4.0.

Objective

4.1. Concept of Social Welfare Administration

4.1.1. Definitions of Social welfare administration

4.2. Principles Social Welfare Administration

4.3. Tasks of Social Welfare Administration

4.4. Essentials of Social Welfare Administration

4.5. Concept of Social Action.

4.5.1. Definitions of Social Action

4.5.2. Objectives of Social Action

4.5.3. History of Social Action

4.5.4. Elements of Social Action

4.6. Principles of Social Action

4.7. Strategy of Social Action

4.8. Models of Social Action

4.9. Role of Social Worker in Social Action.

4.10. Let us sum up

4.11. Key words

4.12. Check your progress

4.13. References

UNIT-IV
4.0. Objective

After studying this unit you will be able to

 Understand the concept of social welfare administration and social action

 Apply these two methods in social work practice
 Get information about various scope of social welfare administration
 Develop knowledge about various tasks related to social welfare administration and
social action.

4.1. Concept of Social Welfare Administration

By social welfare administration we mean that process which is used in the organization and
administration of public and private services. It includes those activities which are undertaken
with regard to an individual, group and community. In other words, social welfare
administration is a process of organization direction of a social institution. Under this process
those aims are determined which an agency or institution has to achieve.

Our country is aiming at sustainable social development and social welfare. You will be
interested to know why the need for the practice of social welfare administration as a method
of social work is gaining importance. It is because we have a large number of social welfare and
social development settings. They include government departments, Welfare Boards,
Corporations, Social Welfare Agencies, Non Governmental Organisation (NGOs), Inter
Governmental Organisations (IGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs) etc. We also have
a large number of National, state and local level welfare and development programmes. In
addition, Panchayat Raj institutions oriented to development work have also been emerging as
important institutional contexts for the practice of Social Welfare Administration. As our
country faces the challenges of poverty, unemployment, disability, destitution, ill health,
illiteracy, crime, suicide, violence, accidents etc our social welfare administration should also
become an effective social work method.

Meaning of Social Welfare Administration as a Method of Social Work

Social welfare administration is both scientific and professional activity. It promotes social work
practicein administration. Therefore it is also called as social work. It administers or implements
special programmes intended for vulnerable, disadvantaged and weaker sections of the
population such as women, disabled children, chronically ill, the aged, scheduled caste/
scheduled tribes etc. through social work processes. It also organises programmes for
sustainable social development. It also aims at the effective implementation of the regular and
special programmes of social welfare agencies.
Social Welfare Administration translates social welfare polices and social legislation into social
work practice. It administers the resources and personnel available for social work practice. It
ventilates the many choices open to clients to adjust themselves as well as to recover
themselves from problem situations. Social welfare administration also enhances the psycho-
social and economic functioning of the clients and beneficiaries. Application of social work
administration in the fields of information technology and e-governance is also very essential.
This is new area for the effective administration of social and social welfare services, social
security and social work programmes at various levels. It can be used by local self governments,
governments, Non governmental organisations, Intergovernmental organisation, co-operatives
and private and corporate organisations. The target groups of this social work method can be
individuals, groups, families, communities, agencies, organisations, committees or
departments.

4.1.1. Definitions of Social welfare administration

“Social welfare administration is the process of transferring the social policy into social services
and the use of experience in evaluating and modifying policy”

John C. Kidneigh

By social welfare administration we mean those supporting and facilitating activities necessary
and incidental to the giving of direct service by a social agency.”

Arther Dunhan

Administration is the process of transforming community resources into a programme of

community service, in accordance with goals, policies and standards which have been agreed by
those involved in enterprise. It is creative in that it structures roles and relationships in such a
way as to alter and enhance the total product. It involves the problem-solving process of study,
diagnosis and treatment solutions or action and evaluation of results.

American Council of Social Work Education

The administrative process seeks to mobilize the total resources of the agency to the end that
its purpose are translated into efficient and effective service.

Arther Kurse

4.1.2. Scope of Social Welfare Administration

It is evident from the definitions of the discipline of social welfare administration

attempted above that its scope is very wide and the areas constituting the subject matter of its
study are increasing every day due to the emergence of new social problems in the dynamic
society such as population explosion, relief rehabilitation of migrants on account of militants’
activities, gas leak accidents, dowry deaths and drug addiction, etc.and voluntary agencies in
finding solutions for them. The contents of social welfare administration and of variegated
nature and its tasks are numerous. It is primarily concerned with:

(i) Social Problems

The diagnosis of their causes and their treatment through social reform and social
legislation; section of the reason for the ineffectiveness of laws enacted for combating social
evils and vices and suggesting measures to make them effective mainly through the creation of
public consciousness and opinion in regard to the social problems.

(ii) Social Services

Social Services aiming at the well-being of the general public through the provision of
health education, housing, etc. and the upliftment of the disadvantaged and underprivileged
and vulnerable sections of society such as women and children, the old and the firm, the
disabled and the handicapped.

(iii) Social Security

Social security to compensate for the loss of income due to unemployment, disability, or
death caused by accident and old-age through social insurance and assistance.

(iv) Social Work

Social work aims at helping people to solve their personal, family and community
problems through enhancing social functioning by methods of case work, group work and
community organization and enabling processes of research and administration.

(v) Social Policy

Social policy delineating the aims and objectives and the goals to be achieved for the
welfare of the clientele concerned through social action.

4.3. Tasks of Social Welfare Administration

In addition to the elementary principles of social welfare administration as mentioned

above, the functional aspects of tasks of administration as contained in the concept of
‘POSDCORB’ are also considered to be the basic postulates of the discipline of social welfare
administration. These are discussed as follows:
(i) PLANNING

Planning is the formulation of intended future action. It involves the appraisal of

current conditions, identification of the problems and needs of the society, determination of
objectives and goals to be achieved on short-term or long-term basis, and the delineation of
programmes to be implemented to reach the desired ends.

Ever since the establishment of Planning Commission in India and the introduction of
Planning process in 1951 social welfare policies, programmes and the administration
machinery to implement them though had not been given initially the consideration they
merited but they have been given the place they deserved subsequently in the various five year
plan documents. During the last few decades of planned development, social welfare as a plan
component has acquired significance as is reflected in the plans.

The First Plan, for example, called upon the state to play an increasing role in providing
services for the welfare of the people. The Second Plan drew attention to the factors
responsible for the slow delivery of social welfare services to the vulnerable groups of society.
The Third Plan stressed on women and child welfare, social defence, welfare of the
handicapped and grants-in-aid to voluntary organizations. The Fourth Plan laid emphasis on
the needs of destitute children. The Fifth Plan aimed at a proper integration of welfare and
development services. The Sixth Plan accorded high priority to the children welfare within the
overall frame of social welfare. The Seventh Plan designed the social welfare programmes
essentially to supplement the efforts directed towards human resource development. The
Eighth and Ninth Plan include the extension of the existing welfare programmes and inclusion
of new programmes.

(ii) ORGANIZATION

Organization is essentially the conscious integration of human effort for a definite

purpose. It is the systematic bringing together of interdependent parts to form a unified
whole through which authority, coordination and control may be administered without
elaborate organizational structures. Whatever action was to be initiated could be managed
through simple, informal mechanism operating at the level of the community or the clientele.
Another factor which contributed to the non-formal, unorganized nature of social welfare was
its reliance on non-governmental and voluntary action.

