Transcript Professionalism, Professionalization & OD

Professionalism,
Professionalization & OD
The Past
The Present
Future Scenarios
Orisha A. Kulick, R.O.D.P., M.S., M.A., L.C.S.W., J.D.
Organization Development Institute
35th Annual Information Exchange
May 16-20, 2005
Copyright; All Rights Reserved. 2005
Speaker’s Perspective
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JD degree, law license
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MA degree in clinical social work, LCSW
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DePaul University, Chicago
Illinois Attorney General’s Office
University of Chicago
Hospital based and private practice psychotherapy
Master’s degree in OD
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Loyola University, Chicago
Leadership development project manager for
United Airlines
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Interest in Professionalism
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Personal experience in law,
psychotherapy, OD
Co-author of chapter in Research in
Organizational Change and
Development
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Goal for Presentation
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Outline how occupations historically
have become professions
Note characteristics of OD today and
their impact on professional status
Consider future OD action scenarios to
help OD become a globally recognized
profession
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The Past
Historic criteria for building and identifying
professions (Wilensky 1964):
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Full-time occupation
First training school
First university school
First local professional association
First national professional association
First state licensing law
Creating a formal code of ethics
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Value criteria
Freidson (2001) includes an additional
value criteria for a profession:
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“. . . an ideology that asserts greater
commitment to doing good work than to
economic gain and to the quality rather than
the economic efficiency of work.”
Example: ODI’s work in assisting foreign
countries during troubled times
See appendix A for Freidson’s five criteria
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Profession Criteria Applied to OD
Participation by all applying the
historic and values criteria to OD
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What is OD?
The four part occupational control system
(Torres 1991):
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Free market occupational system – buyer beware
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Technical occupational system – high criticality of
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e.g., janitors and auto mechanics
knowledge, less complexity than professionals, e.g.,
computer programmers, police officers
Scientific occupational system – complexity of
knowledge equal to professionals, yet lower perceived
criticality, e.g., sociologists
Professional occupational system – trust us because
we have the highest level of perceived criticality of
knowledge for societal welfare and the highest level of
complexity of knowledge
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Dynamic View of Professionalism
Krause (1996)
Free market/capitalism
Professions/guild power
The State/licensure
Example of dynamics: The medical profession
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Professionals in OD Today
David Maister (1997) definition of
professionalism:
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Trust and respect are granted to individuals
earning trust and respect in the service of
their clients
Applies to any occupation
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Future Action Scenarios
1) Focus on OD ethics - current negative
opinions of consultants:
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One global umbrella OD organization
(ODI?) monitors ethical violations of its
members and expels violators after a fair
hearing
Benefits:
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Umbrella organization members in good standing have a
competitive advantage over non-members
The consumer is protected as is the reputation of OD
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Future Action Scenarios
2) Focus on OD ethics – current negative
opinion of consultants:
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Aggressively market the ethical monitoring
activity of the one global umbrella
organization
Benefits:
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Wide recognition of umbrella organization members as ethical
i.e., trust us vs. buyer beware
Potential members learn that they will be preferred for hiring,
thereby making membership more attractive
A positive dynamic results with increased and continued trust –
more members, more power, more business for members
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Future Action Scenarios
3) Focus on achieving high membership percentage of
all OD practitioners in one global umbrella
organization
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Combine with other existing organizations for critical mass
Consider the legal model in which lawyers with different
specialties (but with similar basic education) all belong to
the large bar associations
Benefits:
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Triangle power – ability to control professional work by pushing
back on the forces of the state and the free market
The strength to protect OD boundaries from other
professions/occupations
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Future Action Scenarios
4) Enhance OD education:
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Link curricula of all OD schools to the same
competencies
Include a mandatory clinical internship
Require continuing education as part of
membership in one global OD organization (ODI?)
Benefit:
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OD consultants are viewed as competent based upon
their education (with work experience bringing increased
competency)
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Next Steps
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Discuss within ODI and with other
organizations
Decide
Act
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A Broader Application
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Since all professions are experiencing triangle
pressure from the free market and the state:
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We should use OD competencies to reach out to the
established professions to help them work together to make
the case for the continuation of professions as a viable third
force in society (to balance the free market & state)
Why do this: Because professions have the social structure
to add new knowledge to fields of study and are not only
motivated by profit/cost cutting. Therefore, it’s the right
thing to do to help society. By helping society, OD will also
be establishing itself as a profession that has what Freidson
(2001: 222) describes as “transcendent values [that] add
moral substance to the technical content of disciplines.”
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A Final Thought
Quotation from Freidson (2001: 212) on
the future of the professions:
“I believe that should current trends continue without
pause, subject to no strong countervailing forces,
professionals will indeed become merely technical
experts, in the service of the political and cultural
economy.”
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