The Role of Social Security and Appreciative Inquiry in the Work of a Social Service Manager
The Role of Social Security and Appreciative Inquiry in the Work of a Social Service Manager

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the importance of social security and appreciative inquiry in thework of social service managers, with particular emphasis on the role of social workers.The first part of the article contains a theoretical section describing issues related to socialsecurity and presenting the basic assumptions of appreciative inquiry. The second partis devoted to the presentation of the methodological assumptions of the study, while thethird part discusses the research findings and conclusions from a quantitative studyconducted among employees of the Social Services Centre in Tarnów in 2024. The aimof the article is to examine the relationship between the role of social service managersand the use of appreciative inquiry as a tool to support work efficiency and socialsecurity. The research results indicate that the appreciative approach supports managersin effectively managing teams and implementing changes. The study has identified thatthe most significant roles of appreciative inquiry in the work of social service managersinclude boosting self-esteem by focusing on an individual's strengths, determining stepsthat the individual can take to achieve their set goals, and developing coping skills to dealwith obstacles that may arise during the implementation of these goals. The articlepresents the concept of appreciative inquiry as a management tool and a means ofcreating positive change in the context of social services. It highlights the role of socialservice managers in shaping organisational reality through dialogue and collaboration,as well as the importance of positive emotions and visions of the future in theorganisational transformation of the social services sector. The results of the study havepractical implications and can contribute to the improvement of social service quality,ultimately raising the standard of living in various social contexts. The article alsopresents recommendations for implementing a monitoring and evaluation system toassess the effectiveness of actions taken by social service managers to enhance socialsecurity.

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