Social Welfare

UNIT 1 SOCIAL WELFARE Administration: Concept,

History and Nature
ADMINISTRATION: CONCEPT,
HISTORY AND NATURE
*Beena Antony
Contents
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Concepts Related to Social Welfare Administration
1.3 Definition of Social Welfare Administration
1.4 Features of Social Welfare Administration
1.5 History of Social Welfare Administration in India
1.6 Nature of Social Welfare Administration
1.7 Social Welfare Administration as a Profession
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Key Words
1.10 Further Readings and References

1.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit aims to help you to understand the concept of social welfare
administration. In the first section we will introduce you to what is social welfare
administration. In the second section we will study the concepts that are related
to social welfare administration. In the third section, we will examine the
meaning, features and history of social welfare administration. In the last section,
we will study the nature of social welfare administration as a profession. After
going through this unit you would be able to understand:
The concept related to social welfare administration i.e. social welfare,
social service, administration and social administration.
Meaning, features and history of social welfare administration.
The nature of social welfare administration.
Social welfare administration as a profession.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In earlier times, social welfare was performed by a select few individuals or
small groups of individuals who were inspired by compassion and concern for
the poor, the needy and the destitute. These people were either the elite of the
society or the common men, who believed in the qualities of humanism and
selfless service to the community. In modern times, most of the countries have
adopted the concept of a welfare state that makes welfare services the
responsibility of the state. The encyclopedia of social sciences describes a
welfare state as a state that takes up the responsibility to provide a minimum
standard of existence to its citizens. In a welfare state, the administration enters
*Dr. Beena Antony, Delhi University, Delhi
Social Welfare Administration into economic, political, social and educational life of individuals. The citizens
of the country are taken care of from their birth to their death. The state provides
service to the old, sick, orphans, widows, helpless, oppressed and the disabled
people whenever they are in need of services.
The progress and prosperity of any country can be observed by the socio-
economic positioning of its citizens mainly the deprived sections of the society
that are the women, children, scheduled castes, tribal and the disabled population
who suffer from poverty, disease, unemployment and many other social
deprivations. It is essential that such sections of our society must be noticed by
the state, policy makers, planners, social welfare administrators, social scientists
and academicians, so that legislations, policies and programmes are formulated
in line with the Constitution of our country. As a result the country progresses
as a whole, not just some sections doing well and others being left behind.
In the context of the present day social problems, the size of welfare services
provided by an increasingly large number of organizations make administration
very important. Social welfare services, schemes, projects and programmes,
are becoming increasingly complex. Since, it is no longer accepted that any
normally intelligent person with good intentions can administer the welfare
work, a sound administration is vital. It is increasingly realized that social
welfare programmes require qualified and trained social welfare personnel to
perform social welfare functions efficiently. So, it is argued that for serving the
people effectively it is necessary to be professional, as professionalism can
increase the ability of social welfare personnel to solve the pressing social
problems confronting our society. The training of a social worker to be a
professional would be incomplete without social welfare administration. Thus,
we can say there are six methods of social work practice — case work, group
work, community organization, social action, social research and social welfare
administration. Social welfare administration aims to apply professional
competence to achieve social work goals. Social work’s aim is to provide
service to individuals in the society and social welfare administration is the
‘business’ of social work. Social welfare administration helps in professionally
doing social work in the society.

1.2 CONCEPTS RELATED TO SOCIAL

WELFARE ADMINISTRATION
In MSW-001(Block-2) you were exposed to several concepts pertaining to
social work. In this section we shall introduce you to some of the concepts that
must be understood before we get to understand what Social Welfare
Administration is all about.

Social Work
It is based on a systematic body of knowledge derived from research and
practice, from different fields of social work. Social work acknowledges the
complexity of interactions between human beings and their environment, and
the capacity of people both to be affected by and to alter the multiple influences
upon them including bio-psychosocial factors. The social work profession is
derived from theories of human development and behaviour and social systems
and works for individual, organizational, social and cultural changes for the
betterment of the society. Social work is committed to the pursuit of social Social Welfare
Administration: Concept,
justice, to the improvement of the quality of life and to the development of the History and Nature
full potential of each individual, group and community in the society. It seeks to
address and resolve social issues at every level of society and economic status,
but especially among the poor and sick. Social workers are concerned with
social problems, their causes, their solutions and their human impacts. Social
workers work with individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities.
Social workers need to equip themselves with social welfare administration to
work better in the field of social work.

