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University of North Carolina Wilmington
School of Social Work
Spring 2015
SWK 523: Organizational Context of Social Work Practice
Mondays from 11am-1:45pm
Instructor:
Office/Phone:
Email:
Office Hours:
Andrea L. Jones, Ph.D., MSW
McNeill 3087; 901-962-7283
jonesal@uncw.edu (weekdays only)
Before/after class or Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30, or by appt.
Required Text
Wolf, T. (2012). Managing a nonprofit organization: Updated twenty-first century edition. The
Free Press.
Optional Texts
Renz, D (ed). (2010). The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, 3rd
ed. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hacker, K. (2013). Community-based participatory research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Kretzmann, J., & McKnight, J. (1993). Building communities from the inside out: A path toward
finding and mobilizing a community’s assets. Skokie, IL: ACTA Publications.
Course Description
This course helps students understand the organizational context of direct social work practice
through instruction on grant development, organizational management in the nonprofit sector,
policy practice, and the management of an organization in a macro social work context.
Course Objectives*
1. Students will develop an understanding of program development concepts and tasks
sufficient to prepare a fundable grant proposal. (EP 2.1.8 and EP 2.1.8 and EP 2.1.10)
2. Students will learn concepts and tools for organizational decision making sufficient to
develop methods of improving decision making in a human service agency.
3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of nonprofit management sufficient to make
a contribution to the improvement of an agency’s management system, use of boards,
budgeting, marketing, and personnel administration.
4. Students will improve their leadership ability through increased insight into leadership
traits, leadership style, and the use of power.
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5. Students will develop an understanding of how to employ knowledge and techniques for
advocacy, and an understanding of community context sufficient to engage in activities
designed to improve the system’s response to human need.
6. Students will learn the basics of the management of a social service organization or
business.
7. Students will improve their appreciation of how gender influences leadership practice and
perceptions.
*All of these objectives are related to CSWE Educational Policies 2.1.8, 2.1.9, and 2.1.10.
Course Requirements:
This class will be conducted as a graduate seminar. Readings will be assigned and associated
with a brief assignment. The goal it to facilitate reading in order to foster classroom discussion.
1. Attendance is expected at all classes. Absence from 2 classes will result in a 3 point
deduction from your grade. Missing more than 2 classes may result in failure. (Inform me in
this circumstance.) There are no opportunities for extra credit or make-up work. Plan in
advance.
2. Outcomes:
a. Weekly assignments (roughly 70 pts.) must be turned in:
b. The final paper will be a complete grant proposal (roughly 30 points). Please note:
sections of your grant proposal will be due in class to discuss with your peer group. You
should have the document draft due that day presentable to your peer group in written
format. Please see weekly assignment grid for details.
I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE ASSIGNMENTS. Rare exceptions may be made at the instructor’s
discretion.
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Grading Scale: Letter grades will be calculated as follows (Spring 2016):
Letter
Grade
A
Numerical
Score
94-100%
A-
90-93%
B+
87-89%
B
84-86%
B-
80-83%
C+
77-79%
C
70-76%
F
69 & below
I
Incomplete
Please Note: A C- grade is not a final grade option in graduate school.
Academic Integrity and Honor Code
All members of the UNCW community are expected to follow the Academic Honor Code.
Please read the UNCW Honor Code carefully (as covered in the UNCW Student Handbook).
Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated in the class. Please be especially familiar
with the UNCW position on plagiarism as outlined in the UNCW Student Handbook. Plagiarism
is a form of academic dishonesty in which you take someone else’s ideas and represent them as
your own. Adherence to the Academic Honor Code is consistent with adherence with the NASW
Code of Ethics.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students who have a disability and need accommodations should notify the instructor by the end
of the second week of this semester. In order to obtain such accommodations, the student must
officially register with the Office of Disabilities Services located in DePaulo Hall (962-3746)
and the instructor with a letter of accommodation which specifies the student’s learning
needs. Accommodations will be made based on the recommendations of Disabilities Services,
and collaboration with the student, to determine how best to accommodate the student’s learning
concerns.
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Violence and Harassment
UNCW practices a zero tolerance policy for any kind of violent or harassing behavior. If you are
experiencing an emergency of this type contact the police at 911 or UNCW CARE at 962-2273.
