(WITHDRAWN) "the Conflict Is in the Values": Considering the Ethical Implications of Managerialism within Human Service Nonprofit Organizations

Background and Purpose: Research suggests that human service nonprofit organizations (HSNO) have been profoundly impacted by managerialism; the process of organizations adopting and implementing principles and practices derived in the for-profit sector. Emerging in the 1980s as a result of Neoliberal polices related the New Public Management, managerialism presumes that market-based strategies—performance management and efficiency-based standards, for example—are the most effective way to structure organizations operating in resource scarce environments. Today, this model maintains its stronghold over many organizations, including HSNOs, and results in what Dart (2004) refers to as organizations becoming more “business-like” in both structure and function.

However, as some research suggests, managerialism does not always yield positive results for nonprofit organizations. This paper reports findings from a qualitative case-study examining the experiences nonprofit staff human service staff have with managerialism. The first of its kind to examine managerialist approaches and practices within human service agencies, the study contributes to our understanding of the impact of managerialism on individuals working in human service organizations and human service organizations more generally.

Methods: Using a single-case study design to investigate the phenomenon of managerialism, in-depth interviews were conducted with 43 staff members within three human service nonprofit organizations: a homeless services agency, an agency serving low-income older adults, and general poverty relief organization. The organizations were located in a large urban area serving a highly diverse clientele. Participants included front-line staff (n=7), program level staff (n=6), middle management (n=8), leadership staff members (n=14), and executive level staff (n=8). Semi-structured interviews were conducted over a period of nine months. Interviews were transcribed and subsequently analyzed using Dedoose; a qualitative data analysis software package. In accordance with constructivist grounded theory analytical techniques, interviews were inductively coded into initial/open codes, focused codes, categories, and themes.

Findings: Findings revealed that when embraced by HSNOs, managerialism causes a “conflict of values” for staff members at all organizational levels. This conflict is characterized by a divergence between one’s professional ethics and values that are often rooted in an ethic of care and social justice, and the managerialist practices embraced by the organizations. In most cases, participants believed that employing for-profit oriented approaches in human service contexts also compromised service efficacy and the well-being of clients overall. Finally, participants described managerialist practices as impeding the organizations from meeting their mission-related goals.

Conclusion and Implications: While managerialism is a widely accepted approach, the findings from this study suggest that when adopted by human service organizations, values are compromised at both the individual and organizational levels. Consequently, several ethical conflicts arise for the staff as well as the organizations more generally. This study contributes to our understanding of these processes and begins to explicate some of the ways in which organizational environments contribute to the adoption of managerialism. Understanding managerialism as challenging to social work values and ethics can enable social service providers to be better equipped to mitigate these difficulties, which can lead to more effective and ethically informed service provision.