The Professional Knowledge and Abilities, Essay Example

Nowadays every company, organization or enterprise is interested in having knowledgeable and prospective employees on their teams with the purpose of ensuring organizational well-being and prosperity. That is why, in order to stay competitive in the labor market as well as to assure increased promotional opportunities, every employee and manager seeks for the development of professional knowledge and abilities. The fact is that the more you are willing to learn and advance, the higher are your chances in getting valuable and useful experience, which will, sooner or later, ensure your climb up the career ladder. In this paper we will take a look at the American Psychological Association (APA) and how developing professional knowledge and abilities in this particular organization can impact career success.

Located in Washington D.C., APA is a scientific and professional organization which represents psychology in the United States. Having more than 100,000 members, APA is also considered the largest association of psychologists in the world. The mission of the association is to develop all means of psychological knowledge in order to benefit society as a whole and improve lives of different people. APA aims to advance psychology as science as well as tries to promote health, education and human well-being (American Psychological Association, 2009).

When talking about APA’s possible contribution towards increasing professional knowledge and abilities, it is important to pay attention to a couple of areas of social and professional interest. First of all, APA can be very effective in organizing psychological seminars and conferences by means of bringing together scientists, practitioners and educators (Anderson N., 2008). The information presented during such events in various fields of psychological studies can enrich participants’ knowledge as well as bring up new research and advancement areas. Moreover, during discussions or personal interaction, participants can have a wonderful opportunity to share individual skills, abilities and experience with those interested in broadening personal outlook by means of developing professional knowledge and abilities. Secondly, APA can be very helpful in providing research funding and educational scholarships. By assisting in research area, APA can both support new discoveries and motivate more psychological scientists and educators to advance their professional skills with the help of further scientific and educational discoveries. In this case, two different parties can benefit. On the one hand, scientists and researchers themselves, as the results of the conducted studies can add up to existing knowledge or even open new fields of enquiry. On the other hand, society can be educated as well by receiving new information and tools for further practice (Anderson N.B., 2008). Finally, APA can be useful in terms of helping existing practitioners financially or legislatively. Being able to receive sponsorship and legislative advocacy, practitioners can have a handful of sources and motivations to help people in need, while, at the same time, to develop their own skills as it is known that “knowledge makes perfect”.

As the result of the above-mentioned possible APA contributions, people in various professional fields can have an opportunity to succeed in the chosen careers. Scientists, for example, can get higher educational degrees as well as receive financial rewards for the successfully conducted studies. With the increased professional knowledge and abilities, psychologists can get promoted or even receive prospective suggestions from other companies, being opened to a completely new field of professional interest. In both cases, the career advancement cannot be underestimated or overlooked. Finally, people, who were previously thinking of starting their own business in the field of psychology, can open their own counseling services or practices.

Summing up, I find it important to point out that no matter what organization or association you choose, the possibility of developing professional knowledge and abilities opens up a wide horizon of career opportunities. In the contemporary competitive business world, the more beneficial skills you have over others, the higher are your chances of getting on top. Professional knowledge and abilities are among the most important of those skills and it is vital to keep developing them to the greatest extent.

Reference

American Psychological Association (2009). Who are We. APA Mission Statement. Organizational Purposes. Retrieved May 29, 2009, http://www.apa.org/about/

Anderson N.B. (2008). 2007 APA Annual Report. American Psychologist, 295