Social activities to meet social needs in the form of providing services. In a narrow sense, it refers to the services provided directly to improve and develop the welfare of social members, such as clothing, food, housing, transportation and use. Social services in a broad sense include welfare services, productive services and social services. Productive services refer to services directly provided for material production, such as raw material transportation, energy supply, information transmission, scientific and technological consultation and labor training. Social services refer to services provided for the normal operation and coordinated development of the whole society, such as public utilities, cultural, educational and health undertakings, social security and social management. Social services can be divided into material services and spiritual services according to the nature of services; According to the degree of service, it is divided into basic service, development service and enjoyment service.
The social service movement began in 1884 with the establishment of the Toynbee service office in London, England. 1889, the hull construction service was established in the west side of Chicago. Since then, the social service movement has spread rapidly to most countries in Western Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan. Social service and social management in China are important components of social work. It mainly includes social security welfare services, spiritual civilization services such as social customs reform, democratic construction services such as self-education management in grass-roots society, and social administrative services such as social group management. Provide universal services for all members of society, and provide special services for martyrs, military families, demobilized veterans, the elderly, the disabled, helpless children and the poor. Social work with these social services as its content plays an important role in preventing and solving social problems, handling social contradictions, adjusting social relations, improving social life style, perfecting social system and reducing obstacles to social development.