Unlike governmental operations which assumed massive bureaucratic proportions

demanding equally elaborate organizational structure, non- governmental action remained
the main stay of social welfare and which by its very nature tended to be less reliant on highly
formal organized mechanism. But with the expansion of social welfare programmes, the
number of persons affected and the amount of money spent, the best organization has become
indispensable.

Organization can be formal and informal. A formal organization implies a planned

system of cooperative effort in which each participants has a recognized role to play and duties
and tasks to perform. But informal relationship among the persons engaged in social welfare is
equally important to develop feelings of goodwill and mutual trust among themselves to ensure
the best possible implementation of social welfare programme.

An organization insists upon certain principles for its effective functioning. It divides
work among its members; it establishes standard practices by working out detailed procedures.

It provides a communication system. It has a hierarchical or process with lines of

authority and responsibility running up and downwards through several levels with a broad
base at the bottom and a single head at the top. It provides for unity of command which means
that no individual employee should be subject to the orders of more than one immediate
superior to avoid confusion and blurring of responsibility and it should recognize the distinction
between line and staff as a working principle.

(iii) STAFFING

Assuming that good organization exists, the quality and efficiency of administration are
conditioned by the suitability of personnel correctly placed in the organization. Even poorly
devised machinery may be made to work if it is manned with well trained, intelligent,
imaginative and devoted staffs. On the other hand, the best planned organization may be
produce unsatisfactorily results if it is operated by mediocre or disgraduated people. Staff thus
constitutes an integral part of the social welfare organization, both governmental and non-
governmental. Their problems of recruitment, selection and certification for appointment,
classification, training, determination of pay scales and other conditions of service, motivation
and moral, promotion, conduct and discipline, superannuation, their right to form associations
and trade unions need to be taken proper care so that they devout themselves with their heart
and soul in their respective assignments and build the image of the organization they serve.

(iv) DIRECTION

Direction implies the issuing of necessary guidance and instructions for the
implementation of the programmes of an organization, and the removal of any difficulties
which may arise in the execution. The directions relating to the execution of a programme also
prescribes the rules of procedures to ensure efficient and smooth working of the organization
for the achievement of its appointed purpose. Rules of the procedure also determine steps to
be taken in the processing of a request or an enquiry in regard to particular activity of an
agency.

In social welfare administration, directions are indispensable as these provides

guidelines to the officials in the delivery of welfare services to the beneficiaries and also
enlighten the law about the procedure to be followed for applying for a specific kind of benefit
they are eligible for. But a rigid adherence to the procedure and ’redtapism’ flowing there from
causes unnecessary harassment and results in prolonged delays in granting the deserved
benefits to the needy people. The tendency on the part of social welfare administration
personnel to avoid taking decision on their responsibility and passing on the buck is malady of
welfare administration hampering effective service to individuals and communities and needs
to be guarded against.

(v) CO-ORDINATION

Every organization characterizes divisions of work and specialization. Its employees are
assigned respective duties and they are not supposed to interfere in their colleagues. Thus in
every organization an effort is made to avoid overlapping and duplication of functions and to
achieve maximum team-work among the various personnel of the organizational order to
achieve its objectives. This arrangement of ensconce co-operation and team work among the
employee is termed as the co-ordination. Its purpose is to achieve harmony, unity of action,
avoidance of conflict, etc.

Co-ordination among various ministries and departments and voluntary organizations

concerned with social welfare can be achieved through inter-departmental and intra-
departmental conferences to which non-officials representing various interests may also be
involved for consultation. Co-ordination may also be involved for consultation. Co-ordination
may also be secured through institutional or organizational devices such as inter-departmental
committees and co-ordination of offices, standardization of procedures and methods,
decentralization of activities, etc. The Central Welfare Social Board established in 1953
consisting of official and non-official social workers designed to provide a mechanism of proper
co-ordination between the voluntary organizations and the government organizations engaged
in social welfare programmes.

The State Social Welfare Advisory Boards were also assigned, inter alia, the function of
coordinating welfare and development activities of the State Government and the Central
Social Welfare Board to avoid duplication. But despite these institutional arrangements to
achieve co-ordination, the welfare progarmmes continue to suffer from overlapping and s
duplication both in the government and voluntary organizations’ jurisdiction. A clear cut
demarcation of the spheres of activities of both governmental and voluntary agencies, a policy
on the integrated development of welfare services and above all a stimulating leadership would
go along way in ensuring proper co-ordination for the maximum achievement of welfare
objectives.

(vi) REPORTING

Reporting means keeping both the superiors and subordinates informed of what is going
on and arranging for the collection of such information through inspection, research and
records. Every social welfare programme has certain targets and objectives to achieve. In a
hierarchical system of organization, the Chief Executive informs the persons at the lower levels
about the policy, financial outlays and the time-frame for achieving the fixed objectives. The
subordinates report to the higher authorities periodically monthly, quarterly or yearly, the
progress achieved vis-a-vis the targets, the amount spent and the problems confronted if any
and seek their guidance in combating the problems.

Reports are also made in regard to the discussions and conferences held within the
agency and on inter-agency basis from time to sort out various issues. The higher authorities
inspects periodically the subordinate offices to apprise themselves of their functioning and to
detect irregularities committed if any and to suggest steps to avoid their re-occurrences. All
social welfare agencies, without any exception, submit their annual reports to the Ministry/
Department concerned and the latter to the Head of the State for information of the
legislature. The public gets informed about the activities of the welfare agencies through all
these different types of reports. Reporting thus constitutes an important ingredient of any
social welfare organization.

(vii) BUDGETING

Budgeting denoted the process by which the financial policy of public agency
formulated, enacted and carried out. In the days of laissez-faire, budget was simple statement
of estimated income and expenditure. But in the modern welfare state, the activities of the
government are fast extending and they tend to cover almost all the aspects of social life.
Government is now an agency for promoting general welfare of the citizens by positive acts.
Budgeting is, therefore, now conceived as one of the major process by which the use of public
resources is planned and controlled. Budget-making is a prominent component of financial
management and is followed by the formal act of appropriations, executive supervisions of
expenditure, the control of the accounting and reporting system, treasury management and
audit.

Financial management also includes the mechanism and methods to ensure that the
funds provided for the welfare programmes are used faithfully, economically and intelligently
proper accounts are maintained and audit is conducted to ensure that there have been no
misappropriation, misuse of embezzlement of funds. It has been observed that a major portion
of appropriation is pocketed by middle men and very little of them reaches to beneficiaries for
whom these are primarily intended. Misappropriations and corruptions were also reported in
the case of voluntary organizations. Fiscal administration, therefore, needs to be streamlined to
ensure that the funds earmarked for various programmes are properly and honestly utilized.

Basic Understanding needed in Administration

According to H.B.Trecker, following understanding are necessary for an administrator:

 Understanding of self and meaning of being an executive, feelings about authority and
responsibility.
 Understanding of the agency and its basic purpose in the community.
 Understanding of the individuals who make up the agency, their needs, ability and
motivations.
 Understanding of groups, that is board, staff, and constituency, how they define their
functions and approach to their work.
 Understanding of how the individual is related to his groups, his background, what he
brings to the work with the group.
 Understanding of kind of help the group need in doing its work, how group asks for and
accept help, how its evaluate its own progress
 Understanding of how the individual receives basic satisfaction from his work, how to
provide recognition for genuine accomplishment.
 Understanding of how the group relates to and works with other groups in the agency
and the community.

