Annotated Bibliography: How Social Workers and their Welfare Affects the Provision of Social Care.(sample)
Institution

McCrae, S. J., Scannapieco, M., Leake, R., Potter, C. C., & Menefee, D., (2013):Who’s on board? Child welfare worker reports of buy-in and readiness for organizational change. Journal of Child and Youth Services Review 37 (2014) 28-35. ELSEVIER.
In this study, McCrae et al (2013) note that the level of acceptance of buy-in by workers in a child welfare institution is greatly dependent on the worker’s readiness to accept the new innovation. Despite efforts by the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) to introduce innovative programs in child welfare organizations for better services and continued developments, workers in these organizations remained reluctant to adopt the changes due to various reasons. For this reason, McCrae et al (2013) conduct a mixed method research in order to use qualitative data to explain the quantitative information on the factors influencing the adoption and implementation of buy-ins by workers in child welfare organizations.
This study found out that senior managers and supervisors in child welfare organizations are likely to accept buy-ins since they understand the positive impact they would have to their organizations. In contrast, workers are least likely to accept the buy-ins since in most cases, they may not know how to utilize them or will introduce extra stress to them through having to learn and adopt the changes. Since supervisors are able to positively influence the workers in these organizations, they should be appointed to train and counsel the workers on the innovations and easy their pressure on utilizing the systems to ensure organizational change is successfully effected. Although the authors agree that the buy-ins help to improve the care services, they fail to address how this would be beneficial to the workers. According to Wermellin (2013), workers in these institutions are mostly concerned with the effectiveness of their professions to the institutions. In this regard, if the buy-ins are not able to assist them optimize their roles, they are still likely to be reluctant in adopting the buy-ins or remaining in the profession. Nonetheless, McCrae et al (2013) effectively illustrate that change in childcare organizations is greatly determined by the workers’ perceptions and readiness to implement the changes.
Wermelin, L., (2013): Why Social Workers Leave the Profession: Understanding the Profession and Workforce. Administration in Social Work, 37:329–339, 2013. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2012.693057
This journal reviews some of the reasons that cause social workers in social care institutions to leave their jobs and/or professions. To establish these reasons, Linda Wermelin from the Department of Counseling, Social Work and Leadership in Northern Kentucky University develops two research questions: the first questions seeks to explain why social workers intend to leave the profession and the second seeks to explain why social workers actually leave the profession. Although the author admits that the definition of the term social worker and its roles are not well-defined, she goes ahead with her research to prove several hypotheses. Accordingly, Wermelin notes that social workers intending to leave the profession disregard social workers in the profession and those who intend to join. On the other hand, social workers with the intention to leave the profession have similar reasons for leaving as those who have already left the profession. The main reason in this case is that the profession does not offer the actual value it is supposed to offer.
In answering the second research question, Wermelin (2013) notes that social workers leave their profession: to seek actual caretaking roles, since they are discontented with their professional skills, the profession does not offer actual care and lastly, because they feel that the profession has limited value to the society. Nonetheless, it is arguable how the author is able to develop these conclusions yet admits that the definition of social worker is not clear. Perhaps it would be better to explain the foundations of the roles of a social worker in order to relate it to the research findings so that the research questions and hypothesis could help generate evidenced interpretations of the conclusions. However, the research gives a clear explanation of why social workers would opt to leave an institution or profession in general.
Levy, M., Poertner, J., & Lieberman, A., (2012): Work Attitudes and Attention to Quit Among Workers in Private Child Welfare Agencies Operating Under Performance-Based Contracts. Administration in Social Work, 36:175–188, 2012. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2011.564723
Levy, Poertner and Lieberman (2012) posit that social worker turnover and retention in child welfare organizations that evaluate and reward their staff based on performance contracts is affected by three main factors. Job satisfaction which is the extent to which the employee likes the job, commitment to the organization which is the employee’s dedication to the working environment and values, and lastly, work-family or family-work conflicts. By utilizing diverse research findings, the three authors conclude that child care workers who were allowed to work beyond their work obligation period had relatively high job satisfaction compared to those who left the job. Nonetheless, the levels of job satisfaction among those who left their positions and those who retained them remained low. On the other hand, reduced commitment to the organization may be considered an indicator of departure from the organization. Nonetheless, those who remained had higher commitment to the organization.
