Social Problem

Student’s Name:
Professor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
Abstract
Lobbying and social work have long been applied in the advocating for the rights of the vulnerable people in the society. Lobbying involves the development and implementation of strategies aimed at persuading those in power. Members of the social work movements contribute to the lobbying campaigns which advance the welfare of people and promote justice. Successful lobbyists establish positive relationships with the legislative arm of the government and policymakers. Such people allow the contribution of other people’s ideas into the decision-making process. One of the common elements of social work and lobbying is that each of the participants works towards a common. The federal government is the one in charge of lobbying activities in the United States. Social workers, as well as employees, should comply with the set rules and regulations while being active. This study, therefore, will analyze the application of lobbying and advocacy in performing their social work.
Keywords: Lobbying, Social Work, Advocacy
Social Action, Lobbying, and Advocacy
Organizational Advocacy and their Effects on Service Delivery
Advocacy refers to acts that influence decisions made by human beings. An advocate is an individual who takes action on behalf of a group or another individual. He or she empowers individuals to attain their goals and objectives especially in resolving warfare. Advocacy can, therefore, be used in describing expressions, movements, and activities which seek to steer outcomes without taking a lot of time.

For few non-profit organizations, advocacy is the focus of their work. Companies, on the other hand, utilize advocacy in responding to various concerns affecting their projects. It should not be confused with lobbying and in the social action. Advocacy aims at supporting individuals to stand up for themselves and ensure that their views regarding particular activities are heard. It suggests that individuals must avoid conflicts as they pursue services to help other individuals.
Social workers are supposed to suggest modifications in service delivery thereby favoring the vulnerable in society. Argued that advocacy cannot be classified among social works through its concepts values are closely related. Regardless of one’s definition, the important idea of any support is that there are three parties involved: the client, the advice, and the opposite facet.
Advocacy is divided into three activities. They include representation, mobilization, and empowerment. An individual is left in charge of a group of people, and the selected person should have the ability to express the interests of others. As such, it is essential for beneficiary groups and users to share information with the advocates. Mobilization requires the inclusion of other people in the activities of advocacy. It is essential in that it helps people achieve a common goal efficiently. Workings with others will reduce the probability being controversial. Support allows groups to find natural ways to which they can influence governmental policies. The process is imperative since it depends on the personal dedication and the strength of each involved. It is mainly applied to marginalized groups which in our case refer to people with disabilities. Allowing and encouraging other people to participate in policy development helps them develop a sense of belonging and ownership of over transformations that have been achieved. Encouragement of people through advocacy will ensure that they experience radical change about their positions in society and recognize their rights. Finally, advocacy processes give people the courage to challenge the roles of the government and leaders in the community thereby convincing that they have responsibilities and rights (Ezell 200).
Lobbying in Service Delivery
Lobbying can be classified as a type of advocacy. In America and other European countries, public participation is the principle of democracy. Non-profit organizations and companies are now used in encouraging human beings to interact with each other in the democratic system. The goals of advocacy are similar to those of lobbying; Lobbying is one of the advocacy strategies aimed at influencing the legislature through the government and some of its leaders. Support contains efforts which apply different methods that oppose some legislation, transform government policies and impact the world system for funding specific organizations. As such, lobbying can refer to the acts of advocating on behalf of a particular individual or a group of people by suggesting representations and submitting them to the legislative arm of the government. Any person regardless of their social background and political inclination can lobby. An individual does not have to be a representative of any community or governmental organization to present other people’s views. He or she can be a member of the public groups or businesses. A person can lobby through meetings with a specific member of parliament, or his/her direct associate and present are particular concerns. Another option is to hire a lobbyist who is a paid or volunteer professor whose role is to represent the ideas and interests of other groups and the public. He or she aims to enact legislative procedures and seek change in governmental policies for the benefit of the team or the general public (Ezell 200).
In defining and understanding the nature of lobbying, scholars have developed three approaches: as an exchange system, information, transfer, and legislative subsidy. Exchange theories state that through lobbying, people can buy votes. As an information transistor, the second model argues that interest groups with access to private information can transmit it and persuade the legislators on the correct course of action. The last model sees lobbying as a subsidy. This theory aims to help allies achieve their goals an objective. The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LAD) of 1995 requires that all representative groups file their reports on the activities that they are involved in.
Social Action
Social action refers to how people interact in society. They are necessary avenues through which societal changes can take place in various cultures, for instance, the USA. Social actions can also be used in describing vendors of advanced technology in worlds where innovations are rare. Movements arise in society when people collectively agree on a particular economic, social and political aspect. New changes for social actions have been born to deal with issues of injustice, inequality, and conversion of government rules. People join social activities due to many reasons.
First, it may be due to the recognition that an influential person in the society is worried. As such, they feel they have a personal obligation to make changes. Some could join the movements for political reasons. Some assumptions are governing social action groups. They include the nature of social work and delivery system, economic growth, state welfare, quality of human rights, and human rights. The underlying assumption is that the human power is centered in particular interests whose aim is to control policies and country administration.
Social action is limited to activities which affect human beings in their social well fare. According to the conventional theory, low level of economic development and population explosion are some of the causative factors that can lead to social action. The only remedy to such problems is economic growth and counseling. The Marxist theory, on the other hand, defines the social activity on the concept of its relationship with production. He suggests system change as the only solution. There are different goals of social action, and they include prevention of societal transformations which are considered harmful, redistribution of power and resources, improvement of mass communication, and solution to economic problems (Forbat & Atkinson 322). Some of the social action movements include eco-feminism, conservation movement, women liberation movement, and animal rights movement. Social action has three elements which include the cause, change agent, and target.
Conclusion
The success of social actions in calling for legislative transformations had been the result of advocacy. Advocates for specific groups start off a change process from a common point and then proceeds to larger and more complex issues after the basic ones have been met. Social exchanges mostly commenced as advocacy groups but ended up applying lobbying efforts to transform and enact guidelines which would help in achieving a common purpose. For example, sports are welfare activities that favor academic opportunities with the aim of improving African Americans. The emancipation period raised the need for primary education which was fulfilled when Black Americans were allowed to attend schools. It became apparent that segregation leads to inequality and therefore advocacy activities with the aid of movements such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Nowadays, the struggle for equality in schools is maintained by business advocacies and the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) which fights for equal selection of classes at the secondary level.
Lester Salamon who was an artist of paintings regards advocacy as an opportunity for strong people in the society to represent the views of others. Non-profit advocacy groups require so much paperwork, unlike community advocacy whereby thoughts and attitudes of the public are converted. Non-profit organizations use media such as newspapers, TVs, and radios to attract public attention. They pursue legislative advocacy when their goals match that of the federal state and local governments. Effective advocates are flexible and inclined to compromise. They can negotiate and collaborate with other members of the society to help in prioritizing their goals. Legislative monitoring, Lobbying and newspaper writing are some of the ways that non-profit advocates apply in influencing the law.

Works Cited
Ezell, M. (2000). Advocacy in the human services. Cengage Learning, 56(1), 196-210.
Forbat, L., & Atkinson, D. (2005). Advocacy in practice: The troubled position of advocates in adult services. British Journal of Social Work, 35(3), 321-335.