Privatisation's Effect on Social Services & Social Work Practices

This essay examines the privatisation of social services and its implications for social work. It identifies a relevant example within the Australian context, focusing on the privatisation of human services and its effects on service delivery. The essay discusses the definition of privatisation, its potential impact on social services (including cost increases and shifts in organisational focus), and explores both the advantages (such as improved efficiency and reduced political interference) and disadvantages (like increased costs for service users and a decline in service quality). Finally, it analyses the effects of privatisation on social workers, including job insecurity and increased work pressure. The essay concludes that while privatisation may bring some financial benefits, it also poses significant challenges to the quality and accessibility of social services and the well-being of social work professionals. Desklib offers a range of study tools and resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to aid students in their academic pursuits.

Running head: SOCIAL WORK
IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
Introduction
Social services refer to wide range of the various public services that exist within the
concerned political territories of the several countries all around the world. These services might
be offered by the various different types of organization. These organizations might be managed
by the government or the private concerns. The social services are also provided by the non-
profit organizations. The main aim of these organizations is the creation of various concerns that
are more effective. The social services also aim at the creation of the communities that are
stronger. The social services are known for the promotion of the opportunity and the equality
within the given society (Kamerman & Kahn, 2014). The social services within the community
tends to involve the various facilities and the benefits like the adoption, education, fire services,
subsidies of food, management of the community, researches of the policies, the police
departments. The following essay deals with the privatization of the social services within the
territories, the effect of the privatization on the social services. The essay further deals with the
advantages and the disadvantages of the privatization of the social services. The essay comes to
an end with the discussion of the effects of the privatization on the various social workers who
have been serving the society.
Example of social work and manifestation of the social practices of work
The most prominent example of the privatization within the Australian territories is the
privatization of the human services of Australia. The privatization of the human services within
the Australian human services have a huge impact on the matters that are related to the
reformation of the various services within the given territories. The main aim of the human
services in the Australian territories is the creation of various concerns that are more effective.
The human services in the Australian territories also aim at the creation of the communities that

2IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
are stronger (Sbs.com.au., 2018). The human services in the Australian territories are known for
the promotion of the opportunity and the equality within the given society. The human services
in the Australian territories within the community tends to involve the various facilities and the
benefits like the adoption, education, fire services, subsidies of food, management of the
community, researches of the policies, the police departments. The privatization of the various
services within the given political territories might need to deal with the changes in the strategies
that are incorporated within the Australian human services.
Privatization of Social Services
The privatization refers to the matters that pertain to the transfer of the concerned
organization from the public sphere of the industries to the private sphere. The privatization of
the various organizations might mean relate to the matters that are pertain to the high regulation
of the various activities within the various organizations. The privatization of an organization
might also refer to the sale of the concerned organization from being owned by the state and the
other governmental bodies to being owned by the private organizations (Hodge, 2018). The
privatization might lead to the conditions wherein the cost of the services might face a huge
increase and thus lead to the decrease of the popularity of the concerned social service within the
political territories wherein the concerned service is located.
Effect on the Social Services
The privatization of the social services tends to improvise on the various factors of the
social services. The privatization of the social services might lead to the conditions wherein the
cost of the services face an increment. This might lead to the conditions within the society
wherein the concerned lower-level residents within the society. The privatization might lead to

3IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
the conditions wherein the cost of the services might face a huge increase and thus lead to the
decrease of the popularity of the concerned social service within the political territories wherein
the concerned service is located (Lobao, Adua & Hooks, 2014). The privatization of the social
services leads to the conditions wherein the concerned organization might lose on the
governmental stakeholders. This might lead to the decrease in the grants that were initiated by
the concerned governmental bodies that are active within the given political boundaries of the
country. The privatization of the social services also leads to the change in the focus of the
organization from the service orientation to the orientation towards the collection of the profit
(Chun, 2016). This might lead to the conditions wherein the quality of the services that are
provided might face a decline. This leads to the decrease in the number of the clients of the
organization as well as the volunteers who have been involved in the social services within the
given political territories.
Advantages of Privatization
The privatization of the organization has a number of advantages. The privatization of the
social services might lead to the implementation of the improvement of the efficiency within the
concern. The privatization of the concerned social services might lead to the conditions wherein
the concerned organization might face a positive change in matters that pertain to the inflow of
the profit within the organization (Eurich & Langer, 2015). The privatization of the social
services also leads to the change in the focus of the organization from the service orientation to
the orientation towards the collection of the profit (Baines, 2018). This might help in the inflow
of the funds that are needed for the matters that might help in the smooth operations of the
concerned organization. The privatization of the organization helps in the eradication of the
matters that pertain to the political interference within the organization. This might help in the

4IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
eradication of the interference of the political factors within the organization (Lamothe, 2015).
The privatization of the organization helps in the matters that pertain to the implementation of
the business sense and the economic sense within the concerned organization involved in the
social services. The privatization of the organization involved in the social practices tend to help
in the increase of the competition within the given organization.
Disadvantages of Privatization
The privatization of the social services has a number of disadvantages as well. The
privatization of the social services might lead to the conditions wherein the cost of the services
face an increment. This might lead to the conditions within the society wherein the concerned
lower-level residents within the society (Scheil-Adlung, 2017). The privatization might lead to
the conditions wherein the cost of the services might face a huge increase and thus lead to the
decrease of the popularity of the concerned social service within the political territories wherein
the concerned service is located. The privatization of the social services also leads to the change
in the focus of the organization from the service orientation to the orientation towards the
collection of the profit. This might lead to the conditions wherein the quality of the services that
are provided might face a decline (Baldwin, 2016). This leads to the decrease in the number of
the clients of the organization as well as the volunteers who have been involved in the social
services within the given political territories. The privatization of the social services leads to the
conditions wherein the concerned organization might lose on the governmental stakeholders
(Fabricant, Burghardt & Epstein, 2016). This might lead to the decrease in the grants that were
initiated by the concerned governmental bodies that are active within the given political
boundaries of the country. The privatization might lead to the conditions wherein the concerned
organization might implement a monopolization within the concerned industry.

5IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
Effect on the Social Workers
The privatization of the various social organization tends to affect the various social
workers. The privatization of the organization might lead to the conditions wherein the social
workers might receive regular payments in return for the service that they might provide to the
concerned organization or the community at large. The privatization of the social services also
leads to the change in the focus of the organization from the service orientation to the orientation
towards the collection of the profit (Abramovitz & Zelnick, 2015). This might help in the inflow
of the funds that are needed for the matters that might help in the smooth operations of the
concerned organization. The social workers who have been involved in the matters that pertained
to the social services that have been undergoing the privatization tend to deal with the constant
fear of losing the job (Petersen, Houlberg & Christensen, 2015). The other factors that might be a
reason of worry for the social workers is the increase in the work pressure as well as the decrease
of the quality of the services that are provided to the concerned clients seeking services from the
concerned organization.
Conclusion
In lieu of the afore-mentioned concern, it might be concluded that the privatization of the
several organizations extending social services to the residents of the concerned region. The
privatization of the concerned social services might lead to the conditions wherein the concerned
organization might face a positive change in matters that pertain to the inflow of the profit within
the organization. The privatization of the social services also leads to the change in the focus of
the organization from the service orientation to the orientation towards the collection of the
profit. This might help in the inflow of the funds that are needed for the matters that might help
in the smooth operations of the concerned organization. The privatization of the organization

6IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
helps in the eradication of the matters that pertain to the political interference within the
organization.

7IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
References
Abramovitz, M., & Zelnick, J. (2015). Privatization in the human services: Implications for
direct practice. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(3), 283-293.
Baines, D. (2018). New Public Management, migrant professionals and labour mobility:
possibilities for social justice social work?. Transnational Social Work: Opportunities
and Challenges of a Global Profession, 35.
Baldwin, M. (2016). Critical reflection: Opportunities and threats to professional learning and
service development in social work organizations. In Social work, critical reflection and
the learning organization (pp. 51-66). Routledge.
Chun, J. J. (2016). Organizing across divides: Union challenges to precarious work in
Vancouver’s privatized health care sector. Progress in Development Studies, 16(2), 173-
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Eurich, J., & Langer, A. (2015). Innovations in European social services: context, conceptual
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transformation of social service work. Routledge.
Hodge, G. (2018). Privatization: An international review of performance. Routledge.
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Princeton University Press.

8IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVATISATION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON SOCIAL WORK
Lamothe, S. (2015). How competitive is “competitive” procurement in the social services?. The
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Lobao, L., Adua, L., & Hooks, G. (2014). Privatization, business attraction, and social services
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Petersen, O. H., Houlberg, K., & Christensen, L. R. (2015). Contracting out local services: A tale
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Sbs.com.au. (2018). Would the privatisation of Australian Human Services provide a better
service?. Retrieved 2 September 2018 from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/the-point-with-
stan-grant/article/2016/10/18/would-privatisation-australian-human-services-provide-
better-service
Scheil-Adlung, X. (2017). Building Social Security: Volume 6, The Challenge of Privatization.
Routledge.