Issues in the study of “professionals” in organizations: The case of scientists and engineers

doi:10.1016/0030-5073(77)90034-4

Organizational Behavior and Human Performance

Volume 18, Issue 2, April 1977, Pages 329-345

Organizational Behav...

https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(77)90034-4 Get rights and content

Abstract

Based on a comprehensive review of the research literature, this paper identifies a consensual set of definitional characteristics of the ideal “professional,” and outlines an approach which classifies individuals as more or less professional according to the extent that they exhibit behaviors and attitudes consistent with these characteristics. The approach is then employed for scientists and engineers, since scientific and engineering samples are often used to test hypotheses related to professionalism. The paper concludes that (a) many important differences exist between the occupational types; (b) with certain exceptions, engineers should not be considered strongly professional and should not be used to test hypotheses about highly professional employees; and (c) the indiscriminant use of engineers and other predominantly nonprofessional samples is responsible in part for the many contradictions and inconsistencies in the research literature on professionalism. Implications of this research for studies of other occupations are also discussed.

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Issues in the study of “professionals” in organizations: The case of scientists and engineers

Abstract

Organizational behavior and Human Performance

The integration of industrial scientists

Administrative Science Quarterly

The professional in the organization

Selected research on scientists and engineers in industry

Academy of Management Journal

Understanding the role orientations of scientists and engineers

Personnel Journal

Some problems in the sociology of professions

Daedalus

The elements of identification with an occupation

American Sociological Review

Cosmopolitan-local: A factor analysis of the construct

Administrative Science Quarterly

The hierarchy of authority in organizations

American Journal of Sociology

Formal organizations

Reward protocols in technical organizations: Interpersonal versus technical competence

Human Organization

Characteristics of engineers and scientists significant for their utilization and motivation

Will engineers unionize?

Industrial Relations

The effect of bureaucracy on the professional autonomy of physicians

Journal of Health and Social Behavior

Leadership and supervision in the informal organization

The Dimensionality of the cosmopolitan-local construct

Administrative Science Quarterly

Profession of medicine: A study of the sociology of applied knowledge

Editorial forward

American Behavioral Scientist

Knowledge and judgment in professional evaluations

Administrative Science Quarterly

Managing the engineer, scientist, and professional

Professionalization as career immobility

American Journal of Sociology

Encroachment, charlatanism, and the emerging profession: Psychology, sociology, and medicine

American Sociological Review

Cosmos and locals—Toward an analysis of latent social roles I

Administrative Science Quarterly

Toward an analysis of latent social roles II

Administrative Science Quarterly

Constituent and opposing effects of organizational formalization on alienation of professionals

Attributes of a profession

Social Work

The scientific community

Relationship of age and seniority with career variables of engineers and scientists

Journal of Applied Psychology

Professionalization and bureaucratization

American Sociological Review

Professional engineers: Salary structure problems

Industrial Relations

Professional employees' preference for upward mobility

Journal of Applied Psychology

The attitudes of research chemists

Journal of Applied Psychology

Relation of leader consideration and initiating structure to R & D subordinates' satisfaction

Administrative Science Quarterly

Organizational independence, leader behavior, and managerial practices: A replicated study

Journal of Applied Psychology