Book dossier

The End of the Professions?

by Jane Broadbent

Professions and professional activity are undergoing dramatic changes as we approach the millennium. This interdisciplinary volume presents an overview of conceptual issues and considers the practical issues facing professionals today. It has two key objectives: to understand the nature of the changes in professional activity; and to see this restructuring in the context of wider socio-economic processes. Examining the professional areas of medicine, education, law and accountancy, the authors illustrate how the nature of professional activity is changing: decision-making power is being shifted away from the holders of specialised knowledge and towards clients and managers. Although this might seem to signify an end to traditional notions of professionalism involving trust, responsibility and self-organisation, they argue that this does not necessarily mean an end to professionalism itself, but rather a restructuring of its significance and functioning.