PROFESSIONALISM

• It is a term which requires clarification in the

context of an industrial society with its
complex elements. If everyone is a
professional, the term loses its meaning.
• Sometimes we use ‘profession’ to mean the
members of a certain occupational group.
• Professionalism means possessing the
qualities of a professional.
 Meaning and Definition
In simple words, professionalism is the way an
individual conduct himself at work to represent
both himself and his company in a positive way.
According to Eric Mochnacz, “professionalism is
someone’s inherent ability to do what is expected
of them and deliver quality work because they are
driven to do so.”
Professionalism also includes the way an employee
interacts with other people, including co-workers,
customers, and supervisors.
Characteristics of Professionalism
1. Specialized knowledge: Generally
professionals are known for their specialized
knowledge. They take a great personal
commitment to develop and improve their skills.
• 2. Competency: Professionals get the job
done. They are reliable and so they keep their
promises. They don’t make excuses, but
always focus on finding solutions.
• 3. Commitment and Confidence:
Professionals have to interact with clients,
supervisors and co-workers with commitment
to the company and job.
• 4. Responsibility and Dependability: Taking
responsibility and fair in all work activities is
important to professionalism. Responsible
behavior has an impact across all career fields.
• 5. Honesty and Integrity: Professionals
exhibits qualities such as honesty and
integrity. They keep their word and so they
can be trusted. They never compromise their
values. They will do right thing even during
adverse situations.
• 6. Initiative and Accountability: Professionals
show initiative by seeking new work and
responsibilities.
• 7. Self-Regulation: Professionals behave as a
true professional under difficult situations.
• 8. Image: Professionals try to build good
image in the organization.
 Traits or Qualities of a Good
Professional
• 1. Excellence: A good professional always strive
for excellence and quality of care in all activities.
• 2. Organizational skill: A professional should
always keep his work area neat and clean. His
files, papers, everything should be in proper
place.
• 3. Time management: An individual is considered
as a good professional if he is able to manage his
time well.
• 4. Good communication skill: A professional
should have a very good communication skill
because most of the work in the corporate world
today involves working in teams.
• 5. Soft skills: Soft skill are essential for achieving
success in todays corporate world.
• 6. Positive attitude: It is obligatory for all
professionals to maintain an optimistic attitude
while working. He does not breakup under
pressure and maintains a calm behavior outside,
even in the difficult circumstances.
• 7. Focus and hard work: A professional should
be very clear on the individual goals that he is
expected to achieve as well as the group goals
that has to contribute.
• 8. Ethical behavior: A good professional tries
to act ethically in all his work and all his
dealings with others.
• 9. Continuous learning: A good professional
seeks to continue learning while practicing the
profession by doing the necessary research to
handle new situations and problems as they
arise.
• 10. Teaches new generation: A good
professional teaches younger members of a
profession.
 Professionalism in Business
• Professional behavior is necessary for the long
term success of the business, whether it is big
or small. Employee interactions and
relationship with customers are of vital
importance to ensure that company goals and
objectives are met. Professionalism helps
companies success in the following ways.
• 1. Establishes proper boundaries:
Professionalism in business establishes
boundaries between what is considered
appropriate and what is not. Many managers
like enjoyable and vibrant working
environment. But there should be a limit for
such activities to avoid conflicts and
misunderstandings.
• 2. Encourages personal improvement: A
business environment in which employees
dress and operate professionally is more
helpful for business success.
• 3. Promote and maintain accountability:
Companies that interact directly with clients
are supposed to provide the best services and
present their company in the best possible
manner.
• 4. Establishes respect: Professionalism in
business gives respect for authority, clients
and co-workers. A professional behavior limits
gossip and rumors.
• 5. Minimizes conflict: Conflicts are less likely
to arise in a professional business
environment. Workers who respect each
others and conduct themselves professionally
rarely have disagreements and disputes.
• 6. Increased job satisfaction: Professionalism
eliminates stress to a great extent and that
helps employees to work in a healthy
atmosphere leads to increased performance.