Social Development
Is the process of focused change to meet objectives and goals desired in the
society. Development means progressive change in the living conditions and
qualities of life of the members of the society. The process of social development
is growth in the direction of modernity, nation-building and socio-economic
progress. Development has to be a whole, value laden, cultural process,
including the natural environment, social relations, education, production,
consumption and well being of the whole nation. When we talk social
development we do not mean just the infrastructure development of the country
we mean development of the people of the country, all human beings must have
a satisfying material, cultural and spiritual life. Thus social development is the
transformation of the society. It is very essential that social welfare
administration be practiced to bring in the required social development in our
country.

Social Welfare
It is a dynamic process that circles around social problems and ways in which
society responds to these problems. Social problems affect individuals and the
society at large. Social problems come from unfulfilled individual needs.
Individuals have a variety of needs, some more basic like food, clothes and
shelter, some more sophisticated like dignity and status, some are intangible
like love and affection. These needs are usually met by the individuals themselves
or their family or the society in which they live. But when these needs are
unfulfilled they lead to social problems. Some of the social problems present
in our society are poverty, inadequate housing, unemployment, loneliness and
crime. The whole body of remedial and ameliorative services for the weaker
sections of our society are covered by social welfare. These include curative
and preventive services. Social welfare contributes to change and adjustment
of social institutions to the creation of the required infrastructure of community
services and can enable people to accept and provide social change for over
all development.
Social welfare is also understood as those formally organized and socially
sponsored institutions, agencies and programmes that operate to improve and
maintain the economic conditions, health or inter-personal competence of some
sections of the population or of all the population. Thus social welfare implies
reordering of socio-economic relations in the present society, which is
undergoing rapid transformation. Social welfare can be defined as “The
organized system of social welfare institutions designed to aid disadvantaged
individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health. It aims
at personal and social relationship which permits individuals to develop their
Social Welfare Administration full capacities and the promotion of their well-being in harmony with the needs
of the community” (Titmus, 1968).

Social Welfare Agency

It is an organization or an institution that provides treatment and preventive
services in social welfare. These agencies practice social work, according to
the objectives laid down by the agency. Social welfare agencies are of three
kinds. First the governmental agencies which function according to the
governmental setup, run and controlled by the government and funded by the
taxes collected. Second are the voluntary agencies financed by the members of
the community with local contributions and donations. Third are the non-
governmental and autonomous agencies promoted and funded by the government.
The daily activities of these agencies are performed by voluntary workers and
full-time paid employees.

Administration
Before discussing the meaning of social welfare administration, it is necessary
to know the meaning of the term administration. Administration is a cooperative
human effort towards achieving some common goals. Thus every group activity
involves administration, whether it is a family, factory, hospital, university, or
a government department. Whenever two or more people cooperate in view of
doing a thing that cannot be taken up alone, the concept of administration appear.
The word administration has been derived from the Latin words ‘ad’ and
‘ministrate’ which means to serve. In simple language, it means the ‘management
of affairs’ or ‘looking after the people’. To administer is to manage, direct and
serve.
Some of the definitions of administration are listed below:
L.D. White (1948) views that “the art of administration is the direction,
coordination and control of many persons to achieve some purpose or objective”.
E.A. Nigro (1951) defines “administration as the organization and use of men
and materials to accomplish a purpose”.
According to Herbert A. Simon (1960) “in its broadest sense, administration
can be defined as the activities of groups co-operative to accomplish common
goals”.
Pfiffner defines “administration as the organization and direction of human and
material resources to achieve desired ends”.
Thus, it is clear from above definitions that administration is concerned with
proper organization of men and material to achieve desired ends. It consists of
doing the work or getting the work done by others.