Lastly, work-family conflicts which occur when work related demands affect the ability to perform family responsibilities greatly affects job retention compared to family-work conflicts which refer to the disruption of work responsibilities in order to attend to family responsibilities. Based on their research, the authors note that employees who are able to attain an effective work-life balance have a better chance of lasting longer at their workplaces. Just like Wermelin (2013), the authors in this research acknowledge the ability to retain social workers in a social care institution depends on their perceptions to the work and will therefore last longer in the institution if it allows them to practice but still attend to other life responsibilities like family. The research provides valuable additional knowledge on factors influencing the provision of social care in both private and public social care institutions.
Carter, Z. M., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H., & Mossholder, K. A., (2012) Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior. Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.1824
Carter et al (2012) note that the implementation of continuous change in organizations is dependent on transformational leadership. In this regard, the role of transformative leaders is not only to introduce these changes but build a relationship with their team members towards ensuring effective and continuous transformation. The researchers used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to prove their hypothesis with a special focus on small teams within organizations. This was based on the argument that team leaders interact directly and frequently with employees and they are able to initiate continuous changes more frequently when solving daily tasks. Dussault & Frenette (2015) agree with the authors in this research and also note that the success of any new changes is also determined by the team leaders’ ability to convince and guide its team towards meeting the transformational goals.
Accordingly, Carter and his colleagues were able to illustrate that transformational leadership influences organizational changes. The relationship between the two is almost direct where, positive transformational leadership is able to lead to positive organizational changes leading to continuous growth. However, these changes are also affected by the nature of relationship between the leaders and their teams. Team leaders who are able to build a working relationship with their members create a positive environment that increases the employee acceptance to continuous change. These arguments seconds the research conducted by McCrae et al (2013) who noted that supervisors are able to influence workers into accepting buy-ins for organizational change. The researchers in both cases also agree that team members can be encouraged into accepting organizational changes through continuous training and moral support. These contribute to their commitment to their changes.
Cappelli, H. P., Skills Gaps, Skill Shortage, and Skill Matches: Evidence and Arguments for the United States.
Capelli (2015) analyses the increasingly popular argument in the US that the country is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers. In this journal, the author reviews the diverse arguments presented in support or disregard of the skills shortage and thereby develops his own view of the situation. Accordingly, Capelli (2015) begins by defining skills gap as the shortage of basic skills among future employees due to the inability of the education system to guide students into developing required skills. He also defines skills shortage as the inability of the workforce to undertake jobs that require special skills like engineering. Although these arguments seem logic, Capeli feels that the actual problem in the country is the skills mismatch where the current supply of skills does not match the current requirements of the workplace.
These arguments are similar to those presented by Wermelin (2013) who found out that one of the reasons social care workers would leave the profession was because they felt that they are not well educated to provide care. On the other hand, others complained that that the society does not value their role in the provision of care since their contribution based on their training had limited care. Despite these concerns, Capelli (2015) feels that the education system is able to provide skilled students. However, the employers should be able to clearly define their standards and interpretation of skills as opposed to focusing on other attributes like the attitudes towards work and blaming it on the employees’ skills. Capelli (2015) further recommends that some specific skills can be learnt at the workplace and therefore employers should also train their employees in order for them to develop specific skills that they expect them to apply. This will also lead to employee retention and commitment to the organization.
