My graduate work focused on business administration and law. Those cardinal disciplines, at least academically, involve ethics. Ethics is a "soft" topic in that it is relatively formless (compared, for example, to chemistry) and extremely contentious. I'd really love to use the word "invertebrate" here, but I just can't put myself up to it.
Statutes, in spite of their objectivity and the ambiguities of language, are only an ethical framework because compliance is generally recognized to be a social plus-punitive actions are inconvenient and tailored to discourage recidivism, so they stink by most accounts.
Bona fide religious principles lack the intimidation of sanctioned legal enforcement, but certainly are fundamental to most ethical postures.
So, where am I going with this? Is professionalism simply a matter of subscribing to some ethics, mores...or must it include compliant behavior? Is professionalism a matter of pure function-social competencies such as dressing properly and using submissive or even obsequious language? Does professionalism require technical competencies?
In the military, professional relationships and behaviors are strictly prescribed. Sanctions may be severe and immediate (not even requiring court action, ref. Article 15 of the UCMJ). The business world has its own severe and immediate sanction-that is, the refusal of business, but there is no truly formal, comprehensive establishment of "professional" behavior.
We're left with a rather inchoate classification that can mean many different things to many different people, all of whom express approval primarily by trading dollars (yeh, I'm an unapologetic Capitalist). Lots of dollars falling into your case doesn't necessarily mean that you're "professional," but a paucity certainly can mean that you're not.
This is far too broad a topic to completely examine in a single blog posting. Please allow me to share with you some of my ideals for professionalism, then comment on what you believe my logical phallacies might be.
- Professionalism includes specialized competencies and knowledge, and must include the ability to effectively communicate about those abilities and knowledge. This fits perfectly with the definition of a merchant, which is a fundamental legal philosopy dealing with the commercial provisions of goods and/or services.
- Professionalism includes socially acceptable behavior and presentation. Not speaking perjoratively about your competition, showing respectful deference when appropriate, and contributing selflessly to a common goal are good examples of behavior that will reliably be considered "professional."
- Professionalism includes the effective fulfillment of the needs of others. Punctuality. On-time delivery. Orderliness. These not only facilitate eveyone else's efforts, they are implied, if not express, in contractual relationships.
There is a laundry list of things that are not "professional" by most reasonable criticisms-enumerating them is pointless. It is important to realize that the elements of professionalism are not topical-they are an inherent part of a personality. A professional facade is not a professional essence at all-it is counterfeit and doomed to collapse under duress.
"Professionalism" is then a moving, morphing target but not without indentity or mass. We can probably all agree on a great majority of the elements of professionalism without even sharing a majority of common cores of experience.
My personal ethics and professionalism are driven by what I consider to be the best business manual ever written-the Biblical book of Proverbs. I look forward to the day when the Book of Proverbs, and its context, are no longer a "Secret Ingredient."
L
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