Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
Nil
Teaching organisation
Teaching and learning strategies for this unit will include lectures, small group discussions and Canvas online activities.
Unit rationale, description and aim
Fundamental to Social Work is the need to understand organisational contexts in which professional practice takes place. This unit will develop students' ability to analyse organisational contexts in which their professional practice and/or scholarship takes place. The nature, processes, and impact of organisational change on service delivery and management will be critically analysed. Emphasis will also be given to the role of information technology in contemporary social service work. Students will be encouraged to draw on their experiences of working in organisations, in particular the agencies in which they have undertaken their field placement. This unit aims to support students' in developing advanced knowledge of how organisations deliver services, and skills in identifying areas of unmet need and to explore how they will approach working collaboratively with colleagues from a range of professional backgrounds and disciplines.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Integrate relevant organisational theories in analysing a range of organisational contexts | GC1, GC3, GC7 |
| LO2 | Critique the impact of organisational change on social work workforce and service delivery | GC2, GC8, GC9 |
| LO3 | Demonstrate skills of collaborative practice in working with consumers and professionals from a range of disciplines and skills in identifying areas of unmet need | GC4, GC6, GC8 |
| LO4 | Analyse the organisational construction of social work practice, including the central role of information technologies in practice | GC7, GC8, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO5 | Evaluate the impact of various organisational cultures and structures on the delivery of services to consumers and communities | GC1, GC6, GC7 |
| LO6 | Critically reflect on the interface between social work ethics and organisational ethics | GC1, GC2, GC7 |
AASW Graduate Attributes
On successful completion of this unit, students should have developed an ability to:
GA1 - Demonstrated sense of identity as a professional social worker |
GA2 - Sound understanding of and commitment to social work values and ethics to guide professional practice |
GA3 - Ability to apply social work knowledge and interventions to respond effectively in meeting the needs of individuals, groups and communities in diverse settings, client groups and geographic locations |
GA4 - Ability to apply knowledge of human behaviour and society, as well as the social, cultural, political, legal, economic and global contexts of practice to respond effectively within a human rights and social justice framework |
GA5 - Ability to review, critically analyse and synthesise knowledge and values and apply reflective thinking skills to inform professional judgement and practice |
GA6 - Ability to apply research knowledge and skills to understand, evaluate and use research to inform practice and to develop, execute and disseminate research informed by practice. |
GA7 - Demonstration of effective communication and interpersonal skills |
GA8 - Ability to work with diversity and demonstrate respect for cultural difference |
AASW Practice Standards (2013)
This unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes, AASW Graduate Attributes and the AASW Practice Standards. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, ACU Graduate Attributes, AASW Graduate Attributes and the AASW Practice Standards
| Standard/Attributes/Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
4.2 Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts | 1 |
4.2 Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice | 2 |
1.1 Practices in accordance with the Code of Ethics 3.1 Work respectfully and inclusively with cultural difference and diversity 3.2 Respect, strive to understand and promote the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures 5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice | 3 |
4.2 Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice 6.1 Effectively communicate with a diverse range of people. 6.3 Effectively work with others in a team environment 5.2 Work collaboratively with relevant people | 3,4 |
6.4 Use information technology to communicate and provide services as appropriate 5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice | 4,5 |
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice | 6 |
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice | 5,7 |
1.1 Practice in accordance with the Code of Ethics (2010) 1.2 Manage ethical dilemmas in practice 2.1 Represent the social work profession with integrity and professionalism 5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice | 6,8 |
Content
Topics will include:
Introduction to Organisational Practice
- Understanding organisations
- Organisational construction of social work practice
- Collaborative practice
- Interdisciplinary practice
Organisational Cultures
- Organisational structures
- Defining organisational culture
- Influence on social work practices
- Leadership and management styles;
- Teams and team building
- parallel teams
- consultative teams
- collaborative teams
- co-ordinated teams
- multi-disciplinary teams
- interdisciplinary teams
- integrated teams
Organisational Change
- Change theories
- Bureaucracy, managerial, technocratic theories
- Systems and functionalist theories
- Culture and communication theories
- Human relations theory
- Critical theories
- Postmodern theories
- Change processes
- Change and resistance in organisations
- Organisational change models
- Social workers as “change managers‟ and facilitators of change
- Responding to client/service user and community need
Planning and Strategic Development
- Strategic planning
- Goal setting
Human Relations
- HR issues and workplace bullying
The Role of the Social Worker in Human Service Organisations
Challenges to workers
- Organisational analysis against principles of
- efficiency
- effectiveness
- evaluation,
- excellence
- Maintaining professional identity
- Working collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams
- Working collaboratively with consumers in service development
- Working collaboratively with a range of government and non-government services
- Identify areas of unmet need
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Teaching and learning strategies for this unit will include lectures, small group discussions, and/or Canvas online activities. A number of complex, organisational case studies will be presented to students to give them the opportunity to explore a range of approaches to working effectively in organisations and engaging effectively with colleagues. In order to benefit from interactive learning activities and to achieve learning outcome 3, which requires the demonstration skills of collaborative practice, a minimum tutorial attendance of 80% is required in this unit.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Three assessment approaches are utilised in this unit. The first, an Organisational Analysis requires students to apply the concepts they are learning to an organisation that they have direct experience of through their field placements. The second assessment enables students to think more broadly and conceptually about the nature and application of collaborative practice in organisations. The final, an in-class test, provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of key organisational theories and application to practice settings.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Organisational analysis: enables integration of relevant organisational theories in analysing organisational culture and context. | 40% | LO1, LO5 |
Collaborative Practice task: students further develop and apply understanding of collaborative practice | 40% | LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
In-class test: demonstrate understanding of key organisational concepts and theories
| 20% | LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Representative texts and references
Gray, I., Field, R., & Brown, K. (2010). Effective leadership, management and supervision in health and social care. Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Gursansky, D., Kennedy, R., & Camilleri, P. (2012). The practice of case management. Sydney, Australia: Allen& Unwin.
Hattford-Letchfield, T. (2010). Management and organisations in social work (2nd ed.). Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Hughes, M. & Wearing, M. (2017). Organisations and management in social work (3rd ed.). London: Sage
Lambley, S. (2010). Proactive management in social work practice. Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Lipsky, M. (2010). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
McDonald,C., Craik,C.,Hawkins, L. & Williams, J. (2011). Professional practice in human service organisations, Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Ozanne, E., & Rose, D. (2012). The organisational context of human service practice. Melbourne, Australia: Palgrave Macmillan.
Thompson, N. (2013). People management. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Weinberg, R., & Taylor, L. (2015). Social worker as manager (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson Higher Education.