Managing the Challenges in Human Service Organizations: A Casebook

Managing the Challenges in Human Service Organizations: A Casebook offers current and aspiring human service managers a view into the kinds of experiences they will likely encounter to better prepare them for the world they are about to enter. The cases are inspired by real situations and are designed to encourage students to determine how they would act and work towards a resolution of the dilemmas presented.

Key Features  

• Simulates administrative dilemmas through cases that offer different aspects of agency administration and replicate aspects of actual practice
• Levels the learning field for students entering graduate human service management programs with different managerial experiences
• Orients students to the challenges of management by helping them develop mental models linked to the values of client-centered administration
• Helps students develop a beginning sense of competence and understanding of managerial work while refining their analytic skills
• Offers the opportunity for repeated learning opportunities using different analytical frameworks
• Supplements fieldwork by providing more time to reflect and consider a broader array of alternatives than is found in most field experiences

Intended Audience  
This book is ideally suited as a supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in social work and counseling, as well as a much-needed reference for human services supervisors and practitioners.

Michael J. Austin (Ph.D., Social Work; MSPH, Public Health, University of Pittsburgh) is Milton and Florence Krenz Mack Distinguished Professor of Nonprofit Management at the University of California, Berkeley, where the teaches a wide range of courses, including Assessing the Dynamics of Communities, Groups and Organizations, Management Practice, Research Resources, and Assessing Nonprofit Organizations. His research interests are nonprofit management and planning, organizational change, and policy implementation. He is the author or co-author of a wide range of books and journal articles.

Ralph Brody, Ph.D. passed away on February 8, 2006. Dr. Brody was previously on the faculty of Cleveland State University where he taught social policy and human service administration. He also taught graduate courses on human service delivery models at Case Western Reserve University. Previously, he served for fifteen years as the executive director of the Federation for Community Planning, an organization that provides research, planning and advocacy on health and human services. Dr. Brody authored books on case management, the state legislative process, fundraising events, community problem solving, service learning, and macro practice. Dr. Brody’s many years as a manager and teacher convinced him that the issues facing those in human service organizations were universal and applied to boards of directors as well as NGOs. He dedicated himself to developing tools to enhance the understanding and skills of those in leadership roles, from Cleveland to India, Spain, Ghana, Ethiopia, Egypt and Nigeria.  His frequent workshops in Kenya led to the translation of his casebook into the Swahili language. His co-authored book with Dr. Nair: Grassroot Development – Establishing Successful Microenterprises has been published in English and Malayalam language. Dr. Brody’s work touched millions, and his contributions will continue to educate, inform and inspire future students and professionals in human services field.