. Future research that tests the model as a diagnostic tool and generates knowledge about its influence in developing competent evidence-based practitioners is indicated. Future focus groups in relation to this initiative are needed to better understand these barriers and facilitators in the EBP implementation process and their critical roles in the process of translating SBIRT into standard social work practice.     

微博空间组织间网络结构及其形成机制：以环保NGO为例

本文使用社会网络分析技术探索微博空间中环保非政府组织间关注/认同关系网的结构,并结合组织间网络、社会运动联盟、互联网研究文献以及我国非政府组织管理制度来探究网络结构的形成机制。研究发现,非政府组织间存在紧密的虚拟联系。统计分析显示,组织间虚拟关系受网络自组织机制、组织资源、合适性原则（注册状态）、同质性原则（离线关系、地理位置、关注领域）和微博使用活跃程度等因素的影响。其中,资源发挥“信号”功能,是组织可信赖性的基础,资源未知者不容易被关注/认同。对于资源已知者而言,资源匮乏者更积极利用微博平台。未注册组织主动与其他组织建立关系,注册组织则避免与未注册组织建立关系。具有线下合作关系或处于同一省份的组织之间更可能建立关注和认同关系,但活动领域仅对认同关系具有影响。微博使用活跃程度也对组织间关系具有正向的影响。     

Ambiguity and Cooperation in the Implementation of Adult Protection Policy

Using a classification of public policy developed by Matland, we examine implementation of policy on adult protection as outlined in ‘No Secrets’, the government's guidance to local agencies. This policy appears to exemplify a ‘high‐ambiguity/low‐conflict’ model. Detailed interviews with staff charged with developing multi‐agency procedures, in local authority departments, health authorities, the police and the voluntary sector, confirmed the ambiguity of the policy and the uncertainty experienced by staff as a consequence. However, the interviews also revealed a number of areas of conflict, particularly as people gave precedence to their own professional norms and organizational priorities over partnership working.     

From policy to practice: the implementation of a new framework for social work assessments of children and families

This paper describes a two‐year study conducted in 24 English councils to evaluate the implementation of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. The Framework promotes a holistic, multi‐agency approach towards the assessment of children in need. The study was carried out in two phases. Phase one explored how councils implemented the Framework and accompanying assessment records. Phase two used a variety of methods to assess the impact of the Framework on practice, including an audit of completed assessment records, postal questionnaires to practitioners and managers in social services and partner agencies, and a qualitative study of 52 cases which included interviews with parents, children over 10 and social workers. A time record was used to gather information on the time social workers spent on the various elements of the core assessment process. The study suggests that councils had to overcome a number of organizational and other barriers in order to implement the Framework. However, the Framework and supporting materials appear to have provided the foundations to improve the quality of social work recording and promote interagency working, and have strengthened the involvement of children and families in the assessment process.     

社会工作的开展与弱势群体救助

社会工作以助人自助为宗旨，在弱势群体的救助中起着举足轻重的作用，而弱势群体的存在又促进了社会工作的不断发展。作为一种专业助人活动，社会工作在救助弱势群体领域有着无法比拟的先天优越性，因此我们应当在借鉴西方成功经验的基础上，立足于我国实际情况，尽快完善以社会组织和个人为主的社会支持系统，使我国社会工作在弱势群体救助领域沿着更加科学更加专业的路径发展。     

Looking Inwards,Looking Outwards: Dismantling the “Berlin Wall” Between Health and Social Services?

This paper argues that at a time when policy guidance urged closer collaboration and joint working between health and social services, the long-established cultural and professional gaps were widening and deteriorating. Drawing on data from four research sites, the paper argues that the deterioration was rooted principally in practitioners' preoccupations with changes within their own organizations and daily work, resulting from a major period of change in both health and social services, which, ironically, was at the expense of the joint working which the "Caring for People" reforms required. As the policy environment changes again, under the Labour government, it is likely that health and social care practitioners will be working within further organizational turbulence and change. It will be crucial that those changes are managed in such a way that they avoid the very real danger of compounding the problems which our respondents identified.     