4.4. Essentials of Social Welfare Administration

Social welfare administration refers to those activities which are undertaken with regard
to the systematic execution of social policy. It includes planning, organisation, staffing, directing
and co-ordination. It is dynamic art taking human physical resources available and binding them
to achievement of some required goal. In the broader context, the aims of social welfare
administration are the progressive achievement of the justice, protection of decease and
insecurity, the adjustment and compromise of conflicting groups and interest, in short, the
attainment of good life. A good social administration involves the following essentials.

(i) Specialized Knowledge

 Social welfare administration requires a specialized knowledge. The administrator
should possess sufficient knowledge regarding the agency’s aims, programmes, methods of
social treatment and social resources. Such knowledge enables the administrator to perform his
tasks. Further, he should know the technique of management, the principles according to which
co-operative programmes are carried to success.

(ii) Humanitarian Attitude

The administrative process of any agency is based on its organisation’s aim, structure’s
aim and scope. The administrator should have a humanitarian attitude towards his client’s
needs.

(iii) Proper Staffing

Social welfare administration needs proper staffing. In order to carry out the various
functions, appointments of suitable persons to various posts under the organization are
essential. By such appointments the organization attempts to achieve a pattern of positions and
responsibilities which ensure unity of aim through supervision.

(iv) Knowledge Regarding the Social Work Principles

In public and private agencies, the administrator should have a sound knowledge
regarding the social work principles. Such knowledge enables him to achieve co-ordination and
co-operation.

(v) Division of Labour

Division of labour is essential for proper administration. The various functions of the
agency should be divided between the various members in such a manner so that eachcan
make maximum contribution to the task of the whole organization.

(vi) Feeling of Co-operation

There should be close co-operation between the various levels of social welfare
administration. Social welfare administration is dynamic. The administrator has to deal
simultaneously with individuals, groups, communities and his colleagues of several levels. In
each instance he must accomplish the ability to manipulate individuals in an effort to solicit co-
operation.
Types of Services and their Delivery Important types of social services are:
1) Education
2) Income transfer
3) Health and nutrition
4) Public housing
5) Employment and training
6) Personal social services
7) Services resulting out of social policy

There are seven types of social services and the main function of social welfare administration
is to effect the administration of these social services. The first social service namely education
can be conceptualized as pre-school/elementary/primary, secondary, vocational, higher
education, adult, continuing and non formal education. It is delivered either publicly or through
cooperatives, corporate bodies, non governmental organisation and private organisations. It
includes schools, colleges, universities, training institutes, professional bodies, internet facilities
and e-learning facilities.

The second social service namely income transfer is called social security in a general sense. The
service can be provided in the event of illness, disability, destitution, unemployment, natural
calamities, violence, war etc. It is provided through social insurance, social assistance, pension
scheme or labour welfare fund benefits. It is often collectively administered. It is also delivered
by Panchayat Raj institutions or through local agencies. As social security programmes have to
reach a large population in India, professional social workers have a responsibility to administer
internet facilities, electronic conferencing, e-governance at various levels in social work practice
and service provisions. The third kind of social service namely “Health and Nutrition” may be
private operated, public operated, or operated under health insurance system or
throughpeople’s co-operatives. It can be non-profit or for profit. In India, there are a large array
of health services for health care delivery. They include specialised hospital/sanatoria, Medical
College Hospitals, District Hospitals, Taluk Hospitals, Community Health Centres, Primary Health
Centres, Dispensaries, Nutrition bureaus and so on. In addition, there are aternal/Reproductive
and Child Health Centres, Family welfare sub centers, anganvadies and so on at the local level.

The fourth social service is called “Public Housing”. There are non profit housing
corporations/boards, and housing co-operatives. There is also housing systems in plantations,
slums and industrial townships. There are also privately operated housing systems in rural and
urban areas. In India social welfare institutions, Government departments, and local bodies also
deliver housing services. Indira Awas Yojana is an important housing scheme of government of
India.

The fifth social service is “Employment and Training”. Under social welfare administration,
social work methods are used to upgrade services for employment. It is organised in the public
sector as well as private sector. It is also organised by special agencies, professional bodies and
trusts. Here imparting of skills through training is an important function of social welfare
administration.

The following list includes items which would generally be called “Personal Social Services”.
They are care, development, and welfare of the child, probation and correctional services for
the juvenile delinquents, crime prevention programmes, welfare programmes for prisoners,
victims and their families, institutional care for women and children, care and adoption by
special parents, family services and counselling, family social work, continuance of community
services and protective services for the aged or geriatric social work. Day care and pre-school
programmes for the children, referral programmes, holiday/vacation camps for children, youth,
parents, handicapped and the elderly, income-assistance and care programmes for average
families, self-help and mutual aid programmes among disadvantaged and handicapped groups,
counselling programmes for adolescents, marital counselling, planned parenthood counselling,
disability counselling, aged counselling, specialized institutional services for destitute, infirm,
beggars, poor, persons in moral danger etc. It also included De Addiction centres and
programmes for the care of alcoholics and drug addicts, programmes for victims of HIV/ AIDS
etc. It also includes human development programmes and other social welfare services.

The seventh social service is other services resulting from social policy. Transforming policy into
social and social welfare services and use of experience and expertise in recommending
modifications to policies comes under this broad area. We have to identify social inequities and
social injustice and have to solve social problems. In this regard dynamics of leadership, job
satisfaction and public relations are essential. Upliftment of disadvantaged, underprivileged and
vulnerable section of society such as women, children, old and infirm, disabled and
handicapped needs top priority. It also includes special services for scheduled caste, scheduled
tribe and backward communities, and people of backward areas and slums. In the context of
large population, relief and rehabilitation to migrants, social work practice among migrant
families and rehabilitation of victims of natural disasters like floods, draughts, earthquake,
landslides, tsunami and so on are situations in which social service in required.

The nature of social services requires social welfare administration to act as an essential
method ofsocial work practice. Administrative position of persons who are associated with the
provision of these social services in India, are designated as secretaries/ dministrator/directors,
welfare officers, medical social workers, psychiatric social workers, geriatric social workers,
family social workers, school social workers, rehabilitation social workers, child development
project officers, block development officers, research officers, local authority, social workers,
project directors/ officers, inspectors of welfare funds etc.

In addition, the various fields of social work such as medical social work, local authority social
work, social work in industry, social work in agriculture, family social work, psychiatric social
work, geriatric social work, rural, urban, tribal and coastal development, contain large scope for
services which need social work administration. Creative literature in social work is another
method of social work used in administration. Creative literature and creative media are used
to bring out literature on social work application in administration. It can be in the form of
fiction, serial, drama, dialogue etc. which personalize social welfare administration. So it can be
seen that the extent of use of primary methods in social work have wider coverage. Social
welfare administration has to play an important role in the administration of creative,
preventive, promotive, developmental and statutory social welfare services. Social welfare
administration is not only needed in the Government sector but it is also largely used in the non
governmental organisations, inter governmental organisations, community based organisations
and in the cooperative sector.

4.5. Concept of Social Action.

Social problems and conflicts have remained an integral part of the society from the time
immemorial. For providing relief and solution to these problems, social work and social welfare
have also remained a part of human society. Professional social work utilizes certain methods
of working with people, in view of empowering the people to solve their problems. Among the
methods of social work, social action is a new introduction in the professional social work
practice. Though its relevance is often felt in the field situations, social workers do not practice
this method quite frequently. The inherent theme behind social action is re-adjustment of the
social institutions and redistribution of power and resources for social justice and
empowerment of the community. As a method of social work, social action mobilizes the
general population to bring about structural changes in the social system.

