Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability
This article explores the practical and ethical implications of the "˜new accountability' (working to procedures, targets and standards) based on interviews with British social professionals. Although similar tendencies are present in other European countries, in Britain the rule-bound nat...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Social Work & Society
2007-02-01
|
| Series: | Social Work and Society |
| Online Access: | http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1306 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1839614745891569664 |
|---|---|
| author | Sarah Banks |
| author_facet | Sarah Banks |
| author_sort | Sarah Banks |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the practical and ethical implications of the "˜new accountability' (working to procedures, targets and standards) based on interviews with British social professionals. Although similar tendencies are present in other European countries, in Britain the rule-bound nature of social work is more intense. Practitioners who regard the "˜new accountability' positively justify their views with reference to utilitarian and rights-based arguments relating to the promotion of good outcomes, the achievement of equity, respecting the consumer rights of service users and the rights of other stakeholders to information and value for money. Those practitioners who view the new accountability requirements negatively seem to speak in a different 'moral voice', which can be linked to more personal and situated approaches to ethics, stressing the importance of particular relationships in context, trust, sensitivity and a sense of 'vocation'. Both 'voices' are part of professional practice, but the new accountability stresses the former at the expense of the latter. For social work to play the critical role identified by Walter Lorenz, maintaining a creative balance between equity and empathy will be important.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e452e7d03fdd43cfafd5beb5abb4e2bc |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 1613-8953 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2007-02-01 |
| publisher | Social Work & Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Work and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-e452e7d03fdd43cfafd5beb5abb4e2bc2025-07-26T00:00:57ZengSocial Work & SocietySocial Work and Society1613-89532007-02-0153Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New AccountabilitySarah BanksThis article explores the practical and ethical implications of the "˜new accountability' (working to procedures, targets and standards) based on interviews with British social professionals. Although similar tendencies are present in other European countries, in Britain the rule-bound nature of social work is more intense. Practitioners who regard the "˜new accountability' positively justify their views with reference to utilitarian and rights-based arguments relating to the promotion of good outcomes, the achievement of equity, respecting the consumer rights of service users and the rights of other stakeholders to information and value for money. Those practitioners who view the new accountability requirements negatively seem to speak in a different 'moral voice', which can be linked to more personal and situated approaches to ethics, stressing the importance of particular relationships in context, trust, sensitivity and a sense of 'vocation'. Both 'voices' are part of professional practice, but the new accountability stresses the former at the expense of the latter. For social work to play the critical role identified by Walter Lorenz, maintaining a creative balance between equity and empathy will be important. http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1306 |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Banks Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability Social Work and Society |
| title | Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability |
| title_full | Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability |
| title_fullStr | Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability |
| title_short | Between Equity and Empathy: Social Professions and the New Accountability |
| title_sort | between equity and empathy social professions and the new accountability |
| url | http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1306 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sarahbanks betweenequityandempathysocialprofessionsandthenewaccountability |