Social Administration
To achieve the aims and objectives of social welfare, the government formulates
social policies and programmes and in pursuance thereof enacts social
legislations, allocates financial assistance and provides organizational and
administrative linkages in the form of ministries and departments. It also seeks
the partnership of non-governmental organizations for the effective
implementation of various social welfare programmes. Administration of all
these activities being undertaken in the sphere of social services and social Social Welfare
Administration: Concept,
welfare is considered as falling in the realm of social welfare administration. History and Nature
According to Richard M. Titmus, 1948, “social administration may broadly be
defined as the study of social services whose object is the improvement of
conditions of life of the individual in the setting of family and group relations”.
D.V. Donnison, 1961 defines social administration “as the study of development,
structure and practices of social services”.
According to Forder (1974) “social administration is concerned with study of
the welfare system, and particularly the government sponsored social services”.
Thus, social administration is concerned with the study of welfare system of
government’s sponsored social services.

Check your progress 1

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What is social welfare?
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2) Give two definitions of social administration.

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1.3 DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WELFARE

ADMINISTRATION
Social welfare administration is a process through which social policy is
transformed into social services. It involves the administration of government
and non-government agencies. The following definitions will elaborate the
meaning of social welfare administration.
John C. Kidneigh (1950) defines social welfare administration as the “process
of transforming social policy into social services…. a two way process: (i).
…transforming policy into concrete social services and (ii) the use of experience
in recommending modification of policy. The definition here emphasis is that
administration is the process of transforming policies into action programmes
for the betterment of the society.
Social Welfare Administration According to Walter A. Friedlander (1958) “administration of social agencies
translates the provisions of social legislation of social agencies and the aims of
private philanthropy and religious charities into the dynamics of services and
benefits for humanity.
According to Arthur Dunham (1962) “administration is the process of supporting
or facilitating activities which are necessary and incidental to services by a
social agency. Administrative activities range from the determination of function
and policies, and executive leadership to routine operations such as keeping
records and accounts and carrying on maintenance of services.
Herleigh Tracker (1971) interprets social welfare administration as a “process
of working with people in ways that release and relate their energies so that
they use available resources to accomplish the purpose of providing needed
community services and programmes.”
The American Council of Social Work Education in its curriculum study has
given a comprehensive definition of social welfare administration. It states
“administration is the process of transforming community resources into a
programme of community services, in accordance with goals, policies and
standards which has been agreed by those involved in the enterprise. It is creative
in that it structures roles and relationships in such a way as to alter and enhance
the total product. It involves the problem solving process of study, diagnosis
and treatment”.
On the basis of above definitions, we find that social welfare administration is
a process that includes definite knowledge, understanding, principles and ways
of interaction. Its main focus is on the sustainability and accessibility of social
services to the needy. Social work enables the process of administration through
guidance, planning, stimulation, organization, creating structure, coordinating
research. To accomplish the well defined objectives of administration, policies
are suitably amended; programmes are formulated, and budget, and finance
provided, personnel and selection procedures are made available.
Rosemary Sarri (1971) has outlined the activities of social welfare
administration as follows:
i) Translation of social mandates into operational policies and goals to guide
organizational behaviour;
ii) Design of organizational structures and processes through which the goals
can be achieved;
iii) Securing of resources in the form of materials, staff, clients etc. for goal
attainment and organizational survival.
iv) Selection and engineering of necessary technology.
v) Optimizing organizational behaviour directed towards increased
effectiveness and efficiency; and
vi) Evaluation of organizational performance to facilitate systematic and
continuous solution to problems.
 Social Welfare
1.4 FEATURES OF SOCIAL WELFARE Administration: Concept,
History and Nature
ADMINISTRATION
Although the concept of administration is applicable in a broader sense to areas
including social welfare, business and government, there are certain distinctive
features of social welfare administration. Some distinctive features of social
welfare administration are given below:
Social welfare administration deals with social welfare agencies and helps
them to achieve their objectives for the target groups for which they are
working. It is specifically concerned with identification of social objectives,
the formulation and implementation of proposed programmes to achieve
the objectives laid down.
From functional point of view, social welfare administration includes three
perspectives of social problems: (i) restoration of impaired social
functioning; (ii) provision of resources, social and individual, for more
effective social functioning; (iii) prevention of social dysfunction.
Despite variations in size, scope, structure and types of programmes, every
agency has a governing board as an apex body for final decision-making.
The board is generally represented by the community it intends to serve.
Social welfare administration requires optimum utilization of its available
resources together with active community participation, so that the ultimate
goal of programmes can be achieved properly.
Social welfare agencies have to allocate certain portion of their resources
for survival so that the organization can continue to exist. But this should
not limit their capacity to achieve quantitative and qualitative growth.
Social welfare agencies generally function in a cooperative manner and
ensure participation of all the members in administration of their activities.
There is a growing trend in these agencies to recruit professionally qualified
manpower. It has helped in introducing professional approach in their
functioning.

