Social Work Management and Leadership

Managing Complexity with Creativity

John Lawler, Andy Bilson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781135247041
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

Management and leadership are increasingly important within the organisation and delivery of social care services and now form part of the post qualification framework for social workers. Yet, whilst there is a relatively broad understanding of management concepts and their application in social care, their foundations often go unchallenged both by students and managers. Furthermore, leadership is open to a wide range of interpretations and is often ill-defined with the expectation that we share a common understanding of the term.

This text promotes an appreciation of the development of management and leadership thinking and the different themes which inform current ideas. It considers these topics from a range of theoretical standpoints in order to stimulate readers to consider their own experience and expectations of management and leadership. It then demonstrates how these standpoints might promote innovative approaches to management and leadership within social care organisations and ways in which such organisations might then develop. The aim of this challenging text is to encourage critical and informed reflection on current practice.

Social Work Management and Leadership is essential reading for students of management and leadership in social care as well as being an invaluable resource for managers who simply wish to consider new approaches to their practice.

1 Introduction

DOI: 10.4324/9780203866283-1

It is not to the handful of hapless, if sometimes inexperienced, front-line staff that I direct most criticism for the events leading up to Victoria's death. While the standard of work done by those with direct contact with her was generally of very poor quality, the greatest failure rests with the managers and senior members of the authorities whose task it was to ensure that services for children, like Victoria, were properly financed, staffed, and able to deliver good quality support to children and families.

Lord Laming, The Victoria Climbié Inquiry (DH, 2003a: 4)

metaphors only create partial ways of seeing, for in encouraging us to see and understand the world from one perspective they discourage us from seeing it from others.

Gareth Morgan, Images of Organization (1986: 31)

This book provides an overview of management and leadership theories and their implications for social work management practice. In doing this we have chosen to present a range of theories and approaches because we see that ideas from earlier eras, even those developed to manage the Prussian army, persist in the structures and management approaches of today's organizations. We also believe that there is no one right way or one golden key to better management. Our approach is not dispassionate or neutral because we believe that theories are important, that they shape the way we see things and what we do. Like Gareth Morgan in the extract above, we see that theories encourage us to see things from a particular perspective and in doing that hide other ways of seeing. We therefore want to invite you to reflect on the theories and approaches that shape the way you do your work. In order to do this we believe that it is important to understand the theories you use and their practical implications.

Our approach is also not dispassionate or neutral because we believe that some approaches are better suited for social work than others. We are particularly concerned that the command and control managerialism that has become a central feature of many social work organizations frequently achieves its goals and targets at the expense of the flexibility and responsiveness that we would want from services. We believe that goals and targets do not have to be a straitjacket and can be achieved without the need for the rigid or authoritarian approaches that they sometimes encourage. We know that good management and leadership makes a real difference to the work that is done in organizations and to the quality of the services that are provided. We also know that theories can help managers to do their job better.

In some respects this is a challenging book. It challenges what we believe to be dominant theories underpinning (sometimes unknowingly) much current management and leadership practice. It challenges the reader to consider alternative perspectives in analysing management and leadership in social work. As it presents a range of perspectives, some more controversial than others, it also presents an intellectual challenge to the reader. Finally, it challenges managers and leaders, current and potential, to reflect on their own knowledge, experience and interpretations and to consider how they might incorporate a range of perspectives into their own practice.

Social work management is not easy. Social work is a very complex field of work operating in an increasingly politicized and turbulent environment. The social situations of service users are open to different political analyses. Social work activities in themselves can at times be seen as political in the ways in which they might challenge current power dynamics in society. Furthermore, social work organizations are, quite correctly, open to the direct scrutiny of locally elected politicians and are influenced by and must respond to changes in policy at both national and local levels. As a consequence, social work management and leadership cannot be easy. We are concerned that some of the practices promoted for use by social work managers were developed to get better performance out of assembly line production. We believe that social work managers need a range of tools and approaches and particularly ones that are designed for use in such a complex and contested area. We also believe that social work requires managerial and leadership approaches that are appropriate to the ethical and moral nature of social work practice and that can deal with the inherent contradictions of managing a service that aims to protect vulnerable people, empower its users and challenge their oppression.

