Abstract:
The aim of the study is to identify the management styles of social work managers within organizations employing five or more social workers within the greater Cape Town area. In addition to the assessment instruments, an open-ended questionnaire is used to ascertain the responses of social workers and managers to questions such as definitions of management and how the respondent would like to be managed. Thirteen social work organizations participate in the study, with questionnaires being destributed to 237 managers and social workers. The overall response rate is 54.43%. The results reveal that the statistical 5/5 or opportunist management style is most prevalent within the social worker and management samples. This style is essentially a situational approach to managing and indicates that the manager's primary motivation is that of self-interest. In the social worker sample, another significant feature is the prominence of the 1/1 or impoverished management profile which characterises managers as being indifferent, apathetic and bureaucratic. The element of autocratic control emerges as a significant feature of management style within social work management. The conclusions drawn from this study are that social work managers need to change their orientations which are motivated primarily by self-interest and characterised by autocratic practices, toward a 9/9 approach which encompasses the principles of teamwork, participation, change and innovation which are needed within a South African democratic and developmental context of practice.
