ABSTRACT
A small-scale exploratory case study was undertaken in one Social Services Department, referred to as 'Welfareville', as a means of grounding consideration of the social work labour process in front-line managers' experiences and understandings, contextualised in an account of the structure of the social work labour process. The case study approach has a considerable history in the study of work and some of the classic studies of the workplace have involved investigation of one or two organizations. Having access to documentary sources meant that could collect data on matters which predated the study. The data from documents was thus capable of covering much longer time spans than would have been feasible using other approaches to data collection and key organisational changes to the labour process could be revealed. Prior to the Seebohm Report, in common with other local authorities, Welfareville Council organised its personal social services through a committee system for separate social services.
