|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
The Sociological Analysis of Professionalism
Occupational Change in the Modern World
Julia Evetts
University of Nottingham, UK julia.evetts{at}nottingham.ac.uk
The paper analyses and explains the appeal of the concepts of profession and professionalism and the increased use of these concepts in different occupational groups, work contexts and social systems. The paper begins with a brief preliminary section on defining the field where it is suggested that a shift of focus is required from a preoccupation with defining `profession' to analysis of the appeal to `professionalism' as a motivator for and facilitator of occupational change. Then the paper examines two past, alternative and contrasting, sociological interpretations of professionalism (as normative value system and as ideology of occupational powers). In the third section the paper argues that, in the 1990s, a third interpretation has developed which includes both normative and ideological elements. Sociologists have returned to the concept of professionalism in attempts to understand occupational and organizational change and the prominence of knowledge work in different social systems and global economies. The fourth section returns to the question of the appeal of the concept of professionalism in promoting and facilitating occupational change, and considers how the balance between the normative and ideological elements of professionalism is played out differently in occupational groups in very different employment situations.
Key Words: occupational change • professionalism • social control
References
- Abbott, A. (1988) The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labour. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Allsop, J. and Mulcahy, L. (1996) Regulating Medical Work: Formal and Informal Controls. Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Annandale, E. (1998) The Sociology of Health and Medicine. Cambridge: Polity.
- Bendix, R. (1966) Max Weber. London: University Paperbacks.
- Broadbent, J., Dietrich, M. and Roberts, J., eds (1997) The End of the Professions? The Restructuring of Professional Work. London and New York: Routledge.
- Buchner-Jeziorska, A. (2001) `Price of Knowledge: the Market of Intellectual Work in Poland in the 90s', paper presented in Professions Network of SASE Conference, Amsterdam, 28 June-1 July.
- Buchner-Jeziorska, A. and Evetts, J. (1997) `Regulating Professionals: the Polish Example', International Sociology 12(1): 61-72.[Abstract]
- Burchell, G., Gordon, C. and Miller, P., eds (1991) The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
- Burrage, M. and Torstendahl, R., eds (1990) Professions in Theory and History: Rethinking the Study of the Professions. London: Sage.
- Carr-Saunders, A. M. and Wilson, P. A. (1933) The Professions. Oxford: Clarendon.
- Collins, R. (1990) `Changing Conceptions in the Sociology of the Professions', in R. Torstendahl and M. Burrage (eds) The Formation of Professions: Knowledge, State and Strategy, pp. 11-23. London: Sage.
- Cooper, D., Lowe, A., Puxty, A., Robson, K. and Willmott, H. (1988) `Regulating the UK Accountancy Profession: Episodes in the Relation Between the Profession and the State', paper presented at ESRC Conference on Corporatism at the Policy Studies Institute, London, January.
- Crompton, R. (1990) `Professions in the Current Context', Work, Employment and Society, Special Issue: 147-166.
- Davies, C. (1995) Gender and the Professional Predicament in Nursing. Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Davies, C. (1996) `The Sociology of Professions and the Profession of Gender', Sociology 30(4): 661-678.[Abstract]
- Dingwall, R. (1996) `Professions and Social Order in a Global Society', plenary presentation at ISA Working Group 02 Conference, Nottingham, 11-13 September.
- Dingwall, R. and King, M. D. (1995) `Herbert Spencer and the Professions: Occupational Ecology Reconsidered', Sociological Theory 13(1): 14-24.
- Dingwall, R. and Lewis, P., eds (1983) The Sociology of the Professions: Doctors, Lawyers and Others. London: Macmillan.
- Durkheim, E. (1992) Professional Ethics and Civic Morals. London: Routledge.
- Evetts, J. (1998) `Analysing the Projects of Professional Associations: National and International Dimensions', unpublished paper presented at ISA Congress, Montreal, 26 July-1 August.
- Foucault, M. (1973) The Birth of the Clinic. London: Tavistock.
- Foucault, M. (1979) `Governmentality', Ideology and Consciousness 6: 5-21.
- Foucault, M. (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977. Brighton: Harvester.
