Post for June 14th - Comparing and Contrasting Professionalims in the Media & Professional Organizations

The view of professionalism from the media, as shown in my previous post, is vastly different from the view of professionalism found in various professional organizations. Professional organizations are focused on maintaining a professional atmosphere and demeanor by following a code of ethics and general professional guidelines.

Looking at www.socialworkers.org I found a code of ethics for social workers that focuses on being caring and respectful of clients (valuing the dignity and self-worth of a person), behaving in a trustworthy manner, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, and being in compliance with other general professional guidenlines (refraining from: sexual relations with clients, the use of innaporpirate lanugage, and harassment). Even though this is a code of ethics for social workers, I think these guidlines are true of any professional environment.

Another representation of professionalism I found is from a professional development company's website, www.professionalismmatters.com. This company provides opportunities for people to learn how to be professional. Aspects of professionalism they find important are: organization, time management, manners, and integrity. So not only is professionalism someone's behavior, but also how they perform in their work environment.

Lastly, I wanted to look at professionalism of a business, rather than an individual person. To do this, I looked at the Better Business Bureau's accreditation standards (www.bbb.org). To be accredited from the BBB a buisness must follow these guidelines: build trust in the marketplace, advertise honestly, tell the truth, be transparent, honor promises, be responsive, safeguard privacy, and embody integrity. These aspects of a professional business are very similar to the professional guidlines from the two sources above.

So where is all this in the media? It seems the representation of professionalism in the media is very counter to the representation of professionalism in a professional setting. If you look at the TV show "House, MD" and follow the actions of the main character, House, you see he violates most of the professional guidlines above - but that's half the fun. The only real professionalism House has is his dedication to serving his patients. Otherwise, House uses drugs, is dishonest, breaks into patients homes, breaks confidentiality codes, is full of harrasing and rude comments, and does not always act in a trustworthy manner. In the show, House is a professional doctor, but part of the reason why the show is entertaining is because of his atypical professional behavior. Rarely does he feel the consequences of such behavior.

The media does not fully support the message of professionalism that the above organizations project. I don't think the writers of TV shows are concerned with projecting the professionalims of their characters, but are more concerned with ratings. To get higher ratings, a TV show must be entertaining. Seeing people act unprofessionally catches our attention because it is different from our normal everyday expectations.