Human Services Assignment

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Ethical Consideration:1

Observation3

General Systems Theory:3

GST Implication within the Organization:4

Characteristics of Effective Human Services Professionals:5

Demographics of Client Population:7

Requirements of Helpers in a Pluralistic Society:7

Career Planning10

Thesis Statement:10

Introduction:10

Discussion:10

Conclusion:11

Learning Contract Summary13

Introduction

This assignment is to be submitted to [Name of the instructor] who is taking our Human Services course. The assignment is divided into three different sections. The first section is the observation that was required to be conducted in a human services organization. It relates the General Systems Theory to the organization and shows practical implications. The second section is a short essay on personal career development. The assignment ends with a learning contract summary that explains the value of the human services course in personal, academic and professional growth.

Ethical Consideration:

For ethical and privacy concerns, the name of the organization chosen for the observation has not mentioned. For the course of this assignment, it is referred to as XYZ organization.

Observation

Observation

I chose XYZ organization for my observation, which is a nonprofit organization. It was found in 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. It then moved to Washington, D.C. in 1974 and got its present name in 1998. It currently has 9 affiliated organizations working under it. XYZ organization aims to provide excellence in human services, and it focuses on continuous improvement, collaboration, innovation, respect and accountability.

General Systems Theory:

This theory presents the notion of systems in general. It is a multidisciplinary approach to studying the cohesion of different kinds of systems, whereas the word 'system' refers to any group of objects that work together to produce the same result. Each system has its own boundaries that encompass the information flow within the system. (Neukrug, 2007) These boundaries not only denote membership in a system, but also define the interrelation of the system with other systems. The components of every system also act as separate entities. (Walonick, 1993) Bertalanffy proposed the idea that the whole is greater than the mere sum of its parts, which is in complete contrast to idea put forth by Lewin, which says that the whole is different from the sum of its individual parts. There are two kinds of systems:

Cybernetic Systems: Information flow can be controlled and manipulated here, which is why they are also called controlled systems. Cybernetic systems include feedback.

Uncontrolled systems.

There are various different kinds of systems that come under the GST, including living (biological) systems, family systems and community systems. The theory was developed to elaborate on the interactions within such systems. (Neukrug, 2007)

General Systems Theory focuses on the structure of systems instead of focusing on the functions of its parts. It states that all systems have some properties in common, and by studying those properties, we can come to unification of science. This idea also presents a shortcoming of the GST, making it too vague and general and hence difficult to implement.

GST Implication within the Organization:

The organization is interacting with the living systems, the family systems, the organizational systems and sociology.

Living Systems include the concept of all alive systems in ...