A comparative analysis of social workers' macro practice activities: Identifying functions common to direct practice and administration

Writers have long argued that social workers require some level of competen ce in supervisory a nd administrative roles, but th ere has been scant rese arch identifying what competencies are necessary for all practitioners. Thi s study explored the frequency with which purposive samples of managers and direct practitioners reported engaging in 35 "administrative competencies. " Questionnaires (sent to managers in 1992-93 and to practitioners in 1996) asked respondents to rate their frequency for performing each administrati ve competency on a 10-point scale. Following data analysis in which the 35 competencies were reduced to 12 management dimensions, the authors found no significant differences in frequency for 10 of these dimensions. Moreover, the two groups' job behavior patterns were remarkably similar. These findi ngs suggest that social work education should provide the knowledge and ski lls necessary for human services management, possibly through an advanced g en era list model of education.