Social work directors: A study of management skills and service quality

Abstract

Social work directors of non-profit nursing homes are the managers who insure that client needs are met within these institutional systems. This exploratory/descriptive study examines the relationship between the management skills of the directors and the service quality of social work departments of the voluntary institutional long term care member institutions of the North American Association of Jewish Homes and Housing for the Aging (NAJHHA). Management skill is defined as the extent to which the directors use conceptual, interpersonal and technical knowledge and ability. Service quality is defined as the extent to which services are provided and policies are in place.;The research methodology used is a multivariate analysis based on a survey questionnaire answered by 58 social work directors of NAJHHA member facilities. Results of the study demonstrate that interpersonal skill is a predictor variable of service quality.