Social Care Work: Ethics and Practice

This assignment delves into the crucial aspects of ethical practice within social care. It examines how social workers navigate complex ethical dilemmas, emphasizing the importance of person-centered approaches and safeguarding vulnerable individuals. The document also highlights effective strategies for fostering successful partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including seeking advice when partnerships face challenges. Conflict resolution is another key focus, providing guidance on accessing support and utilizing appropriate methods to address disagreements constructively.

Role of the Social Care Worker 1
Role of the Social Care Worker
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PWCS 25: Understand the role of the social care worker
1.1. Explain how a working relationship is different from a personal relationship.
Collins (2009, p.56) affirms that a working relationship is different from a personal
relationship in several ways. The most common is the fact that a working relationship is one that
is an official relationship. It is mainly joined by the fact that people work together and have to
relate with each other from time to time in an effort to make sure that their working goals and
targets are archived. This is basically based in the work and the bond is the work you do.
On the other hand, a personal relationship is a relationship between two people that
involves emotions between the two people (ØVRETVEIT 2000, p. 98). A personal relationship
may also be brought about by other bonds like family that may have people related to one
another by blood. This may be brother sister or even cousin. This is different from the work
relationship because it only involves feelings between two people or relation by blood.
1.2. Describe different working relationships in social care settings.
There are several working relationships in social care setting that one needs to take into
consideration. The first one is the formal relations. This could be between the worker and other
professionals in the work place. This is important as it helps maintain the good working
environment between the people involved. This may also vary when one considers the rank of
the people that are considered because colleges may talk differently as opposed to workers and
managers (STIRK and SANDERSON 2012, P. 436).
The different settings may also include nursing homes and even in the community. These
are the most common and one can find paid and unpaid working relationships. This is because a
person can work in these in an effort to offer their help while expecting no pay while on the other

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hand they can be formally employed and receiving payment every now and then. There are also
informal relationships which may develop in the course of the job.
2.1. Describe why it is important to adhere to the agreed scope of the job role.
It is important to go by once job role in the position one is given for several reasons. The
first, it helps avoid making mistakes that may lead to inefficiencies at the work place. By
following the job roles given, one make sure that they have satisfied their roles and this means
they are not responsible for any mistake that may occur or any case where a task may not be
completed.
The job roles also help in measuring the effectiveness of each worker in contributing
towards the success of the organisation (DAVIES, 2013). It is also important as it helps avoid
conflicts among the workers which may be brought about by job allocation. Some people may
feel that they are not respected enough in the workplace if they feel their roles are being done by
others. By doing once own jobs, one is able to avoid such conflicts and enhance working
relationship.
2.2. Outline what is meant by agreed ways of working.
Agreed ways of working are basically arrangements that are in place to be practiced
while doing something. They are more commonly referred to as policies that govern the working
of a place. Policies are found in all the places of working and are supposed to be followed by all
the people that work in that place. According to COOPER (2012, p302), they help in bringing
order in the way things are done in an effort to make sure that the activities are completed in time
and the desired quality of the output is also archived.
There are also procedures that are brought in place by any agreed ways of working. These
are techniques and systematic steps that need to be followed when one is undertaking a certain

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activity in an effort to make sure that the activity is done in the correct manner. For social care
worker, there are procedures that are in place for dealing with certain patients and this should be
followed.
2.3. Explain the importance of full and up-to-date details of agreed ways of working.
The agreed ways of working help in providing information that can help the workers to
be able to make decisions that are within their boundaries. This goes a long way in making sure
that they can be able to exercise their duties effectively as much as possible. Second, it enables
the employees to be able to understand the constraints of their jobs without using a trial and error
approach which saves money and resources (OKO 2011, p. 68).
The agreed ways of working also show the commitment by the company to be able to
work in the specific way. This shows the concern of the top management in making sure that
things run as expected and this goes a long way in making sure that the employees have the
motivation to follow them. It also helps the social care workers to understand clearly the
difference between the individual responsibilities as well as the team responsibilities for more
efficiency in executing them.
3.1. Explain why it is important to work in partnership with others
It is often very important to make sure that social care workers are able to work alongside
other people in their job. These other people are mostly people that are affected by the actions of
the worker in one way or another (CLARKE 2002, p. 129). The first are the family members.
They should work together with all social care workers so as to make sure that the well being of
the people related to them is looked after to the best possible way. They should also be able to
inform the social care workers of any details necessary for taking care of their loved ones.

