Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work?

Abstract

Citation for published version (APA): Fenton, J. (2016). Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work? Critical and Radical Social Work, 4(2), 199-215. DOI: 10.1332 /204986016X14651166264156General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in Discovery Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from Discovery Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain.• You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. BackgroundProfessionalism is a contested concept in social work. For example, Evers, (in Munday, 2003, p13) states:Summing up one can say that professionalism has two sides: one side may be the often-complained arrogance of power while the other side is the burden of responsibility taken. The latter side can be a good point of reference for those who strive for a better user involvement. To the degree that professionalism puts clients' interests first it can be a strong antidote against old and new ways of putting the interests of authorities, business and providers ahead of the concerns of users and citizens.The point being made here is that professional social workers, notwithstanding that they may also have the power to be authoritarian or paternalistic, can embrace responsibility for decision making and autonomy and can do so on behalf of, and with, the service user. Although the concept of 'professionalism' in social work has also been debated in relation to many associated issues including the place of care, gender influences and semi-professional status (for example, Meagher and Parton (2004), Phillips and Cree (2014), Etzioni (1969)), this paper takes, as its focus, the idea that an essential element of professionalism is the stepping up to decision making, autonomy and advocacy or, in other words, Evers' 'burden of responsibility.' Evetts (2003, p407) illuminates this analysis in her discussion of what professionalism has come to mean in a context of neoliberal managerialism. She states that the original appeal of the professions was the 'power to define the nature 2 of problems in that area as well as the control of access to potential solutions.' Given the shift in social work to purchaser/provider in community care, tightening of resources in every social work sphere and the plethora of diagnostic and risk assessment tools, procedures and rules it is easy to see that the 'appealing' definition of professionalism is decreasingly appropriate in relation to social work pract...

Maintaining professional integrity: experiences of case workers performing the assessments that determine children’s access to personal assistance

“…In her analysis, Evetts (2009) makes a distinction between 'occupational professionalism' , where the focus is on finding appropriate solutions for the service user, and 'organisational professionalism, where the locus of control lies with the authority which prioritizes managerial procedures, budgetary imperatives, performance management and audit. The findings in our study showed that the current use of precedent rulings, medical certification and uniform screening instruments has reinforced the use of standardized procedures and hierarchical structures of authority and decision-making, which corresponds to the idea of organizational professionalism (Evetts 2009;Fenton 2016).…”

Wandering as a Sociomaterial Practice: Extending the Theorization of GPS Tracking in Cognitive Impairment

“…At the time of our empirical work (2015–2017), U.K. health and social care services were severely stretched as a result of “austerity measures” in the public sector (Glasby, 2017), with tightening of resources in every sphere of social work (Fenton, 2016). There was strong pressure at national policy level for local providers to identify and implement innovations to improve efficiency of service provision.…”

“…Evetts (2006) points out two types of professionalism in decision making, termed organizational professionalism (control lies with rational–legal forms of decision making) and occupational professionalism (collegial authority, drawing knowledge and values beyond formal procedures). In studying social care practices, Fenton (2016) warns of the threat that the, increasingly dominant, organizational professionalism framework presents to a working knowledge of the “right thing to do”, the ability to work with service users and put their interests first. She proposes a need for social care to become more conducive to occupation values and a sense of agency rather than procedural sources of knowledge for decision making.…”

Navigating infrastructural mazes

“…Social work professionals juggle a complex network of different moral codes and frameworks, such as their personal norms and values, organisational protocols and resources, and professional standards and legislations (Mänttäri-van der Kuip, 2019; Zacka, 2017). To make sense of the multi-layered ethics involved, they require moral courage (Fenton, 2016) or moral agency (Zacka, 2017). There can be contesting loyalties between trying to do the best for families, but also working amidst organisational aims and restraints.…”

“…In addition, have spoken of an 'electronic turn' or the 'digitalisation' of the job through which daily practices have become formalised through standardised instruments, that allow for continuous data collection on the trajectories of families, but also on the activities or work of professionals (Garrett, 2005;Harris, 2023). Data are translated into organisational (performance) targets and are simultaneously used for accountability, monitoring and evaluation practices (Fenton, 2016;Harris, 2023). There is wide-spread concern that standardised instruments and related indicators of targets are prioritised over direct work with families in social work practice, leading to calls for a renewed focus on practice (Broadhurst et al, 2010;Martinell Barfoed, 2018;Peckover et al, 2011).…”