Williams, J. N., & Glisson, C., (2014) Testing a theory of organizational culture, climate and youth outcomes in child welfare systems: A United States national study. Child Abuse Negl. 2014 April ; 38(4): 757–767. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.09.003
This study notes that the organizational culture of child welfare institutions is able to affect youth outcomes in these institutions. Accordingly, the Williams and Glisson (2014) develop two hypotheses to guide the research. In the first hypothesis, the authors seek to identify the relationship between organizational culture and climate (OCC), and youth outcomes and in the second hypothesis, the authors focus on specific concepts of OCC that directly influence youth outcomes in the welfare organizations. After conducting their research across child welfare institutions in the country, Williams and Glisson (2014) are able to note that proficiency and resistance are the key organizational culture concepts that would affect youth engagement, their functionality and stress levels. Simply, organizations with highly proficient cultures that face limited resistance provide a highly engaging, functional and less stressful climate which contribute to better youth outcomes.
Based on these findings, the authors recommend the establishment of a positive climate in child welfare institutions in order to promote positive youth outcomes. In contrast, the authors admit that some environments or climates require rigid climates. For instance mental facilities taking care of youth with mental challenges have to apply rigid measures in order to promote youth outcomes. Increasing proficiency and resistance of OCC for a better climate leading to better youth outcomes can best be facilitated by state agents through the selection of staff, development of policies and incorporating better interventions. Although such initiatives have previously been applied child welfare institutions for youth with mental cases, they can also be applied in other child welfare organizations with youth. Williams and Glisson (2014) effectively use the study to illustrate that an effective organizational culture and climate is able to lead to positive youth outcomes in child welfare organizations.
Hwang, J., & Hopkins, K., (2012): Organizational Inclusion, Committment, and Turnover Among Child Welfare Workers: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis. Administration in Social Work, 36:23–39, 2012. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2010.537439
This cross-sectional study by Hwang and Hopkins (2012) uses a multilevel mediation analysis to illustrate that workers turnover at child welfare organizations is affected by their (workers) perceptions of inclusion at the organizational level. By utilizing organizational commitment as the attitudinal variable, the study was able to review some of the factors why workers would be interested in a child welfare organization or even continue working in the institution. The findings by the two authors also builds on the OCC theory as discussed by Williams and Glisson (2014) who illustrated that positive outcomes among youths in child welfare institutions can be enhanced through creation of a positive and effective OCC. They further noted that an effective OCC can be created through selection of productive staff, enactment of working policies and developing new yet effective interventions for the institution.
Accordingly, the relationship between organizational inclusion and the turnover intention in child welfare institutions is mediated by the worker’s perception of the organization’s commitment. In contrast, the study also found that individual commitment did not have any impact on organizational level inclusion on turnover intention. These two arguments illustrate that the levels of commitment within an organization may vary among workers, however, this factor will not affect the employee turnover, instead, the levels of turnover will greatly depend on the levels of inclusion by the organization. Although Hwang and Hopkins (2012) admit that these conclusions may vary in different institutions and states, they admit that the intention to commit to or leave a child welfare organization may not necessarily be determined by the levels of inclusion.
Dhanapal, S., Alwie, S., Subramaniam, T., & Vashu, D.,(2013): Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction among Academicians: A Comparative Study between Gender and Generations. International Journal of Management Excellence. Vol 2, No. 1. TECHMIND RESEARCH. ISSN: 2292-1648
Dhanapal et al (2013) conduct a quantitative study on the levels of job satisfaction across the US based on popular variables like gender and generation. Initially, the authors review some of the theories related to this research and therefore note that: job satisfaction is the feeling one has towards their occupation based on its environment and characteristics, women are most likely to be satisfied in their jobs as compared to their male colleagues especially in education jobs, generation X workers (aged 1965 to 1981) have limited expectations in their jobs compared to the generation Y workers (1981 onwards) and lastly, job satisfaction is determined by the personal desire for growth and for others, by the work environment and opportunities. Faculty members in an academic institution were then requested to fill survey questionnaires to determine whether these previous arguments were correct.
