The primary goals of the social work profession

 The primary goals of the social work profession

The primary goals of the social work profession are to aid human beings to meet their needs as well as promoting the general well being of human beings. Primarily, the social worker professionals focus on the vulnerable, poor and people suffering from oppression. The social workers play a vital role in promoting the holistic well being of people in society. The day to day activities of the social workers is guided by specific values and ethics, which in turn influence their code of conduct.  The social workers’ actions are guided by six dominant values that influence how they conduct themselves as professional social workers.

Service

The primary goal of social workers is to aid people in need. Therefore, the value of service requires social workers to utilize their knowledge, skills, and values to assist people in need of help as well as to aid people in solving social problems.  During the school holidays, I have learnt to support the elderly and vulnerable, including children in the society. I have learnt to volunteer in children homes as well as engage in community work with the primary focus of serving the needy as well as solving societal challenges.

Social justice

The value of social justice focuses on challenging social injustices in society. The value’s primary goal is to bring about changes in the social justice that will promote equality for the oppressed, the unemployed, issues of discrimination as well as focusing on poverty. The social justice emphasizes the role of the social worker in bringing about social change. The social workers’ part focuses on enhancing the lives of the vulnerable population through increased access to information, services such as health services and education,  access to resources, promote equality in employment by advocating for equal opportunities for all as well as striving to enhance the populations’ participation in the day to day decision-making process.

The experience with social justice in the day to day activities of the society have significantly shaped my perception on the diversity of the population in the community—for example, racial diversity, cultural diversity, and appreciating the diverse social, economic classes. The social justice value also shaped how one as a  professional social worker views the social inequalities in society. As a result of the interaction and exercising of the amount, I have learnt to advocate for equality at all levels of human lives such as in school and back in society.

Dignity and worth of people

The pride and worth of people value focus on the inherent dignity as well as the quality of an individual and how they influence the broader society.  In this case,  the social worker focuses on promoting the individual’s social responsibilities, the client’s capacity and opportunity to bring about change as well as helping the clients to address their challenges.  In an attempt to achieve the goal, the social worker should understand his dual responsibility to society as well as to the person.

As a volunteer in the society, one learns to appreciate people for who they are irrespective f their economic, social, political, religious as well as ethnic backgrounds.  Further, the value also promotes the social worker’s ability to impact on the individuals and collectively for the community in which they are living in. In this case, while solving social problems, one focuses on the effects on the individual and the society at large.

Importance of human relations

The value focuses on promoting and appreciating healthy human relationships.  The social worker reinforces the relationship between and among the community members. The social worker further actively involve the community members in the daily activities and decision making with the primary focus on enhancing and building a positive relationship.  Under this value, the social worker focuses on improving, restoring and marinating the social well being of people at different levels starting from individual, family, social groups and finally, the community.

The value shapes how a social worker should relate with the community members, and as a result, the cost has significantly aided the enhancement of my social interaction skills. Further, all people are equal, and as a social worker, one should focus on building meaningful relationships in the society.

Integrity

The value focuses on the trustworthiness of the social worker. As a social worker, one is expected to work in accordance with the social worker’s missions, goals, values and ethics.  The value emphasizes on the need of the social workers being honest and responsible by acting ethically and in accordance with the set standards. Throughout the professional development process, one learns the importance of being trustworthy as it builds people’s confidence in someone. Further, being honest is a key-value towards the success of an individual in a professional dimension.

Competence

The value emphasizes on the role of the social workers working according to their professional ethics and standards. The social workers should demonstrate their expertise in their daily routines. Throughout the voluntary services,  competence aids in gaining respect and also helping one to act professionally.

Challenges

One of the significant challenging value that I need to work on is that which focuses on dignity and self-worth of people. The society is comprised of people from different backgrounds which in turn make them different in various ways. As a result, in many instances, one is challenged to enhance equality at all levels.  The value of social justice also poses a challenge as the process of initiating change to bring about social justice is faced with numerous challenges.