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Other people that should be involved are the care givers so as to make sure the detailed
needs of the people are looked after are provided. This also goes a long way in making sure that
the satisfaction of individuals is considered. Advocates should also be involved so that they can
be able to take care of any legal matters with ease.
3.2. Identify ways of working that can help improve partnership working.
Several things can help improve a partnership. The first of this is communication.
Communicating among the involved parties is important to making sure that the intended results
are achieved. Communication should be made to the parties involved using the correct channels
as well as within the required time period. This also improves the relationship between the
involved parties. Partnership is also improved by making sure that the trust between the parties
involved is at the best possible level.
GLASBY and PECK (2003, p. 267) notes that reporting information in its pure form is
also important. This means that it is very important to make sure all details are disclosed and that
the information is as accurate as possible. It helps make sure that the partnership between the
different people continues. Lastly, setting laws to help govern the relationship is important as it
makes sure that the people have a reference point for the activities they engage in among each
other.
3.3. Identify skills and approaches needed for resolving conflicts
In such a job, conflicts often arise from one time to another. It is essential to ensure that
there are ways to deal with comprehending these contentions in order to ensure that they don't
develop to substantial issues for the social consideration labourers. The first of these should be
discussions. This means that in case of any conflict, the people involved should be able to sit by

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themselves and discuss the problem at hand (BAILEY et al. 2013, p. 456). This should be done
with the sole aim of making sure that the conflict is solved.
Another appropriate method of resolving conflicts is by mediation. This is a method where the
parties involved look for a neutral third party who listens to their arguments and helps them to be
able to come up with solutions among themselves. This can help come up with win-win solutions
for the conflict without having to involve higher authorities (BERESFORD and CARR 2012,
p.78).
3.4. Explain how and when to access support and advice about:
• Partnership working
For partnership, social care workers should aim to make sure that they are able to partner
with the relevant people so as to deliver the best results. They should seek advice when
partnerships seem not to work well and this support and advice should be sourced from colleges
and managers. They are most familiar to the problem at hand and are likely to offer the most
suitable solution to the problem at that time.
• Resolving conflicts.
Advice is always very important to help someone in making the right decision. For the
conflicts, one should be able to get advice from the social services and unions that support these
workers on the issue of how they should solve a conflict and to what extent this should be done.
They have information on the most reasonable ways and this offers good advice (Jones 2014, p.
234). People like advocates could also be very helpful in such a case.

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References
BAILEY, G., SANDERSON, H., & ROUTLEDGE, M. (2013). Personalisation and Dementia a
Guide for Person-Centred Practice. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=114363.
BERESFORD, P., & CARR, S. (2012). Social care, service users and user involvement. London,
Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
CLARKE, L. (2002). Health and social care. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes.
Collins, S. (2009). Safeguarding adults: A workbook for social care workers. London: Jessica
Kingsley.
COOPER, F. (2012). Professional boundaries in social work and social care a practical guide to
understanding, Maintaining and Managing Your Professional Boundaries. London,
Jessica Kingsley Publishers. http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=58280.
GLASBY, J., & PECK, E. (2003). Care trusts: partnership working in action. Abingdon,
Radcliffe Medical.
Jones, S. (2014). Social work practice placements: Critical and reflective approaches.
OKO, J. (2011). Understanding and Using Theory in Social Work.
https://nls.ldls.org.uk/welcome.html?ark:/81055/vdc_100025406420.0x000001.
ØVRETVEIT, J. (2000). Coordinating community care: multidisciplinary teams and care
management. Buckingham [u.a.], Open Univ. Press.
STIRK, S., & SANDERSON, H. (2012). Creating person-centred organisations: strategies and
tools for managing change in health, social care and the voluntary sector. London, Jessica
Kingsley Publishers.