• 7. The sense of responsibility: People who
work in a professional atmosphere can handle
a task in a wider perspective of organizational
objectives and hence are able to own their
actions and proper decisions.
 Professional Skills
• There are many professional skills. These skills
depend on job positions, education, degree
and business fields. Some of the important
skills needed by professionals are given below.
• i) Communication skills: The ability to
communicate effectively is very important to
develop business relationship. Successful
communication involves five components.
• 1. Verbal communication
• 2. Non verbal communication
• 3. Aural communication
• 4. Written communication
• 5. Visual communication.
• ii) Decision making skills: Decision making
ability has an important role both in personal
and organizational life. Taking right decision in
business and work is one of the best qualities
of a professional. Decision making abilities can
be improved with seeing, learning, experience
and practice.
• iii) Problem solving skill: Success can be
achieved only through the skills for solving
problems. Problems are a part of any job. The
ability to use knowledge to find answers to
solve problems and formulate workable
solutions is essential for business success.
• iv) Leadership skills: Leadership skills are one
of the top qualities and competencies in the
list of professional skills. Companies want
employees who can supervise and direct other
workers.
• V) Interpersonal skill: Interpersonal skills are
‘people skills’ and includes the ability to build
and maintain relationship.
• Vi) Organizational skill: These skills are
needed in the workplace and it includes
general planning, co-ordinating resources and
meeting deadlines.
• Vii) Time management skills: Good time
management skills help to control time and
life. With these qualities a person can be able
to maintain a balance between his work,
personal and family lives.
• Viii) Stress management skills: Dealing with
stress is a crucial ability of a professional
because stress at work can lead to problems
for the individual and the overall working
environment.
• ix) Teamwork: Employees are a part of
team/department. So they need to
collaborate with other employees.
• x) Flexibility: It is the top abilities in the list of
professional skills . Flexibility allows people to
adapt successfully to changing situations and
environment.
 Soft Skills
• Soft skills are the personal attributes, personality traits, inherent
social cues, and communication abilities needed for success on the
job. Soft skills characterize how a person interacts in his relationship
with others.
• A soft skills is a personal attribute that supports situational
awareness and enhances an individual’s ability to get a job done.
• Important soft skills are:
• Communication
• Coping under pressure
• Empathy and emotional intelligence.
• Ability to take good decisions
• A growth mindset
• Good manners
 Verbal Communication
• Effective professional verbal communication
includes the ability to speak fluently and
communicate in a manner appropriate for the
occasion. Any interaction that make use of
spoken words is considered as verbal
communication. It is the use of words to share
information with other people. It includes
both spoken and written communication.
 Factors affecting verbal
communication skills
• Improvement of verbal communication is essential in
the corporate world. Verbal communication skills are
the important part of a successful business carrier. So it
is important to improve verbal communication skills.
Some techniques to improve these skills are:
• 1. Wide reading
• 2. Preparation
• 3. Listen carefully
• 4. Body language
• 5. Speak with confidence
• 6. Develop skills
 Professional Presentation
• Creating effective presentation is an important
skill for professionals. Presenters must have
the knowledge of the topic being presented, a
strong command of language and the ability
to brief, organize and express their thoughts.
There are three primary skills in presentation.
• Verbal communication skills
• Non-verbal communication skills
• Content and organization
 Verbal communication skills
• Successful presentations require verbal
communication skills and it helps the
audience to understand the presentation.
Voice tone, pitch and volume will contribute
to effective presentation.
 Content
• The ability to deliver content that is logically
organized and flows logically is also an
important component of oral communication.
 Non-Verbal Communication
• Combining oral communication with visual
cues such as text, pictures and non-verbal
communication also helps the audience to
understand the message.
 Organization of Presentations
• A good presentation should be organized in
the following way.
• Introduction: It should tell the audience
exactly about the topic, provide an idea
regarding the scope and coverage and state
the purpose clearly. It should not exceed
about one-tenth the length of a presentation.
• Body: The body contains the materials supportive to a
presentation. It should be developed logically,
emphasize the main points, and keep supplementary
or background information in proper perspective.
