Is the profession an outdated notion - Essay Example

of the of the or Lecturer: of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Being Part of a Profession. Any occupation requiring specific training and study is called a profession. A professional is a person who is part of a profession and who earns money by this profession. It is common for members of a profession to form professional associations. An instance of this is the bar association of lawyers, such associations strictly govern and enforce the rules and regulations applicable to the practice of that profession (Profession).

There is distinction between professions where loss of membership of the association does not entail loss of the right to practice, such as information systems and controlled professions such as medicine and law where loss of member ship leads to loss of the right to practice. Professional ethics connotes the conduct, behaviour and practice of professionals. There are numerous advantages of being part of a profession; some of these are as described in the sequel. First, the professional body issues certificates that the professional has met rigorous standards recognized by the professional body.

Secondly, the employers respect these certifications. Thirdly, the professional body would often reviews and verifies these credentials. Fourthly, the liability claims if any will be limited. Fifthly, such certification is a fundamental standard. Finally, the professional is made accountable for his professional actions.Profession covers a wide range of activities such as sports, journalism, choreography, law, medicine, information technology, police, army, etc. Hence, professional ethics vary from profession to profession.

Another factor which is to be kept in mind is that such professional ethics may not be applicable or available in all the professions. Another important factor to be considered is whether these professional standards are compulsory or obligatory and whether such a code of ethics is practicable. A major constraint in this regard, is the difficulty of implementing such a code in the multitude of professions which have proliferated in today’s society (Davison and Kock, 23 September, 2004).If one considers the police profession, in this perspective, then one observes that one of the biggest disadvantages, inherent in this profession is the gaining of the impression that one is exclusive and that other members of society are not good enough.

This tends to make policemen, all over the world, forget that most citizens are good people. The habit of viewing everyone as a law offender develops due to dealing mostly with criminals and other law –breakers, during the course of their work (Rothstein, 2005). The contention that the idea of a profession is outdated is not tenable, because every profession has its own distinctiveness, ethics and morality. If one considers the legal profession, then it is evident that a lawyer is duty bound to respect human dignity and worth of all persons and to treat everyone equally without discrimination.

Further, a lawyer has to render his best services to all his clients, including his criminal clients (Discrimination). Similarly, in the medical profession, doctors give a new lease on life to their patients who revere them as demigods. Hence, the notion of a profession is definitely not outdated. Works Cited“Profession.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 18 March. 2006 Davison, Robert and Kock, Ned. “Professional Ethics”. 23 September 2004. Association For Information Systems.

19 March 2006. < http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/research /resources /isworld /ethics/> Rothstein, Steve. “Police”. 16 March 2005. What is your opinion of police culture? What do you think are the pros and cons of being a part of it?. 19 March 2006. < http://www.policemag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1307> “Legal Ethics & Professional Conduct Handbook”. Discrimination. 19 March 2006. < http://www.nsbs.ns.ca/handbook/chapter24.html>