(i) Well Defined Body of Knowledge: The foremost quality of a professional is thepossession of specialised knowledge. Management has its own principles based onexperiments and which requires special competence to bring them into use. On the basis ofthis speciality, management can be accepted as a profession.
(ii) Restricted Entry: The entry to a profession is restricted through acquiring an educationaldegree. For example, a degree in Law is essential for joining the Law profession. But as far asthe management is concerned there is no such condition for being a manager. Hence, onthis basis, management cannot be accepted as a profession.
(iii) Professional Association: The third characteristic of profession is that it must have arepresentative professional association which performs the following important functions:(i) To regulate entry, (ii) To grant certificate of practice, and (iii) To create a code of conductfor guiding the activities of the profession.
In India, Representative Professional Associations with regard to other professions havealready been established. There are representative professional associations like the BarCouncil of India for Lawyers; Medical Council of India for Doctors; Institute ofChartered Accountants for Chartered Accountants, etc. For managers, All India
Management Association (A1MA) has been established. But it is not essential to be amember of the AIMA in order to be a manager. Therefore, on this basis, managementcannot be accepted as a profession.
(iv) Ethical Code of Conduct: Members of a profession are bound to follow a code ofconduct. By Code of Conduct, we mean the rules and regulations framed to guide thebehaviour of professionals. The code of conduct of already recognised professions like Law,Medical and Chartered Accountant, etc. have already been prescribed but no suchcode of conduct has been laid down in connection with management. On this basis it can beasserted that management is not at all a profession.
(v) Service Motive: The main motive of a profession is to serve the society. For example, nodoubt a doctor follows his profession for his living but to ensure that his patients get justicehappens to be his chief motive. Though there is no code of conduct regarding managementbut its social responsibilities are being stressed upon increasingly. From this point of view,there should not be any hesitation to accept management as a profession.
Discuss the basic features of management as a profession.