- Fournier, V. (1998) `Stories of Development and Exploitation: Militant Voices in an Enterprise Culture', Organization 5(1): 55-80.[Abstract]
- Fournier, V. (1999) `The Appeal to "Professionalism" as a Disciplinary Mechanism', Social Review 47(2): 280-307.[CrossRef]
- Freidson, E. (1982) `Occupational Autonomy in Labor Market Shelters', in P. L. Steward and M. G. Cantor (eds) Varieties of Work, pp. 39-54. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
- Freidson, E. (1983) `The Theory of Professions: State of the Art', in R. Dingwall and P. Lewis (eds) The Sociology of the Professions. London: Macmillan.
- Freidson, E. (1988) Profession of Medicine: A Study in the Sociology of Applied Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Orig. pub. 1970.)
- Freidson, E. (1994) Professionalism Reborn: Theory, Prophecy and Policy. Cambridge: Polity.
- Freidson, E. (2001) Professionalism: The Third Logic. London: Polity.
- Frenkel, S., Korczynski, M., Donoghue, L. and Shire, K. (1995) `Re-constituting Work: Trends Towards Knowledge Work and Info-normative Control', Work, Employment and Society 9(4): 773-796.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
- Goldthorpe, J. (1982) `On the Service Class, its Formation and Future', in A. Giddens and G. MacKenzie (eds) Classes and the Division of Labour: Essays in Honour of Ilya Neustadt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Greenwood, R. and Lachman, R. (1996) `Change as an Underlying Theme in Professional Service Organizations: an Introduction', Organization Studies 17(4): 563-572.
- Grelon, A. (1996) `Ingenieurs et risques technologiques dans la chimie industrielle en France', paper presented at ISA Working Group 02 Conference, Nottingham, 11-13 September.
- Grey, C. (1994) `Career as a Project of the Self and Labour Process Discipline', Sociology 28: 478-487.
- Halliday, T. C. (1987) Beyond Monopoly: Lawyers, State Crises and Professional Empowerment. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Hanlon, G. (1998) `Professionalism as Enterprise: Service Class Politics and the Redefinition of Professionalism', Sociology 32(1): 43-63.[Abstract]
- Hanlon, G. (1999) Lawyers, the State and the Market: Professionalism Revisited. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
- Harrison, S. (1999) `Clinical Autonomy and Health Policy: Past and Futures', in M. Exworthy and S. Halford (eds) Professionals and the New Managerialism in the Public Sector. Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Harrison, S. and Ahmad, W. (2000) `Medical Autonomy and the UK State 1975 to 2005', Sociology 34(1): 129-146.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Hawkins, K., ed. (1992) The Uses of Discretion. Oxford: Clarendon.
- Hiremath, S. L. and Gudagunti, R. (1998) `Professional Commitment among Indian Executives', paper presented at ISA Congress, Montreal, 26 July-1 Aug.
- Hughes, E. C. (1958) Men and Their Work. New York: Free Press.
- Johnson, T. (1972) Professions and Power. London: Macmillan.
- Johnson, T. (1992) `The Internationalization of Expertise', paper given to Conference: Sociology of Occupational Group, Paris, 19-20 November.
- Karpik, L. (1989) `Le désintéressement', Annales, Economies Sociétés Civilisations 3 (mai-juin): 733-751.
- Krause, E. A. (1996) Death of the Guilds: Professions, States and the Advance of Capitalism, 1930 to the Present. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Larkin, G. (1983) Occupational Monopoly and Modern Medicine. London: Tavistock.
- Larson, M. S. (1977) The Rise of Professionalism. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Lyotard, J. F. (1984) The Post-Modern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- McClelland, C. E. (1990) `Escape from Freedom? Reflections on German Professionalization 1870-1933', in R. Torstendahl and M. Burrage (eds) The Formation of Professions: Knowledge, State and Strategy, pp. 97-113. London: Sage.
- MacDonald, K. M. (1995) The Sociology of the Professions. London: Sage.
- Marshall, T. H. (1950) Citizenship and Social Class and Other Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mechanic, D. (1991) `Sources of Countervailing Power in Medicine', Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 16: 485-498.
- Milburn, P. (1996) `Les territoires professionnels et la négociation experte du réel: compatibilité des modèles théoriques', paper presented at ISA Working Group 02 Conference, Nottingham, 11-13 September.