Many scholars like Henry Fayol, Mary P. Follet and L. Urwick claim that there
is hardly any differentiation between various types of administration.
Irrespective of service delivery (outcome), administration relies on common
skills, techniques and procedures, types of hierarchy, kind of organisation
structure, superior – subordinate relationships, and management systems. All
types of administration work for efficient delivery of services to people or
customers. Public and private administration serves the people whether being
called clients or customers. With liberalization, privatization and globalization,
different types of administrations have to compete and collaborate in the same
area to provide services to people. New Public Management, which has come
into prominence recently, puts emphasis on managemerial techniques, which
are to be adopted by all types of administrations for the efficient devlivery of
services to the people.

Let us now look at the diverse services and the actors in the administrative
system. In contemporary world, most of the actors are providing for almost all
the major services. Stated differently, now-a-days, boundaries between different
Social Welfare Administration types of administration are merging or getting blurred. For instance, health
services in a common parlance may be taken as social service administration.
We have private hospitals and government hospital, charitable and religious
organizations also provide health services to marginalized population.
Government has initiated many programmes and services for deprived sections
of the society, which range from preventive to curative approaches. Private
hospitals, too, extend certain OPD and ward services for ‘poor’ people. Similarly,
educational services are provided by government, private actors, voluntary
agencies, corporate houses to diverse population categories – children of middle
class families, tribal children, adult education centres, schools in urban, rural,
hilly areas, etc. Hence boundaries between various types of administration are
diminishing and new concept of ‘development administration’ is gaining
popularity.

1.5 HISTORY OF SOCIAL WELFARE

ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA
Mutual aid has been part of every community. The desire to help one’s fellowmen
has been in existence from society to society, depending upon the social,
economic and political factors. People help the persons in need thus provide
mutual aid to the society. Indian traditional view of social welfare is based on
the concepts of daya, dana, dakshina, bhiksha, samya-bhava, swadharma and
tyaga, the essence of which are self-discipline, self-sacrifice and consideration
for others. Well-being of all depends on these values upheld by people
individually and through community action. All the religions urges upon their
devotees to put aside a portion of their income to be utilized for charitable
purposes, which will provide them happiness in this world and salvation in the
next world. The kings and the royal families of earlier days extended help to
the affected population during emergencies like floods, earthquakes, fires,
droughts and other natural calamities.

From the administrative angle, in India, the reigns of king Ashoka, Harsha,
Chandra Gupta Maurya, Akbar, Sher Shah Suri and Feroze Tuglak, were the
landmarks of administration who took care of the social needs of the people.
The British government also established an administrative set-up intended mainly
for maintaining law and order. Some social reform measures were taken up by
banning sati and permitting widow remarriage by acts passed in 1829 and 1856
respectively.

After Independence of our country in 1947 the old administrative pattern was
more or less continued with necessary changes to suit the social, political and
economic set-up that had evolved.

