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Key Concepts:
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To quote from Ginsberg: "...policy and management seem to transcend all forms of practice with clients and yet play a crucial role in meeting human needs. If social policies for the provision of services are absent or inadequate, there is little chance that services will be available to clients. Rent for offices, cash for assistance, arrangements for housing, and salaries for staff are a result of social policies." For the purposes of this course, the term management and administration are used interchangeably. Administration, as we have seen is one of the primary functions of supervision. For some of us, it is not the fun part, but it is essential that its importance is not minimized or relegated to the sidelines in fulfilling the role as supervisor. Even in instances where the two functions of administration and education/training are separated and assigned to different staff, it is important that the educative supervisor demonstrate knowledge and respect for the organizational culture and the constraints and opportunities for service delivery within the agency. Staff must be held accountable for time management, punctuality, interpreting the mission of the agency and representing the agency, charting and writing reports, etc., as well as how effectively they work with clients.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the appreciation of the fact that there is no formula for supervision. In other words, there is no way to provide you with a "recipe" for good supervision, and more to the point here, for good management. As Ginsberg so aptly states, "What may be effective in one context is not necessarily effective in another, for neither the organizations nor the environments in which they exist are static." Just as we are called upon to assess and adapt our supervisory style to the learning needs and style of the worker, we are challenged to think of administration contextually. In order to supervise effectively, the supervisor must know something about organizational dynamics, the political climate of the agency and the community it serves, and good assessment skills to determine "who's on first", timing, and formulating strategies for change. In social work, there is a long-standing tradition that as professionals we have a responsibility to assess the agencies where we work in order to improve service delivery to clients and the community. The concept of being a change agent is relevant for systems of all sizes, not just clinically.
Most of us are inundated and frustrated by deadlines and the "paper work monster". In today's practice world with managed care front stage center, and a proliferation of funding source mandates for documentation, sometimes it seems that clients get in the way of running the agency. There is enormous pressure on supervisors to see that reports are completed, charts are current and up to standards, and what is required by funding sources is documented. One of today's realities in supervision is the need to streamline and make as efficient as possible the paper trail that looms over every professional in human service agencies.
How has your agency been dealing with this issue? Is it "on the table" for discussion or not a concern?
What works best for you to help you stay on top of your own paper work and to keep staff on track with theirs?
Another huge issue for many professionals in mental health/chemical dependency settings is the stress and frustration from a condition that I call "value clash". When the condition is severe or unrelenting it can be a significant variable in predicting "burn-out". Value clash occurs when the values of the organization or administrative milieu are incompatible with your own personal/professional values. Unless ways can be developed to work with these conflicts, or successful compromises are found, the situation eventually becomes untenable and the professional leaves or is asked to leave the agency. Important roles for supervisors include providing a forum for open discussion of value conflicts, being available to help the worker manage these conflicts in the work place, and helping him/her to come to terms with the necessity of leaving.
Other realities are highlighted by your readings. Many agencies are struggling to exist and are working in a climate of cutbacks in funding with a corresponding decline in services and staff morale. The business of supervising people in a way that is sensitive to diversity and wide variations in personal and professional experience has never been more crucial than it is today with the explosion of ethnic minorities in this country.
Why are managers reluctant to address diversity issues?
Much more needs to be done to consider the special needs and abilities of the physically handicapped in the work place. Finally, issues that are unique to women and gay/lesbian workers may still be largely ignored in most agencies. Think of policies of your agency that may support you in your supervisory role as you attempt to work effectively with diverse staff.
What might be problematic and what do you think can be done about it?
Give an example of something you were able to do or noticed another staff member doing that you think made a contribution to reducing prejudice or helped move the agency in the direction of becoming more culturally competent.
Identify three ways that administrators can manage diversity in positive ways.
Ginsberg, L. (1995). Concepts of New Management. In L. Ginsberg & P. Keys (Eds.), New Management Services, (2nd ed., pp.1-37). Washington, DC: NASW Press.
