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Workforce expansions in terms of dispersed teams have enabled social service organizations to meet objectives anywhere. This article critically analyzes the emerging literature on dispersed teams, the relevance of a transformational leadership style, and resulting implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the professional and organizational factors that promote or impede the adoption of a market orientation among social workers in social service organizations. We argue that market orientation is important, as it can strengthen the social workers' relationships with citizens as clients, resulting in the development of better services. The study is based on a structured questionnaire administered to 186 social workers in 86 social service organizations in Israel. Three dimensions of market orientation were examined: intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination, and responsiveness. The findings indicate that innovation and perceived organizational politics promote or impede the adoption of a market orientation and significantly contribute to its explanation. In addition, the perception of marketing as part of the social work profession explains the adoption of a market orientation better than sense of self-efficacy does. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empowerment of both clients and workers in social service organizations requires a firm commitment on the part of administrators. Formal structures that support the involvement of staff members and clientele in organization decision-making are also required. This article identifies ten characteristics associated with effective empowerment-oriented strategies in social service organizations. Outcomes associated with the empowerment approach such as increased program effectiveness, reductions in staff turnover, and the development of a constituency base for the organization are also identified. The limitations of the empowerment approach to organization management are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social service organizations are commonly asked to account for services, and increasingly, to measure the outcomes of the work with vulnerable populations. Since the advent of the personal computer, software and hardware to assist professionals in collecting both process and outcomes data have improved exponentially. Yet, in mahy cases, organizations implement computerized management information systems which are underutilized or poorly utilized. The reasons that social service organizations do not use MISs are not well understood. Using a case example of the development of a computerized management information system, this paper suggests that understanding MIS utilization involves examining specific aspects of leadership, technical capacity and systems readiness in the real-world settings of social service organization [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many social services in the United States are provided by nonprofit human service organizations (HSOs), each governed by a board of trustees. Students, practitioners, and administrators need to have the knowledge and tools to work with these governing bodies and to be aware of changes in board role and composition over time. The authors provide new knowledge and practice implications through an examination of two sets of hypotheses. These are that the composition of HSO boards has changed in response to changing internal needs and social environments; and, that there are wide variations across types of HSOs because the composition and structure of HSO boards are related to the social context in which the organization is embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author examines job satisfaction among nonprofessional women workers in welfare service organizations. Nonprofessional women workers are in a special position in this regard on two counts: first, they are residents of the neighborhoods in which they work; and, second, they generally have had no previous work experience. In this study, variables identified in earlier research in the field are used in order to determine the effects of background characteristics, organizational factors, and role components on job satisfaction. The results of the present study support the view that role conflict and role ambiguity exert a negative impact on job satisfaction. Organizational variables make up one area where the findings of this study differ from those of previous research in the field. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]