Finally, we are aware that social work managers will want not only to understand theory but to see how these theories are applicable to their day to day practice. We will therefore consider the application of the theories we have discussed and provide examples relevant to some of the key issues and themes of current social work management. We will now look at the managerial context of social work before going on to give an outline of the contents of the rest of the book.

The managerial context of social work

In recent years there have been a number of clearly discernable trends in approaches to management and leadership of human services organizations in both the public and non-governmental sectors. These trends appear to have an international validity, at least across English-speaking countries, though the timing of their impact may vary from country to country. Three main trends are briefly introduced here: marketization; managerialism; and postmodernization. In later chapters we will discuss some of these issues in more detail as well as providing access to management and leadership theory and approaches that provide different possibilities to deal with their shortcomings.

Marketization

The first of these trends is the marketization of human services. This is seen in a trend in the latter part of the twentieth century amongst western democratic countries, most of which promoted substantial public sector reform. This change was one in which governments sought to move from the direct provision of utilities and services, to purchase these services from a market or quasi-market (see for example Osborne and Gaebler, 1993; Troy, 1999). This change has not been without its critics. Thus, in their study of six local authorities looking at the changes in the purchasing of older people's services in the 1990s, Martin et al. conclude:

What we hope we have shown, however, is the way in which the constant spectre of restricted budgets, combined with the transformation of social work into a managerial role of correctly carrying out bureaucratic procedures, has given rise to organizational environments where the needs-led, client-centred approach of professional social work as envisaged in the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act is at best subsidiary to the core objective of minimizing cost, and at worst no more than a myth.

Martin et al. (2004: 484)

Marketization necessitated a significant shift in relationships between agencies, including a more significant role for the independent sector; a changing role for service users, social work users especially, with more involvement in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services being seen as key. Indeed there has been a significant change in the term by which service users are known: from clients, to service users, to customers. This has been accompanied by increased importance of ‘choice’ for service users, reinforcing the position of service users as consumers in the market rather than as part of a more general citizenry and certainly no longer seeing them as a passive recipient of state-determined services.

During these changes, the restrictions on budgets, an increasing consumer orientation and the aspiration to involve service users, together with the emphasis on performance management, have led to considerable tensions for social work managers and practitioners.

Managerialism

Alongside this there has been a second trend, the rise of ‘managerialism’, which stands in contrast to earlier concerns with the development of professionalism and professional service, in which senior professionals were seen as the key figures responsible for the delivery of high-quality social work services (Lawler, 2000). ‘Managerialism’ refers to the development of the interests of management in how organizations are managed, stressing the role and accountability of individual managers and their positions as that – managers – rather than any other role or identity such as senior professional or administrator. The essence of managerialism is the belief that many organizations have a great deal in common, be they in the public, commercial or independent sector and, given this, people equipped as managers should be able to operate effectively in any domain – in other words there is a belief in the transferability of these skills to other managerial contexts. The trend to view all public services as operating within local and wider markets reinforces the importance of the role of manager in this respect. Thus there is an emphasis on management skills as being more crucial than professional or technical skills. Accountability for success or failure lies at the door of each individual manager, who operates within strategic guidelines and is therefore responsible for the achievement of certain objectives.

Commentaries on the development of managerialism have lead to the recognition of a ‘New Public Management’ (McLaughlin et al., 2002). Flynn (1990), writing at the time when managerialism was still relatively novel in the public sector, summarizes managerialism thus:

The managerialist ethos which has developed is based on the view that managers have ‘the right to manage’, which means that they should be in control of the organizations which they run and they should be very proactive & It is this view of managers as controllers which underlies many of the managerial reforms in the public sector. Administering systems which are in a steady state, and doing so by arriving at a consensus among managers of various departments and with trade unions is not considered to be real ‘management’ & Part of the managerial ideology is that there is no difference between running a factory and running a hospital.

