Organisational Analysis With Reference To Social Work

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Organizational analysis refers to evaluation of an organizations systems, functions and capacity in order to enhance productivity and performance through increasing efficiency of the workers. It does so through study of the behaviors of people in order to create efficient relationships. It involves creation of work models based on theories that depict the way an organization functions and develops.

It is accountable for the response of organizations to changes and the ways in which an organization introduces changes (Hepworth & Hepworth, 2006). Organizational analysis must be distinguished from organizational planning which involves design of the organizations structure and division of responsibilities within the organization.

The purpose of organizational analysis is to determine the best way to increase the efficiency of an organization. Organizational models are the basis for organizational skills. Models help determine the most effective way to achieve a particular set of goals and objectives.

They are usually based on structure, technology, or behavior of members of an institution. Sociologists have four basic models to choose from including the classical or rational model, the participative or national model, the cognitive model, and the social-technical model.

Fredrick Taylor is credited with pioneering the rational model. He argued that the most effective way to achieve completion o task was the best way. In his view, the best method was the one, which allowed a person to perform task in the least time available.

It was his opinion that if both the management and employees performed tasks in this way, organizations would become more efficient in their delivery of service (Perrow, 1970, p. 93). His theory was criticized on the basis that sometimes workers had to engage in multiple-tasks at once. The rational model perpetuates the view that an organization can achieve desired results through modification of strategies (Powell and Dimaggio 1991).

The participative or national model takes a holistic view towards organizations. They do not exist as a single unit; they are systems. In as much as they pursue their own goals, they also pursue other goals outside their main business and must balance the two sets of goals.

Modification is not planned, but occurs abruptly because of conditions, which cause instability in the organization. Its a result of natural reaction based on values and behaviors of the members. Changes in one sector of the organization affects all other departments. A leader or social worker cannot change only one department within the organization but has to change the entire organization

According to the socio-technical model, organizations can alter their structure as they keep evolving. Exchange of information and interactions of members usually bring change to the structure of an organization.

The organization is affected by other factors within its surroundings such as human behavior, social factors, technology and other variables. A task is successfully performed through conversion of an input into an output and tasks are subdivided (Hughes and Wearing 2007, p. 152).The success of an organization is primarily determined by the time, the level of technology and the location.

The cognitive model takes the position that an organization has three major components: The unit responsible for processing information; the unit responsible for decision-making; and the arrangement or setting of the organization.

The decision-making unit is also charged with the task of finding solutions to problems while the setting unit is responsible for task distribution and coordination. Complex tasks are divided into specific tasks, which require specialization for efficiency. A social worker must determine which of the three models is best applicable to the assigned social work.

Various important skills in organizational analysis are relevant and applicable to social work practice. Proficiency in organizational skills is important because social work involves interacting with people who have undergone complex and perplexing skills (Ewalt, 1996).

It is a multi-disciplinary practice involving working with people of different backgrounds in terms of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, religion and even disability (Bogo 2010).

People are always reluctant to open up to social workers. Every social worker must be equipped with efficient communication skills. They involve listening, speaking, reading, and writing. A social worker must be able to empathize with their client and relate to their experience.

This will involve creation of meaningful relationships, a key factor organization analysis skill. The relationship must be within the ethical professional boundaries. Getting through the barriers that inhibit the care recipient should be the goal of every competent social worker (Jones and May, 1992).

The social worker can apply any of the following organization analysis models, a psychosocial approach, Cognitive or a behavioral approach, Participative therapies, a task-centered approach, a client-centered technique, or intervention approach (Greenwood and Levin 2007, p.92).

Time management skills will come in handy for the social work. He or she must schedule appointments after putting the availability of the client. He or she must be punctual and must show up in time for appointments.

A social worker must possess excellent record keeping skills. Social work involves giving care or guidance to people with historical records that must be recorded. For instance people on the wrong side of law who are serving probation terms or children who have been placed in foster homes.

Every meeting with the care-recipient and signs of progress or regression must always be recorded to keep the relevant authorities updated on the efficiency of the social work. If social work is not effective, alternative measures can be sought either on recommendation by the social worker or upon assessment of the records (Perrow, 1970).

The ability to collect data, interpret it, and process it into information comes in handy for a social worker. The social worker must be in a position to hold an interview with the care recipient, listen to their point of view, and record it in an impartial and inclusive manner.

Failure to interpret the data correctly can lead to conveyance of the wrong information to the relevant authority and can have negative effects for either the social worker or the care-recipient.

