The appeal to professionalism as a disciplinary mechanismValrie FournierAbstractThe paper examines the deployment of professional discourses in occu-pationaldomainsnottraditionallyassociatedwiththeprofessions(egmanagement,clericalorsalesstaffareturnedintoprovidersofprofes-sional services). It rst proposes to analyse professionalism as a discipli-narylogicwhichinscribesautonomousprofessionalpracticewithinanetworkofaccountabilityandgovernsprofessionalconductatadis-tance.Itisarguedthatprofessionallabourisautonomouslabourwheretheconditionsofautonomyhavealreadybeeninscribedinparticularformsofconductembodiedinthenotionofprofessionalcompetence.Thepaperthensuggeststhattheappealtothediscursiveresourcesofprofessionalism in new occupational domains potentially acts as a disci-plinarymechanismthatservestoprofessappropriateworkidentitiesandconducts.Theextensionofthedisciplinarylogicofprofessionalismisillustratedwiththeturntocompetenciestoregulatemanagerialworkin Teamco, a large privatised service company. However, the nal sectionofthepapercautionsagainstadeterministicanalysisofthedisciplinarylogicofprofessionalisminregulatingemployeesconduct,andsuggeststhattheconstructedandcontestablenatureofprofessionalismmakesitan inevitably imperfect form of government.IntroductionIt seems paradoxical that as the professions are being threatened byvarious trends of organisational, economic and political change (egCrompton,1990;GreenwoodandLachman1996;Reed,1996),thenotionofprofessionalismiscreepingupinunexpecteddomains,lendingsupporttoWilenskys(1964)predictionthatprofessional-ismwouldeventuallyembraceeveryonewithsomeclaimtospe-cialisedknowledgeorpractice.ItisnotonlymanagementwhichisTheEditorialBoardofTheSociologicalReview1999.PublishedbyBlackwellPublishers, 108CowleyRoad,OxfordOX41JF,UKand350MainStreet,Malden,MA02148,USA.supposedtoprofessionaliseitself,butacursoryglancethroughservicecompaniesadvertsintheYellowPagesorthroughthejobpagesinnewspapersrevealsthatthemostunlikelyoccupationsarebecoming candidates for professionalisation. Secretaries, restaurantstaff,securitypersonnel,furnitureretailers(amongothers)areallallegedly offering professional services.This casual generalisation of the notion of professionalism couldbeseenasjustanothermarketingdevicetoseduceconsumers;itcouldbearguedthatasthelabelisbeingtransposedtomoreandmorediversedomains,itlosesitspurchaseandbecomesanemptyand meaningless category potentially including anyone. However, inthispaperItakethepositionthattheremaybemorehappeningwhennon-professionallabourisbeingcaughtinthediscourseofprofessionalism. The main argument of the paper is that the appealtoprofessionalismisnotjustanemptylabeldeployedtolurecon-sumersalthoughitmaybethattoobutactsasadisciplinarymechanism.Themobilisationofthediscursiveresourcesofprofes-sionalismpotentiallyallowsforcontrolatadistancethroughtheconstruction of apropriate work identities and conducts.Theappealtoprofessionalismasadeviceofcontrolneedstobeunderstoodinthecontextofashiftinthediscoursesandpracticesofworkorganisation.Withouthavingtoresorttothedualisminvoked in many of the labels used to index some of these shifts (egpostbureaucratic,postmodern,enterprise,allallegedlyopposedtobureaucracy),itisimportanttosituatetheargumentsintheeco-nomic,culturalandtechnologicalcontextofamovetowardsexi-blestrategiesofcapitalistaccumulation(egHarvey,1989).Theintroduction of exible working practices associated with advancedcapitalismcreatesadiscretionarygapwhichneedstoberegulatedthroughnewsoftwaresofcontrol(Townley,1989).Thepaperarguesthattheappealtoprofessionalismisoneofthestrategiesthatisdeployedtocontroltheincreasingmarginofindeterminacyor exibility in work.Beforeillustratingthedisciplinaryeffectsoftheextensionofthediscourse of professionalism to new occupational domains, it is rstnecessary to establish how the logic of professionalism can producediscipline.Centraltotheargumentofthepaperistheanalysisofprofessionalismasadisciplinaryregimeofautonomousprofes-sionallabour.TherstpartofthepaperdrawsupontheFoucauldiannotionofgovernmentality,andinparticularliberalgovernment(egFoucault,1979;Burchelletal,1991),toarguethatprofessionalismactsasamodeofgovernmentofautonomousThe appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 281labour; the autonomy of professional practice is predicated upon itsgovernmentatadistance(MillerandRose,1990)throughthearticulationofprofessionalcompetence.Thesecondpartofthepaperanalysestheextensionofprofessionalismasadisciplinarymechanism to new occupational domains; it argues