Balancing the Need for Professionalism and Personality, Research Paper Example

Professionalism has often been represented as the maintenance of the divide between the personal and business experiences. However, many organizations stand to gain from a cautious incorporation of warmer, more people-friendly approaches to methodology, research, and practice. Examples include such diverse fields as social work, education, medical science, and sales—to name a few. In order to realize this potential, organizations must be able to set their own terms, to set their own point of no return.

Professionalism traditionally employs a more competitive, dog-eat-dog approach to business relations. In corporate terms, performance may be evaluated according to a list of competencies. At face value competency-based evaluations seem to even the playing field, but the list may target goals which the worker was never made aware of (Hyland, 1997). A personal acquaintance with a management figure (in such a case) would yield a decided benefit for those who crossed the lines of professionalism. This puts the entire organization- from the worker all the way to the owner- at a disadvantage. The competitive model of professionalism also discourages some workers from collaborating out of fear that building others’ competencies will place their income or career in jeopardy. Thus, the emphasis may soon shift to ‘good enough’ rather than ‘the best we can do’ (von Weltzien, 2002). As the same author points out, professional ethics have often been avoided and even considered a contradiction in terms. Paradoxically, a professional is frequently allowed to make a personal selection from available continuing education (CE) courses in their area of expertise and then expected to refrain from mentioning personal interests in a work context (Mott, 2000). These CE decisions reflect expectations of higher levels of independence and greater personal responsibility for a professional task, yet competency-based evaluations grant little professional value to these personal qualities (Hyland, 1997; Mott, 2000). The identity spill-over goes both ways, as professions represent “an increasing portion of our identity” (Mott, 2000, 23).

Discussion

As has been demonstrated, competency-based evaluations are frequently very narrow in scope. The first change of any organization wishing to encourage the personal talents of its employees is to define which qualities it values. These qualities may be tangible or intangible and may include previously-unranked attributes, such as team leadership willingness and ability, creativity, positive input, etc. While these competency-based evaluations may create a have-have not dichotomy, an objective-based exam which incorporates both traditional professionalism and organizational expectations and goals will need a more complex system of evaluation. The Likert Scale (with its five options which rank varying degrees of agreement or disagreement) are popular and have been supported by continual use in a countless number of studies in the social and psychological sciences. Skill-incorporating competence models are being integrated into many recent CE training programs (Mott, 2000).

In addition, optimal efficacy is achieved by working with the personal strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s team members. A wholly creative mind may be assigned to tasks of menial labor or data configuration, when such a mind could be identified, developed, and encouraged. Thus, knowledge management is a key component in the workplace of the future. Chief Learning Officers and Chief Talent Officers are saving various companies millions (or even billions) of dollars through analysis of the potential of intangible, human resources (Dalkir, 2005). According to “Today’s Chief Learning Officer”, one woman’s hard-won victories occurred as a result of balancing skills and the needs of the company. In an environment focused on technology and constant innovations, she illustrated the difference that every asset makes- especially human ones. Case studies (such as this one) may be the most compelling support for non-traditional methods of evaluation and organization.

Conclusion

It is easy to assume that the concept of professionalism does not impact the work environment, but increasing globalization has given rise to hundreds of research articles which now claim that the creation of a positive work culture is among the most important factors for organizational success. Regardless of standpoint on that particular issue, it is accepted that work performance undergoes a drastic decrease when there is an expectation of failure or a feeling that supervisors undervalue or constantly watch its workers. In the end, all organizations require intangible skills as well—skills that are too often absent from worker evaluations and continuing education and training. However, in a time of economic hardship, the bottom-line dollar amount is often the deciding factor. At the very least, the re-dedication of existing resources to untapped intellectual resources can generate millions of dollars of revenue for large companies, and workers’ time is the only investment needed.

References

Today’s Chief Learning Officer: Tamar Elkeles- A CLO of the Decade. (Nov. 2010). Bersin and Associates. Retrieved from < http://www.bersin.com/blog/post/2010/11/Todays-Chief-Learning-Officer–Tamar-Elkeles—A-CLO-of-the-Decade.aspx>. Web.

Dalkir, K. (2005). Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann: Burlington, MA. Print.

Hyland, T. (1997). Reconsidering Competence. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 31(3): 491-503. Print.

Mott, V. (2000). The Development of Professional Expertise in the Workplace. New Directions For Adult And Continuing Education. Joey-Bass Publishers, 86: 23-31. Print.

von Weltzien Hoivik, H. (2002). Professional Ethics—a Managerial Opportunity in Emerging Organizations, Journal of Business Ethics, 39: 3-11. Print.