Accountable and Countable: Information Management Systems and the Bureaucratization of Social Work

A key feature of new public management is the tendency to equate quality and accountability with documentation (Tsui and Cheung, 2004). Human service organizations increasingly rely on computer databases to compile and record client information and to demonstrate outcomes for quality assurance and a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The British journal of social work 2009-10, Vol.39 (7), p.1326-1342
Main Authors: Burton, Judith, van den Broek, Diane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Adoption of Innovations
Australia
Bureaucracy
call centres
Client Relations
Corporate bureaucracy
Emerging technology
Funding
Government services
Human Service Organizations
Information management
Information technology
Managerialism
New public management
New technology
Occupational Roles
Operations management
Professional identity
Quality control
Social services
Social work
Social Workers
Technological Innovations
Technology
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Summary:A key feature of new public management is the tendency to equate quality and accountability with documentation (Tsui and Cheung, 2004). Human service organizations increasingly rely on computer databases to compile and record client information and to demonstrate outcomes for quality assurance and accountability purposes. This has resulted in substantial changes in work practices, processes and relationships for social workers. This paper draws on interview data from social workers in several Australian agencies to examine professional interactions with, and response to, changes in their work after the introduction of new technologies. It particularly focuses on the shift of accountabilities from professional values and identities to organizational and bureaucratic accountabilities. The paper recognizes that while social workers have always been subject to organizational accountabilities, due to the changes in social service delivery and limited practitioner input into the implementation of new technologies, tensions between professional and bureaucratic accountabilities have intensified.
ISSN:0045-3102
1468-263X
DOI:10.1093/bjsw/bcn027