that the appealtoprofessionalismcanbeseenasoneway,amongothers,toregu-late the autonomous conduct of employees through the articulationofcompetence.TheextensionofprofessionalismisillustratedwiththeuseofcompetenciestogovernmanageriallabourinTeamco,alarge privatised service company.Professionalism as government of autonomous conductPost-functionaliststudiesoftheprofessionshavetendedtoseetheprofessionsascentresofpowersubjectingthepublicandotheroccupations to their dominating rules (eg Freidson, 1970; Johnson,1972;Larson,1977;Witz,1992).Thesestudieshaveanalysedthevarious strategies of social closure or exclusion the professions com-monlydeploytoclaimexclusiveownershipofparticularareasofexpertiseandtoraisethestatusandprestigeoftheirpractice(egAbbott,1988;Larson,1977;Macdonald,1995;Witz,1992).Animportantthemehereistheautonomyandself-regulationthe professionshaveenjoyedinsettingthestandardsgoverningtheirtraining,practiceandconduct(egHarrisonandSchultz,1989;Keat, 1991a; Samuel Weber, 1987).While I do not wish to challenge the validity of such analysis andhavemyselfproposedtoseetheprofessionsasseekingtoestablishtheirautonomyandauthoritythroughtheconstructionofvariousboundaries around themselves (Fournier, forthcoming), I want hereto concentrate on the conditions upon which this autonomy is pred-icated,andarguethatprofessionallabourisautonomouslabourwheretheconditionsofautonomyhavealreadybeeninscribedinparticularformsofconductarticulatedinthenotionofprofes-sional competence.Foucaults(1978)notionofgovernment,atermusedtorefertotheconductofconduct(Gordon,1991),isusefulhere.Governmentfunctionsthroughstructuringandconstitutingthedomainofpossibilityforactionandsubjectivity.Gordon (1991)suggests that the art of modern government is about delineating thethinkable. However government is not just an abstract philosophy,oranideologybutisaboutpractice. . . thewaysinwhichtheValrie Fournier282 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999world is made intelligible and practicable (Rose, 1993: 289, empha-sis added). Rationality of government provides a disciplinary regimethroughtheproductionofsubjectpositionsandthedenitionofmoralconduct.ThisFoucauldiannotionofgovernmenthasinspiredawholetraditionofworkonthevariousinstitutions,mechanisms,techniquesandgroupsthroughwhichconductis regulated(egBurchelletal,1991;MillerandRose,1990;SpecialissueofEconomyandSociety onLiberalism,Neo-liberalismandGovernmentality,1993).Thepresentpaperdrawsupononethemeinthisextensiveliterature:theroleofexpertiseandtheprofessionsin the liberal art of government.The enrolment of the professions in liberal governmentLiberalism for Fourcault is not just a political ideology but a particu-larrationalityforgoverningeverydayconduct.Whatisdistinctiveabout liberalism is its attempt to reconcile freedom (of individuals, ofthe market) and control (Burchell, 1993). Thus liberalism can be con-trastedtoearlierformsofgovernmentalrationality,suchasthepolicestate,inthatitiscriticalofsovereignpower.Themainratio-nale of liberalism (in its various forms) is to govern through freedom:In both cases [early liberalism and neo-liberalism] the principlesof government requires of the governed that they freely conductthemselves in a rational way . . . (Burchell, 1993: 271).An important characteristic of the art of modern government is thatit disciplines through the constitution of free-willed subjects. Liberalgovernment works positively through the making up of subjectivity,it operates at the intersection of techniques of domination and tech-niques of the self (Burchell, 1993). For Foucault, government is:. . . a contact point where techniques of domination or power and techniques of the self interact, where technologies of domina-tion of individuals over one another have recourse to processes bywhich the individual acts upon himself and conversely, . . . wheretechniques of the self are integrated into structures of coercion.