Resources for individuals concerned with violent or harassing situation can be located
at http://www.uncw.edu/wsrc/crisis.html.
The UNCW Statement on Diversity in the University Community
As an institution of higher learning, the University of North Carolina Wilmington represents a
rich diversity of human beings among its faculty, staff, and students and is committed to
maintaining a campus environment that values that diversity. Accordingly, the university
supports policies, curricula, and co-curricular activities that encourage understanding of and
appreciation for all members of its community and will not tolerate any harassment or disrespect
for persons because of race, gender, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion,
disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, marital status, or relationship to other
university constituents. Diversity Resources .
Religious Observance Policy
North Carolina General Statute 116-11(3a) and UNC policy authorizes a minimum of two
excused absences each academic year for religious observances required by the faith of a student.
Students must submit a request for an excused absence, within SeaNet, seven days prior to the
religious observance. The student shall be given the opportunity to make up any tests or other
work missed due to an excused absence for a religious observance
UNCW Student Gender-Based/Sexual Misconduct Policy
UNCW takes all forms of interpersonal violence very seriously. When students disclose
(verbally or in writing) to faculty or staff about sexual misconduct, domestic violence, dating
violence and/or stalking against themselves or another student, this information must be
reported to the administration in order to ensure that student’s rights are protected, appropriate
resources are offered, and the need for further investigation is explored to maintain campus
safety. This means that if you tell the instructor about this kind of misconduct, the disclosure
cannot remain confidential and the instructor must share that information. This is required by
federal law and UNCW policy.
The following three confidential resources do not need to report interpersonal violence:
UNCW CARE, the Student Health Center, and the Counseling Center. If you want to speak to
someone in confidence, these resources are available, including CARE’s 24-hour crisis line (910512-4821). For more information, please visit www.uncw.edu/sexualmisconduct or
www.uncw.edu/care.
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Rubric for Final Paper: Improving Human Services through Grants (40 pts.)
This assignment in policy practice entails the preparation of a grant proposal designed to
improve an organization’s response to human need. This paper will include the student’s
presentation of all aspects of a typical grant proposal for a designated organization, most
appropriately the student’s field instruction organization. The grant will propose ways to
improve the organization’s effectiveness in meeting human need.
Part A: Executive Summary.
Part B: Statement of Need.
Part C: Description of the proposed services or programs
Part D: Description of the evaluation plan.
Part E: Description of the organization seeking the grant.
Part F: The budget and budget explanations.
Part G: List of potential grant funders.
Evaluation Guide: Students will have learned about various aspects of grant writing that should
have prepared them for this task.
1. Please research some potential grant funders for your proposal. Writing a proposal may
be specific to the funder. If you find a viable funder, please see me before proceeding.
2. The executive summary should be very concise (only one page) and illustrate the
student’s best writing skills. It should start with a focus on the need being addressed (not
the services or the agency). In addition, this summary should identify the nature of the
services to be provided and reveal the rationale for using these services to meet the
identified need. Also included should be the identification of the amount of funds
requested as well as the ways these funds will be used. Finally, the nature of the
organization proposing the grant should be briefly identified.
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3. The need statement should begin with a clear identification of the nature of the need as
well as information on its importance. It should present an analysis of that need and
identify credible sources for information included. Also included should be information
on strategies for meeting that need and how the services proposed in the grant fits into
this general perspective.
4. The services proposed should be described in regard to objectives, structure, model, and
personnel. Objectives should be outcome-oriented and should link with the measures that
will be employed in the evaluation plan. The description of the structure should be
adequate to guide a replication of these services by others. The model should reveal the
conceptual guide or general strategy as well as the assumptions underlying the rationale
for using these services to meet the identified need.
5. The evaluation plan should identify how client outcomes will be measured and what data
on service delivery will be collected. In addition, this plan might include information on
client satisfaction.
6. The description of the organization should include information on the nature of the
organization (i.e., profit, non-profit, governmental) as well as its mission, its typical
services, and its history. Major accomplishments in the past as well as indicators of
community support might also be included.
7. The proposed budget should be presented in line-item format, with explanations of items
that might require special scrutiny.
8. Please attach a list of potential grant funders.