Compare and contrast the conflict model of practice versus the collaborative model of practice. Discuss the different approaches associated with these models: social action, community development, and social planning.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In liberal times, social work has been more willing to embrace conflict approaches; in conservative times, more collaborative approaches have been preferred. In the current era of transnational corporations and high transnational mobility, these methods might be revisited by contemporary social workers. Today, however, as suggested, the trend is away from challenging the establishment and toward creating partnerships among community groups, government agencies, and corporations. In this climate, the market dominates, issues are seen as private, and people are becoming more isolated from each other. In such a climate, social action approaches both inside and outside social work have been viewed as inappropriate. Social workers depend on political and financial support from governmental and private philanthropies, which have, for the most part, a heavy investment in the status quo. Conversely, social action works for social change by organizing people to put pressure on governments or private organizations. It challenges social inequalities. Community development is based on an assumption of shared interests, rather than conflicting interests. It seeks to bring together diverse community interests for the betterment of the community as a whole, with attention to community building and an improved sense of community. The traditional social planning model of community social work is based on the premise that the complexities of modern social problems require expert planners schooled in a rational planning model. In this model, the community power structure is the author of social change efforts. This is often referred to as a top-down approach to social change.