Mr. Jones, who is the director of a family service agency, has decided that he needs an efficient method of assigning new clients to specific workers. So he creates a scale that rates the severity of each client's problem when they first come to the agency. Then he chooses the worker to assign on the basis of his measure of how serious the client's problem is. We believe that this system does not make any sense. Why is it that problems cannot be divided up in such an arbitrary fashion?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Problems can never be divided up on a scale ranging from very serious to less serious and then parceled out to workers on the basis of their training. What at first might appear to be a very simple problem might, under further examination, turn out to be a very complicated problem involving many people and issues. Also, what is a manageable problem to one person might be a life-threatening problem to another. For example, when a family moves to a new town, each member adjusts to all the changes in a very different way, according to his or her needs and personalities as well as the kind of reception and resources he or she finds in the new environment. One family member might welcome the change while another has a breakdown from the stress. Until we get to know the client and the other factors that lie behind the problem, it is impossible to pre-judge it.

Mr Jones, Who Is the Director of a Family Service