Deck 7: Privatization and Human Service Corporations

Question 1

While watching a televised news commentary,you hear one of the guests argue that private delivery of social welfare services is always more efficient that public
Services.Which of the following would this guest be most likely to support?

A)the issuance of government vouchers to pay for health insurance.
B)expansion of the tax deduction for charitable contributions.
C)elimination of public funding for social welfare services.
D)limiting government funding of social welfare services for only those who are truly needy.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Imagine that your community has only two hospital systems that compete on everything except price.You consider this situation to be an oligopoly.How would
You describe the delivery of health care in your community?

A)The two hospital groups compete on service to the betterment of the patients.
B)The absence of effective price competition is likely to lead to cost inefficiencies.
C)The two hospital groups compete on quality of care to the betterment of the community.
D)The delivery of health care in this community depends on the commitment to quality care that each health care professional makes as part of his/her
Training.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

How would you respond to Harry Specht and Mark Courtney's criticism of private practice in Unfaithful Angels?

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

Life care services to the aged in continuing care retirement communities is an example of:

A)creaming clients in order to maximize corporate profits.
B)determining client needs and responding accordingly.
C)meeting the clients where they are.
D)providing social services in a cost efficient manner.

Question 5

Social work "exceptionalism" refers to:

A)the special accreditation of social work educational programs by the Council on Social Work Education.
B)the unique person-in-environment perspective that social workers bring to the practice arena.
C)the idea that the tasks performed by social workers are more important than those tasks performed by many other workers.
D)the fact that social work is the only human service profession to have state licensing in all 50 states on the masters level.

Question 6

The argument that government should deploy only "safety net" social programs as a last resort is most likely to be made by:

A)a political conservative.
B)a nonprofit corporation.
C)a political liberal.
D)a clinical entrepreneur.

Question 7

To what does the concept of preferential selection refer? What are the pros and cons?

Question 8

If you believe that for-profit firms provide access to the capital needed for expanding social services,that for-profit firms represent the potential for greater innovation in
The delivery of social services,and that for-profit firms have access to higher levels
Of managerial sophistication,then:

A)you are likely to be opposed to privatization.
B)you are likely to be a critic of those who reject capitalism.
C)you are likely to be open to employment as a practitioner in a for-profit firm.
D)you are likely to be one of those social workers who believe you are holding the highest moral ground.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is most like to reflect the viewpoint of a liberal social activist?

A)The corporate profit motive is a strong incentive for human service corporations to develop innovative social service delivery mechanisms to
Become more efficient.
B)Private practice social work is not fully compatible with a professional commitment to the social welfare of disadvantage people.
C)By mimicking the best practices of the business world,privatization is likely to improve the delivery of social welfare services.
D)Privatization of social welfare services leverages the access to private capital in a what that public financing cannot.

Question 10

If you value freedom,autonomy,and prestige,it is most likely that you:

A)seek employment as a private practitioner.
B)seek employment in the for-profit sector.
C)seek employment in the public sector.
D)seek employment in the nonprofit sector.

Question 11

What are the implications of the oligopolization of human services?

Question 12

How would you explain the dominant position of human service corporations in several areas of social welfare provision?

A)Human service corporations provide higher quality services than the nonprofit sector.
B)Human service corporations are relatively unfettered by government regulation and have easy access to capital from commercial sources.
C)Human service corporations provide social welfare services more efficiently than the nonprofit sector.
D)Human service corporations have not had to deal with the unionization of human service workers that has taken place in the nonprofit sector.

Question 13

What contributions have business leaders made to U.S.social welfare?

Question 14

Preferential selection results when:

A)eligibility for services is determined,in part,by the competencies of the service providers.
B)eligibility for services is determined,in part,by the mission of the organization.
C)eligibility for services is determined,in part,by the effect providing services may have on organizational performance (i.e. ,profitability).
D)eligibility for services is determined,in part,on the extent of client need.

Question 15

Proponents of privatization of social welfare services argue that a competitive environment is more likely to result in cost-effective services.The history of
Medicare suggests that this argument is:

A)only partially correct.
B)completely unsubstantiated by any Medicare examples.
C)completely correct.
D)a good example to guide privatization in other social service arenas.

Question 16

If you believe that there is an inherent tendency in free markets to direct resources toward the affluent and away from the poor,then you are most likely to:

A)support nonprofit organizations.
B)support social entrepreneurial enterprises.
C)support government delivery of social welfare services.
D)support privatization.

Question 17

How would you categorize this statement,"once for-profit providers gain a significant share of a market,even nonprofit providers are likely to adopt commercial practices
And services are likely to be negatively impacted?"

A)most likely spoken by a proponent of corporatization.
B)most likely spoken by an executive at a human service corporation.
C)most likely spoken by an advocate of voluntarization.
D)most likely spoken by a political conservative.

Question 18

One of the clearest examples of the government contracting out social welfare obligations is:

A)VA hospitals.
B)Pell grants.
C)food stamps.
D)Medicare and Medicaid.

Question 19

What does David Osborne (in Reinventing Government)suggest for the integration of the public and private sectors? What is your opinion regarding the feasibility of this suggestion?

Question 20

Preferential selection means that the organization providing social services:

A)serves all clients on an as-needed basis.
B)serves the neediest clients first.
C)differentiates clients according to their effect on organization performance.
D)is the best at providing those services of all providers in that geographical region.