ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on twelve months observation of child care social workers in a social services department area office and concentrates specifically on the everyday relationships within the organisational segment. It argues that they secure a sense of identity and validation from their immediate colleagues in the office setting. The book shows that the meaning and evaluation of work exists in the crucial realm of colleague relationships. It reveals the organisational setting and its analysis as a process of emergent and cumulative learning. The book shows the ways in which social workers learn to make sense of their surroundings and relationships. The invisibility of encounters with consumers and the outcomes of the unobserved events are rendered satisfactory or otherwise within the supervisory relationship.
