|
Article Excerpt
John McKnights 1995 The Careless Society is widely used in social work programs. Although it offers instructive reading, it also presents a one-sided view of service provision. This article seeks to provide balance and perspective to McKnight's assertions and may be useful as a companion paper for courses using the book.
In The Careless Society McKnight (1995) discussed and criticized service delivery systems vis-a-vis community. McKnight argued that service industries seek to perpetuate themselves rather than help their clients. Furthermore, he argued that the very existence of these services undermines people's sense of community and connectedness by supplanting personal and informal supports and relationships.
McKnight (1995) specifically wrote of the professionalization of the medical, human services, and criminal justice "industries." A recurring theme is that professionals define the problem, provide the services to address the problem, and are the only ones who can decide when the problem is resolved. He stated that "the client as a person has been a residual category in the process" (p. 19). The client is simply an object, not an active participant.
McKnight's focus is on the service industry in general and its focus on providers rather than clients. The assembly-line delivery of social services by large government bureaucracies, however, seems to exemplify everything that McKnight feels is wrong with service delivery. Bureaucracies contain layers of management...
|
|
More articles from Social Work
In their words: secondary traumatic stress in social workers respondin..., July 01, 2007
The importance of revitalizing management education for social workers..., July 01, 2007
Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication
name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company
analysis or best practices in managing your organization,
Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business
professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible,
authoritative information they need to support their business
goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting,
company research or defining management best practices -
Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
|
|
