Teaching Social Work Students to Analyze and Apply Organizational Theory

This paper describes an approach to introducing social work students to perspectives on organizations based on two change-related aspects of a theory. The first dimension is a theory's emphasis on change versus stability. The second dimension is whether a theory stresses high or low control over change. To be useful, a theory must be restated into propositions to guide intervention. A focus on these two change-related aspects helps students to develop their ability to recast theories into practice strategies. Class exercises and course assignments are presented.