What is a Professional? an IT professional?

In the words of Guy Le Boterf, a French expert on the development of competencies, “A Professional is a person who possesses a personal body of knowledge and of know-how which is recognized and valued by the market. Because of this market recognition, the Professional benefits from an advantage not available to other workers: he or she can personally manage internal or external^professional mobility, in a specific firm or in the international market. A person who is recognized as a Professional possesses a social standing which is larger than the specific job he or she holds down (http://www.syre.com/versionanglaise/professionals.htm).” Professional is also defined as a person who is engaged in one of the learned profession (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/).

Professionals have roles in which they carry with them special rights and special responsibilities. Roles that are called “strongly differentiated”(Goldman, 1980). These roles give the role-holder powers and/or responsibilities that are “exceptions to ordinary morality”. For example, a doctor can operate surgery and a civil engineer can sign building permits.

How about an IT professional? Can he be classified as “professional”? What is the role of an IT professional or computer professional?

We have what we call as “occupational roles”. These are roles which are not strongly differentiated. Examples are sales personnel, secretary and construction worker. They are expected to adhere to the demands of ordinary morality. Occupational roles are taken into account as the efficacy of individuals acting in employment roles. Efficacy means “power to affect the world.” It is the ability to do things others don’t have the capacity to do. Important parts of the efficacy of a professional are skills and knowledge. Because professionals have this efficacy, they bear special responsibilities. They have as well special rights by virtue of being members of a profession.

However, the role of a computer professional is not strongly differentiated (Johnson,3rd ed.,p.57). Although an IT professional has the ability and opportunity to affect the world in ways that others can’t, they do not acquire any special, socially recognized power or privilege “by being a computer professional.” As one IT professional is employed in a company, he acquires powers and responsibilities by virtue of being an employee to the company but not by being an IT professional.

While some professionals have special rights and responsibilities by virtue of being members of a profession, computer professionals do not. They have special powers and privileges by virtue of their efficacy in the environment they are into. That is, they obtain those special privileges by virtue of their skill and knowledge in the positions they possess in organizations (Johnson,3rd ed).