Exploring the role of professional associations in collective learning in London and New York's advertising and law professional service firm clusters.

The value of regional economies for collective learning has been reported by numerous scholars. However often work has been criticised for lacking analytical clarity and failing to explore the architectures of collective learning and the role of the knowledge produced in making firms in a cluster economy successful. This paper engages with these problematics and investigates how collective learning is facilitated in the advertising and law professional service firm clusters in London and New York. It explores the role of professional associations and investigates how they mediate a collective learning process in each city. It argues that professional associations seed urban communities of practice that emerge outside of the formal activities of professional associations. In these communities individual with shared interests in advertising and law learn from one-another and are therefore able to adapt and evolve one-another approaches to common industry challenges. The paper suggests this is another form of the variation Marshall highlighted in relation to cluster-based collective learning. The paper also shows how the collective learning process is affected by the presence, absence and strength of an institutional thickness. It is therefore argued that a richer understanding of institutional affects is needed in relation to CL

Legitimacy to develop fair value measurement standards: The Case of the IVSC Discussion Paper – Determination of fair value of intangible assets for IFRS reporting purposes

This research studies, through a content analysis of the comment letters to the IVSC project on fair value determination of intangible assets, the legitimacy of this professional body, or of the accounting associations, to develop measurement standards specific to this accounting concept. At present, with the exception of FAS 157, no professional standard offers clear technical solutions for fair value determination for financial reporting purposes. We have come to the conclusion that, among respondents, accountants are more reserved than valuators in what regards the IVSC regulating of the fair value measurement. The Anglo-Saxon respondents are more open to accept the IVSC DP as compared to respondents from other countries, hence the IVSC legitimacy to develop fair value measurement standards. Generally, we consider that accounting bodies, rather than valuation bodies, should have legitimacy to develop fair value measurement standards.fair value, professional standards, valuation techniques, guidance, project acceptation, value hierarchy

Perceived Value of HRM Professional Certification in a Disrupted Marketplace

In response to Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis’ (2012) call for examining the practical value of HR professional certification, and using Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis’ individual-level propositions as hypotheses, this study compares 123 HR practitioners’ evaluations of HR certification based on attained education, membership in professional associations, and commitment to the HR profession. Our analysis found that HR practitioners value certification equally regardless of attained education level, members of professional associations ascribe 16% more value to certification than nonmembers, and certified members have a higher commitment to the profession. Further, a comparison between the established HRCI certifications and the newly competing SHRM certifications on pay level, job offers, and promotions received mixed results, with the established HRCI credential yielding slightly more value for job offers than the new SHRM certifications

Evidence-based Marketing Strategies to Increase Student Membership in a Professional Association

Membership acquisition and attrition is vital to the survival and growth of a voluntary professional association. The percentage of social work students who are members of social work voluntary professional associations is low (Attinson & Glassberg, 1983). The purpose of this project is to understand the acquisition and attrition of students in order to develop marketing strategies to increase student membership. Voluntary professional associations value student members because they are the future of the profession and the association (NASW, 2013). Student membership in a voluntary professional association is important for students as this participation provides students with opportunities for socialization to the profession, networking, and professional development (Brown, 2004). Despite previous efforts to increase membership, student enrollment in School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) has remained between four and six percent of the total membership population over the previous four years (Streeck, 2012). Effective marketing strategies geared toward students raises awareness of the professional association and affects membership acquisition

Engagement in Extension Professional Associations: Tennessee Extension Professionals\u27 Attitudes and Perceptions

We sought to determine Extension agents\u27 attitudes and perceptions related to Tennessee Extension professional associations. We conducted one-on-one interviews with association members and nonmembers and used a thematic analysis method to analyze the results. Themes common to members and nonmembers were (a) networking and connection, (b) value, and (c) membership costs. Member-only themes included (a) awards and (b) motivation to join. Nonmember-only themes included (a) lack of information and understanding of function and (b) recruitment. Recommendations for practice and future research revolve around motivation, effective recruitment, professional development, networking, and awards. Our findings and recommendations may serve as guiding elements for others evaluating Extension professional associations

Independent registration for naturopaths and herbalists in Australia: The coming of age of an ancient profession in contemporary healthcare

Recent changes in the healthcare landscape in Australia have prompted renewed debate regarding the most appropriate regulatory model for naturopaths and herbalists. Numerous government reports have recommended independent statutory regulation yet naturopaths and Western herbalists are yet to be included in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. This has left professional associations to carry the administrative burden and manage the conflicting interests of practitioner regulation and professional advocacy. The outcome of this self-regulatory model has damaged advancement of these professions through limiting the scope of professional associations to promote the value of practitioners within contemporary healthcare. It has also left naturopaths and Western herbalists vulnerable to health policy reform which impact on unregistered practitioners. In response, an independent registration body, the Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists (ARONAH) has been established which mirrors the NRAS process and offers legitimacy to the professions whilst also safeguarding the public. This paper outlines: the history of the registration debate in Australia; the scope and role of ARONAH; the relationship between ARONAH and the existing professional associations and the rationale underpinning important standards and guidelines developed by ARONAH for its members. © National Herbalists Association of Australia 2013