In the field of social welfare, during the First Five Year Plan, Government of
India realized that the government alone can not manage the enormous range of
social problems across the length and breath of our country and sought the help
of voluntary organizations to help them in the process, so created a unique
administrative machinery consisting of an autonomous board named CSWB
(Central Social Welfare Board) in August 1953. Similarly, social welfare
advisory boards were established at state level. The main purpose of the Board
(CSWB) has been to provide financial and technical assistance to voluntary Social Welfare
Administration: Concept,
organizations working in the field of social welfare. If we look at the history of History and Nature
administrative organization, we find that before 1964 social welfare programmes
were being managed by different ministries such as education, home, industries,
health, labor. The Renuka Ray Committee in its report submitted in 1960,
recommended the establishment of the Department of Social Security. Under
the Prime Ministership of Lal Bahadur Shashtri, a social security department
was established and located in the ministry of law on 14th June 1964. Subjects,
namely, social security, social welfare, backward classes and khadi and
handicrafts were allocated to the Department of Social Security. In 1966, it
was renamed as Social Welfare Department. It was located in the Ministry of
Education and Social Welfare created in 1971. Its status was raised to a ministry
in the year 1979. Its name was further changed to the Ministry of Social and
Women Welfare in 1984. With the creation of a separate Department of Women
and Child Development in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it
was recognized and its nomenclature was changed to the Ministry of Welfare in
1985 and subsequently it was renamed as the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment.

Thus, the central government has set up a full-fledged ministry and organizations
subordinate to it, like National Commission for Scheduled Castes/Tribes,
Minorities Commission, National Institute of Social Defense, National Institute
for the Handicapped, Department of Women and Child Development, Central
Social Welfare Board, National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child
Development, etc., under its administrative control.

Besides the execution of social welfare projects, schemes, and programmes

sponsored and financed wholly or partly by the central government; the state
governments and union territory administrations formulate and implement
welfare service programmes on their own in their respective jurisdictions. The
state government/union territory administrations carry out their welfare
obligations and programmes mainly through their Department of Social Welfare
and voluntary organizations. In most of the states, either there is full time secretary
for social welfare or it is one of the main portfolios of a secretary. Thus, social
welfare schemes are still spread over more than one department/directorate.
The pattern of implementation of some of the schemes, like old age pension,
widow pension, and supplementary nutrition programmes also vary from state
to state. Though most of the states now have district social welfare officers,
there is no social welfare functionary at block level.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What do you understand by social welfare administration?
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Social Welfare Administration
2) Describe the features of social welfare administration.
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3) Explain the historical development of social welfare administration.
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1.6 NATURE OF SOCIAL WELFARE

ADMINISTRATION
There is a debate whether social welfare administration is science or art, with
the passage of time the question is still unresolved. There are conflicting views
and opinions on this issue and each appears to be justified in its own way.
Social welfare lends itself to two usages. It stands for the process of administering
the social welfare programmes. It is also an area of intellectual enquiry. The
first is practice and second is study. As a practice, social welfare administration
is decidedly an art.
Social Welfare Administration as an Art
Social welfare administration as an art, have been supported by the following
arguments
i) Social welfare administration can be acquired: no doubt art is a natural
gift. Music, dance, drama or painting is the examples of this category of
art. But natural gifts can find their best expression by proper training,
without which even the best artists will die unknown. On the other hand, a
painter making a painting and a potter shaping a beautiful piece of pottery
are also the examples of art. It is so because they possess the following
elements:
a) Personal skills
b) Practical know-how
c) Result orientation
d) Creativity and
e) Constant practice aimed at perfection.
Similarly, the art of social welfare administration can be acquired. Talented
persons become the best administrators under proper training. Thus so far
 acquisition is concerned social welfare administration is also like other Social Welfare
Administration: Concept,
arts. History and Nature
ii) It is subjective in nature:
A chef makes a dish with personal passion for food. A carpenter adds
beauty to his creation with his tools. A social welfare administrator with
the application of knowledge and skills can make wonders by combining
and bringing together available human and material resources to change
the very face of the nation. Today success of every welfare programme
depends on how a social welfare administrator performs the job.
iii) Practical application of knowledge: art is the practical application of
systematic knowledge. It is not merely theory but putting that into practice.
Similarly, social welfare administration is not merely theory but it is
application also. And the best knowledge can be gained by practice alone.
Managing human resource needs a lot of skill, experience and balanced
personality traits.

