Whither professionalism in our profession?

http://weblog.raganwald.com/2007/04/whither-professionalism-in-our.html

by mattculbreth • 19 years ago

4 4 19 years ago

weblog.raganwald.com

MEHOM2• 19 years ago

Regardless of the profession, good professional behavior is a must. Treating ppl with civility is a must

raganwald• 19 years ago

good professional behavior is a must

The problem is "what is professional"?

here's one view: http://tinyplanet.ca/projects/professionalism.html

Treating ppl with civility is a must

That ought to go without saying, but sadly... it is rare, especially on the Internet.

MEHOM2• 19 years ago

I quite agree. On the net, civility and formalty is out. From my experience people has a tendency to confuse civility with formality during face to face situation. Giving ppl the technology to collaborate does not mean they can collaborate as a team From my experience, I have seen people at team meeting never seeing the big picture while focusing on their agenda.

Goladus• 19 years ago

Part of the problem is the word "professional" to begin with.

The reason that 37Signals post might really be considered unprofessional is not because there is swear in the title, but because it being there makes the comment rude. To some people, that title conveys anger rather than the humor that was intended. Anger is generally not professional, in that it interferes with productivity.

But saying it was "unprofessional" carries a whole lot of semantic baggage that probably isn't appropriate. It calls to mind an impractical ideal of workplace behavior that encourages complete suppression of all natural human emotion. Certain aspects of professionalism are good, but unfortunately "unprofessional" often turns into a blanket (often hypocritical) label for "anything I don't like."

I recommend any time you find yourself wanting to use the word "unprofessional," see if there isn't something less abstract that would work instead. (In this case "rude" might be more appropriate.)

Whither professionalism in our profession?

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