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Working in Human Service Organisations (SCWK90070)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
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Contact information
September
Overview
Availability | September |
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This subject aims to give students an appreciation of the nature of human service organisations as a context, vehicle and target of social work interventions. Several theoretical perspectives on human service organisations will be explored and students will be introduced to a number of specific dimensions useful in understanding organisations, like goals, mission, technology and culture. They will also examine the different ways in which such organisations are structured for line and task accountability and what difference the overall size of the organisation makes for both workers and clients. The environment in which an organisation operates and its inter-organisational 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 organisation have a major influence on program design and choice of technology. Similarly, the way in which work is structured in the organisation 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. Utilisation of supervision and the nature of interdisciplinary teamwork will be particularly explored. Finally, the course will explore how change within the organisation can be initiated, implemented and evaluated.
Intended learning outcomes
Knowledge
On completion of the subject, students should be able to:
- Describe and analyse a human service organisation from different theoretical perspectives;
- Develop a conceptual and empirical understanding of the key dimensions of organisational analysis e.g., size, structure, goals, technology, culture;
- Identify the common tensions confronting both service users and professionals in human service organisations; and
- Describe change processes and resistance to change in human service organisations.
Skills
On completion of the subject, students should be able to:
- Critique how human services organisational theories apply to social work in a range of fields of practice; and
- Analyse the key functions, roles and culture of a Human Service Organisation.
Application of Knowledge and Skills
On completion of the subject, students should be able to:
- Apply human service organisational theories and practices in their social work practice to analyse and understand its impact.
Generic skills
On completion of this subject students 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
Last updated: 31 January 2024