• Summary: Generally audience gives close attention at
two stages in presentation ie, during the presentation
and summation. It should include only the critical
points that the audience want to remember.
• Visual aids: Visual aids are very effective
communication tools and are essential in every
presentation. Use of power point or other presentation
graphics programs are essential.
 Presentation Techniques
• 1. Gather information
• 2. Write down main ideas
• 3. Develop introduction and conclusion.
• 4. Practice the speech
• 5. Delivery style
• 6. Use of the podium
• 7. Length of delivery
• 8. Eye contact
• 9. Voice
• 10. Speak calmly
• 11. Question and answer session
 Different Presentation Postures
• 1. Standing posture
• 2. Hands
• 3. Holding like a basket ball
• 4. Palms up
• 5. Palms down
• 6. Steeple the hands
• 7. Change the position frequently
 Written Communication
• Written communication means the sending of
messages, orders or instructions in writing
through letters, circulars, manuals, reports,
office memos, bulletins etc. It is a formal
method of communication and is less flexible.
It becomes a permanent record for future
reference.
 Forms of written communication
• 1. Letters
• 2. Memo
• 3. Notice
• 4. Circular
• 5. Report
• 6. Minutes
 Advantages of written
communication
• 1. Permanent record
• 2. Authoritative document
• 3. Accuracy
• 4. Legal document
• 5. Long distance communication
• 6. Easy understanding
• 7. Delegation of authority
• 8. Suitable for long messages
• 9. Less possibility of distortion
• 10. Develops confidence
• 11. Goodwill and image building
Limitations of written communication
• 1. Time consuming
• 2. Expensive
• 3. No secrecy
• 4. Less flexible
• 5. Lacks personal touch
• 6. Not suitable for illiterate people
 Email
• It is the most widely used tool for business
communication at the work place. Email is
short for ‘electronic mail’. Similar to a letter it
is sent via the internet to a recipient. An email
address is required to receive email and that
address is unique to the user.
 Advantages of Email
• 1. Fast client communication
• 2. Availability and portability
• 3. Reduces shipping and mailing cost
 Disadvantages
• 1. Vulnerability to loss
• 2. Accessible to others
• 3. Difficult to interpret emotions
 Significance of Email in business
• 1. Easy and fast
• 2. Easy retrieval
• 3. Economical
• 4. Marketing
• 5. Privacy and confidentiality
• 6. Security
• 7. Internal communication
• 8. Work groups
• 9. Alternative means of physical documents
 Email Etiquette
• It refers to the principles of behavior that one
should use while writing or answering email
messages. It is also known as the code of
conduct for email communication. It depends
upon to whom we are writing, ie, friends and
relatives, partners, customers, superiors or
subordinates.
 Technical documentation
• Technical documents use facts, proof and
evidence and are designed for use by
technicians, system analysts, designers,
programmers, economists, stock brokers or
building surveyors, to name just some
specialist areas that require technical
documentation.
 Types of technical documents
• Technical documents in business include:
• Investment analysis
• Cash flow projections
• Tenders
• Agent contracts
• Leases
• Staff needs forecast
• Marketing research statistics
• Annual general reports
 Types of documents
• Description document
• Installation
• Configuration
• User manual
• System reference
 Standards
• Standards are essential to produce good
documentation. They provide guidelines on
what content to include, the writing style and
the format of the document.
• Good technical document is written and
structured within a framework of specific
standards.
 Industrial standards
• Industrial standards are generally adopted by
organizations to ensure documentation they
produce is of good quality. Such standards
become organizational policy and writers,
whether internal staff or contractors have a
basis account which to produce
documentation.
 Standards of documentation
• 1. Clarity
• 2. Simple language
• 3. Avoid jargons
• 4. Indexing
Attributes of Good Documentation
• 1. Contents listings
• 2. Stated purpose
• 3. Navigation tools
• 4. Accuracy
• 5. Accessibility
• 6. Concise
• 7. Complete and comprehensive
• 8. Consistent