CRONASIA FOUNDATION COLLEGE, INC.

Pioneer Avenue, General Santos City

PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL WELFARE

AND DEVELOPMENT

Submitted to:

Delfin J. Amoguis, Jr., RSW

Instructor

Submitted by:

Ian Mark L. Duyac

Student
SOCIAL WORK ADMINISTRATION

Social Work Administration provided knowledge on Administrative Applications

on Social Welfare Organizations or a Project functioning for social welfare which is
similar to an Organization. For professional proficiency a social worker understand the
value and need of administrative application in “Social Work”.

Social Work Administration is only application of administrative principles to

Social Work which builds proficiency, effectiveness and goal achievement in Project
Administration. The project may be short or long but to run an organization,
administrative principles are highly necessary. In single lines “Administration” denotes
the purposeful application of knowledge, skills, and values to such tasks of defining
objectives and planning programs, mobilizing and maintaining resources, and
evaluating outcomes.

Concept of Administration in Study of Social Work Modern nations are based on

democratic principles and ideologies of public welfare. The principles of people’s
participation in governmental work and policy for people’s welfare generated and
activated governmental work and involved the government for encouraged more and
more social welfare for the common mass. Basically the developing countries
implemented different social policies for the weaker sections to get into national
mainstream of socio-economic development .

This demanded state intervention and the concept of welfare signifies wide sense
of socio-economic development came into existence . In India, after independence with
the advancement of Planning Commissions’ work, a number of voluntary organizations
were come into existence. The applications of management into voluntary organizations
are became demand and necessary. The administrative theories were not new to
Organizational Functions in connection to social scientists; they developed a number of
theories to suit the Social Welfare Organizational work. Previously these theories were
considered as the back bone of “Public Administration”.

The importance of administration came to lime light. If we define the

“Administration” then we have to search its origin. The word “Administer” is derived
the Latin word “ad” and ‘minitstrate’ .This means to “to ministrate to” ,”to serve” or
“to manage”.The Dictionary meaning of administration is the management not only the
management affairs, rather it has universal application in nature in all the
organisational’s discipline. This is true to the sense, for any developmental work an
organisation is necessary and for running an organisation for people’s development,
planning is necessary decision, recruitment of good staffs, budgets are the associated
elements which make success the organizational work .

Thus different views and comments were related as:

1. One group (Integral) viewed that all activities like physical, psychological,
clerical, and managerial attaining the purpose comprise administration, Where as
 2. Managerial view suggested that only administration is concerned with the
management, direction, supervision and control of human being are to next. In simply it
says for a definite objective, individuals brought together and it is the need of application
of administration as “doing the work” properly. The persons who are responsible they
are in charge of ordering, forwarding and facilitating with a joint initiation for achieving
the goal needs to work under an administration purview . As we say earlier that
profession of social work is now no more limited to a person or a group only. Major
social problems now professionally handled by constructive and creative projects and
programmes .If there will no implementing agency how we can handle the situation
professionally. We are using the term “Professionally” which is a present time demand.
It means that “Skill Development” is necessary and adaptation of knowledge and skill
development of the profession for the solutions of the social problems depends upon
the effective and efficient functioning of executives related to administrative success.
Administrative principles intervention into social welfare organizational work requires
knowledge, skill and attitudes development among the executives who will handle the
objective of an organisation successfully and effectively.

Skidmore have more emphasised about “Social Work Administration” that “in
action of staff members who utilise social processes to transform in social policies of
agencies into the delivery of social service. Thus, social work administration is a
cooperative and coordinated endeavor involving all members of an organization, each
of whom contributes in varied manners to the processes of goal formulation, planning,
implementation, change and evaluation.

SOCIAL PLANNING

Social planning is a process for planning social services programs, services, and
policies. Government agencies engage in large-scale development, research, and
planning to address social problems. For example, the Social Security program during
the Great Depression and the antipoverty programs of the 1960s were developed by
government planners relying on research, previous theories, and model programs
initiated by local, state, and foreign governments. However, nonprofit agencies, local
planning councils, and community groups also plan services and programs to address
community needs. The term “social planning” is used generically to describe the
planning of social services or efforts to improve the quality of life in communities. Social
planning is also referred to as “neighborhood planning” if it takes place in community
settings. Planning education is typically offered in graduate programs in urban planning,
public health, and social work, but the emphasis on the types and venues appropriate
for planning differ by discipline.

Most social workers are likely to engage in social planning at the agency level
when they design a new program to address client needs or write a funding proposal.
Although many social workers are involved to some degree in agency-level planning,
social planning is generally considered a subfield, separate and distinct from practice
with individuals, groups, and families. Rothman 1979 and Rothman 1996 identify social
planning as one of three primary models of community organization in addition to social
action and community development. Rothman describes the primary goal of social
planning as problem solving. Social planners gather the facts about community
problems, analyze data, and make logical decisions about which of the available
planning options are the most feasible or effective. Much of the social work literature on
this topic describes social planning techniques and their application to various forms of
community and administrative practice. For example, Weil 2005describes how planning
takes place in communities and the skills necessary to facilitate the planning
process. Meenaghan, et al. 2004 describes how applied research techniques such as
needs assessment and program evaluation are used to guide social planning and social
policy analysis Checkoway 1995 examines how social planning methods are applied in
urban areas. Austin and Solomon 2000 describes techniques used to plan programs
and service delivery systems.

