Regulation And Autonomy:the Logic Of Social Workers Project Implementation

In recent years, the central and local governments actively explore the transformation of government functions and build the service-oriented government. "Government purchasing services" arises as a new kind of social management innovation mechanism. From the central and local government level, under the macro policy to encourage, local governments increase the intensity of government purchase services and gradually improve the purchasing service mechanism.However, the actual effect of government purchase services is the key to the success of government purchase service. The service’s actual effect can only be revealed from the service of the actual delivery process. Social work services in the Shanghai government purchase, for example, in practice, the actual delivery service is based on services index. In the process of social work services in government purchase, the project index is the core content. To facilitate the management and evaluation, the government changes the requirement of service into a series of operational and specific quantitative indicators. These quantifiable index, reflects the government’s top design concept, to become the core of the government purchasing service and the key to the project evaluation, also become the "mentor" of the social worker service in project delivery. Then, how the project social workers complete the project and pass the project evaluation? This article try to use the project implementation process of L organization as the basic materials, discuss the project implementation logic of frontline social workers in project implementation field such an action space level and in the initial structure composed of various kinds of constraint conditions.Specific view, this paper discussed around the following specific issues:1.How do the acquirer, social work agency, the third party institutions, grassroots community as well as the service object affect the project social worker in the process of project implementation? After be sent to the project sites, project social worker come into the action system which composed of project implementation. In the process of project implementation, they will be affected by the purchaser, social work agency, third parties, grassroots community, service object and so on. These different forces impact social worker’s action in terms of power, the rules, the resources, which reflects their relationship with the social worker in a certain extent.However, in the process of project implementation, the action force is concealed orappeared, their relationship with the project social worker is not visible. By answering this question, the author try to clarify the relationships.2.In the process of project implementation, how the frontline social workers effectively deal with the influence of the power? What are the strategies that have been generated in the process? The implementation of the project reflected in the specific actions of project social worker,so it is crucial to understand and explain the action project social worker. In the process of project implementation, the project social worker’s action is often in specific stereo field around specific issues. The author comes into the project social worker’s world to examine the logic of project implementation by extracting real events from the daily work scene.3.In the process of project implementation, where is the border of the social worker’s power and action? From the power perspective, the project implementation system is interdependent relationships characterized by power which is composed of all kinds of power. Every actor has the power in the system, and the exercise of its power will be affected by other actors. By observing the action of project social worker, the author wants to reveal the source and boundary of project social worker’s power. From the angle of action, the other power in project implementation system restrict the actions of project social worker through their own way, they also created the autonomy space of the big or small for project social worker’s action. In the autonomy space of the big or small, the project social workers act to complete the project implementation. This kind of conditionality and autonomy will give out the boundary of project social worker in order to make their actions within the scope of a certain boundary. One of the important tasks of this paper is to reveal the border of the action.The study found that forces inside the project implementation system impact on the implementation of the project through the different form. In the process of project implementation, project social workers take different strategies for different power in order to achieve different goals. And the ultimate goal is to maintain sustainable operation of the project, which is action boundary of social worker.Project social worker’s action boundary is shaped by its forces of the surrounding.The attitude and behavior of the acquirer, third-party assessment mechanism, social work institutions, power at the grass-roots level as well as the service object impact on social worker’s action. Action strategy of social workers generate in this kind ofconditionality and autonomy space. And social workers take "maintain the project operation" as the boundary of their action. Because the action is carried out in a certain boundary, the social worker can continue the above strategies. This boundary is jointly constructed by the forces of all parties and presents the predictability in a certain period of time. If further trace the action boundary of social worker in project,we will find the underlying motives behind it. By maintaining project operation,project social workers and their social work institutions can obtain financial support form the purchaser. For social work institutions whose capital source mainly rely on the government to buy the service, it not only can alleviate the problem of shortage of funds, but also can guarantee social worker’s salary, because of the "social workers can’t escape at the mercy of the economic law". In addition, by providing sustainable public services, the project social workers can also learn about the public demand more effectively in order to expand new areas of service on the basis of continuously improve original service levels. At the same time, they can make the institution bigger and stronger, while more effectively meet the public interest.Although in practice, due to the influence of the factors, this motivation to meet the public interest would have bigger difference. But it still exist and to be the goal of the project social worker and their organization which is striving under the premise that satisfy their own interests.From the power perspective, the study found that the power of the project social worker is not without limits, they can not freely act at random. Social worker’s action depends on the way of power implementation of all kinds of power. The power implementation of all kinds of power lead uncertainty factors which is in the situation of project social worker. These factors have a profound impact on the result of increased efforts for project social workers, which project social workers are difficult to control. Due to all kinds of power control these uncertainty factors, they limit the space in which project social workers mobilize resources and use uncertainty domain. Specifically, project social worker exercise power cannot be detached from the government’s strong administrative power, limit of the project requires resources, "trap" of the formal rules, beneficial right of the service object and organization’s management hierarchy. That is, all kinds of the power in the project implementation system commonly shape the power boundary of project social worker, which is the control power in the professional field. In the face of allkinds of uncertainty factors in the process of project implementation, project social worker rely on the power, using the advantage of information asymmetry, take a series of action even "conspiracy" which is based on the informal specification to complete the project implementation.The above research drew several research conclusions. First, in government purchasing service mechanism, the government’s logic of "control" is stronger than the logic of "improvement"; Second, due to the stress performance and responsible for the action logic, the phenomenon of "the government achievements orientation and the demand is designed " appeared in government purchase services. Third, the relationship between the project social workers and service object is characterized by Rationality and paradox. Four, in the face of government intervention, project social worker strategically sought and reinforcement their own professional within the limited space. At the same time, we need to address the following questions. One is that, how the "win-win" pattern of interests building up through the government purchase services turn into "three win". The second is, how the folk social work institutions find a balance between to seek government support and maintain independence. The third is, how should we grasp the "project assessment".