ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the numerous statements that describe social work as a range of activities that take place within a number of specific 'settings'. The term 'setting' has perhaps some lingering undertones from its use in other circumstances. The action of the play takes place in a more or less fixed setting, and a jewel is held in a permanent relationship to its setting by its setting. H. Bartlett has complained that 'setting' focuses too much attention on administrative aspects and on working relationships within the agency and gives insufficient attention to the reasons for the agency's existence and to the body of knowledge, values and methods on which the agency's services rest. Social workers and clients always meet and work in an organisation within which they play different roles. The organisation largely defines the work they do and profoundly influences both client and social worker.
