Organisational behaviour in social work Gavin Bissell

Reviewed by: Phil Robinson, Strathclyde University, Scotland

Previous books on the organisational aspects of social work agencies have tended to be worthy, but sometimes slightly dull and aimed primarily at managers as their key audience. More general texts on organisations whether sociological or managerial in their focus have tended to be useful, but not fully engaged with the concerns of those whose principal interest is in social work organisations. Social work and social care agencies have their own peculiar characteristics and operate within their own peculiar ‘quasi markets’, which consistently fail to follow the rules that the ‘real’ market allegedly follows. Anyone who has worked with elected members, directors, or trustees from other industries and unfamiliar with these peculiarities will know how baffling this can be. This new book by Gavin Bissell bucks the trend in both of these respects. It is both readable and engaging and is focused tightly on social work organisations by someone who clearly has extensive experience of how such entities behave. I sense that, as social workers struggle to understand and cope with constant structural change and the forces that lie behind it, the study of organisations and what drives them is becoming more relevant and this book is a welcome addition to the literature.

Understandably, the author finds it difficult to stick to his stated goal of ‘providing a critical commentary upon organisational behaviour textbooks from the standpoint of social services and their users and workers’. I eagerly anticipated an analysis that would aid the process of surviving and negotiating through these distinctive organisations, but although his choice of sources is eclectic and interesting and his writing style readable, much of the material is familiar from the management canon. Chapters like ‘Leadership and management: Is a social work style of management possible?’(Chapter eight) and ‘Management strategies: Do the costs outweigh the gains?’ (Chapter nine) seem to me to largely lose the worker/user focus and come across as great material for management courses. Because these (and some other) chapters are quite brief and readable and because the author generally expresses a viewpoint, the book is highly recommendable to students of social work management, although probably not as their main text on organisations since, in the interests of readability, comprehensiveness has been sacrificed.

Illustrations are used quite sparingly within the text and tend to fall into the categories of either posed group photos, which add very little, or well-known library portraits of some the great thinkers of the past. Diagrams and tables, on the other hand are well used and help to illuminate the ideas being explored. A very positive aspect of the book, however, is the use of reflective points and practice examples, which are clearly highlighted in text boxes. Similarly, each chapter ends with ‘key learning points’ and exercises, both of which help to enhance the value of the book as a learning tool.

I can recommend this book to students of social work management as well as its primary intended audience of social work students. Its’ clear focus and readable style, both place it in a very restricted class amongst the existing literature on social work and social care organisations.