Social workers usually have multiple responsibilities and clients to attend to. The organizational analysis skill of prioritizing is very essential to them. They must give priority to the most important or urgent tasks and handle them first.

If for example, a child placed in care has run away from the home, and at that time, the social worker is holding a session with someone who is on probation for drunken-driving, the social worker should weigh the options. Thereafter, he or she should give priority to the child first as the session with the person undergoing probation can be postponed and held later (Bogo 2010, p.54).

The skill of assessment and planning helps a social worker to organize his schedule appropriately. On evaluation of a situation, a social worker should be in a position to decide on the next step that should be taken. He or she should be in a position to determine whether the services are still needed or whether they should be dispensed with.

In-depth understanding of the human behavior is essential in social work and so is the ability to respond calmly to violent emotions (Farley et al 2003, p.101).The social worker must understand every client individually and should not judge him or her based on heresy or stereotypes.

Understanding human behavior enables a social worker to evaluate and settle on the appropriate intervention mechanism. For instance, confrontational intervention is not encouraged for violent clients.

Prediction helps a social worker predict and anticipate what might happen next and take the necessary precautions or action. The social worker can rely on analysis based on previous experiences and incidences. Formulation of hypothesis is important in helping a social worker solve a social problem.

For example if a child under care fails to turn up at school, the social worker may hypothesize that he or she maybe have harassed or intimated; is looking for someone; or has run-away and start solving the problem from there.

The four methods a social worker may use have been listed as working with individuals through counseling, working with groups, working with families, or working with communities.

The perspectives of the social worker have an impact on the service he or she delivers. The perspective of a social worker must always be anti-sexist, anti-racist; anti-exploitative; and anti-discriminatory at all stages taking a radical perspective or perception leads to biased delivery of service.

Intervention means interfering with a situation in order to alter or affect the outcome. A social worker should only intervene after considering how urgent the problem is, the consequences of non-intervention, chances of success of the intervention, his competence and capability to intervene, whether the client is willing to solve the problem, and the extent of the problem (Bogo, 2010).

The skills are important in service delivery and management because they enhance the quality of service delivered by the social worker. Timely intervention may mean that drug addict is rehabilitated or a child placed in care is able to integrate in the new family. It may also lead to a change of attitude by the care recipient who may be healed from trauma and depression, return to normalcy, and work or take care of him.

Successful probation and other rehabilitation measures would reduce the rate of recidivism and de-congest prisons. Early intervention prevents a client from engaging in retrogressive behavior. If a social worker lacks organizational analysis, skills his delivery will be poor and inefficient and the objective of the social work will not be achieved (Hepworth and Hepworth, 2006).

In conclusion, human service organizations that provide social care may end up enhancing or inhibiting self-care. Social work has been able to promote social justice through caring of the minorities and the disadvantaged. People are able to recover from traumatizing situations.

It also enhances integration of society of people who had gone through abuse or who cannot access basic needs due to abject poverty. On recovery, people are able to take care of themselves and resume their daily social lives.

On the other hand, social work has been known to inhibit self-care. Some clients tend to over-rely on the social worker. Some only obey instructions when they know that the social worker is about to come for supervision and once the social worker leaves, they go back to their usual habits. Clients also rely on social worker for basic things such as management of emotional situations and reduction of stress levels.

They cannot take care of themselves without presence of the social worker. Reforms must be made so that social work does not end up inhibiting self-care. Clients must adopt organizational analysis skills so that they can take care of themselves independently without supervision by a social worker.

Reference List

Bogo, M 2010, Achieving competence in social work through field education, University of Toronto Press, Buffalo.

Ewalt, P 1996, Multicultural issues in social work, NASW Press, Washington, D.C.

Farley, O. et al. 2003, Introduction to social work, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

Greenwood, J., & Levin, M 2007, Introduction to action research: social research for social change, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.

Hepworth, H., & Hepworth, H 2006, Direct social work practice: theory and skills, Thomson Brooks/Cole, Belmont.

Hughes, M & Wearing, M 2007, Organizations and Management in Social Work, Sage, London.

Jones, A & May, J 1992, Working in Human service Organisation: A critical introduction, Pearson education Australia, French Forest.

Perrow, C 1970, Organizational analysis; a sociological view. Calif, Wadsworth Pub. Co, Belmont.

Powell, W., & Dimaggio, P, 1991, The New institutionalism in organizational analysis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

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