Also the relation of social action with other methods of social work is very important to
understand. Social action process heavily rests on other social work methods like group work
and community organisation. In fact social action comes into the picture when people’s needs
and problems remain unmet and unsettled through other methods of social work. Social action
seems to be a step forward to community organisation. Social work research helps in perceiving
the social problem objectively. Group work and casework are the foundation to social action
where people are mobilized to confront authorities. Social welfare administration gives the
ground to social workers to prepare the community for social action. Social workers make use
of the skills and experiences gained through other methods of social work in the process of
social action.

Social action is a way of meeting mass social problems. It could be briefly defined as mass
attack on mass social problems. In this type of social work the entire community or as large a
number of members as possible – are made aware of any mass or social pathological problem
eating at the vitals of the society. After this awareness is created, the social worker enlists the
support of maintain to change the situation through social reform and collective action on
suitable legislative measure. “A stitch in time saves nine” are adages which still inspire the
social worker in the social action process. Thus, might form the social worker’s beginning when
the social worker sends a problem and takes upon himself communication of his awareness to
the mass, rouse them to collective or legislative activity, continuing in its enforcement; the
social worker helps the community to meet its problems which have assumed grave and
massive proportions.

It coordinates effort of a group to effect concrete changes toward a greater measure of justice
in society. Modern papal society thought emphasizes that social reconstruction requires both
the reform of social institutions; within this context social action refers logically to the second
requirement. In reality, however the two mandates are not conceived as separable but as
simultaneously necessary and mutually interdependent. Institutionalised injustice commonly
produces large scale misery and human degradation, and in the resulting environments the
practice of virtue may become practically impossible. On the other hand, the prevalence of
avarice moral indolence and the passion for power can thwart the institutional changes needed
to protect and advance human dignity and freedom.

As Bishop Andrew Grutka of Gary, England declared at Vatican Councuil II “ Beauty cannot grow
in a dump nor virtue in a slum.” The complex problems of modern societies can be ameliorated
only by group effort at many levels, both voluntary and governmental. Attempts to control
blight and transform slum existence for example may take such forms as calling attention to
building. Code violations in dilapidated tenements, lobbying for state subsidy of low rent
housing, publicising the connection between slum conditions and juvenile delinquency and
poor educations, staying rent strikes a providing special tutoring and study centres for slum
children. Each of these activities exemplifies social action.

Social Action as a Method

Social action is a comparatively new addition to the list of methods of professional social work.
Although social action has been used in other fields as well, such as the field of social reform
and of political movements, transfer of power, this chapter limits its observations by and large,
to the specific area covered by profession. In doing so, its concerns are with two important
social ideas and institutions of our times, namely, welfare and development which constitute
two specific denominations of social work practice. A word before that about the meaning of
the two concepts. By welfare we refer to the entire package of services social and economic,
that deal with income support, welfare provisions and social security on the one hand and with
the whole range of social services on the other.

All the helping activities approaches, social services and institutional innovations that are found
in the developing nations today have been introduced through the method of development,
Whereas, development has thus been the main level of changes in the new nations. Welfare, a
built in mechanism of the developed world is also concerned with social change, through it
expresses such concern merely by reviewing and reorganising the structure of the welfare
institution. Social action is the method that helps to bring in these changes.

Both development and welfare, some observers believe thus depend solely on social action for
the realization of their aims. They of course use other methods as well, but turn to social action
more liberally than any other. Development and welfare, therefore, provide today two key
concepts of professional social work. The principle method that they use namely the method of
social action aims at making the programmes of development and welfare more functional for
their respective clientele than any other methods could do.

4.5.1. DEFINITIONS

Some of the definitions of social action re being given below:

RICHMOND MARY (1922)

Social action is mass betterment through propaganda and social legislation.

LEE, PORTER (1937)

Social action seems to suggest efforts directed towards changes in law or social action structure
or toward the initiation of new movements for the modification of current social practices.

COYLE, GARCEL (1937)

Social action is the attempt to change the social environment in ways which... will make life
more satisfactory. It aims to affect not individuals but social institutions, laws, customs,
communities.

FITCH , JHON (1940)

Social action is legally permissible action by a group (or by an individual trying to promote
group action) for the purpose of furthering objectives that are legal and socially desirable.

HILL, JHON L..(1951)

Social action might be described as organized group effort to solve mass social problems or to
further socially desirable objectives by attempting to influence basic social and economic
conditions or practices.

WICKENDON, E (1956)
Social action is a term applied to that aspect of organized social welfare activity directed
towards shaping, modifying or maintaining the social institution and policies that collectively
constitute the social environment.

Social action in the field of social work is a process of individual, group or intergroup
endeavour, within the context of social work philosophy, knowledge, and skill. Its objective is to
enhance the welfare of the society through modifying social policy and the functioning of social
structure working to obtain new progress and services.

FRIEDLANDER, W.A. (1963)

Social action is an individual group or community effort, within the framework of social work
philosophy and practice that aims to achieve social progress, to modify social policies and to
improve social legislation and health and welfare services.

NANAVATI, M.C (1965)

Social action is a process of bringing about the desired changes to deliberate group and
community effort. Social action does not end with the enactment and singing of social
legislation, but that the execution of policies was the real test of the success or failure of social
action.

Social action should be seen as an endeavour to bring about or prevent change in the social
system through a process of making people aware of the socio-political and economic realities
conditioning their lives and by mobilizing them to organize themselves for bringing about the
desired change, or to prevent the change that adversely affects them, through the use of
whatever strategies they may find workable, with the exception of violence.

Social action is conflictual process of verifying, intensity, initiated and conducted by the masses
the action against the structures or institutions or policies or programmes or procedures of the
government and/or relevant agencies and/or power groups to view to bring betterment to any
section of the underprivileged at a level larger than that of a sociologically defined community.

4.5.2. Objectives of Social Action

The objective of social action is the proper shaping and development of socio-cultural
environment in which a richer and fuller life may be possible for all the citizens. The following
goals have been identified, prevention of needs, solution of mass problem, improvement in
mass conditions, influencing institution, programmes, redistribution of power, resources
(human, material and moral), decision making, effort on thought and action structure, and
improvement in health education and welfare.
4.5.3. History of Social Action

Social action as a process of change to be brought about by deliberate group and community
effort is not unknown to the profession of social work. As early as 1922, Mary Richmond one of
the early pioneers of the profession, referred to it as one of the four processes in social work.
In fact, it is an integral part of the concept of social work arising from the liberalistic,
rationalistic and democratic traditions. The early efforts to promote the settlement movement
in the U.S.A. and to change the system of charities into a programme of family welfare were
motivated by a desire to convert the services form ameliorative to curative and promotive. The
question that needs to be discussed however, relates to the stage when curative and
preventive services assume the use of the social action process for bringing about a desired
change. Here we shall trace the process of social action and discuss its use in the practice of
social work.

Social action as a process of bringing about the desired change includes some of the
following elements:

(i) Although action might begin with the initiative of one or more individual, group
action is essential for its fulfilment.
(ii) Action has to be organized and given the shape of a movement.
(iii) Belief in social progress should form the motivation of the participants.
(iv) Action should be in accordance with the established democratic practices, within
the constitutional right of the citizen.
(v) The authority of the group arises out of the consent of its members.
(vi) The force behind social action lie in group compulsion.

