SOCW 6070 WK 2 Discussion: External Factors Impacting an Organization Last week, you explored how systems theory and the ecological perspective emphasize the interaction between a human services organization and its environment. Any change in one part of the system effects change in another part of the system. Because organizations are not immune to their environment, local, national, and global events affect them. Social workers in administrative roles must be able to identify and analyze the external factors that affect the function of the human services organizations for which they work. Though you may apply leadership and management skills as you assume an administrative position, you may also be able to repurpose many of the assessment skills you use in clinical practice for macro social work. Just as you gather information about a client and develop strategies for treatment at a micro level, so too, at a macro level, you gather and analyze information about a situation or program and identify appropriate strategies that will support positive organizational functioning. For this Discussion, you address the Phoenix House case study in the Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year text. Post  an analysis of the supervisor’s role in the Phoenix House case study and identify leadership skills that might help the supervisor resolve the issue. Identify which aspect of this situation would be most challenging for you if you were the supervisor. Finally, explain how you would use leadership skills to proceed if you were the supervisor. Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references. Resources Northouse, P. G. (2021). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage. Chapter 1, “Understanding Leadership” (pp. 1–24) Chapter 2, “Recognizing Your Traits” (pp. 26–54) Chapter 5, “Developing Leadership Skills” (pp. 127-158) Lauffer, A. (2011). Understanding your social agency (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Sage. Chapter 3, “Role Playing and Group Membership” (pp. 70–98) Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing [Vital Source e-reader]. “Social Work Supervision, Leadership, and Administration: The Phoenix House” (pp. 82–84) Social Work Supervision, Leadership, and Administration: The Phoenix House I am the senior social worker at a program called Phoenix House. Phoenix House is an after-school program supporting at-risk middle school youth. It is funded in part by local school districts. Students are generally referred to Phoenix House by school administrators or parents. I supervise a staff of four full-time social workers and two social work interns from a local university. Staff responsibilities generally include helping students with homework, individual and group counseling, field trips, and recreatio.

1. SOCW 6070 WK 2 Discussion: External Factors Impacting an
Organization
Last week, you explored how systems theory and the ecological
perspective emphasize the interaction between a human services
organization and its environment. Any change in one part of the
system effects change in another part of the system. Because
organizations are not immune to their environment, local,
national, and global events affect them.
Social workers in administrative roles must be able to identify
and analyze the external factors that affect the function of the
human services organizations for which they work. Though you
may apply leadership and management skills as you assume an
administrative position, you may also be able to repurpose many
of the assessment skills you use in clinical practice for macro
social work. Just as you gather information about a client and
develop strategies for treatment at a micro level, so too, at a
macro level, you gather and analyze information about a
situation or program and identify appropriate strategies that will
support positive organizational functioning.
For this Discussion, you address the Phoenix House case study
in the Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year text.
Post
an analysis of the supervisor’s role in the Phoenix House case
study and identify leadership skills that might help the
supervisor resolve the issue.
Identify which aspect of this situation would be most
challenging for you if you were the supervisor. Finally, explain
how you would use leadership skills to proceed if you were the

2. supervisor.
Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be
sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Resources
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Introduction to leadership: Concepts
and practice (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage.
Chapter 1, “Understanding Leadership” (pp. 1–24)
Chapter 2, “Recognizing Your Traits” (pp. 26–54)
Chapter 5, “Developing Leadership Skills” (pp. 127-158)
Lauffer, A. (2011). Understanding your social agency (3rd ed.).
Washington, DC: Sage.
Chapter 3, “Role Playing and Group Membership” (pp. 70–98)
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014b).
Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD:
Laureate International Universities Publishing [Vital Source e-
reader].
“Social Work Supervision, Leadership, and Administration: The
Phoenix House” (pp. 82–84)
Social Work Supervision, Leadership, and Administration: The
Phoenix House
I am the senior social worker at a program called Phoenix
House. Phoenix House is an after-school program supporting at-
risk middle school youth. It is funded in part by local school
districts. Students are generally referred to Phoenix House by

3. school administrators or parents.
I supervise a staff of four full-time social workers and two
social work interns from a local university. Staff
responsibilities generally include helping students with
homework, individual and group counseling, field trips, and
recreational games and activities.
Students are usually referred to Phoenix House when school
administrators feel that the student is on the cusp of expulsion
or long-term suspension from their school, usually due to
disciplinary issues. Parents of students may also enroll their
children in the Phoenix House program if they feel it will be
beneficial. Parents are made aware of Phoenix House and its
services through PTA meetings and via school administrators
when a disciplinary incident takes place. Although it is free of
charge and funded primarily through school district funds,
parents are discouraged from using Phoenix House as an after-
school or extracurricular activity for their children.
The average clients of Phoenix House are boys and girls
between the ages of 11 and 14. The clients possess a range of
presenting issues, mostly relating to inappropriate behavior.
Some of the clients have been involved with the juvenile justice
system in some form or fashion. Almost all of the clients have
been suspended from their school at one point or another.
Common problems with clients at Phoenix House include
fighting, bullying, stealing, and vandalizing.
The staff I supervise have quite a bit of experience working
with juveniles with behavioral issues. Some of them have
worked in juvenile detention facilities and others have worked
at court-mandated youth programs.
We have recently accepted a new client named Daniel. Daniel is
a 13-year-old, Caucasian male. Daniel was enrolled by his

4. mother when he was suspended from his school after a
marijuana cigarette was found in his book bag by school
security staff. It was the first time Daniel had been suspended
from his school and the first time a disciplinary report had been
filed on him.
Sarah, one of the social workers, asked to speak to me
concerning Daniel. Sarah had spoken to Jim, one of our social
work interns, about Daniel and the appropriateness of his
presence at Phoenix House. Jim is concerned that Daniel is not
a “good fit” at Phoenix House because he does not seem to
match up with the character and attitudes of the other clients.
Sarah shares Jim’s concern and is also concerned that the other
clients may be a harmful influence to Daniel.
Sarah is Daniel’s counselor, as well, and has gotten permission
from Daniel to share some of his statements from their
counseling sessions. The statements indicate Daniel has no idea
how the marijuana cigarette got into his book bag and that
Daniel suspects it was put there by another student as a joke or
as a means to get rid of it during bag searches. Sarah, who has
years of experience working with at-risk youth, indicates that
she believes Daniel. Daniel has also gone on to state that his
mother has a tendency to overreact, and this may be the reason
why she enrolled him in the Phoenix House program instead of
listening to his explanations.
In response to Jim and Sarah’s concerns, I contacted Daniel’s
mother, Lisa. Lisa listened to my concerns but did not feel that
it would be right to remove him from the Phoenix House
program. She said that even if he had done nothing wrong,
Daniel could learn a valuable lesson about consequences by
being in the Phoenix House program. I attempted to explain to
Lisa that this is not really the purpose of the program and also
indicated that Phoenix House is not meant to be a typical after-
school or extracurricular program. Lisa retorted that it is her

5. right to enroll her son in the program, and in her opinion, the
end result of Daniel being in the program will be positive in
nature.
I have shared this conversation with the staff at our weekly
meetings. The staff seem convinced that Daniel will not have a
positive experience at Phoenix House and feel he is being
picked on and bullied by the other clients despite their efforts to
prevent it. Some staff members have also pointed out that this
may be an ethical issue because they feel the situation violates
the social work value of “Do no harm.”