Flynn (1990: 177–8)

The trend of managerialism continues and is an issue to which we return in Chapter 2.

Postmodernization

These changes in social work management and in public service management are occurring alongside a number of significant and wider changes in our society. O'Brien and Penna (1998) argue that we are now in a period of ‘post-modernisation’ which leads us into a new era. By ‘modern’ we are referring to a continuing process from the Enlightenment onwards, whereby our understanding of the world becomes ever clearer and our capacity to understand and develop technological means of gaining control over our world, through the application of rational thinking, is strengthened. The current period, with its recognition of increasing complexity and discontinuity rather than relentless continuity, does not see the rejection of all that is ‘modern’; rather it sees the intensification of some modern ways of thinking and their translation into management practice, together with changes in orthodox social and organizational practices. This intensification of modernism is evident in the increase in three particular processes: rationalization, differentiation and detraditionalization. Processes of rational examination and explanation are intensified. A prime example of increasing rationalisation is the intensive examination of social work service delivery which has been termed ‘McDonaldization’ (Dustin, 2007), which we discuss in Chapter 6. Differentation can be seen in the way service providers seek to distance themselves from other organizations offering similar services, to establish their own ‘unique selling points’ in relation to their users. Detraditionalization can be seen in changes in family structures, in changes in bureaucratic structures and the emphasis on cross-sector partnerships, and in involvement of service users in very different ways from the more traditional approaches to participation.

O'Brien and Penna discuss how these changes occur within four more general processes of postmodernization: namely political and economic decentralization; localization; fragmentation; and desocietalization (O'Brien and Penna, 1998). As with the rise of managerialism these are not necessarily conscious and planned developments; rather they result from the complex interplay of politics, economics and culture. There are many ways in which these processes manifest themselves: in the delegation of services to regional and local levels (decentralization); in the involvement of local users in the planning and delivery of services (localization); in the separation of different aspects of service rather than the provision of a holistic or comprehensive, generic service (fragmentation); and in the focus in the individualization or customization of service provision, rather than focusing on wider social concerns (desocietalization).

Implications for management and leadership in social work

The above trends have had significant influence on the nature of social work and placed particular demands on its leaders and managers. As we see from the quotation from Lord Laming at the head of the chapter, when mistakes are made, the management of social work services comes under public scrutiny and with greater levels of criticism than seems to be the case for other similar professions. At the same time the expectation from managers is high, as evidenced by the following quote from the UK Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills (DH/DFES 2006: 55): ‘It would be difficult to create learning organizations, retain staff and change the way that staff work without visionary leadership and effective people-management’. In addition the three trends above are associated with a call for a certain approach to management and leadership, which is responsible not only for the day to day management of services but also for major programmes of change. Thus the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has provided a workbook for managers on governance in social work which states (Simmons 2007: 13) under the heading Leadership and Management:

Leadership is essential in changing attitudes and involving all staff in social care governance. Leaders need to have a strategic vision and an understanding of social care governance. They will determine the culture, structures and resources required to take this agenda forward. Corporate leadership is about ensuring there is a competent workforce, clarity about roles and responsibilities, clear structures which address current and future service needs and accountability regarding relevant legislative requirements. Controls and assurances should be in place to manage anticipated risks linked to achieving strategic and operational objectives. Professional leadership is essential to support sound decision-making and improving practice and the service.

We will argue in later chapters that this emphasis on superhuman leaders and managers taking charge, changing attitudes and culture in a managerial context of clear lines of accountability,...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• List of boxes
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Governance, markets and managerialism; and a framework for alternative approaches
• 3 The individual manager and leader through a rationalobjectivist lens
• 4 The reflective individual in management and leadership
• 5 Rational planning and control: rational-objectivist approaches to organizations
• 6 New metaphors for management: reflective-pluralist approaches to organizations
• 7 Challenges for social work management and leadership
• 8 Towards ethical management and leadership in social work
• References
• Index