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Unit 1: Introduction to Management

5. Social Responsibility: Managers of today recognize their social responsibilities towards Notes
customers, workers and other groups. Their actions are influenced by social norms and
values. That is why, managers enjoy a respectable position in the society as is the case with
doctors, chartered accountants, etc.
6. Society’s Approval: The managers of modern organisations enjoy respect in the society.
There is typically a positive correlation between a manager’s rank and his status in the
organisation where he is working. This status tends to affect the manager’s status outside
the organisation. Thus, community approves management as a profession.
It seems presumptuous to classify management as a profession. By all the bench marks, the
professionalisation of management is still far from complete. It meets the above criteria of a
profession only partially as discussed below:
1. Though management has a well defined body of knowledge, it is difficult to say whether
management meets the criterion of competent application. It is not obligatory to possess
specific qualifications for being appointed as a manager. But to practice law one has to be
a graduate in the Laws. Similar is the position with the medical profession. Education and
training in management are also getting importance day by day in the industrial world.

2. There is no professional body to regulate the educational and training standards of the
managers. For instance, there is Bar Council of India to regulate the legal profession. It is
encouraging to note that management associations are growing fast throughout the world.
It is expected that they will be able to develop norms of behaviour for the practicing
managers.
3. Management does not satisfy the test of self-controls as there is no central body to lay
down and enforce professional standards and code of conduct for the managers. Thus, it
may be concluded that management does not fulfill all the requirements of a profession.
Therefore, it can’t be fully recognized as a profession. However, it is moving in that
direction because:
(a) The field of management is supported by a well-defined body of knowledge that
can be taught and learnt.
(b) Management of modern organisations requires competent application of
management principles, techniques and skills. Thus, there is a great need of formal
education and training in management. That is why, the demand for management
degrees is increasing rapidly.

(c) Managers are aware of their social responsibilities towards various groups of the
society. In their actions, they are guided by their social obligations rather than their
personal interests.

Case Study Is Management Really a Profession?

–by Jena McGregor
octors must take the Hippocratic Oath and earn continuing education credits for
years. Lawyers must pass the bar and adhere to strict codes about attorney-client
Dprivileges. But although managers have long been known colloquially as
“professionals,” the graduate schools many of them attended have long drifted away
from their founding charters, which wanted to create a profession of management.
Contd...

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