Improving the working environment for workers in children's welfare agencies

The working environment and workplace ecology of children's welfare agencies is important to the quality of their service provision. In the past, restructuring and professional development and training have been standard responses to changing needs and demands on children's services but have generally failed to improve the working environment. This research argues that concrete strategies can be developed from a detailed understanding of significant factors impacting on workers' satisfaction and morale. The specific stresses and rewards impacting on workers in three children's welfare services in Australia were investigated over a 12-month period to obtain preliminary information for the formulation of strategies likely to improve satisfaction and morale. The participating organizations were of different size, organizational structure, responsibilities and philosophy. Most factors identified in the study applied across the different organizations. Using a combination of journal writing, recording of critical incidents, relationship mapping and workshops, child welfare workers documented their day-to-day work experiences, outstanding events and networking activities. The narrative data were analysed using force field analysis and quasi-stationary equilibrium analysis based on a categorical framework of individual, team, organizational and political factors. Job satisfaction was strongly linked to intrinsic aspects of the work itself, that is, achieving outcomes for clients. Dissatisfaction with the job was strongly linked to organizational constraints, and strong team identification counterbalanced constraints. Largely unmentioned were political issues, professional practices and ideological and religious beliefs that undoubtedly impacted on practice. This research suggests some concrete steps to enhancing the quality of workplaces in children's welfare services.     

跨学科研究面临的主要障碍与对策

跨学科研究是国外一些重要学术机构和相关研究理事会所发布的研究报告的一个重要主题。综合此类报告和文献,可以看到,跨学科活动面临的主要障碍和挑战来自以下几个方面：组织、制度等方面的障碍;知识专科化所造成的隔阂;学科文化差异的影响;心理障碍;资源、评估所造成的外部压力。     

Organizational factors and child participation in decision‐making: differences between two child welfare organizations

Children in residential care tend to be less content with the quality of care arrangements and participation opportunities compared to children in foster care. This study explored possible differences in social workers' views about child participation and service quality. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test if any differences may be explained by collaboration between professionals' and social workers' work engagement. We found that social workers from residential care services seem more prudent in letting children participate in case planning compared to social workers planning for foster care. Social workers' judgements of service quality were also highly affected by their organizational affiliation, but personal factors such as work engagement may also play a part. The differences we found regarding social workers' attitudes towards participation and their rating of service quality are associated with organizational culture. Understanding how organizations shape social workers' decisions to include or exclude children in care planning may help gain a more comprehensive understanding of what is needed to take the participation agenda forward.     

Merger in the British Voluntary Sector: The Example of HIV/AIDS Agencies

This article explores the policy and organizational drives towards cooperation and merger within the voluntary sector. We draw together theoretical and empirical literature on the topic and identify six factors which may be hypothesized to be associated with a decision to cooperate in the voluntary sector: adverse macro-economic conditions; the search for an organizational niche; severe resource dependency; a drive for organizational growth; funders' concern about duplication of provision; and perceived crisis. We then present a case study which provides detailed data about the circumstances leading to a decision to merge by several independent voluntary agencies working in the HIV/AIDS field. We analyse the multiplicity of factors which drove the agencies and the complex interrelationships between those factors. Policy pressures, pragmatism and the personal values of key managers are found to be particularly important. Finally, we consider the implications of our study for policy analysis and future research.     

Collaboration on Disaster Prevention Education Curriculum Development project and its implications for social work

Collaboration has often been regarded as an effective way to meet people's need in social work and other fields. This article reports on a Disaster Prevention Education Curriculum Development project launched and headed by the Aide et Action China Office in Sichuan, China. Emphasis is on the collaborations between Aide et Action and other non-governmental organizations, governmental agencies, schools, local communities and volunteers. It is suggested that collaboration is critical to the successful operation of the project. The factors that contribute to the effective and efficient collaboration in the project are proposed and addressed. The implications for social work practice are also discussed.     

Discourses of Inter-Professionalism

This paper explores identity through looking at how differentdiscourses of inter-professionalism are drawn on by professionalsand by service users in relation to the multi-professional contextof service provision. It follows traditions in critical discursivepsychology in understanding talk as constitutive. Glimpses ofthe emergence of a new professional identity congruent withthe demands of inter-professional work can be seen in the onlinediscussions of students on a course in managing care and thepaper considers how this identity is constructed. A feature of particular interest in the student forum data isthe extent to which they construct colleagues from differentprofessions, managers and service users as ‘the other’in ways that devalue their contribution, while at the same timepraising the benefits of inter-professional collaboration. Thepaper concludes that new professional identities that fit witha context of new working arrangements and relationships nonethelesscontinue to show ‘othering’ in the production ofa positive identity. However, rigid binaries have been disturbedby an emphasis on inter-professional working. As people workin different and cross-cutting new organizations that involvere-defining what the team is, the binaries become less fixedand more fluid.     

