Health and Social Care Provider Decision - Outline Example

?The paper highlights the impact of a social worker’s values and ethics while making critical decisions. The core purpose is to provide a detailed insight regarding the consequences of making wrong decisions on part of their clients and how that affects the overall organization’s image. Moreover, the paper draws attention to the management theories, ethical issues, management policies, and managerial styles that have an influence on the overall performance of a social worker. In order to gain a proper understanding of this paper, the Baby Peter case has been chosen. The case has provided supporting literature regarding social worker’s key concerns. Social worker Social workers are the people who have the obligation to assist people in adjusting to complications and problems in their lives like illness, child abuse, job hunt, mental illness, handicaps and any sort of anti-social behavior. The main duty and responsibility of the social workers is to help people in their problems, provide counseling and linking their problem with the rules and policies of the state. The most important concern for the social worker is to provide a healthy and safe environment to the children as they are the future prospect of the state (Firestone, 2002). Baby P case There are a number of cases where social and health mangers have not delivered their duties properly and the victims of social crime had to suffer a lot. One of such cases is of “Baby P case”, which is also known as “Baby Peter case”. The case revolves around a 17 months old boy, who was killed due to the negligence of a social worker. The summary of this case is that baby Peter was abused and beaten to death by his step-father. Although, his stepfather and mother were arrested a number of times, in the mean time Peter was kept in care by a health care provider, but was later given back to the parents. Just a few days before Peter’s death, the social worker missed the injuries on his face and hands. The boy was found dead in his cot with his spine broken and severe bruises all over the body. Peter’s mother and his step father were jailed for several years. Moreover, the social worker and 3 mangers from Haringey council and a doctor were dismissed because of neglecting their due responsibility (Fresco, 2008). Contextual Factors The underlying factors that led to Peter’s death were: (1) The irresponsibility and negligence of his mother as she left Peter unattended while staying busy in pornography; (2) The social workers who came by to check on the baby, as they had left him with his mother with a belief that his mother seems very caring; this was neglect on their behalf; (3) The doctor who, due to his negligence, while examining Peter, was unable to find the broken ribs and spine. So, everyone on their behalf neglected the poor baby, all of which led to his death. Management theories Management basically is aligning people to achieve organizational goals. The management theories help establishing a road map and linking principles and concepts for a specific purpose. The main and recent theories are Systems Approach, Contingency theory, Chaos theory, and Team Building theory. (1)System approach: It emphasizes the fact that an organization is interrelated, that its actions and decisions taken in one organizational department will affect other departments as well. (2)Contingency theory: An approach that says that every organization is different from others; it faces different situations and requires different ways for managing the situation. (3): Chaos theory: It says that some situations are uncontrollable, at times the organization gets complex and it becomes hard to maintain stability. (4)Team Building theory: The approach emphasizes building teams, maintaining quality and reducing the level of hierarchy (Robbins & Coulter 2008, pp. 35-36). Interrelationship between Management theories and social worker’s practices In Baby Peter case, the social worker’s and doctor’s conduct had an effect on the respective social service provider and the hospital. Therefore, the System approach counts here, which recognizes the effect of a single employee’s behavior and actions upon the overall management and goodwill of the organization. Social workers should know the importance of team work while working in an organization. A single wrong decision by a social worker can impact the overall reputation and functioning of the organization. Henceforth, it is totally up to the social worker’s Council’s discretion that how effectively it can manage its staff. The social worker’s behaviors are eventually translated to the overall firms’ performance. Management styles Moreover, there are two types of management styles that are usually followed: autocratic and permissive. In autocratic style, leaders make all the decision and direct their followers; while in permissive style, involvement from the followers and employees is valued when making decisions. In “Baby P” case, the management style is autocratic because the social and health manager made the decision on his own, rather than involving his sub-ordinates. If he had involved others while making the decision, the consequences would have been way different. The health manager neglected his duties, if only he had involved other employees while examining Peter, the probability of finding bruises and injuries on his body would have been increased, and Peter’s life could have been saved. Ethical