New management refers to some of the newer concepts of making organizations work efficiently. It results from questioning the assumptions underlying traditional management theories that no longer seem valid.
Some of the many sources for management ideas come from:
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Military units require careful coordination, direction, effective execution and a clearly defined mission. |
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Government. |
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Office of the President: some fundamental ideas of management came from efforts to improve the executive branch of the US government. |
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The faith in science: removing human discretion was a major feature of traditional management. |
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Hawthorne experiment: the knowledge gained led management theorists to understand how workers' attitudes and sentiments were important. |
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Human Relations School of Management: the careful application of human relations knowledge about working with people, group dynamics and human motivation would lead to effective and efficient organizations. |
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Managerial grid: good blend of human relations and scientific management as the grid graphically demonstrates the importance of both people and production within organizations. |
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McGregor's X and Y theories found that most workers work to achieve self-actualization and are not motivated only with material rewards. The workers were found to want responsibility and the chance to use their imagination and creativity. |
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Realities of management functions: One of the most important reasons for the development of new management concepts in the human services has been the realization that the functions long associated with management have not been the real functions of managers for years. |
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A basic rule of management is that one supervisor can supervise a finite number of people. |
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Convenience, tradition, desires for symmetry and preferences of decision-makers are often the bases for structuring and staffing organizations. |
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It is now being suggested that supervisor-to-worker ratio depends on the work being done and the qualifications of those who perform it. |
| Two major environmental changes in human services and businesses are merging and downsizing. |
| Computer technology has been the single most important change in human service management. |
| The need for an organizational structure that separates tasks and maintains distinct responsibilities is as important today as it always was. A well-organized bureaucracy ensures clients are served efficiently and treated equitably. |
| Better understanding of human psychology and application of this knowledge to enhance management effectiveness has led to the development of modern management concepts. |
| Some ways modern managers can be successful: |
| - | Motivating employees by helping them to meet their needs. |
| - | Dealing with major long-range issues that may have implications for the organization, and handling press inquiries. Adaptability and skill in quickly assessing and reacting to new problems or issues as well as skill in sticking to long-term plans are important characteristics. |
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Developing the ability to tolerate frustration and to delay gratification. Managers should think of long-range goals and not just immediate outcomes. |
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Successful managers are achievement-oriented, and have a strong urge to achieve both material and symbolic rewards. |
| One of the most widely used new management approaches. |
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Four important concepts of the model are: |
A focus on the customer of the organization's services.
Involvement of everyone in the organization in the pursuit of quality.
Heavy emphasis on teamwork.
Encouragement of all employees to think about and pursue quality within the organization.
A bias for action: the best organizations are those that act instead of thinking about acting.
Be close to the customer: the human service manager should stay close to members of the agency board or state legislature who supervise the program and who purchase the services that are provided.
Autonomy and entrepreneurship: excellent organizations allow workers to try new ideas, and programs are short on discipline and long on imagination and creativity.
Productivity through people: excellent organizations make their mark by effectively using the talents of people and giving employees some role in managing and profiting from the company.
Hands-on, value driven approach: organizations must know their values and work to pursue them.
Stick to the knitting: organizations should be careful about diversifying into fields that they do not understand.
Simple form, lean staff: this principle helps organizations to save money, and to avoid the complications of a larger staff. Multiple levels of supervision may unnecessarily complicate an organization.
Simultaneous loose-tight properties: this means there must be a strong hand running the organization and a strong central direction and dedication to objectives within it. The organization should give its workers the opportunity to work independently and exercise some autonomy.
"Seven Habits" (Covey): is a popular concept that emphasize the importance of communicating, setting, and working toward goals, being action-oriented, and self-renewal.
Management by Objectives: The best management can pursue and reach its objectives. Managers at every level should be trained to work with and evaluate their subordinates according to agreed on objectives, and those objectives become the content of supervisory conferences.
Principles for Human Service Managers: this applies the basic concepts of business management to the human services setting.
Maintain a focus on goals and above all, know who one's boss is and follow the demands of that boss in one's management of a program.