(Foucault, 1980, quoted in Burchell, 1993: 268).Liberalisminvolvesanetworkofdiversetechniquesandpracticesthrough which the governed are constituted as autonomous subjectsand are encouraged to exercise their freedom in appropriate ways.The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 283Centraltotheconstitutionofappropriateselvesisexpertise.Liberalgovernmentisgovernment. . .inthenameoftruth(Gordon,1991:8).Individualsaregovernednotthroughamono-lithicandall-powerfulStatebutthroughsystemsoftruth(Rose,1993),throughtheproliferationofexpertpracticalknowledge(egpsychology,medicine,law,accounting)thatservestoconstitutehuman beings as autonomous subjects with a responsibility (or evenaninterest)toconducttheirlifeinappropriateways.Thetruthclaims of expertise are central to liberal rationality of government inthattruthcangoverneventsandindividualconductatadistance(MillerandRose,1990drawinguponLatours,1987,actionatadistance)ratherthanthroughtheexerciseofdominationoveroppressed subjects:. . . governmentality has come to depend in crucial respectsupon the intellectual technologies, practical activities and socialauthority associated with expertise . . . the self-regulating capaci-ties of subjects, shaped and normalized through expertise, are keyresources for governing in a liberal-democratic way. (Miller andRose, 1990: 1)Whilstexpertiseandprofessionsarenotsynonymous,1expertiseacquiresitsauthority,partly,throughprofessionalisation(Rose,1993). It is through their professionalisation, through their inscrip-tionintosystemsofexpertknowledge,thatindividualsbecomethetargetsofliberalgovernment(Burchell,1991;Foucault,1978).Theprofessionsarecentraltoliberalism,tothemicrophysicsofpower(Foucault,1973)throughwhichthegovernedareconstitutedasautonomoussubjectsregulatingtheirownconduct(MillerandRose, 1990).Theprofessionsinscriptionintheartofliberalgovernmenthassome important implications for the regulation of professional con-duct;inparticular,the enrolmentofthe professions in thenetworkof liberal government is predicated upon the professions subjectingthemselves to the liberal rationality of government. The next sectionproposes to analyse the professions as not only part of the networkof liberal government, but as also the target of liberal government.The liberal government of professional conductProfessionalpracticedoesnotstandoutsideofthepower/know-ledgeregimeitservestoconstituteandreproduce.ProfessionalValrie Fournier284 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999knowledge does not only constitute the subjectivity of the other orobjectofprofessionalpractice(egasindividualswantingtobehealthy,asparentsconcernedforthewell-beingtheirchildren,aslegalsubjectswithrights),italsoarticulatesprofessionalsubjectpositions, or the ways in which professionals should conduct them-selves.Professionalsarethetargetofprofessionalrationality,theyare both the governor and the governed. As Gordon (1991) argues,theactivityofgovernmentisinterdependentwiththegovernmentof self, on the part of the ruler and the ruled alike (Gordon, 1991:12, emphasis added).Theinscriptionoftheprofessionswithinthenetworkofliberalgovernmentisconditionalupontheprofessionsconductingthem-selvesinappropriateways;thatis,inwaysthatarerecognisedaslegitimate and worthy of the professional label both by the relevantprofessionitself,andbyotherconstituentsinthatnetwork(egtheclients,thestate,themarket).Theprofessionsareaccountable,orresponsible, to themselves and to their constituency:A liberal profession will, in this sense, be one which is constantlysuspicious of its own authority, one which seeks to establishgrounds of responsibility both within itself, as a profession, andto its constituency without seeking to govern either professionalsor their clients in a straight forward directive, or sovereignmanner. (Osborne, 1993: 346).Theprofessions,asoneofthecarriersoftheartofliberalgovern-ment,seektogoverninthenameofsomethingoutsideofthem-selves(Foucault,1989)egthepublicgood,truth.Thustheprofessions have to establish their legitimacy in the eyes of those inthe name of whom they govern (eg state, clients). As Lyotard (1984)suggests,whilemodernsciencesetsitselfapartfromotherknow-ledgesystemsbyappealingtotruth,itneedstoestablishthelegiti-macy of the truth it proclaims in terms of other language games:. . . the language game of science desires its statements to be truebut does not have the resources to legitimate their truth on itsown. (Lyotard, 1984: 28)Similarly,professionalsystemsofknowledgeneedtoestablishthemeaningfulness and legitimacy of their truths in terms that can beapprehendedbythosewhoselivesareallegedlygovernedbythesetruths.TheprofessionsrelyfortheirexistenceandsurvivalonThe appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 285clients dependence and trust. Although the professions play a pow-erfulroleincreatingpublicdependencyandtrust,2thisisneverestablished once and for all but needs to be continuously negotiated.Furthermore, in order to build their legitimacy, the professions needtoengagewiththeotherculturalforcesanddiscourseswithwhichthey are implicated. They need to forge connections, operate