It is the judicious blending of these elements under a proper leadership together with
persistent striving and continuous education, that helps to achieve the desired change.
There are however, some differences among the social work professionals on the nature
of social action. To begin with, is it a separate process? or is it a part of the three
recognised methods of social work, social group work and community organization?
Some believe that it is subordinate to community organization, others take it a
complimentary to it. Some question the involvement of the element of compulsion- at
tiumes, coercion in promoting social action.

Social justice has to be at the very root of all social action. Social action should arise out
of the conviction that social justice calls for such an action and the specific situation
requiring change is a matter of relative urgency and could not be left to the show
 process of gradualism or voluntary acceptance. Having realised the situation, the
leadership in social action should ensure;

(i) Unity of philosophy, opinion and purpose;

(ii) Better professional preparation;
(iii) Integrated and continuing programmes of social study and research; and
(iv) Freedom to work jointly with labour unions, professional and business
organizations and civic and other community groups, towards common
objectives.

The starting point of social action is the identification of the problem. This calls for the
study of all factors, directly or indirectly related to the situation and their detailed
analysis.

4.5.4. Elements of Social Action

(i) Activeness of group or Community

(ii) Democratic Working
The mode of method adopted in the process of social action should be based on
democratic ideals. It is because the theory and practice of social work depend on
the democratic values.
(iii) Democratic Leadership
The leadership emerged during the process of social action should be of
democratic character. Leadership is not to be imposed but it should emerge
through common consent.
(iv) Arrangement of Resources
(v) Co-ordination between Problem and Resources

.
(vi) Co-operation
Social action can be successful only when co-operation of the community
members is available. For this purpose social worker should inspire the members
of participation in social action process. The social workers should also provide
direction and guidelines to the community members so that the problems arising
from time to time can be solved.
(vii) Public Opinion
The success and failure of social action is ultimately based on public opinion,
therefore newspapers, radio, television and public meetings should be utilised
for the emergence of healthy public opinion.
Social Action in Relation to Case Work

Social Action does utilize other social work methods in the process of attaining its goal of
community empowerment. In fact, we see that the whole process of social action is the
amalgamation of various methods of social work. In this section of the unit, we would try to
understand the relation of other methods of social work with that of social action. Let us first
pay attention to social casework. As we already know that social casework is a method of social
work to help individuals to cope more effectively with their social problems. The psychosocial
problem(s) of the client are dealt mainly in one- to-one relationship between the client and the
caseworker. The relation of social action with casework can be understood with the fact that
individuals and society are interdependent.

Most of the problems, which affect an individual, have connections with or repercussions to
his/her inter-personal relations. These inter-personal relations could be within the family
and/or with various institutions in the community, say, educational institutions, work place,
legal, neighbourhood, friends, etc. So, casework process may involve interventions not only at
the family level but also at the institutions in the larger community. The client may be having
the same social problem, which the social worker is addressing, at the macro level through
social action. In such a situation, caseworker needs to build confidence and faith among the
client and prepare him/her to be a part of social action process. Let us view the relevance of
social casework in social action. Apparently, there appears no connection between the two
methods of social work. However, during initial process of credibility building in the community,
the social worker makes use of casework in dealing with those members of the clientele group
who are facing some adjustment problems and require therapeutic help for harmonious social
functioning. To exemplify, if the social worker finds a member showing problematic behaviour
in the group sessions, which is affecting the working and integrity of the group, he/she takes up
separate casework sessions with that member. After making the social investigation (psycho-
social study) adequate social diagnosis is done. Once the member having problematic behavior
starts showing better social functioning, the group also becomes cohesive. It may be noted that
casework is required not only in the initial stages of social action, it may be needed when the
community is organised to take appropriate action against the authorities. At that time also,
any member of the core group may start showing deviant behaviour and require counselling
from the social worker.

Added to this, the skills a social worker uses for social investigation and diagnosis during
casework process, learning human behaviour, psycho-social problems, using caseworker-client
relationship for building confidence and courage in the client for solving his problems becomes
quite handy in the process of social action when the social worker has to deal with not only one
individual, but many types of personalities simultaneously and keep them integrated for the
targeted social goals.
Social Action in Relation to Group Work
The importance of social group work can be understood with the fact that a man is considered
a group animal. Group experiences are the essential needs of human beings. A human turns
from a biological being to a social being through group life. Attention may now be paid to social
group work, which is a method through which individuals develop the ability of establishing
constructive relationships with each other through group activities.

Social group work acts as a building block in the process of social action. Group members learn
organisation, cooperation and coordination. They learn interdependence and democratic
values. In the group work process, while participating in the activities of the group, the group
members learn to live and work together to attain some specific goals. Social group work solves
adjustment problems and enhances positive interpersonal relations. It prepares the individuals
to learn and share responsibility in working together. All these factors contribute to the success
of social action taken up for a social cause influencing a large segment of the population.

During the social group work process, the group members learn to respect each other’s views
and take criticisms positively. They learn emotional control and tolerance, empathy and
sympathy, breaking down of prejudices and enhance problem solving capacity. It teaches the
individuals to keep their personal likes-dislikes, aspirations, perceptions, ego-hassles aside and
work towards the goals planned by the group as a whole. Such a learning opportunity prepares
the individuals for a social change and chances of failure of a movement due to internal
conflicts are substantially minimized. Social group work also explores leadership qualities
among its members.

These leaders, in turn, take up the responsibility of mass mobilization and targeted activities in
social action process. Added to this, social group work also helps the social worker to refine
his/her skills of dealing with different personalities to work for common goals. The social
worker resolves various intra-group conflicts and personality clashes. These skills and
experiences become handy while dealing with conflicting situations between different groups
during the process of social action. The group worker makes use of programme media in social
group work. It contributes to programme planning and management in a better way while
dealing with many groups during social action process. Experiences of social group work with
one group help a lot in managing many groups when the whole community is mobilized for a
common social cause.

In addition, the social worker, during initial stage of group formation and during group work
process establishes rapport with the community people and gains knowledge about various
structural and functional aspects of the community, a precursor to studying a social problem,
which is affecting a large section of the community and undertaking mass movement and social
action for remedies. The social worker gains credibility in the community during the group work
process, which is one of the main requirements of social action. So, social group work acts as a
slapping stone in the process of social action.

Social Action in Relation to Community Organisation

Social action shares many similarities with community organisation. Sometimes there is a
debate whether social action is a part of community organisation or is completely a different
entity. Some believe that it is a part of community organisation. The problem of confusing
social action with community organisation arises mainly on account of lack of agreement as to
what the term community stands for in social work. While community organisation is meant for
a limited geographical area – the ‘community’, social action has larger context. It signifies the
society, say, nation-state. Social action definitely has a larger scope and impact. Some of the
techniques used by both the methods (social action and co mmunity organisation) may be
common but they differ in their approach. Community organisation is a process of effective
coordination of different agencies within a particular area and involves cooperative planning
and implementation of social policy relating to the area. However, social action as a process is
used for tackling issues, which are of a much wider nature than issues affecting a particular
area.

Community organisation is an integral part of social action. It is the precursor or pre-

requirement to social action. In fact, many of the social work professionals consider social
action as an extension of community organisation. Community organisation, as defined by Ross
(1955), is a process by which a community identifies its needs or objectives, orders or ranks
these needs or objectives, develops the confidence and will to work at those needs or
objectives, finds the resources (internal and/or external) to deal with these needs or objectives,
takes action in respect of them, and in doing so extends and develops cooperative and
collaborative attitudes and practices in the community. Social action is a conflictual process of
varying intensity to bring about or prevent changes in the social system through the process of
making people aware of the socio-political and economic realities conditioning their lives and
by mobilizing them to organise themselves for bringing about the desired change, or to prevent
the change that adversely affects them, through the use of whatever strategies they may find
workable, with the exception of violence.

