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The Role of Professional Values in Community Service Work

Adaeze Udom
September 4, 2022 9 Mins Read
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The Role of Professional Values in Community Service Work
Introduction
In issues bordering on human relations generally, there are certain principles, rules, regulations and even agreements that guide the actions and reactions of individuals and people in a bid to maintain a smooth and progressive relationship. This is evident in business, government, and even family relationships where in a bid to sustain certain levels of progress and growth, people tend to pay attention to observing rules. In the same vein, for community service work to be significantly operational as well as sustainable, there is need for the adoption and implementation of certain professional values which do not only aid in the success of community projects but also retains the reputation of community service professionals.
Being aware that community service work is arranged and carried out by a group of organised people with the primary objective of giving back to the community through the rendering of humanitarian services which is often done in locations where people live so that everyone would enjoy the benefits, it would not be appropriate if such services are rendered in a manner or ways that are unethical, biased or unprofessional. Owing to the sensitive nature of community service work especially as it concerns humans, their behaviour, and their environment as well as the dire need to work out approaches and plans through which the society can record massive positive improvements, it is expected that community service workers should build a formidable and sustainable formal relationship with the people which must be guided by discipline, commitment, consistency and values. The idea behind this is that if such values are upheld, it will give rise to proper practitioner-client association which on its own is a clear indication of progress in the implementation of present and subsequent community projects.
Thus, it is in a bid to explore and examine the place or significance of professional values in community service work that this assignment paper seeks to analyse the main (4) domains of human service/community service work, the concept of social justice in relation to community service work, the social barriers/challenges faced by both clients and workers in the community service sector and the theoretical approaches underpinning professional service work.
What are professional values?
Before we delve into the concept of professional values, it is very crucial to note first, that every profession, discipline or job is accompanied by series of guidelines or principles which when strictly followed would bring about a good, healthy and productive work relationship. With that in mind, what then are professional values? On that note, Segen’s Medical Dictionary (2022) defines professional values as a common or generic term for the principles that are central to practicing a profession which for medicine as an instance includes integrity, compassion, altruism, continuous improvement, excellence and ability to collaborate with members of the wider health team. Furthermore, it explains that these values, which underpin the science and practice of medicine, form the basis for a moral contract between the medical profession and society as each party has a duty to work in order to embolden the system of healthcare on which human dignity and reputation depends.
Even though Segen’s explanation of professional values mostly took a medical perspective, it however pointed out the major components of professional values one of which is that it forms the basis of a moral and committed contract between the profession (community service work/workers and the society which comprises the group of people who are meant to enjoy certain human services. Professional values are beliefs and ideas that often times than not affect or influence peoples’ work attitude. It redesigns work behaviour by aligning workers with prescribed work rules and principles which are supposed to yield great work prospects. Again, it should be pointed out that every profession has its own values and principles that guide it and that is why since this assignment is concerned with community service work we would concentrate on the role of professional values in community service work.
Understanding the main (four) domains of human service in line with professional values
In the course of rendering community service, community service workers tend to meet different kinds of people in the communities they visit. These people are cut across different ages, ideologies, religion and population sizes. Also, and most importantly, they are comprised of different individuals, families, groups and communities (EduFixers, 2022, p. 1). Interestingly, these people on different levels – individual, family, group and community make up what is described as the four domain of Human Service. Again, it is important to note that in the course of rendering humanitarian services to either of the abovementioned domain, community/social workers are expected to be guided by certain values which would determine the kind of assistance to be rendered to the people as well as the corresponding feedback to be gotten.
Provision of Social Services to individuals
This domain of human service entails that social workers are supposed to concentrate on as well as consider the personal needs and yearnings of individuals in the community. Such task is guided by the objective to engender the personal growth and development of the individual through the assistance that is being offered. Explaining further, Payne (2016) noted that in the course of rendering social services to individuals, social workers are expected to identify their clients as social beings and creatures. According to the Australian Community Workers Ethics and Good Practice Guide (2017), Paine’s assertion would mean that professional social works are expected to critically look into the individual behaviours of their clients so as to ascertain whether they are progressive and if not, help them survive both physically and psychologically..
When assisting an individual, it is expected that social workers should also respect their client’s privacy and help preserve their integrity. They are supposed to relate with their clients based on their level of understanding and experiences in society. Social workers should be honest in their teachings, non-controversial and must not make criticism against their clients with their situation.
Provision of Social Services to Families
    In the case of assisting families, social workers are expected to make use of a collaborative and collective technique in dealing with family members. This is because It would not be appropriate to instead of establishing a balance among family members such that an agreement is reached on how well to enhance continuous bond and progress, social workers would rather lose their values of integrity and regard for both personal and inter-personal relationship. Family history and information must remain discreet and protected by social workers if peradventure they get to know about them in the course of their working relationship with families. Also, issues of controversy, neglect or even violence in families are supposed to be mutually solved by social workers with the sole aim of uniting families together and leaving them better than they were.