trans-lations, between their own systems of knowledge and the discursiveformations of other agents in the name of whom they claim to pro-fess.Theprofessions,justasanyotherforcesenrolledinthediffu-sionandpracticeofliberalgovernment,needtotranslatetheobjectivesandvaluesofothersinto[their]ownterms(MillerandRose, 1990: 10). This suggests that the professions can never governfrom a position of independence; as Hughes (1963) argues even theliberalprofessionshaveneverbeenindependentbuthavehadtoestablishtheirreputationwiththeirlocalclientele.Thisreputationmaydependmoreuponconformitywithlocalcustomsandbeliefsthan on professional criteria. Similarly, the power of accountants isdependentuponacquiescenceinawiderstructureofcontrol(Armstrong,1985),onperceivedlegitimacywhichinturniscondi-tionaluponthepublictrustintheprofessionsindependenceorobjectivity. As Sikka and Willmott (1995) vividly demonstrate, thisauraofindependenceisneverestablishedonceandforallbutiscontinuouslycontestedandre-negotiated.Thustheprofessionsneed to establish and continuously work at maintaining their legiti-macyintermsthatmapoverwiththenormsandvaluesofotheractorsinthenetworkofliberalgovernment(egotherprofessions,clients, state, media).Thislabouroflegitimationrequirestheestablishmentofmecha-nisms through which professional practice is aligned with (or trans-latedinto)theconcerns,normsandvaluesofotheractors.Theprime mechanism of legitimation is the articulation of competence(Osborne,1993).Competenceembodiesthegovernmentoftruthand inscribes professional conduct within a network of accountabil-ity to clients and to the profession itself. Through the delineation ofcompetence,theprofessionsaremadeaccountabletotheircon-stituency for the proper use and production of truth.However,thereisaninterestingtwistinthecriteriawhichareusedtodeneandassessthecompetenceofprofessionalpracti-tioners. Although competence embodies the government of truth, itisnotindexedmerelyintermsoftheextenttowhichthepracti-tioner has mastered truth (ie the knowledge of the practitioner), butintermsofappropriateconduct.Osborne(1993),drawinguponValrie Fournier286 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999Foucault(1973),arguesthatthenotionofcompetenceservestocontrolmedicalpracticebyregulatingwhois tobecomepracti-tioner:In dening the closed character of the medical profession, onemanaged to avoid both the old corporative model and thatcontrol over medical acts themselves which was so repugnant toeconomic liberalism. The principle of choice and its control werebased on the notion of competence, that is, on a set of possibili-ties that characterise the very person of the doctor: knowledge,experience, and that recognised probity referred to by Cabanis.The medical act is worth what he who has performed it is worth . . .(Foucault, 1973: 80, quoted in Osborne, 1993: 348, emphasisadded).Astheabovequotesuggests,beingaprofessionalisnotmerelyaboutabsorbingabodyofscienticknowledgebutisalsoaboutconductingandconstitutingoneselfinanappropriatemanner,apoint long recognised by symbolic interactionist studies of socialisa-tion(egBeckeretal.,1961),andillustratedmorerecentlyinthecontextofaccounting(Grey,1998)andadvertising(Alvesson,1994).AsFoucaultsquoteaboveindicates,theinscriptionofcompe-tenceinpersonalconduct,inthepersonofthepractitioner,allowsforthegovernmentofprofessionalpracticeatadistance(MillerandRose,1990).Throughthenotionofcompetence,truthandknowledge are translated into a code of appropriate conduct whichservestoconstructthesubjectivityoftheprofessionalpractitioner.Truthgovernsnotbycontrollingdirectlytheacts(oreventheknowledge) of the professional practitioner but by making sure thatthe practitioner is the sort of person who can be trusted with truth.Thusanimportantcharacteristicofprofessionalcompetenceisitsreliance on technologies of the self (eg through careful selection andstrong doses of socialisation) rather than merely on technologies ofdomination.3Professionalism as disciplinary logicInowwishtosummarise,andexpandupon,theargumentsdevel-opedsofarbyproposingtoanalysethenotionofprofessionalismas a disciplinary logic. What I have argued so far is that the profes-sionsneedtoinscribethemselves(theirexpertiseandpractice)The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 287withinachainestablishingconnectionsbetweenclients,truth, competence,andconductofthepractitioner;thischainisitselfinscribedwithinthenetworkofliberalgovernment.However,theargumentsneedtobeexpandedtotakeintoaccountthemultipleagents and forces