Thus we see that ‘organising people or community or target population’ is the common thread
between community organisation and social change. In both the methods of social work,
people are helped to realize their needs or problems and in finding out the solution of their felt
needs. People organise themselves, collaborate and cooperate and work together for a
commonly accepted goal. In both the processes, that is, community organisation and social
action, need or problem identification is the first step. It is followed by making the people
aware of their pressing need or problem, that is, prioritizing the problems. An environment is
created in which the community people feel confidence and gain faith that together they would
be able to solve their pressing problems or meet their needs. Emotional impulse to meet the
need and to take required action quickly is inherent in both the processes.

However, in social action, change of authority and power structure is involved which invariably
requires some degree of conflictual process. It is the redistribution of resources and power. So,
we see that social action is community organisation with the aim of bringing about or
preventing long lasting social change where confrontation with the existing authority is
involved. The strategies and tactics involved in social action like, propaganda, picketing, strike,
boycott, sit-in, fast, etc. make social action different from community organisation. When just
by integrating the community to work together and mobilizing the available resources the
development is not sufficient for achieving the set goals, because of accumulation of power and
resources is in the hands of a few people who are not ready to work for the community
development, social action comes into play. The goal of social action is redistribution of power
and resources so that all the sections of the community get equitable share and opportunity for
optimum growth and development. Once this objective is achieved, people’s participation is
used for constructive activities in the community. People’s participation is the key term
common in both, community organisation and social action. Social action is, thus, one step
further to community organisation.

Social Action in Relation to Social Welfare Administration

Before looking into the relation between social action and social welfare administration, let us
first take a brief look at social welfare administration as a method of social work. It is the
process by which we apply professional approach to certain goals and transform social policy
into social action. It is a process of planning, implementing, directing, monitoring, organising,
coordinating and evaluation of services rendered for the welfare and development of the
people. Social welfare administration is mainly concerned with providing social welfare services
like activities related to child care, women’s development, etc., in an organisational set-up and
thus translating the social mandates into operational policies. The organisation delivering these
social services does have a definite set of goals, staffing pattern and adequate administrative
and managerial skills.

Let us take an example in order to understand the social action in relation to social welfare
administration. An NGO working with children in a slum area provides night shelter, mid-day
meal, non-formal education and other developmental and recreational activities. Soon, the
social workers realize that just providing these services is not providing any relief to the
working children. Parents want their children to work and earn rather than participating in the
activities of NGOs. The employers of these children not only pay very less for their hours of
tedious work, but also abuse them physically, emotionally and even sexually. Many children are
lured by drug peddlers and they are used for illegal work. Added to this, apathetic attitude of
police towards the whole situation worsens the situation. In such circumstances, the NGO
realizes it cannot play a substantive role for the well-being of the children just by adhering to its
already set policies and programmes. No matter how well the NGO is performing its services, it
cannot improve the living conditions of the children unless and until it decides to take up firm
steps for bringing about structural changes in the social system. It needs to take up
interventions like shaking up the conscience of the family members, police, government
administration, general public, school authorities and the most important the employers,
change in government policies which are pro-child welfare and development and effective
implementation of the same at the ground level. So, we see that unless strict and firm steps like
confrontation, negotiation, demonstration, etc. are done, which is social action, the services
rendered by a social welfare agency remain superficial. It clearly shows the relation of social
welfare administration and social action.

Social welfare agency, working in the community, provides a working ground to take up social
cause at the macro level with people’s participation. All the preliminary works needed for social
action, say, rapport building, in-depth knowledge about the community and its social problems,
credibility building and the like are done by social welfare administration. Now, let us examine
the skills a social worker acquires and/or refines in a social welfare administration. The social
worker does planning of social goals and policies for the agency. Planning is an intellectual and
crucial activity requiring adequate knowledge and vision about the social causes. A good
planning is a pre-requisite of a successful service delivery. This skill is of key importance during
carrying out social action for a social cause. Secondly, organising skills has been referred to as
the administrator’s raw material. Needless to mention how crucial this skill is for mobilizing
people for taking up social action against authorities. The social worker also requires skills in
staffing. Staffing means recruitment, training, orientation and supervision. During social action,
though these skills are not applied apparently and directly but experiences of working with
people, training them, dealing with their aspirations, different working patterns, conflicts, etc.
help the social worker to manage the people participating in mass mobilization and collective
action taken during social action. In the same way, skills acquired and refined by a social worker
in social welfare administration like budgeting, evaluating, reporting, directing, all become
handy during social action.

Social Action in Relation to Social Work Research

Social work research is the systematic and scientific study of social problems, and its objective is
to produce knowledge that can be used in planning and carrying out social work programmes
and (if the need arises) social action. Social work research is a very powerful tool in social
action. It helps in ‘knowing’ the social problem, its intensity and extensiveness, its causal
factors, its impact on the target population and its repercussions on social life of the people. It
also gives the understanding of the factual ground realities (and not mere perceptions) of the
social situations, which in turn helps in conceptualizing the pros and cons of various possible
social interventions. So, a systematic study of a social problem, and looking for remedies
through social work intervention, is a must for the attainment of goals through social action.

It is social work research, which helps the social activists to gain in-depth knowledge about the
social problem, factors contributing to it and its impact on the socio-cultural and economic
aspects of life. The findings of the research help in formulating the goals for social change,
design the intervention and plan their strategies and tactics accordingly. Research on the
problems which affect the disadvantaged, and then conscientizing them (the public as well as
the policy makers), can have considerable effects. Social work needs to highlight such research
to a great extent than the ordinary surveys of “social problems” which tend to neglect the
interplay of powerful social forces causing these problems.

Social work research is a careful, critical, scientific and objective way of investigation of the
social need or problem. It is free from biases and prejudices. It gives clarity to the social issue.
The social worker needs the base of social work research to carry out social action as its
absence may lead to wrong and inadequate perception of the problem. The planning of
interventions based on such inadequate data and findings would obviously be faulty. As a
result, social action may fail to adhere to its basic philosophy of the goal of community well-
being.

Social planning and social action would be ineffective without proper research. Social work
research enables social workers to satisfactorily assess the needs of the community and make
their interventions and programmes very effective, useful and worthwhile. The social worker
shares the findings of social work research with the community people through groups and
then with people’s participation; careful and meticulous interventions are chalked out for social
action. It helps the social worker to observe and record the relationship of individuals and
groups in actual operating situations. Through social work research, the social worker or social
actionist gets the right perspective or picture of the social problem, which is essential for the
success of social action in attaining its goal.

4.6. Principles of Social Action

Britto has described the following principles of social action which emerged out of the analysis
of the methodology used by Gandhiji to mobilize the masses during the freedom movement.

 PRINCIPLE OF CREDIBILITY BUILDING

It is the task of creating a public image of the leadership, the organization and the participation
of the movement as champions of justice, rectitude and truth. It helps is securing due
recognition from the opponent the reference-public, and the peripheral participants of the
movement. For the success of social action, the group or community concerned should be
active and conscious. Besides the group or community activeness should who planned and
organised.

