SYSTEMS THEORY

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SYSTEMS THEORY

• incorporating Unitary Approaches, Family Systems,
  Institutional Systems, Ecological Models and
  Networking

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SYSTEMS THEORY

• What is Systems Theory?
• Biological Models
• A Case Study
• The Pincus and Minahan model
• Social Work and Ecology
• Strengths and Weaknesses

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An Example

• Think of Lincolns transport system if you
  improve car access, you potentially boost the
  economy, you satisfy individual demand, but
  potentially damage the environment and increase
  risks of accidents if you switch to public
  transport, you boost jobs through infrastructural
  spending, but you lose income from car parking,
  from passing trade, potentially from tourism.so
  any action in one part has a consequence on the
  whole system

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Another Example

• Excluding your family and blood relatives, how
  many friends and acquaintances do you have?
• Write down the number that best approximates to
  your social system

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Further Examples

• Examples of simple systems are babysitting
  circles, allotment societies, share the
  care schemes
• Examples of complex systems are neighbourhoods,
  families, kinship networks, church / faith
  groups, peer groups, social communities

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SYSTEMS THEORY A Definition

• A Social system is a system of processes of
  interaction between actors...it is the
  structure of the relations between the actors as
  involved in the interactive process which is
  essentially the structure of the social system.
  The system is a network of such relationships
• (Talcott Parsons The Social System)

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SYSTEMS THEORY Roots

• Things do not have a meaning in themselves, but
  only in relation to other things (Saying from
  Eastern philosophy)
• Society is an organism of functionally
  interdependent parts evolving through structural
  differentiation (Herbert Spencer The Study of
  Sociology)

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BIOLOGICAL MODELS

• The whole is equal to more than the sum of its
  parts
• Systems are highly organised
• Boundaries are very important, as are patterned
  transactions
• The behaviour of the individual cannot be
  understood without reference to the system to
  which s/he belongs

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BIOLOGICAL MODELS (2)

• Behaviour is best understood as a circular
  process
• Systems are naturally self - preservationist and
  conservative
• Systems need energy flow across boundaries to
  achieve equilibrium
• Systems are goal directed

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Practice Example of Simple Use of Systems Theory
as an Explanatory Framework School Refusal
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Reminder how would other theories intervene in
this case?

1. Psychodynamic would try to engage with Davids
   inner world of feelings
2. Behavioural identify and try to isolate those
   factors positively reinforcing Davids school
   refusal
3. Cognitive what do you think?
4. Systems as implied earlier may use any one of
   aboveBUT would also

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Systems Theory Intervention in Davids Case

• Enquire into the way the actions of each family
  member impact on the others see diagram slide
  7
• Encourage parents to go to school regularly to
  see teachers about Davids progress
• Enquire about possible bullying at school the
  nature of the ant-bullying policies
• Make sure that the health care system is aware of
  the emotional aspects of Ds fathers health
  problems
• Establish whether there were other forms of
  support available to Ds parents
• Ensure the parents were aware of all potential
  benefits available to them
• In this sense then Systems Theory is making
  sure that the problem is perceived in the round
  and in an inter-connected manner..simple
  good practice you might think!

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HUMANS AND SYSTEMS

• All people depend upon human systems
• INFORMAL family friends neighbourhoods
• FORMAL church clubs associations trade unions
• SOCIETAL school employer authorities state
  structures
• (Pincus and Minahan, 1973)

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Pincus Minahans 4 basic social work systems
System Description Further Information
Change Agent System Social workers the organisations they work in Not just social workers!
Client System People, groups, families, communities who seek help engage with change agents Actual clients have agreed to receive help have engaged themselves potential clients are those with whom the sws are trying to engage
Target System People whom the change agent system is trying to change to achieve its aims Client and target systems may or may not be the same
Action System People with whom the change agent system works to achieve its aims Client, target action systems may or may not be the same
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Noel Timms three levels

• MICRO reference to interaction and mutuality in
  personal peer relationships
• MEZZO access to resources, often facilitated by
  central figures, informal leaders
• MACRO relationship between people and more
  formal community organisations

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Linking Systems and Structural Theory

• Community social work demands a systems
  orientation and a change of attitude from social
  work about roles and tasks (Coulshed, 1988)
• Working with communities, neighbourhoods and
  networks a systems approach to service delivery

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Can Systems Theory be Critical?

• Systems theory does allow social workers to be
  critical of and target for change -
  considerable issues outside the immediate
  behaviour of the referral including
• The referrer's immediate environment their own
  agencys policies other agencies local
  national government policies social conventions
  generally

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Linking Systems theory to Networking

• a systems approach may be applied to the analysis
  of the complexity of biological, psychological,
  social and cultural forces at work in the
  relations between formal social work and informal
  social support networks (Garbarino, 1986 24)
• the aim is to create artificial systems that
  will go on to function as natural systems
  (Collins and Pancoast, 1976 65)

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Coates J (2003) Ecology Social Work

• Starts from the notion that SW must support
  sustainable development, through
• Developing caring communities
• Identifying developing activities that benefit
  the common good
• Promoting active partnerships
• Building capacities in individuals communities
• Promoting decentralised localised decision
  making - making it work!
• Promoting community health social resilience
• Promoting environmental and social justice
• Reducing human ecological stress with much
  use of grief work
• Focus on natural methods of healing
  spirituality
• So, it is logical that a radical and critical
  systems theory would question all the
  conventional systems within which SW is practiced
  - and promote alternatives

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Strengths Weaknesses of Systems Approach as a
Guide to Practice

• Strengths
• It offers a unitary approach by combining
  psychological, social and community approaches
• It is interactive it facilitates being able to
  understand the impact of people on each other, as
  well the impact of systems on people other
  systems
• It offers more than one way to tackle an issue
  eclectic not stuck in one preferred approach
• It allows for the integration of approaches
• It avoids strict determinist accounts of
  behaviour

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Weaknesses

• It is not prescriptive does not tell us what to
  do (some might say thats a strength!)
• It is a generalised theory - hard to apply to
  specific situations
• It points to many connections but does not
  provide any specific theory that might link them
  in an explanatory manner
• Maybe it includes too much maybe we need theory
  that places some emphasis on what is most
  important
• In many guises it can be quite conservative
  creating stable self reliant systems
• Similarly it may overstate the importance of
  social cohesion and solidarity
• It can have a complex and over technical language
  like many other theories!