which form the network of liberal government. Inwhatsomehavedescribedasneo-liberalism(egBurchell,1993;Osborne,1993)oradvancedliberalism(Rose,1993),expertiseandthe professions are answerable to agents other than the client (eg thesovereigncustomer,themarket)intermsofcriteriaotherthanmerelytruth.Rose(1993)forexamplearguesthattheformsofrationalityofliberalgovernmenthavechangedfundamentallyoverthe last fty years from what could be termed welfare liberalism toadvanced liberalism. Whilst expertise and the professions are cen-traltobothforms,advancedliberalisminvolvesachangeintherulesbywhichtheprofessionscanestablishtheirlegitimacy.Advanced liberalism inscribes the professions in the market throughaseriesoftechniquessuchasmarketability,budgetcontrolandaudit(Rose,1993;Power,1997);itbroadensthenetworkofaccountability within which the professions are inscribed to includemarketcriteria(Scarborough,1996).Thispotentialdiversityinthewaystheprofessionscanestablishtheirlegitimacyandbemadeaccountableisimportantforithighlightstheconstructedandpolitical nature of the professions.4As will be argued in the last sec-tionofthepaper,itispreciselythisdiversitythatmakesthemean-ingofprofessionalismhighlycontestableandmalleable,andthatloosensthegripofthedisciplinarylogicofprofessionalism.Thenegotiable nature of professionalism can be illustrated with the vari-ous ways in which the professions have re-constructed themselves inthe face of managerialism. Whilst some professions such as accoun-tantshavesuccessfullyrenegotiatedthetermsoftheirprofessionalpracticealongthelinesofcommercialismandenterprise(Hanlon,1996),otherssuchasmedicaldoctorsareseekingtoprotecttheirprofessionalismbydistancingthemselvesfrommanagerialism(Parker and Dent, 1996).Iusethetermdisciplinarylogictorefertothenetworkofaccountabilitywithinwhichtheprofessionshavetoinscribetheirpractice and expertise in order to establish and maintain their placein liberal government. This disciplinary logic operates through forg-ingconnectionsbetweenvarious actors(egthestate, theclient, thesovereign customer), criteria of legitimacy (eg truth, efciency, pub-licgood),professionalcompetenceandpersonalconduct,asillus-trated in Figure 1.Valrie Fournier288 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999Cant and Sharmas (1995) study of the professionalisation of home-opaths provides a good illustration of the operation of this discipli-narylogic.Inordertobecomerecognisedasaprofessionandtomaintainadistinctivespaceinthehealthmarket,homeopathyhadto establish its legitimacy in the eyes of the public, the state, and theorthodoxmedicalprofession.However,inthisprocessoflegitima-tion,homeopathyhadtoaccountforitspracticeintermsofthe scienticparadigmoforthodoxmedicine.Forexample,ithadtoproveitseffectivenessthroughexperimentaldesignseekingtoiso-latetheeffectofspecictreatmentsuponcertainphysicalcondi-tions, a method which was in direct contradiction with the holisticapproach that homeopathy favoured. This subordination to ortho-doxmedicinewasalsoindexedbytherelabellingofhomeopathyfrom alternative medicine to complementary medicine. Many layhomeopaths resented the disciplinary effects of professionalisation:I want to get homeopathy out of its new stereotype and havingsomething more exciting, so much is being missed out, they havedumped the training we got from Thomas Maugham [thehomeopathy guru in the UK]. They have shifted and tried toseek respectability which is not an ideal I would share. They wanta pat on the back and to be accepted in the club, I want nothingto do with that because it destroys your ideals. (Lay homeopath,quoted in Cant and Sharma, 1995: 752).The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 289Actors in the network of liberal government within which the professions are inscribed: eg the state, the client, the sovereigncustomer, the marketCriteria of legitimacy: eg truth, public good, social welfare,efciencyProfessional competenceKnowledge Personal Control overconduct of practice, actspractitionerFigure 1 Professionalism as disciplinary logic5This quote nicely illustrates the disciplinary logic of professionalismin drawing out the connections that homeopaths had to establish tobecome a profession, as well as the contested nature of professional-ism.Thustobeacceptedintheclub(presumablyoforthodoxmedicine),homeopathyhadtoestablishitsrespectability(legiti-macy)withinmedicalandclientsdiscoursesofhealth,atthepriceofcompromisingitsownideals.Thesurvivalofhomeopathyasanindependentanddistinctiveapproachtohealth(ieitsautonomy)was