Identification of Strategic Directions for Change Management in Social Services Sector

Abstract

This study analyzed change management issues and identified strategic directions critical for institutions operating in social services. As the changes in social services are revealed in the new forms of interaction, to the broad sense, in the separate sectors of activity, the field of scientific analysis expands to provide new conceptual insights for change management, reflecting on the identification of the strategic directions in social services. Social services are encouraged to look for new ways and methods to improve the quality of their operations and services. It is to be noted that changes in social services require processivity and systematic management, so it is crucial to clarify the strategic directions of change management and adequately prepare for implementing the changes. There is a lack of interdisciplinarity in the relationship between two disciplines of management science: change and strategic management. Problematic areas encourage evaluation by conceptualizing the identification of strategic directions for change management in the public sector to manage changes effectively. This study aims to identify the strategic directions of change management in the social services sector. The following research methods were applied in this study: analysis of scientific literature, case analysis, and qualitative content analysis of in-depth interviews. There has been a scientific result achieved - the construction of recommendations of change management in social service institutions, which enables the implementation of strategic directions at the institutional level, which defines the strategic directions of the change management such as the availability of services, operational efficiency, and quality as well as the mutual benefit between the institution and employees. The recommendations create the possibility of perceiving change management as a cyclical process that requires proper preparation, monitoring, and control of organizational change.