This article, jointly written, analysed the issue for newly qualified social workers and probation officers, that working with clients was straightforward compared to negotiating the organisational context. An increasingly managerialist environment created pressures that sat uncomfortably with the values with which practitioners entered their profession. The module which the article underpins runs on the MA Social Work Programme at the University of Nottingham and the Degree in Community and Criminal Justice at De Montfort University, and is well received. The article led to an edited book, social work ideals & practice realities, in which Tina Eadie has two chapters.