Management and Administration in Social Work
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 14 December 2009
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0097
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 14 December 2009
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0097
Introduction
In human service organizations, administrative and managerial positions often overlap and require skills from both domains, and so it is important to have a clear understanding about what each concept entails. Administration is concerned more with determination of organizational policies, coordination of finances, service provision, and setting the direction of the organization, whereas management is concerned with the execution of policies set up by the administration and the supervision of subordinates. Administrators perform policy and decision-making functions at the executive level, and managers implement those policies and decisions to achieve the organization's goals and objectives (see Kettner 2002 in Introductory Works). Management activities can be grouped into five components: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Because 33 percent of social workers work for government and 66 percent for nonprofit and for-profit private organizations, this entry provides resources for social work managers working in public, nonprofit, and private organizations. Additionally, because social work management can occur at different organizational levels, this review discusses not only upper-level social work management and administration but also middle-level management, or supervision.
Introductory Works
Readers interested in learning about social work management and administration will find that there is a reasonably good selection of introductory works on upper-level management. The selection of texts on middle-level management, or supervision, is much more limited. A good place to start the journey into the world of social work management and administration is by reading Patti 1997, a comprehensive overview of major roles and responsibilities of social work managers and administrators. Among some of the most widely used introductory works on upper-level management and administration are Brody 2005, Kettner 2002, and Lewis, et al. 2006. Lohmann and Lohmann 2002 is intended primarily for social work students. The best introductory texts on supervisory functions and roles are Dolgoff 2005 and Tsui 2005. Both texts provide an overview of the major functions and problems of social work supervision. The Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) offers a great number of useful links to resources for social work managers and administrators, and the National Network for Social Work Managers website lists leadership and management practice standards and provides a fairly limited number of links to resources for social work managers and articles pertaining to social work management.
Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA).
Among the many goals of the Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) are to provide a forum for sharing information and to promote the development of teaching material, research, and literature about community organization and social administration. This website has a number of useful sources of information pertaining to social administration.
Brody, Ralph. 2005. Effectively managing human service organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Written for the human service manager practitioner, for those in social work and nonprofit management, and for public administration students, it includes hundreds of real-life examples. The book does not include exercises or any other skill development activities but provides useful websites for keeping current on management developments.
Dolgoff, Ralph. 2005. An introduction to supervisory practice in human services. Boston: Pearson, Allyn, and Bacon.
A comprehensive introductory text to mid-level management in social work. It provides an overview of supervisory functions and problems. A vignette and exercises are provided at the end of each chapter.
Kettner, Peter M. 2002. Achieving excellence in the management of human service organizations. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Develops an integrated model for management and administrative practice in the management of human organizations. The qualities underlying this model are excellence and internal consistency. Exercises created around different sections of a policy and procedures manual for a human service organization are provided at the end of each chapter.
Lewis, Judith A., Michael D. Lewis, Thomas R. Packard, and Frederico Souflée Jr. 2006. Management of human service programs. Belmont, CA: Brooks Cole.
Provides an overview of the managerial functions that make human services work. Managers of government and nonprofit organizations will need additional information about legal issues, governmental funding, accounting, working with a board of directors, and risk management. The authors include discussion questions, exercises, and case examples.
Lohmann, Roger, and Nancy Lohmann. 2002. Social administration. New York: Columbia Univ. Press.
Social administration is seen as encompassing four components: management, leadership, decision making, and institution building. A great part of the book is devoted to discussion of a number of administrative processes. The book does not include “how to do it” material.
National Network for Social Work Managers.
The National Network for Social Work Managers wants you to become a certified social work manager (CSWM). Find out about leadership and management practice standards.
Patti, Rino J. 1997. Management: Overview. In Encyclopedia of social work: 1997 supplement. Edited by Ira C. Colby, Alejandro Garcia, Ruth G. McRoy, Lynn Videka-Sherman, and Richard L. Edwards, 148–158. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
This comprehensive entry is a great introduction to social work management. It provides an overview of administrative roles and functions, major organizational theories related to this practice field, and the evolution of social work management education.
Tsui, Ming-sum. 2005. Social work supervision. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
This book is intended for social work supervisors, practitioners, students, and educators. The author discusses the history of social work supervision, the theoretical models, and the major functions of social work supervision, and provides an overview of the research studies on supervision. The text does not include discussion questions or exercises.
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Article
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
- Assessment
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
- Bereavement Practice
- Bisexuality
- Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
- Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
- Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
- Children
- Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Christianity and Social Work
- Chronic Illness
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
- Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Community-Needs Assessment
- Comparative Social Work
- Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work with Interpreters
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
- The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services