# Social work management > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Social_work_management > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Social_work_management.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_work_management > Source revision: 1348222938 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{TOC left}} thumb|Local disability theatre group '''Social work management''' is the [management](/source/management) of organisations or enterprises in the [social economy](/source/social_economy) and [non-profit](/source/Nonprofit_organization) sector, e.g., [public service](/source/public_service) providers, [charities](/source/Charitable_organization), [youth welfare](/source/youth_welfare) offices, associations, etc.{{Cite journal|last=Austin|first=Michael J.|date=2018-12-01|title=Social Work Management Practice, 1917–2017: A History to Inform the Future|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/701278|journal=Social Service Review|volume=92|issue=4|pages=548–616|doi=10.1086/701278|s2cid=149612302|issn=0037-7961|url-access=subscription}} Social work management has been traditionally pursued by [social workers](/source/Social_work), [social pedagogues](/source/Social_pedagogy), [pedagogues](/source/Pedagogy), [psychologist](/source/psychologist)s without additional management skills and knowledge or legal practitioners and [business economists](/source/Business_economics) – often without reference to the social economy. Furthermore, Social work management is a field of education & practice established since 1980s in Europe & North America that focuses on person-centred leadership, motivation & strategic issues. It manages organizations in social economy & non-profit sector. Most scholars and practitioners agree that social work managers need to have a high degree of [leadership](/source/leadership) skills to make considered managerial decisions, to empower social workers, to develop staff within and collaborate with partners outside the [social](/source/Social_organisation) and [human service organisation](/source/Human_services).{{Cite web|date=2015-09-17|title=Competencies|url=https://socialworkmanager.org/competencies/|access-date=2021-07-18|website=The Network for Social Work Management|language=en-US}} Social work management as a field of social work education and practice was established in many [universities](/source/universities) in [Europe](/source/Europe) and [North America](/source/North_America) since the 1980s.{{Cite web|last=Patti|first=Rino J.|date=2013-06-11|title=Management: Overview|url=https://oxfordre.com/socialwork/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-589|access-date=2021-07-17|website=Encyclopedia of Social Work|language=en|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.589|isbn=978-0-19-997583-9}} Established qualifications in higher education first included diplomas in social economy. It originally focused on person-centred leadership, motivation and strategic issues. It combines management with social pedagogical, psychological, and sociological knowledge and skills. ==Definition== In today's understanding, social management includes all management functions that are necessary for the management of social and/or [non-profit organizations](/source/Nonprofit_organization). This includes [finance](/source/finance) and [accounting](/source/accounting) of social organizations, development of [mission statements](/source/Mission_statement) and [concepts](/source/Concept_development_and_experimentation), city and social [marketing](/source/marketing), [public relations](/source/public_relations), [organizational development](/source/Organization_development), [human resource management](/source/human_resource_management), [project management](/source/project_management), [quality management](/source/quality_management) and other sub-disciplines of management and business administration.{{Cite journal |last=Wimpfheimer |first=Shelly |date=2004-04-21 |title=Leadership and Management Competencies Defined by Practicing Social Work Managers |url=https://doi.org/10.1300/J147v28n01_04 |journal=Administration in Social Work |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=45–56 |doi=10.1300/J147v28n01_04 |issn=0364-3107|url-access=subscription }} In contrast to management in other industries, branches and areas of the economy (e.g. [sports management](/source/Sports_Management_Worldwide) or [media](/source/Media_management) and [education management](/source/Educational_management)), social work management takes into account characteristics especially of organizations in the [social sector](/source/Social_economy): the provision of [person-centered social services](/source/Social_services), the peculiarities of non-profit organizations and, in particular, [labour and welfare services](/source/Labour_and_Welfare_Service), the close integration into the [social law](/source/social_law) as well as the character of the services as [merit goods](/source/Merit_good). With the increasing spread of private providers, social work management is also referred to as the management of enterprises in the social economy. Against this background, social work management can also be understood as a so-called specialised form of [business administration](/source/business_administration) for social enterprises or companies. Some authors also understand social work management as the management of people with special consideration of human relationships in the sense of human resources management. However, this understanding does not apply to all [social services organizations](/source/Social_services). A [systemic approach](/source/Systems_theory) to social work management also takes into account emotions, different meanings, and various relationships. When providing social services, the focus lies on the professional development of empathic and trusting relationships with the recipients of these services. == Theoretical Foundations == alt=Hybrid Function of Social Work Management Education|thumb|Figure 1: Hybrid Function of Social Work Management Education{{Cite journal |last=Arnold |first=Maik |date=2022-06-16 |title=Hybrid Function of Social Work Management Education |publisher=Figshare |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.20079650.v1 |doi-access=free}} The theoretical foundations of social work management are rooted in [social work](/source/social_work) theories and principles as well as [management studies](/source/Management_Studies).{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Maik |title=Social Work Leadership and Management: Current Approaches and Concepts for Social and Human Service Organisations |series=SpringerBriefs in Social Work |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-031-17631-9 |location=Cham |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-17632-6}} These theories help us understand how people act and how [social](/source/social) and [economic](/source/economic) factors affect that [behaviour](/source/Behavior). Theories like [systems theory](/source/systems_theory), [psychodynamic theory](/source/psychodynamic_theory), and [human behaviour](/source/Human_behavior) in the [social environment](/source/social_environment) theory are used to guide the way social work management is done. Understanding the theories behind social work management is important for making good decisions in the field that are [socially sustainable](/source/socially_sustainable).{{Cite web |last=United National Global Compact |title=Social Sustainability |url=https://unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/social#:~:text=Social%20sustainability%20is%20about%20identifying,with%20its%20stakeholders%20is%20critical. |access-date=2023-03-12}} Social Work management is an [interdisciplinary](/source/Interdisciplinarity) and [transdisciplinary](/source/Transdisciplinarity) subject that is marked by it hybrid function (see figure 1), including other academic disciplines such as [business](/source/Business_science) and [economics](/source/economics), [public management](/source/Public_Management), [social sciences](/source/Social_science), [humanities](/source/humanities), [sustainability sciences](/source/Sustainability_science), [cultural studies](/source/cultural_studies), [political sciences](/source/Political_science), [law studies](/source/Jurisprudence), etc. == Principles == Some principles of social work management are also included in national quality standards (e.g. [NASW Standards for Social Work Case Management](/source/National_Association_of_Social_Workers)). == Methods of Teaching and Learning == Despite the fact that there is already a vast amount of literature available about [management education](/source/management_education) and learning as well as [social work education](/source/Social_work), the development of social work management education as a specific academic sub-discipline is still in progress and under discussion.{{Cite book |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-18038-5 |title=Handbook of Applied Teaching and Learning in Social Work Management Education |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2023 |editor-last=Arnold |editor-first=Maik |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-18038-5|isbn=978-3-031-18037-8 }} == References == {{reflist}} Category:Social work Category:Management Category:Social sciences Category:Education Category:Interdisciplinary subfields of economics Category:Transdisciplinarity {{socialwork-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Social work management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_work_management) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_work_management?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.