 PRINCIPLE OF LEGITMIZATION
Legitimization is the process of convincing the reference public and the general public that the
movement objectives are morally right. The ideal would be making a case for the movement as
a moral-imperative. Movement makers might use theological, philosophical, legal-technical,
public opinion paths to establish the tenability of the movement’s objectives.

 PRINCIPLE OF DRAMATIZATION

Dramatization is the principle of mass mobilization by which the leaders of a movement

galvanize the population into action by emotional appeal to heroism, sensational news –
management, novel procedures, pungent slogans and such other techniques. Before
proceeding towards the process of social action, proper consideration should be given to the
material and non-material resources of the community concerned. Without sufficient
resources, the aim of social action could not be achieved.

 PRINCIPLE OF MULTIPLE STRATEGIES

There are two basic approaches to development: Conflictual and non-conflictual. Taking the
main thrust a program, one can classify it as political, economic or social. Four developmental
strategies have been identified by Zeltman and Duncan. These are:

(i) Educational strategy – (a) adult education (b) education by demonstration

(ii) Persuasive strategy
(iii) Facilitative strategy
(iv) Power strategy

 PRINCIPLE OF DUAL APPROACH

Any activist has to build counter-systems or revive some moribund system which is thought to
be beneficial to the needs of the mobilized public on a self-help basis without involving
opponents. Counter system must be built up and traditional systems must be transformed or
humanized in any developmental organization. In social action, problem should be selected
only after evaluating the available resources. For it the social worker should be the pertinent
literature which deal with that problem

 PRINCIPLE OF MANIFOLD PROGRAMMES

These are of three categories :

(i) Social programmes

(ii) Economic programmes
(iii) Political programmes
4.7. Strategy of Social Action

It is generally considered that social action comes into play when a social problem is
recognised. It is used to bring change. It implies that such a social change brings about
the progress of the group or the community where social action is engineered. Social
action can be the agent for preventing change as well, if such a change is against the
interests of the community, if a state government proposed to reduce old-age pensions
or per capita grants to child welfare institutions and if after due study of facts a
movement was organised to prevent such a change in the rates, it would be social
action. It seems that in both the instances, whether social action is for change or against
change, it involves an element of group force or pressure. But is has to be non-violent, if
it is to be genuine social action. This force is generated by educating the people into a
wiling co-operation for the need of action for or against change.
In the case of the bigger problem, a city community tackles its social problem. The social
action programme includes establishing of an institution and introducing legislation.

PROCESS OF SOCIAL ACTION

Lees has suggested nine tactics which are used by social actionists.

1. Research
2. Education
3. Cooperation
4. Organisation
5. Arbitration
6. Negotiation
7. Mild coercion
8. Violation of legal norms
9. Joint action

The first step in the social action process is to make people aware about the social problems
and situations and situations responsible for these problems. The next step is to develop an
agency who will deal with the situations. It will prepare the strategies to solve the problem and
then endeavour people’s participation to achieve the goal.

There are few general steps of social action as follows,

(i) An existing problem has first to be recognised. It may be recognised by an
individual, a group of individual or a community.
(ii) Facts about the problem must be collected by using scientific methods of
research and survey, so that the knowledge so gathered is certain, relates cause
and effect, and is capable of reasonable generalisation. It should not be too
isolated facts which can not apply to more than few. Both in collecting facts and
interpreting them, care should be taken that objective method should be used,
so that the varying effect of a subjective judgement or interpretation based on
emotion is avoided.
(iii) Educate the people affected by the problem or concerned with it. This has to be
done not by the method of throwing facts at the people but by consultation and
group discussion, so that they are participants in the process from the start. An
individual responds to social action only when he understands the problem and
comprehends the facts. The knowledge must become his own, resulting in an
inner urge to change the situation and not merely a response to external
stimulus. The problem must be his own.
(iv) The people must be convinced that the situation is remediable and that the
solution is within their capacity. One of the obstacles of social action is a fatal
acceptance of what is, as is. They will only agree to rebel against the condition or
situation, when the educational process is within their comprehension and the
change is shown to be to their advantage.
(v) The problem must be of immediate concern. People cannot be enthused over
remote causes. They must be directly affected by them. they must see and
experience the problem, its effects and causes.
(vi) Knowledge or awareness of the need for change or to solve a problem is not the
same thing as the capacity to change or solve.
(vii) Before a plan of social action is drawn up it is necessary to confer with all the
people of the area or the people concerned with the problem. This eliminates or
minimises opposition. A plan of action can’t be given to them readymade. It has
to evolve through discussions with the people.
(viii) In working out a plan of action we have to consult not only the people
immediately concerned but others, such as technicians local authorities, the
government, that maximum support is worked up for social action.
(ix) After the plan is worked out, organization of the campaign requires efficient
administration measures. Work has to be shared and distributed among the
people. Individuals and groups must have specific jobs. They must have a time
schedule and they must report progress to a central cleaning office or organizing
committee.
 (x) The campaign must then mobilize all resources of men, money and materials.

Lees had categorized three types of strategies for Social Action;

1. Collaboration
The social worker or the agency worker work together with the local leaders or the
agency to focus on the existing social policy and find out ways to improve it. The basic
assumptions of this approach are homogeneity of values and interests, through which
substantive agreement on proposals is obtainable. No one stand to lose a great deal of
power, authority or money since change occurs within a consensus that includes both
values and interests.
2. Competition
In this strategy contending parties utilize commonly accepted campaign tactics to
persuade, to negotiate and to bargain, with a willingness to arrive at a working
agreement.
3. Disruption
This strategy signifies more militant approach and it may include strikes, boycotts, fasts,
tax-refusal, sit-ins etc.
Richard Brynt postulates two sets of strategies – bargaining and confrontation.
Bargaining means lobbying, submitting petitions, information and publicity campaigns,
etc, whereas confrontations includes strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins.
Hornstein, has mentioned the following strategies for social intervention: individual
change, techno-structural data-based, organizational development and cultural change,
violence and coercion, and non-violent action- accommodation, exposures, living
examples, public support, presentation of proposals, competition, lobbying, agitation
and subversion, etc. Sharp has identified as many as 198 methods of non-violent action.
Hornstein has classified them as under:
1. Direct action tactics : picketing, marches, fraternization, haunting, leafleting, and
renouncing honours.
2. Non-cooperation : Strike, boycott, tax refusal
3. Intervention: Sit-in, fast, reverses strike, obstruction.

4.8. Models of Social Action

Britto has identified two types of social action:

1. Action initiated and conducted by the clients for the benefit of the masses.
2. Popular social action.
He identifies three sub-models of each type of social action. In the first model he has
mentioned the following types:

(a) Legislative action model: In this model clients try to modify the social policy creating
public against the problems.
(b) Sanction model: The clients by gaining control over some economic, social, political or
religious weapon try to obtain benefits for the society.
(c) Direct physical model: Elites take action and punish those responsible for the cause of
injustice.

The second type of social has the following three sub-models:

(a) Conscientization model based on Paulo Friere’s concept of creating awareness among
masses through education.
(b) Dialectical model promoting conflict to exploit the contradictions in a system with the
belief that a better system will emerge as result.
(c) Direct mobilization whereby specific issues are taken up by the actionists and the
masses are mobilized to resort to protests and strikes to achieve the objectives.

Singh has mentioned the following models of social action:

1. INSTITUTIONAL MODEL (STATE)

The state generally takes an indirect action and is directed for the benefit of the people with or
without their participation. The approach is parliamentary, representational, bureaucratic and
elitist.
The action is organized or sponsored within the framework of law, or may be legalized
subsequently i.e, regularization of unauthorized settlements. State action may include
residual/institutional (mixed) models.