Deal with multiple publics: the publics for the human service manager will always include clients, but also the media, government organizations, advisory or governing boards, funding organizations, and related organizations in the same field and community.
Be positive about the organization, the effectiveness, and its mission. View problems as opportunities to try something different or making changes that might have not been possible had the problem not developed.
Understand the appropriate level of management: the supervisory level is typically focused on the task at hand and on the cadre of employees carrying out the work of the organization. Dealing with issues such as personnel practices and work schedules is the typical preoccupation of this level of management.
Work with the staff: employees can make the organization work or cause it to fail. Providing rewards to staff, having staff attend professional meetings and training sessions can help motivate them.
Understand the effectiveness-efficiency continuum-an ideal organization is both effective and efficient. An efficient organization is one that uses minimum amount of resources to achieve its objectives. An effective organization is simply one that meets its objectives.
Know the absolute bottom line in management, which is money management.
Sponsor and participate in management training, which is a good investment for organizations because it can improve performance and productivity.
Remember the basics such as answering and returning phone calls and dressing neat.
Explain the main concepts of TQM and Peterman's Principles of Excellence.
What are some of the essential principles for human service managers?
Edwards, R. L., & Yankey, J. A. (1995). Managing organizational decline. Skills for Effective Human Service Managers, (pp. 204-216). Washington, DC: NASW Press.
During the 1980's, human service organizations went through funding reductions in which supervisors had to manage in a different way than they had been trained in. It is likely that we will be entering an era again in which social programs will be threatened, and it is important for managers and supervisors to understand the impacts of budgetary reductions.
There are some conditions that are frequently seen in organizations and agencies that are experiencing decline or cutbacks in funding:
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High levels of manager and staff stress. This stress can result in a restriction of the flow of communication in the organization, both from the top down and from the bottom up. |
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Low trust, secretiveness and centralization. Scapegoating is common, and managers are often blamed for the decreased resources by the staff. |
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Increased conflict and decreased morale. |
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Conservatism and aversion to risk. |
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Staff turnover and self-protection orientation. |
The impacts on the staff are important for the managers to realize, even if the staff is not in danger of losing their jobs. How the staff reacts to the cutbacks may in turn affect how they relate to the clients.
| Austin states that staff members go through a five-step process that is similar to Kubler-Ross's stages of death and dying: 1. denial and isolation, 2. anger, 3. bargaining, 4. depression, and 5. acceptance. |
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The literature suggests that there are two general ways managers deal with cutbacks. One is when the managers attempt to maximize organizational efficiency and assume an authoritarian, top-down management style. The other assumes a more democratic managerial style and emphasizes collective problem solving from all the staff. This approach is strong because it empowers the staff and clients to be co-participants in the decision-making process. |
| Attrition, hiring freezes, and across the board reduction are often ways managers deal with budget cuts. However, there are weaknesses with each of these approaches such as increasing stress in the staff, which may contribute to a turnover in staff. |
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Managers must first recognize and deal with their own levels of stress that are likely to increase during budget declines. |
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Managers should be aware of the rumors going around the agency and counteract them. The managers can engage the staff in planning activities and groups in which feelings can be openly expressed. |
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Managers should have staff planning groups in which an examination of the agency's mission and goals take place. It is important for the managers to consider how their organization will work with other agencies and to develop strategies for the future. |
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After realizing what the most important aspects are of the agency, managers may need to consider what individuals are crucial in their jobs, and which staff needs to be laid off. |
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When staff has to be let go, it is important for the managers to tell them as soon as possible and also for the agency to help in whatever ways it can for the staff to find new jobs. |
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Managers should also be involved in the development of resources by doing such things as grant-writing, devising strategies for using volunteers and paraprofessionals, and building relationships with policymakers. |
What can managers and supervisors do to keep from losing valuable employees during a budget cut time within their agency?
What are two out of the five conditions that generally occur in agencies that are having funding decreases?
What are some options for each condition that could help to better these conditions?
