ETHOS OF SERVICE

Ethos of service

Ethos of service

The key components of ethos of organizations lie in what people think about the organization's trustworthiness, competence, and ability to do the job. People promote and do business with people they like and trust. Students, customers, administrators, and any number of other groups must believe that both the individual and the organization are genuine. According to Aristotle, ethos is characterised as the integrity that the scribe establishes. Ethos is classified as one of three kinds of persuasion, the other two being logos and pathos. Ethos may be used to describe the whole person or organization. Reputation may also be considered a synonym for ethos. Organizations of all types, whether academic or business, rely on the reputation of both the organization and the individual. (Halloran, 2004, pp. 35)

Over time, social workers concerned about ethos education have discovered that case studies are compelling and essential. Social workers live their professional lives wrestling with complex case-related challenges. When it is appropriate to violate a client's right to confidentiality to protect a third party from harm? Under what circumstances is it ethos to interfere with a client's right to self-determination to protect the client from self-harm? What is the ethos way to resolve a potential conflict of interest when a qualified former client applies for a job at the social worker's agency and may become a colleague? How should a social worker act when she or he discovers that a valued colleague has behaved ethos? Is it ever permissible to deceive clients, even if it is “for their own good”? How should a social work administrator allocate limited agency resources when budget cuts impair her or his ability to meet clients' needs? Case material brings ethos theories and concepts to life. (Halloran, 2004, pp. 35)Clearly, theories and concepts are important. The key provide the conceptual guidance that professionals need to frame their assessments, program planning, interventions, and evaluations. But, theories and concepts by themselves can be sterile when presented in a vacuum. Wrapping theories and concepts around actual case material enriches social workers' understanding and insights. (Miller, 2006, pp. 310)

Cases provide a valuable lens through which to view and apply important theories and concepts. The book includes a broad cross-section of ethos cases related to every core aspect of social work: clinical practice with individuals, families, couples, and small groups; community practice; policy practice; social justice and advocacy; administration and management; and research and evaluation. To fully appreciate the implications and relevance of ethos cases, it is important to understand the ways in which ethos standards and conceptual frameworks in social work have evolved. Much contemporary thinking on social work ethos resembles earlier perspectives; however, as we shall see, on other issues social workers' ethos-related perspectives have changed significantly over time. This shifting context provides a useful backdrop to the cases presented in this book. (Miller, 2006, pp. 310)

The Evolution of Social Work Ethos

Social work's concern with ethos spans four major, sometimes overlapping, and periods: the ...