Company welfare and social work ethics: a space for social work?
A discussion based on cases from Norway and Tanzania.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31265/jcsw.v5i1.61Abstract
This article deals with company welfare and social work ethics. If social work is concerned with welfare and distributional issues, we would assume company welfare to be an issue of great relevance to social workers, so why do we not come across any social workers in our fieldwork? This calls for the simple question “where do social workers work?” or rather “how come social workers do not work in private companies?” We explore into the combination of social work and private companies with special reference to social work ethics to discuss private companies as a job arena for social workers. We argue that in a sector aiming at profit, social workers may trigger employees enthusiasm, but employer scepticism. However, by avoiding a less stereotyped notion of private companies, company welfare and social work we claim that certain social work ethical principles would be of joint interest to the involved, but more so in certain contexts than in others.
The article consists of six sections. After the introduction, we take a closer look at company welfare followed by a section on social work where we focus on ethical principles and work arenas for social workers. In section four we present our data from some private companies in Norway and Tanzania as a point of departure to our discussion in section five on private companies as a potential job arena for social workers. The complexity of company welfare does not call for simple answers. In the conclusions, section six, we therefore argue that the ethical principles of social work make it an interesting and relevant competence in managing company welfare, though not unproblematic in the homeland of profit. However, contextual complexity invites contextual responses.
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Brandes, Stuart D. (1976) American Welfare Capitalism 1880-1940. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Burke, Jean and Balthazar Ngonyani (2004) “A Social Work Vision for Tanzania”. International Social Work, Vol. 47, No. 1, 39-52.
Cnaan, Ram A. (1992) “Book Review of G sta Esping-Andersen: Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge, UK; Polity Press (in the USA, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press) 1990. ISBN: 0-7456-0796-9, Paper.” Acta Sociologica 35: 69-71.
Edwards, R (1979) Contested Terrain. The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century. London: Heinemann.
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Oxford: Polity Press.
Esping-Andersen, G., Gallie, D. Hemerijck, A.& Myles, J. (2002). Why We Need a New Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ethics in Social Work, Statements of Principles (2004) (www.ifsw.org/en.p38000324.html) Retrieved July 9, 2008.
Friedman, R.F., N. Gilbert and M. Sherer (1987) Modern Welfare States: A Comparative View of Trends and Perspectives, Brighton, UK: Wheatsheaf.
Haugland, Erik (1998) Frynsegoder og fleksibilitet. Diplomoppgave i Påbyggingsstudiet i offentlig administrasjon, Høgskolen i Agder.
Hyden, G. (1980) Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania. Underdevelopment and an Uncaptured Peasantry. London: Heinemann.
Hvinden, B. & Johansson, J. (eds) (2007). Citizenship in Nordic Welfare states, Routledge
IFSW, Africa (2009) http://www.ifsw.org/p38000152.html Retrieved July 7, 2009.
Kangas, O. & Palme, J. (eds) (2005) Social policy and economic development in the Nordic countries, Palgrave.
Karyeija, Faustine Nakazibwe (2007) Factors affecting the implementation of HIV/AIDS workplace policies in Uganda: A comparative analysis of the profit and non-profit sector. Master thesis in Comparative Social Work. Bodø University College.
KISWCD (2005) Kenya Institute of Social Work and Community Development http://www.kiswcd.co.ke/About%20us.html Retrieved July 4, 2009.
Klassekampen (2009) “De markedsliberalisterte Norge. 90-tallets nasjonale strateger”. June 20: 1, 14-17.
Knudsen, Knud and Anne Ryen (2005) Hvordan kan frynsegoder bli belønning? (How can fringe benefits become remuneration?) Oslo: Cappelen.
Knudsen, Knud and Anne Ryen (2006) ”Bedriftsvelferd på frammarsj: Løsning eller problem?” pp 167-191 in Nanna Kildal and Kari Tove Elvebakken (eds) Velferdspolitiske utfordringer. Risiko, prioriteringer og rettferdighet. Oslo: Abstrakt forlag.
LSE (2004) What is civil society? London School of Economics (http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CCS/what_is_civil_society.htm).
Lyngstad, Rolv (2005) “Mellom post-modernisme, nyliberalisme og kommunitarisme”, Pp.57- 79 in Siv Oltedal (ed.) Kritisk Sosialt Arbeid.Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag.
Mahigi, Bella, Anne Mbughuni, Anne Ryen and Anne Marie Støkken (2000) Women and the Labour Market in Tanzania. Impacts on Gendered Lives. Research Report no.22. AUC/IDM.