Asamoah, Y. (1995). Managing the new multicultural workplace. In Ginsberg, L., & Keys, P. R. (Eds.), New Management Services, (2nd ed., pp. 115-127). Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Workplaces are becoming much more diverse and it is important to manage these environments in a culturally sensitive way. Human service managers must begin to think seriously about diversity in their environments and its effects on organizational operations and service delivery. The mix of cultures, genders, lifestyles and values can be beneficial to an organization; it can also lead to conflict. Learning to manage diversity will be a skill required of all new managers in the human services in the year 2000 and beyond.
There are two types of diversity-related problems that can happen within an organization:
Problems that stem from the increasing diversity of the workforce and management's failure to recognize the significance of this change and its effects on the organization and employees.
Problems that arise because the organization lacks diversity at all levels, resulting in significant differences between the diverse clientele and the people who deliver and manage the services.
Some symptoms of real and potential diversity-related problems that can serve as warning signs to managers and supervisors include:
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Lack of a diverse staff at all levels in the organization. |
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Barriers in promotion for diverse employees. |
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Lack of smooth social interaction between members of diverse groups and formation of cliques on the basis of some definable ethnic, cultural, racial or language difference. |
An astute, diversity-sensitive manager ought to recognize both the subtle and overt symptoms as signs of trouble that require solutions.
Communication problems in a diverse organization can lead to low productivity or even a breakdown in the production process. Most problematic situations involving communication have to do with ethnocentrism, which is interpreting individual behaviors in the context of one's own culture and value system.
It is important for the manager to realize that ways of processing information and relating to people in authority are not universal. Many misunderstandings occur because managers do not recognize critical factors in intercultural communication patterns and differing interpretations of actions and situations.
Conflicts often reflect communication problems. The perception of conflict differs across cultures.
A significant barrier to effectively managing diversity is the failure of top management to recognize that diversity problems exist. Diversity issues are sensitive and often painful and many employees and managers perceive that it is risky to address them.
It is a good idea to conduct a diversity audit in the organization to determine what problems exist and which ones require immediate attention, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiential exercises, and use of outside consultants.
Managers must be prepared to consider seriously and to act on information gathered through a diversity audit and to hold themselves accountable for monitoring progress.
Development of personal action plans by employees is a useful experiential exercise after diversity issues have been identified through a diversity audit. As a group, staff are asked to develop their own personal action plans to help the agency identify and solve diversity issues and to identify and handle their own personal difficulties with diversity.
It is important for managers to recognize how employees identify themselves and what that identity means to them.
Managers can positively manage diversity within an organization in different ways, such as:
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Recognizing the value of flex management, which allows employees to have a wider range of options in terms of how they meet work requirements. This is a very critical issue for women in the workforce who have children. |
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Recognizing the cultural relevance of boundaries in an organization, and realizing that not all employees want to get totally involved in their work. |
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Recognizing the value of diverse feedback, and also appreciating the value of a diverse staff. |
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Recognizing that the agency must have a safe environment for candid discussion of diversity issues. |
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Setting up a diversity advisory committee made up of staff at all levels to monitor diversity progress and advise management accordingly. |
Four questions to ask yourself about the agency in which you are managing:
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What is the racial/ethnic/cultural/gender/sexual orientation and physical abilities composition of the clientele served? |
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Within these categories, what is the spectrum of diversity that exists? |
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What is the nature of the diversity of the staff who are delivering services to this clientele? |
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How do issues of diversity within the agency affect service delivery to any clientele, but particularly to clientele who themselves are different from those who deliver or manage the services? |
What are some of the diversity-related problems that can occur within an organization?
List some of the warning signs or symptoms of diversity-related problems.
List 2 ways that managers can positively manage diversity within an organization.
List 2 questions that supervisors should ask themselves regarding diversity in their agency.
Healy, L., Havens, C., & Pine, B. (1995). Women and social work management. In Ginsberg, L. & Keys, P. (Eds.), New Management Services, 2nd ed. (p.128-150). Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.
