Business as a Profession?

There has been some discussion in journals and books of whether Business, as a practice with its own institutions, is a profession. The term ''professional'' has both the broad sense of one with paid expertise, and a narrower specific and normative sense. In the latter there is a presumption that standards of theoretical cognitive competence, ethics, and social licensing have been met. For example,credentials have been issued following peer examination of expertise; ethical conduct in a practice will be enforced by a peak institutional body, and there is quasi- monopoly of service provision. The work argues that business is not a profession in the narrower sense, but might approach that status,and perhaps should, if corporate reform at national and international level were to be undertaken. But there will remain inherent difficulties with regard to some essential fatures, especially under an increasingly globalised ''State Welfare Capitalist'' system.