Working in Human Service Organisations

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

24 contact hours

16 hours of class preparation and reading

24 hours of assessment related tasks

= 64 hours total time commitment

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's courses. Students who feel their disability will impact on meeting this requirement are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Course Coordinator and the Disability Liaison Unit.

This subject aims to give students an appreciation of the nature of human service organizations as a context, vehicle and target of social work interventions. Several theoretical perspectives on human service organizations will be explored and students will be introduced to a number of specific dimensions useful in understanding organizations, like goals, mission, technology and culture. They will also examine the different ways in which such organizations are structured for line and task accountability and what difference the overall size of the organization makes for both workers and clients. The environment in which an organization operates and its interorganizational field are of increasing importance in human service practice and different ways of understanding and conceptualizing the environment will be presented. The clients/consumers/target groups of human service organization have a major influence on program design and choice of technology. Similarly the way in which work is structured in the organization will have a particular impact on staff in terms of the manner in which they interact with colleagues and manage their time and stresses of the job. Utilization of supervision and the nature of interdisciplinary teamwork will be particularly explored. Finally the course will explore how change within the organization can be initiated, implemented and evaluated.

At the completion of this subject students should be able to:

• Describe and analyse a human service organization from a number of different theoretical perspectives;
• Develop a good conceptual and empirical understanding of some of the key dimensions of organizational analysis e.g. size, structure, goals, technology, culture
• Be familiar with common tensions confronting both service users and professionals in human service organizations
• Be able to understand change and resistance to change in human service organizations

1. Two written essays of 2,500 words and 50% each (one due mid and one end of semester)

Jones, A. (2006). Working in human service organisations: A critical introduction, Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

• critically analyse texts and practices;
• understand recent developments in social work contexts of practice;
• link theory to practice;
• competently communicate in ways relevant to both academic and practice contexts;
• undertake independent research.