Management as a Profession

Profession is an occupation carried on by professional people like doctors, lawyers, architects, etc. It involves application of expert knowledge to solve specific problems or to handle specific tasks. Some authors say that manage­ment is a high class profession. Others say that management is slowly gaining the status of a profession, whereas, still others say that modern managers adopt a professional approach to handle tasks and responsibilities. To find out whether management is a profession or whether managers adopt a professional approach, one needs to know the basic features of a profession.Characteristics of a Profession:Expert Knowledge: Professionals require expert knowledge in a particular discipline. For instance, a doctor needs to have expert knowledge in the field of medicine.Formal Education: A true professional needs to have minimum formal education from a recognized institution. For instance, a lawyer needs to have a degree in law from a recognized university.Code of Conduct: The actions of a professional are guided by a code of conduct. It is the association, either at national level or at state level that lays down certain standards to be followed by the professionals.Social Responsibility: The professionals are required to be socially responsible while handling their tasks and responsibilities. Their actions should not be guided only by monetary considerations, but they also must be socially responsible.Fees: The professionals normally charge fees for their services. The fees may vary from professional to professional. Normally, they do not work exclusively for only one client. They have a number of clients.Requirement of License: Professionals require a license or a permis­ sion to practice. For instance, a doctor requires a license to practice as a medical practitioner.Specialization: The professionals may specialize in a particular field. For instance, there may be doctors only for a particular disease or for a particular class of patients. For instance, there are heart specialists, child specialists, etc.Independent Office: Normally, the professionals practice from their own independent office.Does Management have all the above features? To a certain extent the answer is 'No', because of the following reasons:• Entry to management is not restricted by minimum academic studies.• There is no written code of conduct.• There is no national level or state level institution that lays down certain standards for managing business activities.• Managers are paid salaries and perks and not fees.• There is no need for a license or a permission to practice as a manager.• Managers normally serve a particular company. They cannot serve several companies at the same time.• Managers operate from the company's premises and not from their independent premisesHowever, managers need to posses expert knowledge in a particular area. For instance, the marketing manager needs to have good knowledge and experience in the field of marketing, the finance manager needs to have a good experience and knowledge in the field of finance, and so on.Again, many well established companies prefer graduates or diploma holders in management as managers. The actions of the managers arc subject to implied code of ethics, and that they should reconcile their profit motive with social responsibility. In this sense, management can be regarded as a profession.It is to be mentioned here that now-a-days, business concerns are employing professionals like lawyers, chartered accountants, engineers, scientists, economists, etc. Professional management consultants are consulted on vital matters. This shows that business concerns have adopted a professional approach in managing their organizations.However, it not right to say that management is a true profession and never it will be. To conclude, we quote Peter Ducker "No greater damage could be done to our economy or to our society than to attempt to professionalize management by licensing managers, for instance, or by limiting access to management to people with a special academic degree