Suchergebnisse

For a long time sociologists of professions have differentiated Anglo-American and European contexts for professional work. The presentation will address this distinction and argue that processes of convergence now render such differences somewhat obsolete except in historical accounts. In addition the convergence of professional systems and of regulatory states is also generating new inequalities both between professional groups themselves as well as within the organizations in which practitioners work. The presentation will examine convergences and inequalities at the macro level. Aspects to be considered include the changing role of the nation-state, the internationization of markets, the increased significance of the work organization and the different logics of professionalism. The extent of convergence and continuing divergences will be explored and social inequalities indicated. Macro-level processes and procedures including the growth of 'hybrid' organizations and new forms of managerialism can constitute new types of inequality and forms of stratification both within and between professions. The historical starting points within Europe and nation-state differences in professional systems make convergences and inequalities both highly complex and extremely variable.

Zusammenfassung
Die Zahl der beruflichen Tätigkeitsfelder, in denen das Selbstverständnis herrscht, eine 'Profession' zu sein, und in denen eine professionelle Arbeitsweise angestrebt wird, wächst beständig an. Die Ausbreitung professionaler Diskurse verblüfft, denn gleichzeitig kann beobachtet werden, dass Werte wie Vertrauen, Autonomie und Kompetenz - Kategorien, die die soziologische Professionsforschung bislang als untertrennbar mit den Konzepten 'Profession' und ,Professionalität' betrachtet hat - zunehmend erodieren oder doch zumindest in Frage gestellt werden.
Julia Evetts erklärt dieses Paradoxon in dem folgenden Beitrag mit der Existenz unterschiedlicher Formen von Professionalität. Neben die tradierte Form des 'occupational professionalism' ist in der modernen Gegenwartsgesellschaft der 'organisational professionalism' getreten. Dieser wird vornehmlich von Managern verwendet. Er basiert nicht auf Vertrauen, Autonomie und Kompetenz, sondern versucht die Professionalität von Leistungen u. a. durch hierarchische Strukturen der Entscheidungsfindung Standardisierung und den Einsatz von Kontrollmechanismen und 'Rechenschaftspflichten zu gewährleisten.
Die gestiegene Bedeutung des Professionsdiskurses und vor allem seine Ausdifferenzierung in occupational and organisational professionalism bleiben nicht ohne Folgen für die Verwaltung und Erbringung sozialpolitischer Maßnahmen. Sie verändern beispielsweise die Arbeitsbedingungen im Bereich der sozialen Arbeit, wie die Beiträge von Langer (2007), Grohs (2007) und Beckmann u.a. (2007) im ZSK-Schwerpunktheft 3/2007 gezeigt haben. E.in weiteres aktuelles Beispiel sind die überbordenden Bürokratisierungstendenzen in Krankenhäusern, in denen sich immer mehr Verwaltungsaufgaben zwischen die Arztinnen und Arzte und ihre Patientinnen und Patienten schieben und dadurch die Ausübung der eigentlichen ärztlichen Aufgaben beinträchtigen.
Julia Evetts versucht in ihrem Beitrag eine erste Systematisierung der divergierenden Professionsdiskurse, verweist auf die Folgen neuer Professionskonzepte und benennt die Forschungsfragen, denen sich die Professionssoziologie zukünftig stellen muss.

Professions, as a special (privileged) category of service‐sector occupations, are nowadays perceived as under threat from organizational, economic and political changes. Many of these threats concern the medical profession (and sometimes the legal profession). The use of the discourse of professionalism in other occupational contexts is seldom addressed, however, yet it is this, which is providing a much more interesting challenge to social scientists. In this paper the increased deployment of the concept "professional" is critically discussed and the power of the discourse of professionalism is explored more closely. The increased use of "professionalism" in new and existing occupational contexts is considered as a mechanism for facilitating and promoting social and occupational change. Many of these occupations provide services and often women constitute the bulk of the practitioners in these occupational groups. It is time to look again then at professionalism as a set of persuasive ideas or an ideology and to examine the power of these ideas and this discourse in terms of social order and control of occupational groups and individual "professionalised" practitioners.

Discusses the importance of professions within states asking questions such as "are these occupations monopolies whose anti‐competitive effects distort the social and economic organisation of society?" Continues by considering whether professions can serve both public and private interests. Looks at the international dimension and how professions are responding to the development of European Feferations, and attempts to assess their influence.

Considers some differences between Anglo‐American and European modes of production and methods of professionalism. Looks at theoretical models of professions and states, taking into account Herbert Spencer's work, as well as that of Weber, Durkheim and Foucault. Examines the implications a common European Union (EU) regime will have on professional services – focusing on formal mechanisms (such as international associations) and informal mechanisms (such as lobbying and networking). Raises some questions on how internationalization is reworking and redefining professions, with new processes and mechanisms developing at both national and international level. Promotes the urgency of developing sociological models of profession‐state relations at both levels.

Considers how organizational change and the restructuring of management in the organization are affecting the career opportunities of women professional engineers. Using a case study industrial organization, considers how management itself is changing and being changed. Suggests, therefore, that optimistic statements about increasing numbers of women in managerial posts in organizations need closer examination. The concept of management itself must be rendered problematic and changes in managerial systems need to be analysed. Only then will it be possible to explore how gender, career, management and organization interact and produce new as well as old forms of occupational segregation.

Considers some of the problems which management presents for
women′s careers in professional engineering. Using careers history data
from 15 women engaged in professional engineering work in a high
technology industrial organization, certain aspects of their promotion
progress are examined. The interaction of aspects such as the women′s
aspirations and certain organizational processes were producing
particular consequences for the women′s careers. The women managers′
careers illustrated the difficult cultural decisions which these women
had had to make. Concludes with a discussion of the possibilities for
change in the emerging gendered patterns of engineering careers.

The paper considers the different ways in which sociologists have studied careers. It examines the various dimensions in careers research which constitute a developing research tradition. It highlights the problems associated with reification in analyses of career which are either implicit in particular models or are addressed in others but in ways which fail to resolve the difficulties. The paper suggests that the analysis of processes of change in career structures and career experiences can best enable researchers to avoid reification in their conceptualizations of career.