The Impact of Managerialism on Human Service Organizations in the United States

• In Event: The managerial way? Nonprofit service provision in a marketized context

Abstract

The emergence of managerialism within the nonprofit sector in the United States can be traced to neoliberalism; a set of economic and social practices that emerged in the 1980s in the US and and Europe. At its core, neoliberalism is characterized by principles of the free market, which suggest that human welfare is best secured and maintained by “liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills” (Harvey, 2005, pp. 2), and by embracing the concepts of individual responsibility and work ethic (Hasenfeld & Garrow, 2012). The predominance of neoliberal policies and practices, and consequently the advent of the New Public Management model, has resulted in widespread embracing of deregulation, privatization, and an overall retraction of the state from the provision of services and the social safety net for vulnerable populations (Harvey, 2005; McEwen, 2005). Although these trends have, in part, contributed to the exponential growth of nonprofit organizations during the latter part of 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, they have also had a significant impact on the structure and function of nonprofits.

This paper examines the impact of managerialism human service organizations (HSO) in the United States. Human service organizations play a significant role in providing social services to disenfranchised populations and people in need of social support. Research shows that HSOs are not immune to the impacts of managerialism. Rather, they are deeply and uniquely affected by processes rooted in managerialist perspectives (Abramovitz & Zelnick, 2020;2021). Building on the scholarship of Abramovitz and Zelnick (2020), this paper presents findings on the impact of managerialist ideologies and practices on HSOs located in two large cities in the U.S: Los Angeles and San Diego. Specifically, the impact of managerialism on organizational environments, service delivery, and client experience in HSOs is examined.

This research is being conducted using a validated survey instrument developed by Abromovitz and Zelnick (2020). Data collection is currently underway with human service workers in HSOs located in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. The paper will present findings specifically related to how HSOs in Los Angeles and San Diego experience managerialism and the impact it has on service delivery, organizational functioning, and client experience. Using existing data collected from human service workers in the greater New York City area, a comparative analysis of the impact of managerialism on HSOs in Los Angeles, San Diego, and New York City will also be discussed.

References

Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Garrow, E., & Hasenfeld, Y. (2012). Managing conflicting institutional logics: Social service versus market. In Social enterprises: An organizational perspective (pp. 121-143). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

MacEwan, A. (2005). Neoliberalism and democracy: Market power versus democratic power in Neoliberalism: A Critical Reader by Saad-Filho, A. & Johnston, pp. 170-176. London: Pluto Press.

Abramovitz, M., & Zelnick, J. (2020). The rise of managerialism in the US: Whither worker control?. In Working in the Context of Austerity (pp. 193-216). Bristol University Press.

Abramovitz, M., & Zelnick, J. (2021). Neoliberal managerialism and the human services. In Encyclopedia of social work.

Author

• Lauren Willner, San Diego State University