Contribution Of The Systems Theory

Michael Klassen
Director of Studies in Social Work
Management Center Innsbruck Ltd.
Universitätsstrasse 15
6020 Innsbruck
Austria
michael.klassen@mci.edu

What is the contribution of the systems theory
to a social work discipline and practice?
Social work as a discipline and as a profession needs one domain which will distinguish it from
other professions.
Currently, within the socialwork theory and practice in Europe, especially in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Denmark and Italy, exists a very popular approach based on the theory of social
systems as developed by Niklas Luhmann. This theory is supposed to provide a basis for a
specific social work domain.
Within the theory of Niklas Luhmann „ social systems … consist of communications and nothing
but communications –not of human beings, not of conscious mental states, not of roles, not even
of actions. They produce and reproduce communications by meaningful reference to
communications“ (Luhmann 1987, 113). There are so many realities as observers, for every one
of these is “a construction of an observer for other observers”. There is no objective truth. The
individual relates only to his own constructs andis not a member of the society and is being
included or excluded depending on functional needs of the various social systems.
Social systems are autopoietic (self-organizing), self-referntial, and autonomous, or impervious to
external stimuli.
In the light of the theory of Niklas Luhmann social work can be seen as a specific method of
communication which has the aim to identify the reasonsfor necessary and legitimate help
(Bommes. & Scherr 2000, 131). Social work is within this theoretical framework limited in its
autonomy since it depends largely on social-political resource allotments
Regarding to the question of social work and control the Luhmanns scholars in German social
work Bommes & Scherr (2000, 45) are emphasizing that only those can be helped who are willing
and ableto be controlled. What is a legitimate reason for help is defined by legal regulations.
Social work is providing assistance for conformation with the society rules
Another Luhmanns scholar Baecker (1994) points out that there is no direct intervention in social
work. Every success of a social work intervention is a result of a self-adapting of the problematic
system.
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In my opinion manyscholars who embrace this theory are distancing themselves from the
objectivistic understanding of social problems and limit themselves to analyse merely the
communicative (media and political) construction of social problems.
The constrains of this theoretical framework are evident, since this approach limits itself to
descriptions of theoretical strategies and does not provide a sufficientexplanation towards better
understanding of social problems and developing strategies to their resolution. The results of an
empirical study based on the analyses of the social problems of immigrants in Germany show that
Luhmann’s theory proves itself inadequate for the social work practice and diminishes the role of
the social work profession. In this study (Klassen 2003) empirical evidencesfor the real and not
medial constructed existence of social problems of the migrants were found. Some of these
problems (unemployment, bad living conditions, domestic violence) are impacting others and
therefore are not “construction of an observer for other observers” As for the autonomy of social
work, social workers who have been interviewed are emphasizing that their decisions areprimarily
based on professional knowledge and skills. In case social-political resource allotments do not
allow to take specific actions some creative ways to implement professional social work decisions
are sought. Considering the question of social work and control we found out that also those
migrants who are not willing and able to be controlled can be helped. Some legal regulations which...