Let me start this article by asking the question. What is professionalism? Are you a Professional? What is great in being professional? Our bosses tell us everyday, you should be more professional in your approach towards work. Be professional and stop the laid back attitude. People say about that sportsmen have become professional. This made me think what exactly is being professional? Different people must be having different views on this subject and most of you should be logically correct. So i tried to find out what that word might mean, and to all of you i was very professional in finding the true meaning.
Being a crazy internet surfer, I thought internet should be the best source for such information. So i went online and started searching for the dictionary meaning of the word "Professionalism", i know you all must be very irritated by reading the same word again but you thats what the article is all about (Few of you would say thanks for reminding about the topic). Anyways, the dictionary meaning of professionalism is" the practicing of an activity by professional" or "pursuit of an activity as an occupation" or "the expertness characteristic of a professional person", there are as many 100 different definitions available on internet. But being a back bencher all through my college days, its very difficult to make me understanding. And i was as usual confused what does this mean?
Then i got out of my house and started moving to my friend's place to take his professional view on this very important matter of my life. Being a software engineer he started explaining the term in his own software ways. He said he is in the business of writing software. Product centric software are measured on the professionalism of their product say for example - how robust Windows is? or how quickly the menus respond in Word? In today's world our exposure with Microsoft is with the operating system and many of us do not even see the manual or the box. So i asked, does the word coincide with trust we keep in any product as Microsoft has made the product, its going to be very professional. But i was not convinced and needed a real life example.
And i decided to go to my professor, He said,"there are two meanings of Professionalism, other than the dictionary meaning which are associated with our work quality. First one is related to a job or a profession. The other means well trained or a person who is good at work". Professionalism therefore implies that the person is good at one's work and can be depended upon. We become professional if we do anything again and again. Its easy to do a job, but to do it in a correct or a proper way requires Professionalism. He explained.
Being a crazy internet surfer, I thought internet should be the best source for such information. So i went online and started searching for the dictionary meaning of the word "Professionalism", i know you all must be very irritated by reading the same word again but you thats what the article is all about (Few of you would say thanks for reminding about the topic). Anyways, the dictionary meaning of professionalism is" the practicing of an activity by professional" or "pursuit of an activity as an occupation" or "the expertness characteristic of a professional person", there are as many 100 different definitions available on internet. But being a back bencher all through my college days, its very difficult to make me understanding. And i was as usual confused what does this mean?
Then i got out of my house and started moving to my friend's place to take his professional view on this very important matter of my life. Being a software engineer he started explaining the term in his own software ways. He said he is in the business of writing software. Product centric software are measured on the professionalism of their product say for example - how robust Windows is? or how quickly the menus respond in Word? In today's world our exposure with Microsoft is with the operating system and many of us do not even see the manual or the box. So i asked, does the word coincide with trust we keep in any product as Microsoft has made the product, its going to be very professional. But i was not convinced and needed a real life example.
And i decided to go to my professor, He said,"there are two meanings of Professionalism, other than the dictionary meaning which are associated with our work quality. First one is related to a job or a profession. The other means well trained or a person who is good at work". Professionalism therefore implies that the person is good at one's work and can be depended upon. We become professional if we do anything again and again. Its easy to do a job, but to do it in a correct or a proper way requires Professionalism. He explained.
I was convinced by his explanation and thought any person in any field need to be professional today. Being professional is not about being rude or being mean, its more about doing your work properly and correctly. This made me think, "what is professionalism in my office?" Its should be about doing my work on time and preparing good reports, well that is what i am paid for? And i believe i am doing it honestly. The topic is wide open, would love to know your opinions.
3 comments:
I must say you have put in great efforts to find the meaning of professionalism. Your write up reminded me something similar that I read in Times of India couple of weeks back. It was about the meaning of Sexy. It is good to learn in deep about something that we use so frequently. In corporate world, the word Professionalism is used 1000 times a day but we don't stop to think whats the exact definition or meaning of the word. Good job man. Keep rocking.
Thanks a lot man...
Hmmm! Curiosity is a good thing to behold. For now, it has helped you understand the meaning of Professionalism better. I must admit that your professor was indeed right.
In simple terms, a client would always want his work to be outsourced to professionals because they have the requisite expertise, knowledge, experience and skillset to undertake that work.
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