Social planning emphasizes the application of rational problem-solving

techniques and data-driven approaches to identify, determine, and help coordinate
services for target populations. Social planning is carried out by a myriad of
organizations—from federal agencies to community organizations—attempting to solve
problems ranging from child welfare to aging. The advantages and disadvantages of
this empirically objective data-driven approach, including different forms, will be
discussed along with past, current, and future trends within the field of social work.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 

Sustainable Development is the organizing principle for meeting human

development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to
provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which
the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living
conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the
integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development can be classified
as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations.

While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the
1987 Brundtland Report, it is also rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest
management and twentieth century environmental concerns. As the concept developed,
it has shifted to focus more on economic development, social development and
environmental protection for future generations. It has been suggested that "the term
'sustainability' should be viewed as humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem
equilibrium (homeostasis), while 'sustainable development' refers to the holistic
approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end point of sustainability". [1] The
modern economies are endeavouring to reconcile ambitious economic development
and obligations of preserving the natural resources and ecosystem, the two are
traditionally seen as of conflicting nature. Instead of holding climate change
commitments and other sustainability measures as a drug to economic development,
turning and leveraging them into market opportunities will do greater good. The
economic development brought by such organized principles and practices in
an economy is called Managed Sustainable Development (MSD).

The concept of sustainable development has been—and still is—subject to

criticism, including the question of what is to be sustained in sustainable development. It
has been argued[weasel  words] that there is no such thing as a sustainable use of a non-
renewable resource, since any positive rate of exploitation will eventually lead to the
exhaustion of earth's finite stock. The United Nations organized an international
conference in Stockholm, Sweden from 5 to 16 June 1972. [2]
PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT

Participatory development is a process through which stakeholders can influence

and share control over development initiatives, and over the decisions and resources
that affect themselves.

Seeks to engage local populations in development projects. Participatory

development has taken a variety of forms since it emerged in the 1970s, when it was
introduced as an important part of the “basic needs approach” to development. Most
manifestation of public participation in development see “to give the poor a part in
initiatives designed for their benefit” in the hopes that development project will be more
sustainable and successful if local populations are engaged in the development
process. PD has become an increasingly accepted method of development practice and
is employed by a variety of organization. It is often presented as an alternative to
mainstream “top-down” development. There is some question about the proper
definition of PD as it varies depending on the perspective applied. Two perspectives
that can define PD are the “Social Movement Perspective” and the “Institutional
Perspective”.

GOAL ORIENTED PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Is a management philosophy accompanied by a set of tools and principles for

planning, organizing, leading and controlling projects. The methods is characterized by
its practical and “psychological” approach to both focusing a project group to reach
common goals and controlling the progress of each individual.

GENDER AND WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT

In the 1980s further reflections on the development experiences of women gave

rise to ender and Development (GAD). GAD represented a coming together of many
feminist ideas. It sought to bring together both the lessons learned from, and the
limitations of, the WID and WAD approaches while the women in development by the
1970s it had become very clear that women were being left out of development. They
were not benefiting significantly from it and in some instances their existing status and
position in society was actually being made worse by development.

EMPOWERMENT AND RESILIENCY MODEL

 Resilience and empowerment are widely employed concepts in community
psychology and other social sciences. Although empowerment is more closely
associated with community psychology, both concepts hone to community psychology’s
strength-based values, recognizing, respecting and promoting local capacity and
positive outcomes. Both concepts also have been critiqued for lacking clear consensus
regarding definition, operationalization, and measurement (Cattaneo and Chapman in
Am Psychol 65 (7): 646-659, 2010, Luther et. al. in Child Dev 71 (3): 543+562, 2000).
This deficiency is reflected in the wide ranging applications of each term independently,
and is particularly concerning when the terms are used together or interchangeably.
Theoretical work on these concepts’ boundaries and interaction is lacking.

RIGHT BASED APPROACH

Too often, emergency response is limited to addressing practical, short-term

emergency needs, through service delivery. Without minimizing the value of these
services or their importance, they do not always fit within a framework that protects and
promotes the rights of beneficiaries, like a rights-based approach would do. A rights-
based approach is particularly important when working on VAWG, which cannot be
addressed without working on basic gender equality rights and its root causes.

As demonstrated in the table below, a rights-based approach invests

beneficiaries as ‘rights-holders’, creates an avenue for their voices to be heard, and
enables them to play an active role in rebuilding and development—as opposed to
providing support or services on an assumed needs basis and having no say in what
action is taken. 

