Social Work and Its Role in Creating a Just Society - Personal Statement Example

Personal ment- Social Work and its Role in Creating a Just Society s 5 January Personal ment- Social Work and its Role in Creating a Just Society 1.0 Introduction Social work is a dedicated profession that seeks to enhance the necessary capacity of human beings in issues that require solutions especially those involving complex societal problems. The profession calls for actions that help to create an increasingly compassionate and just society to the people in various needs. As a profession, social work focuses more on the strengths rather than weaknesses of individuals and the communities at large. This is particularly important since the deployment of those strengths are necessary for finding creative explanations to the available intricate social problems. A common characteristic of the profession is in the resolute commitment to social justice which is demonstrated through actions of empowering the individuals and communities involved so that they can meet their requirements. Today, professions in social work have grown in popularity especially if the increased diversity of the employment opportunities are to go by. For example, social workers today play various roles in the society such as; Case managers and coordinators of various services such as child welfare, general homecare health, and well-being of people with disabilities. Counselors- social workers provide counselling services to people in various situations such as during bereavement, rehabilitation, substance abuse, adoption and mental disabilities among other areas. Administrators- the professionals can also provide administration services in human services agencies. Other common roles and responsibilities for social workers include human rights activism, community developers, policy analysts for the general public and in justice systems for both the adults and juveniles. Usually, professionals in social work can be found in hospitals, schools, governmental agencies, and human service agencies among other institutions. 2.0 Ways through which social work as a profession creates a just society In his book, Michael Sandel tries to explain the components of a just society and how such a society can be created. He expounds his concept through a four-part approach that seeks to respond to the widely held question on what comprises of a just society. I will break down the four approaches as explained by Sandel that can be used to create such a society. Correspondingly, I will proceed to demonstrate how social work fits perfectly in matching these approaches in what ultimately leads to more justice in a society. 2.1 Sandel’s basic approaches to social justice Utilitarianism- according to this approach, a society’s collective happiness reigns supreme over all other concerns such as method through which this happiness is achieved. Therefore, it does not really matter if an increase in the societal collective happiness equates to allowance of an injustice to another segment of the people elsewhere. Libertarianism- through this approach, all members of the society are at liberty to exercise personal freedom as long as they respects each other’s people’s freedom. All members are bound by a contract which ensures that everyone’s freedom is protected. The contracts are enforced and administered by a governing body which protects the people and their contracts. In most cases, there are instances of unfairness due to a disparity in the treatment of various individuals since equality is not always observed in such a society. The welfare state- a society that embraces this society is characterized by cases of compensation for the various imbalances that may occur in the treatment of various entities in a society. This approach seeks to create a fair society through methods such as creation of equal opportunities for education, promotion of diversity, and free access to social services among others. It is considered that all people in such a society deserve to be served in equal measures. The difference principle- lastly, this approach view a just society as ideally not achievable due to factors such as various individuals’ family background or talents and abilities. It, therefore, allows some level of social and economic inequalities based on individuals’ ability to benefit the society. This means that those who benefit the society the most are allowed to gain better social and economic terms than the rest albeit, not at the expense of others. This approach encourages the use of talents and other gifts to create wealth and riches without subjecting these people to penalties that would force them to remain in level with the rest of the society in a show of parity (Sandel, 2010). 3.0 The role of social work in creating a just society- My understanding Following my extensive experience of over five years at the position of a case manager in several human service agencies, I have learnt over the time that social work can be used as a tool for change in the society. As earlier explained, social work professionals have numerous roles in a society and thus through them, justice can be achieved. Explained below are ways through which social work can be used to create justice in a society. Social work can enhance the well-being of the society through helping it to meet the people’s basic human needs especially those living in poverty, the neglected, oppressed and vulnerable in the society. Through its professionals, social work can help to address common problems that face such people living in poor environments. Social work can be used as an instrument to challenge social injustices, and this is especially done on behalf of the oppressed in the society. Social work can help to induce change in areas of unemployment, poverty and various forms of discrimination among other forms of injustice. For example, in a utilitarian sort of approach to society justice explained earlier, social work can help to bring modesty and parity in ensuring everyone gets a rightful treatment in a society. Through the activities of social workers such as campaigns and movements, the society gets access to the much needed information, resources and services that ensures that everyone gets entitled to equal opportunities. Such opportunities offered through social work are necessary especially in enabling the society in participating in important decision-making processes. Social work also helps to enlighten the public and the general society on the need of respecting the cultural and social diversity of all in a society. Through its professionals, social work can help to promote practices and policies that demonstrate respect for these differences thereby confirming the equity for all people. 