ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how social workers in Sweden are dealing with the gap between professional ambitions and the hegemonic influence of New Public Management (NPM) in their daily social work practices. In Sweden, a country that scores high on NPM emphasis, the establishment of the economic rationalism has generally taken place in all public areas, such as the legal system, central administration, health care and social services. The NPM agenda, established as a hegemonic discourse in social work in Sweden since the early 1990s, has in many ways challenged the intentions of the law and the profession's core values. The implementation of NPM in social services in Sweden has resulted in a fragmented and instrumental view of social work, and in many municipalities in a division of responsibilities where politicians 'order services by performers'. Different professional strategies create contradictions and conflicts that inevitably affect people who seek help from social services.