Provision of Social Services to Groups
EduFixers (2022) commented that the domain of groups entails the assistance rendered to more people who even though are different, but belong to the same category, which to a greater extent, can be very much complicated by issues of confidentiality, mutual trust and social enhancement of needs. Just as expected, working with a group of people from different background, religion and social and political ideology would men being exposed to much personal information about these people. Thus, on this note, what makes a social worker professional in his or her work, is the ability to keep these personal information discreet and out of public knowledge. On the other hand, social workers are expected to work towards the enhancement of social inclusion, rejecting all forms of biasness or divisiveness which may arise among the groups. This will instill in the minds of the groups of people in question, the need for communal living – an occurrence which would give room for collective growth and progress of all the groups in society.
Provision of Social Services to Communities
    The implementation and maintenance of social justice in society from observation, remains the most essential professional value to be employed in the case of providing community service to communities, which given to its broad nature, encompasses the need for identification and acceptance of a large group of people from diverse locations. Based on this, it is expected that social workers, while assisting communities are supposed to see everyone with the same lens and as the same category without recourse to any kind of exclusion and discrimination.
The Concept of Social Justice
Deranty (2016, p. 1) explains that social justice is concerned with fairness with which the goods and the burdens arising from collective life re shared among members of society. It is an essential virtue which is critical in one’s dealings and association with others. In general, what social justice does is to ensure that everyone in society is treated as equals without segregation. Thus, social justice remains an important professional value in community service as it would ensure that people in communities are assisted fairly and seen as one despite their differences.
The Social Barriers faced by both clients and Workers in the Community Service Sector
I would say that one of the social challenges or barriers faced by both clients and social workers is ‘misplaced entitlement.’ This is more prevalent moistly in developing countries of the world where most communities suffer high level of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. And as a result, they take advantage of their deprived circumstances in expectations of humanitarian aids and grants. In a bid to help salvage the situation of these people, community service projects are being sponsored in in their communities. However, in most cases, these communities expect to be given monies and gifts while social workers come for enlightenment and provision of social amenities. This often leads to distrust and lack of compromise.
Stigma also has a role to play as it stands as a barrier to community service. Here, both the client and social worker express their inability to talk about certain social problems because of what the society already holds about them. Again, Mattsson (2014) mentioned that one of the key barriers faced by both parties is the view of the change process. Here, there is a lack of agreement based on different opinions of the client and the social worker concerning a specific issue and such an incident would likely lead to misunderstanding between the duo.
Theoretical Approaches underpinning professional community service work
There are a number of theoretical approaches or rather laws of generalization that support professional community service work owing to the value it adds to sustainable humanitarian services to society. One of these approaches is the human relations approach. Vishakha (2022) noted that the approach to human relations deals with the psychological variables of organisational functioning in a bid to increase the efficiency of organisations. Its objectives are geared towards human integration with the notion that when humans come together, including clients and social workers, they achieve greater things and advance the greater good of not just the organisation where they work but also the entire society.
Additionally, EduFixers (2022) mentioned that an ethnic-sensitive practice approach prioritizes one’s background which is essential as it assists various ethnicities in maintain their cultural background as they continue to express their identity through language, religion, tradition and many others. Emphasizing on the essence of culture and cultural differences in community service work would help social workers build respect as well as uphold the integrity of individuals, families, groups and communities of distinct cultural/ethnic background. It will also help them identify and focus on the particular and basic needs of different ethnic groups.
Conclusion
This assignment paper explored and examined the role of professional values in the rendering of community service work. It explained professional values and its significance to social workers. The work also analysed the four domain of human service – individuals, families, groups and communities and advised that social workers should be professional in their services to them.
References
Australian Community Workers Ethics and Good Practice Guide. (2017). Available at: https://www.acwa.org.au (Accessed March 25 2022).
Deranty, J.P. (2016). Social Justice (online). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net (Accessed 25 March 2022)
EduFixers (2022). Professional Values in Community Service Work (online). Available at: https://www.edufixers.com (Accessed 25 March 2022).
Mattsson, T. (2014). Intersectionality as a useful tool:Anti-oppressive social work and critical reflection Affilia 29(1).
Payne, M. (2016). Challenging Workspace Bullying: The Role of Social Work Leadership Integrity. Ethics and Social Welfare 10(4).
Segmen’s Medical Dictionary. (2012). Professional Values. (online). Available at: https://www.efreedictionary.com (Accessed 25 March 2022).
Vishakha, B. (2022). Human Relations: Meaning, Approach, Approach, Concept, Importance, Limitations (online). Available at: https://www.economicsdiscussion.net (Accessed 25 March 2022).

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