Social Welfare Concept, Scope

Social welfare refers to the efforts made by the government and non-profit organisations to assist families living in poverty by providing medical care, public health services, assisting with household needs, and assisting with social adjustments, among other things.

Social welfare is a well-organized system of social services and institutions aimed at assisting individuals and groups in achieving acceptable levels of   health and happiness. As a result, social welfare aims to help the less fortunate members of society who are unable to access social services or have been historically denied access to them.

Social Welfare is considered a branch of public administration because it identifies social problems and then works to solve them by implementing programmes aimed at improving the lives of the poor and disadvantaged. It is not considered an independent discipline because it is primarily based on   social sciences and other sciences.

Social welfare has two main characteristics: the use of welfare measures to support or strengthen the family as a basic social institution through which needs are met, and the intention to strengthen individuals’ capacity to cope with their life circumstances. According to Fried Lander (1959), social welfare is an organised system of social services and institutions aimed at assisting individuals and groups in achieving satisfactory living and health standards.

“In its narrowest sense, social welfare includes those non-profit functions of society, public or voluntary, which are clearly aimed at alleviating distress and poverty or at ameliorating the conditions of the casualties of society.”

Scope:

The following arguments have been presented to support the notion that social welfare is a form of art. It is something that can be learned; the art of social welfare is something that can be learned.

Talented individuals can become versatile administrators with the right training. As a result, social welfare administration is similar to other arts in terms of acquisition.

It is subjective in nature: A social welfare administrator can make significant changes and development by combining and bringing together available human and material resources to change the nation’s fate with the application of knowledge and skill.

Today, the success of any welfare programme is determined by the performance of a social welfare administrator.

Art is the systematic application of knowledge in the form of a practical application. Knowledge application in practise entails not only the application of theory but also the application of theory in practise. Similarly, social welfare administration is more than just theory; it is also application, because the best knowledge is gained through practise.

Social welfare has a wide range of applications. With the emergence of new social problems of a completely different nature, a new strategy for their solution must be developed. In a changing environment, it may be necessary to make the best use of available resources such as human, institutional, financial, technological, and so on.

The term “Social welfare” refers to a variety of factors that play a role in the successful resolution of social problems. The scope of social welfare administration, according to Bhardwaj, can be divided into two categories:

The POSDCORB perspective

The POSDCORB view of   social   welfare is a narrow one that focuses on the implementation of government-sponsored programmes. As such, this viewpoint is consistent with the managerial viewpoint. This viewpoint is shared by Henri Fayol, L. Urwick, Fercey M. Ovean, and Luther Gulick.

The Social Welfare System as a Whole

With the emergence of new social problems every day, the field of social welfare is expanding. As a result, a new perspective on the scope of social welfare emerged, known as the integral perspective. As the number of social problems grew, the government, which was already overburdened and unable to effectively address the issues, enlisted the help of various non-governmental organisations. As a result, this viewpoint encompasses not only   the subject of social welfare, but also the implementation aspect, which is the primary focus of the POSDCORB viewpoint