In all the listed factors, only one had a contradicting outcome. It was realized that job satisfaction does not vary among genders. In fact, both genders will be affected by same issues within their work environment. The authors acknowledge that the aspect of gender being a factor in job satisfaction was developed in Malaysia where women were found to be more satisfied with their jobs compared to men. Nonetheless, Dhanapel et al (2013) note that the difference is more of a cultural aspect than a gender aspect. On the other hand, these studies second a number of studies by other researchers like Levy et al (2012) who noted that job satisfaction will mostly determine whether the worker will continue in the organization or leave for other work environments. The study illustrates that the ability to retain a worker will mostly be guided by the work environment and the employee expectations.
Sanchez-Moreno, E., Roldan, I., Gallardo-Peralta, P. L., & Loppez de Roda, A. B., (2014) Burnout, Informal Social Support and Psychological Distress among Social Workers. British Journal of Social Work (2014) 1–19 doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcu084
The authors in this study note that the Burnout Syndrome is a common distress among social workers providing care that has to be carefully managed to ensure the care givers are able to continue and manage their activities effectively. Based on studies conducted on social workers in different locations in the world, burnout syndrome has proved to be a common condition among social care workers which according to the author is as a result of the continuous interaction with their patients who are mostly suffering from various conditions. Eventually the social worker becomes psychologically stressed by the activities involved while trying the ensure the patients receive adequate care. For a while, researchers have always recommended psychological support as the remedy to this condition and therefore Sanchez-Moreno et al (2014) undertake a study to review the relationship between this support and burnout syndrome among social workers.
In their analyses, the authors consider burn out, emotional exhaustion and psychiatric distress as distinct but related conditions associated with the provision of care. In this regard, they recommend extreme caution while interpreting the conditions facing social workers in an institution since it may be inappropriate to consider one as a psychiatric case yet he or she is just emotionally exhausted. Nevertheless, all these conditions can be managed through informal social support as it contributes to mental capacity towards managing the conditions. Additionally, organizational variables like experience, nature of the workload and interpersonal relationships in the institutions also affect the personnel ability and therefore managers in these institutions have to promote effective working environments for better management of psychological and work stresses by the employees.

References
Carter, Z. M., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H., & Mossholder, K. A., (2012) Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior. Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.1824
Cappelli, H. P., Skills Gaps, Skill Shortage, and Skill Matches: Evidence and Arguments for the United States.
Dhanapal, S., Alwie, S., Subramaniam, T., & Vashu, D.,(2013): Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction among Academicians: A Comparative Study between Gender and Generations. International Journal of Management Excellence. Vol 2, No. 1. TECHMIND RESEARCH. ISSN: 2292-1648
Dussault, M., & Frenette, É. (2015). SUPERVISORS’ TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE. Psychological Reports, 117(3), 724-733. doi:10.2466/01.PR0.117c30z2
Hwang, J., & Hopkins, K., (2012): Organizational Inclusion, Committment, and Turnover Among Child Welfare Workers: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis. Administration in Social Work, 36:23–39, 2012. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2010.537439

Levy, M., Poertner, J., & Lieberman, A., (2012): Work Attitudes and Attention to Quit Among Workers in Private Child Welfare Agencies Operating Under Performance-Based Contracts. Administration in Social Work, 36:175–188, 2012. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2011.564723
McCrae, S. J., Scannapieco, M., Leake, R., Potter, C. C., & Menefee, D., (2013):Who’s on board? Child welfare worker reports of buy-in and readiness for organizational change. Journal of Child and Youth Services Review 37 (2014) 28-35. ELSEVIER.
Sanchez-Moreno, E., Roldan, I., Gallardo-Peralta, P. L., & Loppez de Roda, A. B., (2014) Burnout, Informal Social Support and Psychological Distress among Social Workers. British Journal of Social Work (2014) 1–19 doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcu084
Wermelin, L., (2013): Why Social Workers Leave the Profession: Understanding the Profession and Workforce. Administration in Social Work, 37:329–339, 2013. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2012.693057
Williams, J. N., & Glisson, C., (2014) Testing a theory of organizational culture, climate and youth outcomes in child welfare systems: A United States national study. Child Abuse Negl. 2014 April ; 38(4): 757–767. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.09.003