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Social Workers as Entrepreneurs
Author(s) -
Yanay Uri
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9515.1993.tb00398.x
Subject(s) - business , flexibility (engineering) , social work , multidisciplinary approach , service (business) , public relations , organizational structure , position (finance) , service provider , marketing , management , economic growth , finance , sociology , political science , economics , social science
Qualified social workers were employed in the newly established Community Service Centers (Matnas) in Israel to take part in efforts to initiate services and define each Matnas' domain. The organizational structure of a Matnas encourages its workers to use their professional skills in making entrepreneurial initiatives: The local board, the untenured, multidisciplinary staff, and the ability to utilize mixed resources, affords the Matnas the flexibility to easily contract ‘in’ and ‘out’ of programs, giving it and its staff a competitive position within the free market of service providers. This structure also permits the establishment of formal and informal contacts with constituents and authorities. This paper presents the case and discusses the role of social workers in innovating service programs.