ABSTRACT
INFLUENCING ORGANIZATIONS OFFERS THE PROSPECT OF improving servicesfor current and future clients. Social workers may think of organizations as small, supportive structures that help to organize the maze of work, or as large
bureaucracies that are unresponsive to individual efforts. Organizations can be defined as “formally structured arrangements of people, tools, and resources brought together to achieve predetermined objectives through institutionalized strategies” (Barker, 2003). Social workers work in many types and sizes of organizations, and utilize their knowledge of organizations to promote the best interest of their client systems. Knowledge of organizations is imperative to professional practice. Although there has been considerable growth in the number of social workers choosing independent practice settings (Whitaker & Arrington, 2008), the majority today work in agency settings.