issues Today, the concept of ethics is gaining immense attention due to an increased diversity in the workforce. Diversity means that people from different cultures, religion, education, experiences and ethnicity have different ways of thinking or looking at a particular scenario. There are different levels of ethics which are: individual ethics, organizational ethics, association, societal and international ethics (Weiss 2008, pp.11). Each level has its own importance and significance. Individual ethics means that every individual has their own ethics at his personal level and has their own way of making ethical judgments. The organizational ethics basically involve the ethical code of conduct that is given by the organization to its employees. Here, employees at times have to make a wise decision between their personal and organizational ethics. Moreover, organizational policies shape up the behavior of employees, hence, proper enforcement of organizational policies is highly recommended so that not a single employee loses his/her track in achieving organizational goals. Importance of personal ethics for social workers In Baby Peter’s case, the personal ethics of the social worker, health care manager, and the doctor were questionable. It is their foremost duty to help people in trouble. So, if they are unable to deliver what is expected of them, then their occupation is good for nothing. Moreover, if organizations have strict ethical codes, then whether or not personal ethics are dwindling, the organizational ethics will force them to act in a prospective way. The code of ethics provides rules of conduct which help the social workers in sustaining a good reputation within their organization. There are a number of factors that the social workers have to see before finalizing the decision to ensure the alignment of social worker’s values and ethics (Reamer, 2006). Management style and social worker’s decision The social workers’ council should provide the best possible environment for their employees. Moreover, they have to ensure a proper evaluation and feedback system that will increase the employees’ job loyalty and commitment towards their work. A proper and timely involvement in feedback with the social workers will help them polish their skills and better interpret the situation. Likewise, if Haringey and St Ann’s Hospital had implemented permissive structure, where employees were involved in making decisions, along with their employers, the consequences would have been different. This structure would have enforced the social workers, health care managers and doctors to consult and discuss the situation with their colleagues, subordinates, and most importantly with their employers. If Peter’s situation had come into the senior employers’ knowledge, the outcomes of this case could have been changed. The Baby Peter’s case is one of many cases, which is highlighted due to the negligence of the social and health care providers from their duties and responsibilities. These social workers and doctors take oath at the time of their degree fulfillment that they will help their fellow beings in their difficulties and sufferings. So, if they are not delivering what is expected from their job, then they are useless and good for nothing. Although, at times the social workers have to face a situation where the victim’s direct relatives are guilty and the social workers usually never suspect them as guilty. As in the Baby Peter’s case where Peter’s mother was at fault, but was never suspected for Peter’s injuries. However, in such scenarios it is nonetheless social worker’s duty to get to the root cause of the problem and resolve the issue in the best possible way. Moreover, it is the duty of the social workers and managers to properly examine the situation rather than just inspecting it superficially. Although, commonly it is true that a baby is best protected in his mother’s care, however, the situation can vary, as it did in the case of Peter. Conclusion Although, the work done by social workers and doctors is worth appreciating in general, but cases like Baby Peter make us feel depressed by their conduct. Therefore, the work done by them is good, but also critical as it is the matter of life and death. Moreover, a single decision if made correctly can bring life for someone and vice versa. If only the doctor or the social worker had correctly scrutinized the situation and made proper decisions, Peter’s life could have been saved. So critically, the carelessness on behalf of the social worker’s duties and responsibilities is a major issue of concern these days, because of the increasing rate of social crime. Today, social workers are gaining increased attention because of the efforts they are putting in order to eradicate the social evils. So the policies should be vigilant enough for the social worker, so that they can make the best possible efforts to make the right decisions. References 1. Firestone, M., 2002. Social Workers. USA: Capstone Press. 2. Fresco, A., 2008. After 17 months of unimaginable cruelty, Baby P finally succumbed. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 23rd March 2011]. 3. Reamer, F.G., 2006. Social work values and ethics.USA: Columbia University Press. 4. Robbins, S.P and Coulter, M., 2008.Management.9th ed. India: Pearson Education India. p. 35-36. 5. Weiss, J.W., 2008. Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach. 3rd ed. Canada: Cengage Learning. p.11. Read More