2. INSTITUTIONAL SOCIAL MODEL

It visualizes social action by non-governmental institutions aided or unaided which initiate

action directly or otherwise and in the course of time secure people’s active support. In the
beginning the action is initiated for the people but subsequently it progresses with and through
them. The thrust of such action may be welfare or normative and may take place within the
framework of law.

3. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONAL MODEL

Here the social action may be organized by the citizens, self help groups, elites, the deprived,
and others for their benefit but in its progression and development may seek support from
formal groups and institutions which may like to espouse its cause. Depending upon its success
it may institutionalize itself formally.

4. POPULIST /MOVEMENTAL MODEL

It relies on popular social base and power, rejects dependency and stresses self-reliance
through collective effort, active participation and continuing education. This is an ideal form of
social action, in that participants experience thinking, deciding and working together in helping
themselves and in the process also strengthen their social base and power.

5. GANDHIAN MODEL

This model emphasizes on spirituality, purity of means and ends, non-violence as a creed,
austerity (limitation of want), and moral rearmament of people.

4.9. Role of Social Worker in Social Action

Clarke has mentioned the following role of social worker in social action:

1. All social workers are interested in promoting the welfare of the individual and as a
consequence every social agency sooner or later is concerned with some aspect of social
action.... social work practitioners have the responsibility of keeping their constituency
informed of conditions creating the problem they handle so that the agency which is
composed of supporters staff, and clients, can share in achieving social change.
2. It is agreed that every social worker as a citizen has a constitutional right to participate
in any form of legal social action that he choose whether it be a trade union member
fighting for the principles of his group; as a member of neighbourhood camp, advocating
freedom, racial equality, civil liberties, free birth-control clinics, disability and health
insurance; as a member of a political party; or a member of a citizens political action
group.
3. The Rev. Mr. Dwight J. Bradely, Director of the Religious Association of the National
Citizens Political Action Committee, urged an active participation in political movement.
It was then that in a democratic society all reforms are eventually bound up with
political action, hence if we are to be realistic about social change we cannot evade
association with political action groups.
4. Social workers as individuals or professional persons will support specific programmes
because they believe in them, not because they have professional expertise of them.
5. Social worker may participate in social action as a primary or secondary activity.

The profession of social work in India has hitherto not paid an adequate attention either
to education or to practice of social action. Major concerns of the professionals in this
area have largely around disaster situations or disturbances.
Use of Social Action in Social Work Factors
Human behaviour is manifested in terms of actions. Therefore, analysis of social action
occupies a central place among all the social sciences. The Economist seeks to analyse
the system of allocation of goods and services. A political scientist concentrates his
attention on the allocation of power and responsibility. Similarly, a criminologist
attempt to analyse anti-social action. However, the subject matter of all these sciences
represents the abstraction of social action. According to Talcott Parsons, “action is a
process in the act or situation system which has motivational significance to the
individual act or in the case of collectively, its component individual.”
In social work, social action is an important aspect to study. Action is a subject of study
so long as it forms the part of an individual or group problem. But along with this
aspects, social action is an organised group process which is used to solve the social
problems under this process. Public opinion is motivated towards attaining the aims of
social work.
In other words, social action is a process which is used for the achievement of social
objectives. It is used as an auxiliary method of social work. Changes occur in every
society. Along with these changes also emerge many problems of various dimension.
The process of social action aims to establish adjustment of society with these changes.
Besides, the social action as an auxiliary method of social work is oriented towards the
expansion of democratic values. It use is social work factors may be evaluated as
follows:
(i) Removal of Social Problems
The principle aim of social action is to solve the social problems. From this point
of view, there large scope of social action in Indian society which is confronted
by many social problems, viz. Casteism, untouchability, prohibition of widow re-
marriage, prevalence of women and child labour, etc, these problems should be
solved in accordance to democratic ideals.

(ii) Solution of Individual and family Problems

The problems with regard to individual and family needs top priority. In this
direction efforts are being made at the government and private level. These
problems can be solved with the help of social action.
(iii) Spread of Democratic Values
Social work is based on the democratic ideals. Justice, equality and liberty are its
main pillars. In practice, these ideals should be available to every citizen.
Therefore, in order to accomplish these democratic ideals rapid changes in the
present social structure are inevitable. For this purpose, social action can be
used as a base.
 (iv) Encouragement to Organizational Function
Social action is a process having various forms and as well as various modes of
execution. Further, social process could be integrative or disintegrative.
Therefore, with the help of integrative social process, the speed of social action
can be increased.
(v) Social Reform
With the help of social action, we can encourage the process of social reform. It
indirectly brings improvement in social conditions. There are many pathologies
which emerge due to general economic conditions can be solved with the help of
social action.

4.10. Let us sum up

Social action touches the very core of society and shapes its destiny. Indeed, social
action is an aspect or phase of social action and appropriately link it to the process of
social work, social action has not yet received the attention and analysis it deserves.
Following Newall to Roy Sins, the Dictionary of sociology defines social action as thus.
“any expenditure of effort by a group as such all conscious or unconscious, concerted or
collective endeavour.” The same dictionary gives the definitions of social action by
Roger N. Baldwin as thus, “organized effort to change social and economic institutions
as distinguished from social work or social service, theoretically cover movements of
political from justice, religious freedom and civil liberty, its techniques in propaganda,
research, lobbying. Organized effort towards social change is involved in social action.
Walter A. Freidlander explains social action more satisfactorily “social action”, he says is
an individual, group or community effort within the framework of social work
philosophy and practice that aims to achieve social progress to modify social policies
and to improve social legislation and health and welfare services. He suggests that social
action is the responsibility of every social work. Social action legitimately claim to be
method in social work just as social case work, social group and community organization
are methods.

4.11. Key words: Social welfare, social action, social welfare administration, social movement,
social reform, planning, organizing, coordinating.

4.12. Check your progress

1. Define the concept of Social welfare administration and discuss its task.
2. Explain various principles of Social Welfare Administration.
3. What is Social Action? Explain the objectives of Social Action.
 4. Narrate the history of Social action.
5. Discuss various principles of Social Action.
6. Describe the role of Social worker in the process of Social action.
7. Explain different models of Social action.
8. Write short notes on
a) Coordination
b) Staffing
c) Planning
d) Budgeting

4.13. References

Martin, Davies (2000), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Work , Blackwell Publishers, Oxford,
U.K.
Gangrade K.D. (1978), Social legislation in India , Concept Publishers, New Delhi.

T. Krishnan, Nair (1983), Social Welfare Manpower, A study in Tamilnadu , Concept Publishing
company, New Delhi

Dr. D. Paul, Chowdhry (1979), Social Welfare Administration, Atma Ram & Sons, Delhi.

Dr. D. Paul, Chowdhry (1981), A Handbook of social welfare , Atma Ram & Sons Delhi.

Mishra, P.D. (1992), Social Work – Philosophy and Methods , Inter India Publications, New
Delhi.

Moorthy, M.V. (1966), Social Action, Asia Publishing House, Bombay.

Siddiqui, H.Y. (1984), Social Work and Social Action (ed.), Harnam Publications.

Singh, Surender (1986), Social Action in Horizons of Social Work (ed). By Surender Singh & K.S.
Soodan
Sanjay Bhattacharya, Social Work, An integrated approach, Deep & Deep Publication