Mafile’o, Tracie (2004)”Exploring Tongan Social Work.” Qualitative Social Work, Vol. 3, No. 3, 239-257 (the abstracts is available here: http://qsw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/3/3/239)
Manda, Daminao Kulundu (2001) Incentive Structure and Efficiency in the Kenyan Civil Service. UN University Discussion paper No.52.
Massawe, Alex George (2008) kakamassawe My Personal Views! (blog) http://my.opera.com/kakamassawe/blog/ Retrieved July 13, 2009.
Nagpaul, Hans (1999)”Analysis of social work teaching in India: the need for indigenous material”. International Social Work Vol. 36, No. 3, 207-220.
Narayan, Deepa (1997) “Voices of the Poor. Poverty and Social Capital in Tanzania”. Environmentally and Sustainable Development Studies and Monographs Series 20, World Bank Publications. Washington.
Nimmagadda, Jayashree and Charles D. Cowger (1999)”Cross-cultural practice: Social worker ingenuity in the indigenization of practice knowledge.” International Social Work, Vol. 42, No. 3, 261-276 (for the abstract see http://isw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/3/261)
Osei – Hwedie, Kwaku (1993)”The Challenge of Social Work in Africa: Starting the Indigenisation Process”. Journal of Social Development in Africa (1993).8.1.19-30 (the whole article is available here: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/pdfs/ social%20development/vol8no1/jsda008001006.pdf) Retrieved July 9, 2009.
Regional Cooperation Newsletter for East and Southern Africa (2009) No.1. (http://www.icsw.org/doc/ESA_Newsletter_2009_January_Eng.doc Retrieved July 7, 2009.
Ryen, Anne (1984) Frynsegoder i Norsk Næringsliv. Forskningsserien 6, ADH.
Ryen, Anne (1998a) Fokus on Frynsegoder. En bedriftsundersøkelse. Agder University College, No.39.
Ryen, Anne (1998b) Fokus på Frynsegoder: En Diskusjon av Årsaker. Agder University College, No.38.
Ryen, Anne (2004) ”Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research” in Handbook of Qualitative Research Practice, Clive Seale, Giampietro Gobo, Jay Gubrium and David Silverman (eds), London: Sage.
Ryen, Anne (2007). “Do Western research ethics work in Africa? A discussion about not taking “the taken-the-granted” for granted.” PP.31-45 in Mosenodi (Journal of the Botswana Educational Research Association), with guest editor Donna M.Mertens.
Ryen, Anne and Rafael Habi (1993) Fringe benefits in Tanzania- access and distribution. Three case studies. Research Report no.2, AUC/IDM.
Self, Peter (2000) Rolling back the market. Economic Dogma and Political Choice. London: MacMillan Press.
Statistical Bureau, Norway (2008) Arbeid. Halve folket i arbeid. http://www.ssb.no/vis/emner/00/norge/arbeid/main.html Retrived July 15, 2009.
Statistical Bureau, Norway (2008) Omsorg og sosial trygghet. Samfunnets støtte. (http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/norge/omsorg/). Retrived July 15, 2009.
Statistical Bureau, Norway (2002) Sosialhjelp. Personell. http://www.ssb.no/emner/03/04/soshjelpp/tab-2002-12-19-01.html). Retrived July 8, 2009.
Statistical Bureau, Norway (2002) 2. Tilbud og etterspørsel for ulike grupper helsepersonell. Registrert 1999 og fremskrevet 2010 og 2020 med HELSEMOD, alternativ M. Balanse mellom tilbud og etterspørsel. Registrert 1999. Fremskrevet 2010 og 2020 med HELSEMOD, alternativ H, M og L. Årsverk. Extracts. (http://www.ssb.no/magasinet/analyse/tab-2002-08-26-02.html Retrived July 8, 2009.
The ISW Department of Social Work http://iswoso.net/Files/Copy%20(2)%20of%20 Prospectus_ISW_ORG.pdf Retrieved Oct. 7, 2009.
TSPA (2007) Service Provision Assessment Survey 2006. National Bureau of Statistics, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Macro International Inc. Calverton, Maryland, USA.
United Nations (2009) UN and Civil Society http://www.un.org/en/civilsociety/index.shtml Retrieved July 15, 2009.
United Nations (2008). THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS REPORT 2008. UN, NY. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/The%20Millennium%20Development%20 Goals%20Report%202008.pdf Retrieved July 15, 2009.
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2010-04-01
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Ryen, A., Temba, E., & Matotay, E. C. (2010). Company welfare and social work ethics: a space for social work? A discussion based on cases from Norway and Tanzania. Journal of Comparative Social Work, 5(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.31265/jcsw.v5i1.61
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