4.0 Reasons for my interest in a social work career A common phrase widely used today states that ‘Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life’. This is exactly how community work has been to me for the longest that I can remember. It has always had a huge urge of helping and working with people of varying personalities and backgrounds. My early life involved numerous interactions with social workers which helped me to gain a clear understanding of what the field entails. I was always attracted to their courses of intervention especially in cases of social injustices and other forms of inequities in the society. These interactions helped me to develop sensitivity and empathy in regard to the welfare of others. This was one of my initial steps to developing the necessary skills for social workers. I always reflected my challenges during upbringing and used these reflections to understand better what other disadvantaged people in the society went through. As I grew up, I developed a compassion in the old and the disabled in the society. I would create opportunities in my private time to visit them at their homes or at the health facilities. I would ensure that I would leave them in more jovial moods through helping them to open up to me on issues that worried them. Through these experiences, I decided that I would love to further my education and consequently pursue a career in social work which I found to be very satisfactory to me. Also, having served in a managerial position in various human service agencies for over five years, I well understand what to be a social worker means and it is my hope that I can move and comfortably serve in that position now. 5.0 My experience as a necessity in helping me serve as a social work professional in a multi-cultural environment A career in social work calls for certain qualities and qualifications, chief among them being good communication skills. This is a necessary skill since during most of the time, social work professionals are interacting with their clients and other people involved. Having brought up in one of the most metropolitan cities in the US, it only meant that I had a prime opportunity of interacting with people from most parts of the world. This included Americans of Asian descent, African Americans, Hispanics and the Native Americans among others. This allowed me to learn more about various cultural backgrounds and even new languages. I learnt more on their way of living, their norms and beliefs and even the varying accents that enabled me to communicate with them better. Additionally, I started my career in the field of human services, serving as a manager in various agencies across the country. The career involves a lot of communication with the clients in the quest of getting to understand their needs better. In other cases, the case manager is required to act as the clients’ advocate thus speaking on behalf of them in such cases. During my case management career that has spanned over five years, I was able to interact with numerous clients from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. For this reason, I have developed several important skills in the course of that career to enable me have a successful career this far. I have learnt diverse practices and beliefs that comprise the American society today which is such an important aspect for success in a social work career. In addition, I have been involved in other collective activities in the past such as volunteer work and social campaigns on areas of health awareness (Cancer and HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns), drug abuse and child care and protection. These are social gatherings and movements which have enabled me to interact with people of various cultural backgrounds. The interactions also lead to opportunities of linking with the people involved thus creating valuable networks necessary for succeeding in a career in social work. An added advantage to me involves my compatible hobbies to a career in social work which include travelling and reading books. I have travelled to most parts of our country, and this proved to be a good opportunity of learning the cultural diversity in our country. I also have read a wide variety of books by various authors which has also been a good source of cultural information and comparison. Through these avenues, I have learnt a lot on the multi-faceted dimension of cultures in our country and how each can affect my success in a career in social work. 6.0 Probable challenges that I may face in my social work career According to widespread research, social workers are often at loss when it comes to burnouts and job satisfaction. As could be the case with other professionals in social work, there is a high probability that I too will face similar challenges with the others. Some of the probable challenges include increase in workload, stress, challenging clients and technology among others. Increased workload There have been increasingly growing figures seeking social work professional services in the recent years despite a negligible increase in the numbers of the professionals. This has led to increased workloads to the professionals available due to the increasing demand for their services. Additionally, there has been increased paperwork requirements and others such as disclosures needed and this has also contributed to the added workload. It is likely that this is one of the major challenges to expect in my work. Stress Generally, social work professionals make up a segment of workers who experience a higher level of work-related stress. In some cases, this type of stress is referred to as the compassionate fatigue owing this description to the work that they do. It commonly manifests through a reduction in the strong compassion shown by the professionals at the beginning of their career. This is a likely challenge that may occur during my career as a social work professional. Challenging clients With an increasing number of caseloads in the society today, social workers are facing even more challenges that involve handling unique and more severe cases. This has led to availability of more challenging work to them leading to increased stress and ultimately lower productivity by the social workers. Technology There is a dynamic growth in technology being used in social work institutions today. This includes the advanced use of computers in functions such as coding and electronic documentation of information. This can be a source of challenge to me especially if new or unfamiliar technology is introduced in my working environment. 7.0 Conclusion Having looked at the major sources of challenges to the social workers, I look forward to formulating ways through which I can handle and in some cases mitigate their causes as outlined above. With a wide range of relevant experience and a good work ethic, I can be a resourceful social work professional in the end. Autobiography Sandel, M. J. (2010). Justice: Whats the right thing to do?. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Read More