- Miller, P. and Rose, N. (1990) `Governing Economic Life', Economy and Society 19(1): 1-31.
- Murphy, R. (1988) Social Closure: The Theory of Monopolization and Exclusion. Oxford: Clarendon.
- Olgiati, V., Orzack, L. H. and Saks, M., eds (1998) Professions, Identity and Order in Comparative Perspective. Onati: The International Institute for the Sociology of Law.
- Parsons, T. (1951) The Social System. New York: Free Press.
- Perkin, H. (1988) The Rise of Professional Society. Routledge: London.
- Reed, M. (1996) `Expert Power and Control in Late Modernity: an Empirical Review and Theoretical Synthesis', Organization Studies 17(4): 573-597.
- Saks, M. (1995) Professions and the Public Interest. London: Routledge.
- Sautu, R. (1998) `The Effect of the Marketization of the Argentine Economy on the Labor Market: Shifts in the Demand for University Trained Professionals', paper presented at ISA Congress, Montreal, 26 July-1 Aug.
- Stichweh, R. (1997) `Professions in Modern Societies', International Review of Sociology 7(1): 95-102.
- Svensson, L. (2000) `Professions, States, Markets and Trust. New Conditions for the Sociology of Professions', paper presented at ESA Professions Network Conference, Jesi, Italy, 4-6 May.
- Svensson, L. (2001) `Studying Professional Performance in Organizational Contexts', paper presented at Conference on Professional Performance, Zurich, February 9-10.
- Tawney, R. H. (1921) The Acquisitive Society. New York: Harcourt Brace.
- Trépos, J. (1996) `Une modelisation des jugements d'experts: catégories et instruments de mesure', paper presented at ISA Working Group 02 Conference, Nottingham, 11-13 September.
International Sociology, Vol. 18, No. 2,
395-415 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0268580903018002005
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
A. Starc
Nursing Professionalism in Slovenia: Knowledge, Power, and Ethics
Nurs Sci Q,
October 1, 2009;
22(4):
371 - 374.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. L. Bourgeault, C. Benoit, and K. Hirschkorn
Introduction: Comparative Perspectives on Professional Groups: Current Issues and Critical Debates
Current Sociology,
July 1, 2009;
57(4):
475 - 485.
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Sandall, C. Benoit, S. Wrede, S. F. Murray, E. R. van Teijlingen, and R. Westfall
Social Service Professional or Market Expert?: Maternity Care Relations under Neoliberal Healthcare Reform
Current Sociology,
July 1, 2009;
57(4):
529 - 553.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Pickard
The Professionalization of General Practitioners with a Special Interest: Rationalization, Restratification and Governmentality
Sociology,
April 1, 2009;
43(2):
250 - 267.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Liversage
Vital conjunctures, shifting horizons: high-skilled female immigrants looking for work
Work Employment Society,
March 1, 2009;
23(1):
120 - 141.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Sanghera and A. Iliasov
Moral Sentiments and Professionalism in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan: Understanding Professional Practices and Ethics
International Sociology,
May 1, 2008;
23(3):
447 - 467.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Noordegraaf
From "Pure" to "Hybrid" Professionalism: Present-Day Professionalism in Ambiguous Public Domains
Administration Society,
October 1, 2007;
39(6):
761 - 785.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. L. Brodsky
Essay: Correctional Psychology and the American Association of Correctional Psychology: A Revisionist History
Criminal Justice and Behavior,
June 1, 2007;
34(6):
862 - 869.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. D'Cruz and E. Noronha
Being Professional: Organizational Control in Indian Call Centers
Social Science Computer Review,
August 1, 2006;
24(3):
342 - 361.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. di Luzio
A Sociological Concept of Client Trust
Current Sociology,
July 1, 2006;
54(4):
549 - 564.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. G. Svensson
New Professionalism, Trust and Competence: Some Conceptual Remarks and Empirical Data
Current Sociology,
July 1, 2006;
54(4):
579 - 593.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Evetts
Short Note: The Sociology of Professional Groups: New Directions
Current Sociology,
January 1, 2006;
54(1):
133 - 143.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