Social Welfare Administration as a Science

Science is the systematic study of knowledge. Those who believe that social
welfare administration is a science point out that there are certain specific and
clear principles on which day to day administration of social welfare
programmes are being run and managed. They also argue that these principles
are based on sound and rational principles, which are also considered universal.
The following arguments have been put forward to justify that social welfare
administration is a science:
Application of scientific methods: the claim of a discipline to be called a
science depends on whether the scientific method of study is applicable to
it. Social welfare administration can be called a science, because the
scientific method of study equally is applicable to it, as in the case of other
social sciences.
Critical examination: critical examination and study of evidence is the
prime requisite of any scientific study. This is possible in social welfare
administration also.
Universal guidelines: universal principles of social welfare administration
also provide the coloring of science. Even if we cannot use all the guidelines
in a similar manner, these guidelines certainly help the administrator in
proper implementation of social welfare programmes.
However, the nature of social welfare administration as a science has been
criticized on the basis of experimentation, and objectivity. Thus, it may not be
an exact science, but it is a science in its own way. It is also an art, because it is
connected not only with formulation of general principles of social welfare
programmes but also with actual running of the administration of social welfare
programmes.

Interdisciplinary Nature
Social welfare administration requires the interdisciplinary knowledge and
constant interaction with other social sciences to know the human beings in
totality, such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science and
economics to solve their problems in appropriate manner.
Social Welfare Administration Administrative Structure
Social welfare administration is based on the organizational and administrative
structure of social welfare programmes at each and every level of implementation
stage. Similarly, it is also important to know the role and set up of non-
governmental organizations for effectively carrying out their functions.

Financial Administration
The scope of social welfare and social security is increasing day by day and
more and more people are coming under the coverage of these programmes,
and so the need for additional financial support increases. In order to make out
proper and effective budgeting of such programme, the knowledge of financial
administration is highly essential. Thus it is important that persons must be
trained in the techniques and principles of administration.

Personal Management
In order to provide effective social welfare services to the needy and suffering,
it is essential to have committed, trained and motivated social welfare
functionaries at different levels. Thus social welfare administrators need the
knowledge of human resource management which includes knowledge from the
very beginning, that is recruitment policies, job classification, training and
development, staff evaluation, advancement and transfer so that the personnel
understand the need and importance of the work they are doing, and they would
be effective in implementing the social welfare programmes.

Public Relations and Participation

The social welfare administrator needs to be convinced of the importance of
public relations with regard to both their own agency and its services, and the
community as a whole. The welfare administrators must be comfortable to use
mass media, such as TV, radio, newspaper, brochures, books and personal
contacts, to interpret their agencies’ programmes to the public and reaching
community members. It is also required to get associated with the government
and non-governmental agencies working in the field, the people or the
beneficiaries, whose co-operation and support will add to the effective planning,
formulation and implementation of policies and programmes intended for their
welfare.

To Conduct Research and Evaluation Studies

Research and evaluation studies provide useful information and feedback on
impact of on-going projects and about the different dimensions of existing social
problems. Research also facilitates effective planning, policy formulation and
implementation of programmes.

1.7 SOCIAL WELFARE ADMINISTRATION AS

A PROFESSION
Before answering the question whether social welfare administration is a
profession or not, one must know the essential features of a profession and
determine how far these features are found in social welfare administration. In
general, people do not raise objection when a doctor is called as medical
professional, teaching as a profession or for that matter law as profession. The
simple dictionary meaning of profession indicates one who has acquired Social Welfare
Administration: Concept,
specialized knowledge, which is used for instructing, guiding or advising others. History and Nature
An operational definition of profession may be given as follows:
Profession is an occupation for which specialized knowledge, skills and training
are required and the use of these skills is not meant for self-satisfaction but are
used for larger interests of the society and the success of these skills is measured
not in terms of money alone.
Thus all professions are occupations in the sense that they provide means of
livelihood. However, all occupations are not professions because some of
them lack certain characteristics of a profession. The various characteristics
of a profession can be mentioned as:
Existence of an organized and systematized body of knowledge;
Formal method of acquisition of knowledge;
Existence of an association with professionalisation as its goals;
Formulation of ethical goals; and
Service motto.
Let us discuss the extent to which all these characteristics are found in social
welfare administration to determine whether it is a profession or not.