Changing the cultural story in child protection: learning from the insider's experience

This paper argues that child protection organizations intent upon tackling low retention rates and enhancing the services they offer to children and families must pay greater attention to the emotional life of the organization and to enabling workers to manage the intrusiveness of the work. Findings from in-depth qualitative interviews with child protection workers and supervisors are reported in the form of a story about the insider's experience of the organization. The consequences of working in an organizational culture that denies opportunities for workers to understand and manage the emotional toll of the work are explored. While reporting on research and work undertaken with Australian child protection workers between 1997 and 2002, the view is expressed that these ideas have current relevance to many organizations in the health and welfare field whose core business involves workers coming into contact with individuals in complex, uncertain and ambiguous situations. The paper looks at what needs to change about organizational structures such as supervision to promote learning within a more healthy organizational culture. A clear message from senior managers and politicians to workers that the organization endorses the open expression of feelings, doubts and uncertainties is pivotal.     

‘We’re Civil Servants’: The Status of Trauma-Informed Care in the Community

ABSTRACT

Trauma-informed care (TIC) in social service organizations means that the organizations operate with the understanding that everyone involved has possibly experienced trauma in their lifetime. This qualitative study examined local service organizations’ usage of the 5 main principles of TIC: safety, trustworthiness, collaboration, empowerment, and choice (as developed by Fallot & Harris, 2006). Ten focus groups (n = 69) and 6 individual interviews (n = 6) with employees from administration through management were interviewed such that almost all facets of each agency were represented. The participants were asked about their agencies’ policies and practices for utilizing the 5 principles of TIC. The results suggest that the vast majority of organizations in this study implemented many of the principles of TIC with clients, though they had not labeled their practices as “trauma-informed.” However, although clients were receiving TIC, some of the principles were neglected as they pertain to staff, such as choice and empowerment. The findings of this study suggest that agencies are unaware of the relevance of TIC as it relates to staff. It is recommended that future research examine whether the use of TIC in agencies prevents “burnout,” high turnover rates, and vicarious traumatization of staff.     

Conflict and cooperation in environmental administration

Cleavages exist between agencies on the implementation of environmental policies and the management of environmental programs. Although these cleavages are not deep enough to cause an agency immobilisme, they slow down the pace of pollution control. Within the agencies, much time is wasted when environmental specialists quibble on regulatory matters, when relationships between environmental scientists and resource managers are strained, and when regional units suffer from the stultifying effect of divided loyalties. To compound the problem, cooperative programs that are supposed to maximize the outcome of environmental protection leave much to be desired. In light of these problems, the time has come to re-invent the whole spectrum of environmental bureaucracy and recharge the entire subsystem of environmental policy making.     

From “what works” to “making it work”: A practice perspective on evidence-based standardization in frontline service organizations

Evidence-based standards are becoming increasingly influential in frontline services connected to labor market inclusion of vulnerable citizens. To increase our understanding of standardization in such public service delivery, this study draws on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork from two frontline offices in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (2017–2018) that use the evidence-based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) standard. Adopting a theoretical perspective of organizational practices, the study highlights two distinct approaches to practicing IPS in the frontline organizations: as a “practice shift” in one organization (i.e., creating and legitimizing radically new service practices involving closer collaboration with employers) and as a “practice revival” in the other (i.e., reinstating more traditional service practices involving a holistic client orientation). Each approach relates to a specific constellation of recruitment practices, dynamics between frontline supervisors and staff, and team integration. The study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it shows the underlying flexibility embedded in standardization and how standards may be implemented and adapted in ways that may either promote more radical change or revive traditional practices. Second, it nuances positions in the literature on the impact of standards on professional service work. On this basis, the study suggests broadening the attention in research on evidence-based standards in public service delivery from discussions of “what works” to understanding the broader organizational dynamics involved in “making it work.”