Standardisation—the end of professional discretion?^†

† The research was conducted in School of Social Work, Lund University.

Abstract

This article analyses and discusses standardisation in human service organisations and its implications for professionals and for professionalism in social work. The theoretical framework derives from neo-institutional theory and theories regarding professionalism. By highlighting the role of professionals within a field influenced by organisational demands and market endeavour, this article contributes to the understanding of increased standardisation as a way to reduce uncertainty and enhance legitimacy for human service organisations, but at the expense of traditional professional discretion. This development has been interpreted as de-professionalisation and as an adjustment to organisational demands. It could also be seen as a professional strategy to strengthen professional trust and provide a sense of certainty for professionals. It can also lead to professional uncertainty about how to handle the discretion in the light of standardised tools. This development might, depending on the organisational context and the individual professional's choices, result in a manual-mental specialised professionalism as well as a strictly mechanical form of work. Standardisation thus puts high demands on professionals and how they use the professional discretion, since professionalism requires professionals capable of handling a mix of logics without totally yielding discretionary power and making professional judgement.

I denna artikel analyserar och diskuterar vi standardisering i människobehandlande organisationer och dess implikationer för professionella i socialt arbete utifrån nyinstitutionell teori och professionsteori. I artikeln sätts fokus på professionella roller i ett fält som påverkas av organisatoriska krav och av marknadskrafter. Artikeln bidrar till förståelsen av standardisering som ett sätt för organisationer att minska osäkerhet och erhålla legitimitet, vilket samtidigt begränsar professionellas handlingsutrymme. Denna utveckling har tolkats som avprofessionalisering och som en anpassning till organisatoriska krav. Men det kan också ses som en professionell strategi för att stärka tilliten till professionen och förse professionella med en känsla av säkerhet. Det kan även leda till professionell osäkerhet beträffande hur det handlingsutrymme som återstår i relation till standardiserade manualer bör hanteras. Denna utveckling menar vi kan leda till en ‘manual-mental’ specialisering eller till ett strikt mekaniskt förhållande till arbetet, beroende på den organisatoriska kontexten och hur professionella väljer att hantera standardiserade mallar och den diskretionära makten. Standardiseringen ställer därmed höga krav på professionella. Professionalitet förutsätter förmågan att förhålla sig till och hantera en mängd olika logiker, utan att för den skull ge fullständigt avkall på den diskretionära makt som krävs för att göra bedömningar grundade i professionens egen logik.

Keywords:

• discretion
• uncertainty
• standardisation
• professionalism
• human service organisations
• manual-based work

Nyckelord:

• handlingsutrymme
• osäkerhet
• standardisering
• professionalitet
• människobehandlande organisationer
• manualbaserat arbete

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Lina Ponnert is senior lecturer and PhD in Social Work at Lund University, Sweden. Her research interests are organisations, professionals and their assessments and decision-making, the interaction between human services organisations and the legal system, primarily in the field of social services and in the area of child protection and support to children and their families.

Kerstin Svensson is Professor in Social Work at Lund University, Sweden. Her focus in research is on organisations, professionalism and the practice, history and role of social work in society. The empirical field for her studies has been probation, victim support, care for drug abusers and youth, the social services and also schools and the police.

Notes

† The research was conducted in School of Social Work, Lund University.