Existence of Knowledge
Social welfare administration has developed a distinct body of knowledge, in
response to the need for managing the complex social problems in a better way.
In India, almost all courses of social work offer a course on social welfare
administration to the students. Thus, it satisfies the requirement of a profession
in the form of existence of knowledge. However, the social welfare
administration is still evolving and new guidelines are being developed though
this does not affect its status of being a profession.

Acquisition of Knowledge
An individual can enter a profession only after acquiring knowledge and
required skills through formal training. For example, only formally trained
persons can enter the professions of law, engineering or medicine. Thus social
welfare administration may be called a profession because schools of social
work and schools of public administration provide training in this discipline.

Professional Association
An occupation which claims to be a profession should have an association.
Such a representative body of professionals regulate and develop the
profession’s activities. The professional associations may also prescribe the
standards for individuals who want to enter the profession. But we are still
struggling for an apex body, which would regulate the terms and conditions for
Social Welfare Administration like Bar Council of India etc.

Ethical Code
Every profession has a code of ethics. Codes provide proper guidance when
the situation at hand is choice between a good and a bad decision. Thus code
of ethics serves several functions for a profession, including guiding, decision
Social Welfare Administration making, assessing competence, regulating behavior and evaluating the
profession. In social welfare administration, the code of ethics provides a
guide for professional roles and relationships at various levels of responsibility
in relation to clients, colleagues, employers, employing organizations and the
society. Therefore, the social welfare administration is a profession and its
code of ethics is based on the fundamental values of the social work profession
that includes the worth, dignity and uniqueness of all persons as well as their
rights and opportunities.

Service Motto
In modern times, all human activities are concerned with money. But in a
profession, an effort is made to see that service motto should prevail over
monetary considerations. Professionals should keep social interest in their
mind while charging fees for their professional services. For example, a doctor
helps the patient, even when he charges fee. But he also serves humanity in the
process. A lawyer helps the client. Not to charge fee is a help, but to provide
justice to the client is most important. Similarly, a social welfare administrator
administers the social welfare programmes, not only for money and personal
satisfaction, but use his/her knowledge and skills to serve the larger interest of
the society.
Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be summarized that social
welfare administration is yet to achieve the status of a profession. To become
an independent profession, it requires attaining social sanction, professional
commitment, governmental approval, a professional association to regulate the
profession and involvement of trained personnel in the field of welfare
administration, instead of being controlled only by bureaucrats.

1.8 LET US SUM UP

This unit, introduces us to a method of social work that is social welfare
administration. The concept of social welfare administration is discussed with
other concepts like social work, social welfare, social service, social security
and administration,
Social administration helps to understand all these above discussed concepts
better.

1.9 KEY WORDS

Social welfare agency is an organization that offers social welfare services to
help the needy of the society.
Administration is the process of organizing people and resources efficiently
so as to direct activities towards goals and objectives.
Profession is a vocation founded by specialized educational training to provide
services to others.
Ethical Code is behavior patterns adopted by professional groups or
organizations to regulate a particular code of conduct ensuring expected behavior
among the members of the group.
 Social Welfare
1.10 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES Administration: Concept,
History and Nature
Brody, Ralph. (2005). Effectively Managing Human Service Organisations.
London: Sage
Chowdhry, D.P. (1992). Social welfare administration. Atma Ram & sons. Delhi.
Goel, S.L.& Jain, R.K. Social welfare administration Volume1. Deep & Deep
Publications. New Delhi.
Friedlander W. A. (1955). Introduction to Social Welfare, New Delhi, Prentice
Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi.
Friedlander Walter A. (Ed.) (1976). Concepts and Methods of Social Work,
Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi.
Patti, R.J. (2000). The Handbook of Social Welfare Management. Sage
Publication
Reed W.E. (1961). Social Welfare Administration, Columbia University Press,
New Delhi.
Wickenden E. (1965). Encyclopedia of Social Work, NAS, New York.