Content uploaded by Jennifer Hussey
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Jennifer Hussey on Jan 13, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
"Professionalism: Insights from
across the disciplines"
Jennifer H us s e y, M B S , B Sc . , H. D i p .
Je n n i fer.H u s s ey @ d i t .i e
Why Professionalism across the
disciplines?
Snapshot – Background & Methodology
Seeking to determine the underlying dimensions of
professionalism
Quantitative Content Analysis to provide an empirical
basis
5 Databases (JSTOR, EBSCO Business Source, Emerald
Fulltext, Proquest ABI Inform, and Web of Science) using
11 search terms (define professionalism)
Discipline/field of study Number of articles Percentage
Education 57 24.3%
Medicine 51 21.7%
Business (including: Marketing, HR, Accountancy & Finance, ICT) 27 11.5%
Law 22 9.4%
Public Administration 19 8.1%
Sociology 10 4.3%
Politics 9 3.8%
Journalism and Media 6 2.6%
Architecture 4 1.7%
Librarianship 4 1.7%
Military 4 1.7%
Tourism 4 1.7%
Charity (Not-for-Profit) 3 1.3%
Pharmacy 3 1.3%
Clergy 2 0.9%
Engineering 2 0.9%
History 2 0.9%
Other 6 3.0%
Grand Total 235 100%
Dimension (Hall’s (1968) dimensions marked with an
*)
No. of mentions No. of articles Percentage of Total
Articles
Altruism* 145 67 28.5%
Specialist Skills and Expertise 115 67 28.5%
Ethical Conduct 124 60 25.5%
Autonomy* 87 59 25.1%
Body of Knowledge 88 55 23.41%
Belief in self-regulation* 82 48 20.4%
Concern for service quality 46 36 15.3%
Sense of Calling* 50 34 14.5%
Professional identity 42 33 14.0%
Dedication to Continuous Improvement 37 28 11.9%
Profession as a referent group* 47 28 11.9%
Reflection 56 19 8.1%
Professionalism
Altruism
Belief in peer-regulation
Profession as a major referent group
Sense of autonomy
Sense of calling
Body of Knowledge
Concern for Service Quality
Dedication to Continuous Improvement
Ethical Conduct
Professional Identity
Reflection
Specialist Skills & Expertise
Altruism Code of Ethics Professional Identity
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
7500%
2200%
3500%
1700%
6600%
2100%
2700%
400%
1300%
2800%
700%
3700%
1300%
1900%
800%
1900%
900%
800%
400%
800%
800%
2100%
800%
2300%
900%
600%
1000%
600%
700% 100% 100%
400%
100%
0%
800%
700%
900%
700%
100%
300%
300%
0% 0%
400%
200%
0%
600%
1000%
900%
500%
400%
600%
700%
100% 100%
400% 0%
0%
400%
200%
700%
500%
200%
600%
400%
300% 300%
100%
200%
0%
200%
800%
800%
400% 500%
300%
300%
300% 200%
400%
300%
100%
300%
400%
400%
700% 500%
300%
100% 100% 0% 300%
0%
0%
300%
100%
100% 100% 100% 0% 0%
0%
0% 100%
100%
0%
300%
100%
Information Technology
Politics
History
Clergy
Architecture
HR management
Librarianship
Other
Pharmacy
Sociology
Business
Public Administration
Accountancy and Finance
Law
Marketing
Education
Medicine
Discipline Illustrative example of a definition of professionalism
Medicine “Medical professionalism describes the skills, attitudes, values and behaviours common to those undertaking the practice of medicine. It
includes concepts such as the maintenance of competence for a unique body of knowledge and skill set, personal integrity, altruism,
adherence to ethical codes of conduct, account- ability, a dedication to self-regulation, and the exercise of discretionary judgment.
Professionalism is also the moral understanding among medical practitioners that gives reality to what is commonly referred to as the social
contract between medicine and society”. (Blackmer (2011) as cited by McKenna and Rosen, 2012, p. 890).
Education “What is professionalism? (6) Its main characteristics are: an area of exclusive technical competence requiring long, specialized training,
which, in turn, promotes an identification with the professional group and a dedication to professional skills; autonomy, that is, freedom from
outside control and substitution of internal control over such practices as training, entry into the profession, and standards of work; and an
ideology of service, emphasizing the social responsibilities.” (Colombotos, 1963, p. 28).
Law “The marks of the true professional, however, which are most often absent from the law school curriculum and the literary lawyer‘s portrayal,
are practical and prudential wisdom, ethical conduct and integrity, and dedication to justice and the public good.” “The challenge of course is
to flesh out the content of these characteristics and to construct a meaningful definition of professionalism.”’2 The ideal lawyer is said to be
the one who “help[s] those on whose behalf he is deliberating come to a better understanding of their own ambitions, interests and ideals and
to guide their choice among alternatives.” (Durst, 2001, p. 301).
Business “These perceptions have changed since the beginning of the last century when professionalism was associated primarily with a distinct
service orientation; later with the use of standards and control over work; and more recently with formal expertise being the dominant feature
of professionalism. Today, however, the emphasis and pressures of lifelong learning on the modern work- force has shifted further the
understanding of professionalism to become that of continuous personal development in one’s area of expertise (Friedman & Phillips, 2004).
Here, both the attainment and sustainment of professionalism are a matter of individual commitment and competence (Wallace & Kay, 2008)
and less a matter of compliance or association ([S]Wailes, 2003).” (Blake and Guttierrez, 2011, p. 2251).
Autonomy
Altruism
Belief in the profession as a referent group
Belief in Peer Regulation
Sense of calling
Continuous Improvement
Ethics
Professional Identity
Reflection
Body of Knowledge
Skills & Expertise
Concern for Service Quality
Employability