This new edition looks at the many recent changes in the arena of Human Sevices Organizations.

Human service organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their programs work. Organization Practice, Second Edition helps students and professionals in human services and nonprofit management understand complex behaviors in organizations. This new edition provides a new, practical model for understanding cultural identities within organizations. Also, it is significantly revised to include numerous real-world cases, critical thinking questions, empirical support, and engaging exercises. Social workers, as well as public health and nonprofit administrators will benefit from the insights in this book.

Here is a timely, insightful book that greatly increases the effectiveness of human service professionals and the organizations in which they function. Organization, Policy, and Practice in the Human Services is the first such text to bring together in a systematic fashion the concepts of organizational theory, policy, and practice in the human services. Offering a basic orientation to the structure and operations of social service organizations, Neugeboren addresses society’s need for the successful operation of these complex institutions in our highly organized society. He also calls for a re-examination of what is meant by “dependency” and postulates new methods of dealing with the social and personal problems confronting people in contemporary society. This book is indispensable for administrators, practitioners, and students. Practitioners gain instruction in “bureaucratic expertise,” enabling them to maximize opportunities, limit organizational constraints, reduce the likelihood of “burnout,’and otherwise become a “good bureaucrat” instead of an ineffective if well-intentioned one. Administrators will benefit from a model of organizational goals, practical guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness of an organizational structure, and methods for identifying and remedying the causes of organizational dysfunction. Neugeboren’s practical ideas make a significant contribution in preparing tomorrow’s social workers to deal more effectively with the world facing each of us. His theoretical insights are grounded in discussions of actual cases making them easy to apply to any human service organization.

The novel approach of this casebook encourages the student to determine how they would act and work towards a resolution of real-world dilemmas.

The traditional lines of demarcation between service providers and service users are shifting. Professionals in managed service organizations are working to incorporate the voices of service users into their missions and the way they function, and service users, with growing access to knowledge, have taken on the semblances of professional expertise. Additionally, the human services environment has been transformed by administrative imperatives. The drive toward greater efficiency and accountability has weakened the bond between users and providers. Reimagining the Human Service Relationship is informed by the premise that the helping relationship should be seen as developing in the interactive space between those who provide human services and those who receive them. The contributors to this volume redefine the contours, roles, institutional divisions, means, and aims of providing and receiving services in a range of settings, including child welfare, addiction treatment, social enterprise, doctoring, mental health, and palliative care. Though they advocate an experience-near approach, they remain sensitive to the ambiguities and competing rationalities of the service relationship. Taken together, these chapters reimagine the service relationship by making visible the working relevancies of service delivery.

Helping children, disabled people, the unemployed, the elderly or homeless people can be inspiring work. However you can only help other people effectively if you understand your role clearly and know how to navigate the organisation in which you work. Professional Practice in Human Service Organisations examines what it means to be a professional in human service work, and how to develop excellence in professional practice. Making explicit what is often held as tacit knowledge in day to day practice, the authors explain the dynamics of human service organisations. They outline the challenges worker can face in caring for vulnerable people while at the same time fulfilling expectations of management and funding bodies. They explain the importance of understanding the complex networks of service delivery systems, including the role of information technology. They also examine how workers can maintain professional relations with clients, colleagues and other workers by developing skills in advocacy and in handling conflict, complaints and ethical dilemmas. Professional Practice in Human Service Organisations is essential reading for practitioners new to roles in social work, community work, youth work and related fields.

Human service organizations (HSOs) are faced with challenges and opportunities ranging from improving effectiveness and efficiency to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, organizational change can be a difficult process and does not occur without a catalyst. Organizational Change for the Human Services presents an evidence-based conceptual framework for planning and implementing change within HSOs. This book outlines the process for organizational change from identifying a problem to following a strategy for success. Thomas Packard presents discussions on various methods such as team building, employee surveys, cultural change, organization redesign, and intrapraneurship. Case examples demonstrate how individuals can put theory into practice within their organizations. Written for current and future HSO leaders, this book delves into the tactics and change methods that will help guide individuals to enact change within their organizations. Packard has created an invaluable resource for HSO leaders who aspire to provide the best services and care for the clients and communities they serve.

Over the past 40 years, there has been a growing trend toward the utilization of teams for accomplishing work in organizations. Project teams, self-managed work teams and top management teams, among others have become a regular element in the corporation or military. This volume is intended to provide an overview of the current state of the art research on team effectiveness.

Includes coverage of a wide range of human service organizations Uses a systematic & coherent model of organizational analysis

With a focus on relationship building, this book offers theoretical and practical information to organizations considering and negotiating this process. Throughout, the book employs actual case examples of health and human services organizations nationally to illustrate core concepts and offer insights into why and how organizations are forming strategic alliances to fulfill their missions and better address the consumers' needs.