NEEDS-BASED APPROACH RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH

Works toward outcome goals Works toward outcome and process goals
Emphasizes meeting needs Emphasizes realizing rights
Recognizes needs as valid claims Recognizes that rights always imply
obligations of the State
Meets needs without empowerment Recognizes that rights can only be
realized with empowerment
Accepts charity as the driving motivation States that charity is insufficient
for meeting needs motivation for meeting needs
Focuses on manifestations of problems Focuses on manifestations of problems
and immediate causes of problems and immediate causes of problems
Involves narrow sectoral projects Involves intersectoral, holistic projects and
programmes
Focuses on social context with little Focuses on social, economic, cultural,
emphasis on policy civil and political context, and is policy-
oriented
Source: UNFPA, 2012, Managing Gender-based Violence Programmes in
Emergencies. E-Learning Companion Guide, page 90, available
in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

A rights-based approach:

o Integrates international human rights and humanitarian law norms,

standards and principles into plans, policies, services and processes of
humanitarian intervention and development related to violence against women.
o Is multi-sectoral and comprehensive.
o Involves many actors and stakeholders (state and non-state).
o Must be addressed within the context of the prevailing political, legal,
social and cultural norms and values in a country or community.

A rights-based approach also seeks to empower women and girls. 

‘Empowerment’ implies that women are powerful in the face of adversity and
approaches must build on that. Empowerment programming involves building the tools
and resources necessary on an individual and community level to strengthen women
and girls’ ability to make life choices that affect their social and physical well-being.

These choices include decisions regarding their sexual health, livelihoods,

continuing education and the use and control of social and economic resources. This
requires programmes to work with men and entire communities to create an
environment where women and girls are supported to make these decisions safely. It
also means building the capacity of communities to identify and change the structural
environment that enables violence against women and girls to continue. It requires long-
term engagement from the outset of an emergency through until peace and
development have truly come to women and girls. Examples of empowerment
programming include: ensuring access to information in the earliest days of the
emergency, supporting women’s choice in using the family planning method they want
to use, working with men in Village Savings Loan Associations to allow women to have
more voice in the home and reduce violence, and creating a larger environment where
women can move around safely (Source:  IRC FAQs, 2011).

Applying a rights-based approach to VAWG responses in conflict/post-conflict

settings can strengthen the accountability of all humanitarian actors including the UN
and governments by promoting participation and inclusion; in turn, this can reinforce a
culturally sensitive and non-discriminatory response to emergencies. By understanding
the social factors that influence decision-making during conflicts, and actively
recognizing and analyzing changing roles and vulnerabilities of women and men, a
rights-based approach can mitigate the short-term and long-term negative effects of a
crisis situation (UNFPA and Harvard School of Public Health, 2010).  
 Mechanisms for assisting ‘rights holders’ to claim rights include:
o Sensitization/awareness of rights holders and duty bearers
o Advocacy to duty bearers
o Participation and empowerment of rights holders
o Ensuring national legislation and legislative oversight mechanisms
 o Reporting obligations to UN monitoring mechanisms (narrative
reports/data)
o Civil society “shadow reporting” (for example, on CEDAW) (excerpted
from UNFPA, Curriculum Guide GBV Coordination Course, p 81)

A rights-based approach to address poverty in social work would imply the focus

and attention on the attainment of a human life with respect and dignity for those that
face much vulnerability in society as an outcome of being poor. In the development
literature where this approach has been widely used, the approach is multi-thronged
with implications for legal, socioeconomic and political rights (Insight Share, 2011).
Historically, the rights-based approach was used by development organizations
because the earlier models of delivery of goods and services by the welfare state to
address systemic problems of poverty and marginalization was deemed unsuccessful
on various fronts (Offenheiser & Holcombe, 2003). Essentially, the rights-
based approach reconceptualizes our understanding about poverty by elaborating afund
amental difference in our understanding of the ‘poor as helpless victims’. It
explains poverty as an outcome of social exclusion and marginalization and envisions th
at the poor are stakeholders who are capable of shaping their destiny. Therefore the
poor are no longer perceived as vulnerable citizens who merely need public goods and
services to alleviate their suffering, but they are stakeholders who challenge the
fundamentals of how resources and goods are allocated and distributed in society. The
rights-based approaches have been used and understood in many different ways in the
development literature with some of the fundamental principles of this
perspectiveincluding; participation, accountability, equality and nondiscrimination, transp
arency, and empowerment (Gready, 2008). Rights-based approaches have their root in
the fundamentals of human rights perspectives that address issues of inalienable
political, economic, legal and social rights for those that are disenfranchised in the
society.However, it is widely acknowledged that the human rights perspective in general
has been unable to address poverty and propoor policy related issues for a very long ti
me(Gready, 2008). For example, poverty related issues were not central to the human
rights discussion early on mainly because of the over emphasis on civil and political
rights for most of the 20th century (Lauren, 1998).

STRENGTHS-BASED PERSPECTIVE

Is a specific method of working with and resolving challenges experienced by the

engaged person. It does not attempt to ignore the problems and difficulties. Rather, it
attempts to identify the positive basis of the person’s resources (or what may need to be
added) and strengths that will lay the basis to address the challenges resulting from the
problems. The strengths of a person give one a sense of how things might be and ideas
about how to bring about the desired changes.