Becoming a Profession? - Executive Coaching in Australia

Since the 1980s, executive coaching has become one of the fastest growing sectors in business services. Yet, there is no clear data that identifies the number of individuals claiming to act as executive coaches either nationally or internationally. It has been estimated by PricewaterhouseCoopers (2007) that there are 30,000 coaches worldwide generating an income of $1.5 billion. Given the economic value and growth of such a service, it has attracted many people wishing to position themselves as executive coaches and as experts in the field. It is this growth in executive coaches, and coaching in general, that has seen the leaders in this field follow a traditional occupational development model of creating occupational associations and now extending this to claim professional status. Despite the claims of the coaching professional associations that executive coaching is a profession, executive coaching remains a fragmented and unregulated occupation, requiring no formal qualifications or experience to practice, or use the term “coach”. This thesis examines executive coaching from the different aspects of executive coaches, professional associations, educators and trainers and clients. I have used Greenwood, Suddaby and Hinings (2002) to examine the stages in institutional change. By using their framework I examine the stages that an occupation attempts to achieve change, or emerge. The thesis suggests the professionalization project is not only a process, but also a strategy used by professional associations as they display a professional image to a variety of audiences. In this thesis I have examined the role of the professional associations, educators and trainers, executive coaches and clients in the attempts to make executive coaching a profession. I argue that theories of professionalization need to account for these changes in circumstance. The view I have taken has added to this by examining the role of professional organisations as it is emerging

A review of professionalism within LIS

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of professionalism within Library and Information Science (LIS) and in doing so draw comparisons with the education and medicine professions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper provides a review of the extant literature from the three professions and gives a brief review of the theoretical constructs of professional knowledge using the work of Eisner and Eraut to explore knowledge types. It then relates these definitions to knowledge use within LIS, education and medicine, before examining the roles that professional associations have on the knowledge development of a profession. It concludes with a reflection on the future of professionalism within LIS. Findings: The literature suggests a fragmented epistemological knowledge-base and threats to its practices from outside professions. It does, however, find opportunities to redefine its knowledge boundaries within the phronetic practices of LIS and in socio-cultural uses of knowledge. It finds strengths and weaknesses in professionalism within LIS and its practitioners. Originality/value: This review provides a contemporary update to several earlier, related, works and provides useful context to current efforts to professionalise LIS by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

Exploring the role of formal bodies of knowledge in defining a profession - The case of project management

Since the mid 1970s, project management associations around the world have made serious attempts to conduct themselves as professional associations. Traditional professions distinguished themselves by emphasising standards such as service to the public and competence in their field, and by ensuring that their membership meets these standards. An important element of a profession is ownership of a body of knowledge that is distinctive to the professional group. Project management associations have spent considerable time and effort in developing Bodies of Knowledge (BOKs) and their associated certification programs, and indeed the popularity of these has been notable. Yet there are problems, some relating to the broader issue of whether the project management associations really are equipped to act as professional bodies, others related to the specific challenge of agreeing the 'distinctive body of knowledge' and to the value of certification. This paper draws on insights from the rethinking project management EPSRC project as well as several separate research programs to explore the development of project management as a profession and the role of the formal BOKs in this professionalization, and to suggest a research agenda for critiquing, contributing to, and maintaining both the formal BOKs and the more general body of knowledge relevant to the needs of the discipline. © 2006

When For-Profit Companies Evaluate Potential Nonprofit Partners Focused on Youth Development, what is the Role of Symbolic Brand Association in that Evaluation?

Literature suggests that, “symbolic associations refer to the abstract cognitions that translate the values of the organization, personality traits associated with the brand and even emotions” (Michaelidou, Micevski, & Cadogan, 2015, p. 1658). Here, in order to measure the value of clear and powerful symbolic brand associations for nonprofits as they seek corporate support, commercial managers evaluated the symbolic brand associations of five nonprofit organizations devoted to youth development through sport. This type of commercial-nonprofit linkage warranted analysis due to the association benefits offered by both sport and youth. Professionals in this sector, standard literature from both commercial and nonprofit sectors, and current professional resources give us a background on the intricacies of the partnership marketplace as it exists today, offering potential reasons for each sector to engage in mutual partnership. This research adds to the literature by helping us determine the role that symbolic brand associations have in this intersection and by helping nonprofit managers understand the value of such associations in a process full of brief psychological judgment. Usefulness, efficiency, dynamism, affect, reliability, ethicality, and typicality were the measured associations. Affect (compassionate, favorable, friendly) and reliability (responsible, reputable, sincere) of the nonprofit were the two associations that correlated most strongly with corporate engagement (money, time, resources, partnership, leveraging). This correlation underscores the value of clearly articulated symbolic brand associations. Strategies from literature and examples from successful corporate development teams in the nonprofit sector begin to help us understand how symbolic associations are used to create relevance for nonprofits that can use these associations to find connections and grow their corporate alliances