Status of women in social work management
| In 1993, 77.6% of the 134,240 members of NASW were women. 25.6% of male NASW members are in management, while only 12.9% of female members. Women remain disadvantaged in their share of leadership positions, in salary and job status. |
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External barriers include both formal and informal agency policies and practices in organizational structure and in attitudes and behaviors. Gender discrimination in hiring, promotion and salary is an example of a common external barrier. Sexual harassment is another common barrier, as well as the lack of access to the organization's informal network. |
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Internal barriers are aspirations, behaviors and attitudes attributed to women that are viewed as inhibiting career advancement and job performance. A common internal barrier is the conflict between family and work responsibilities for women. (Most organizations are not flexible and view child and family care as women's responsibility.) Another internal barrier is how males' socialization characteristics such as competitiveness, aggressive behavior, nonemotional attitude and analytical thinking are regarded as essential for successful managers. |
There are two major models of the role of women as leaders or managers:
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Equity Model assumes that given access, women will meet existing norms, as established by men. No changes in the program or agency work climate are expected when a woman leads an agency. |
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Complementary Contribution Model assumes a difference and emphasizes the importance of recognizing different styles and the value of different contributions. Women will bring unique perspectives, resulting in a better, more complete organization. |
New management approaches emphasize the value of participation, shared decision-making and empowerment. These approaches come from the Feminist Leadership Style, which is composed of six key elements:
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Valuing women's perspectives |
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Emphasizing the big picture |
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Reconceptualizing power |
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Democratic structuring |
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Valuing process equally with product |
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An orientation to fundamental structural change. |
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The feminist concept of power is power to, rather than power over. |
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Social work interventions aimed at empowerment with clients will not work if staff is not empowered as professionals. |
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Power sharing and participation |
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Staff empowerment and career development |
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Conflict resolution and consensus decision making |
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An alignment of values between the values espoused in agency's mission and purpose and the operation of that agency |
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Continue to eradicate gender discrimination. |
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Help redesign agency policies and changes in the organizational culture defining appropriate management behavior. This will help improve women's access to and comfort level in management jobs. |
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Social work education: courses in social work management should cover knowledge of skills for implementing affirmative action programs and new personnel initiatives, such as parental leave and flextime. |
Reflect and comment on your experiences in being supervised by or in supervising others whose age, ethnicity, and gender were different from your own.
What made those experiences challenging and rewarding?
What would you do different by now?
Organizationally, what do you need most for your professional satisfaction and growth?
General comments, thoughts:
Provide an example of a supervision issue that was impacted by age, gender, and/or ethnicity. How was it resolved? What do you wish you could have done differently?
How has managed cared care impacted your staff and work as a practitioner and/or supervisor? What are the positives and negatives of managed care in your experience?
General comments, thoughts:
What works best for you to help you stay on top of your own paper work and to keep staff on track with theirs?
Why are managers reluctant to address diversity issues?
Give an example of something you were able to do or noticed another staff doing that you think made a contribution to reducing prejudice or helped move the agency in the direction of becoming more culturally competent.
Identify three ways administrators can manage diversity in positive ways.
Concepts of New Management Study Questions
Explain the main concepts of TQM and Peterman's Principles of Excellence.
What are some of the essential principles for Human Service Managers?
Managing Organizational Decline Study Questions
What can managers and supervisors do to keep from losing valuable employees during a budget cut time within their agency?
What are two out of the five conditions that generally occur in agencies that are having funding decreases?
What are some options for each condition that could help to better these conditions?
Managing the New Multicultural Workplace Study Questions
What are some of the diversity-related problems that can occur within an organization?
List some of the warning signs or symptoms of diversity-related problems.
List 2 ways that managers can positively manage diversity within an organization.
List 2 questions that supervisors should ask themselves regarding diversity in their agency.
Women and Social Work Management Study Questions
Describe the two models of women in leadership positions.
List 3 of the elements of the Feminist Leader Style.
Describe 2 of the 4 new social work management styles.
