Article Review: It's Time to Make Management a True Profession - Essay Example

It’s Time to Make Management a True Profession Rakesh Khurana and Nitin Nohria Citation: Khurana, Rakesh and Nitin Nohria. "It's Time to Make Management a True Profession." Harvard Business Review (2008): 70-77. The article aims to revitalize management as a verifed profession. This, as the author has pointed out is nothing, but rather a concept that had existed over a century ago as this coincides with the foundation of business schools. The lack of professional perception attached to management is the fact that a manager does not necessarily need proper education in the field of management as a requisite in the exercise of their profession.

This, Rhurana and Nohria compared with other professions with established values and even licenses to be able to practice such as in Medicine or Law. (p. 72). The main purpose of the article is to set a fixed standard for management as a profession and to managers as professionals. This is mainly anchored on the setting of ethical values that must be adhered to and what the community may also refer to as moral behavior profoundly affects professional conduct. I believe there is merit in this proposition because men in whole act accordingly when there is a criterion that they must follow.

At the same time, the idea that mangaers must attain education to confirm professionalism is also agreeable. Education is indispensable in almost all aspects of any endeavor. There is then no reason why the same could not be applied in management. In essence when we analyze, a good organization with poor executives would still yield success, in the same way that a bad organization with good executives would still lead to success. But one with a good organization and with good executives is the best combination to ensure success.

This outlook is complementary with having educated managers who are well-equipped by virtue of their education. As suggested in the article, this does not impede creativity. “But would Bill Gates and Sam Walton really have been worse off if they had complemented their entrepreneurial talents with professional management training?” (Khurana and Nohria, p.74). Education is not the end all be all of management. But at the same time, the accomplishment of such will only lead to the development of a profession.

Among the main concepts of the article is the proposal for a code of ethics implemented across the profession. This serves as the anchor to govern the moral behavior of managers. “Managers who swear to uphold a common professional code, understanding that if they violate the code they might suffer sanctions administered by their peers, are more likely to adhere to individual company codes” (Khurana and Nohria, p.77). The main goal is to restrain malfeasance although there is recognition that this does not necessarily equate to whistle-blowing on the part of their peers or co-managers.

Similarly, this is derived from an analogy with other fields such as Medicine and Law which must be noted to be expressly scientific and not automatically people-centric. The article largely supposed that the culmination of ethical standards is the first step into professionalizing management. The article which adheres to the ardent belief of making management a legitimate profession is not without its flaws. Yet, this is a big step into the standardization of management which has continued to grow as a profession, whether the latter is recognized or not.

There is more to be developed in the field as a whole in relation to actual practice and how it varies. The oath provided is widely general but acceptable nonetheless. The most pervasive idea that must be recognized is the idea and even acceptance by actual managers and their response to this suggestion. Competency is evidently the true measure of any profession.