conditioned upon its inscription at the intersection of other dis-cursive logics in terms of which it became accountable to clients, thestate, and the orthodox medical profession.Sofarthepaperhasdiscussedprofessionalismasadisciplinarymechanism that governs conduct in the professions. The next sec-tion examines the deployment of the discipline of professionalism inoccupationaldomainsnottraditionallyassociatedwiththeprofes-sions,6where the mobilisation of professional discourse can serve toregulate the autonomous conduct of employees through the articu-lation of competence.The extension of the disciplinary logic of professionalismIn this section, it is argued that the disciplinary logic of profession-alism is deployed to new organisational domains to profess appro-priateformsofconductwhenemployeesbehaviourcannotberegulated(atleastsoeconomically)throughdirectcontrol.Constituting employees as professionals involves more than just aprocess of re-labelling, it also involves the delineation of appropri-ateworkidentitiesandpotentiallyallowsforcontrolatadistancebyinscribingthedisciplinarylogicofprofessionalismwithinthepersonoftheemployeessolabelled.Thefollowingdiscussion rstsituatestheappealtoprofessionalismwithinthecontextofadvanced capitalism; it then illustrates the operation of the discipli-narylogicofprofessionalismwiththeexampleoftheintroductionof competencies and the vocabulary of professionalism in Teamco, alarge privatised service company.Advanced capitalism and new softwares of controlTheproblemofcontrolandconsentofthelabourprocesshasalways been a dilemma for capitalist production (eg Burawoy, 1979);however, the way in which this dilemma is managed is subject to his-Valrie Fournier290 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999toricalandculturalshifts,aseconomic,politicalandsocialcondi-tionschange,andasnewbodiesofknowledgearebroughttobearontheorganisationofproduction(MillerandRose,1995).HereIwanttoconcentrateontheshiftsassociatedwiththediscourseofexibleregimesofaccumulationoradvancedcapitalism(Harvey,1989; Jameson, 1991; Willmott, 1993; Zukin, 1991), and in particu-lar on the attempt (popularised in contemporary management liter-ature;egKanter,1990;PetersandWaterman,1982)toresolvethecontrol/consentdilemmabymobilisingindividualemployeesautonomythroughthealignmentoftheirself-governingandself-actualising propensity with the competitive advancement of organi-sations(MillerandRose,1990).Theglobalisationofcompetitionandtheproliferationofinformationtechnologyarecommonlyinvokedintheorganisationandmanagementliteratureasfactorscontributing to the increased uncertainty and pace of change associ-atedwithadvancedmodernity7(egDrucker,1989;Harvey,1989).Thisincreasedturbulenceintheenvironmentcallsfor,oratleastlegitimises, new ways of organising capitalist production. In particu-lar,inmanagementwritingandpractices,therhetoricofincreasedcompetitionandnewtechnologyhasbeendeployedtodemonisebureaucratic principles and to call for more exible forms of organi-sation (eg Drucker, 1989; Kanter, 1990; Peters and Waterman, 1982;Peters, 1987), supposedly more responsive to the forces of competi-tionandtheincreasinglyselectivecustomer(apointdevelopedbelow),andforsomeatleastpotentiallyofferinganewpromiseofalignmentbetweendemocracyandeconomicadvancement(egClegg,1990;PioreandSabel,1984).Flexibleformsoforganising(basedonprinciplessuchasdecentralisation,delayering,marketrelatedformsofaccountabilityandevaluation)aresaidtoinvolvenewwaysofgoverningemployees;inparticular,organisationsareurged to mobilise employees potential for innovation and self-actu-alisationbyrelaxingrigidbureaucraticmechanismsofcontrolandaccordingemployeesmoreautonomy.Thisincreasedmarginofautonomy however creates a discretionary gaps that calls for newsoftwaresofcontrol(Townley,1989).Newsoftwaresofcontrolwork through the responsibilisation of autonomy, they serve to con-stituteemployeesasautonomousorempoweredagentsandtodelineatethespacewithinwhichemployeesaretoexercisetheirnewly found power and autonomy. New softwares of control poten-tially allow for the reconciliation of control and consent by movingaway from bureaucratic methods placing an emphasis on productivebehaviourtowardsinfo-normativemethods(Frenkeletal.,1995)The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 291placinganemphasisonthetotalbehaviour,attitudesandself-understanding of the individual employees.Theimageofthecustomerandtheemphasisonqualityhavebeencentralmotifsinthere-articulationoforganisationalcontrol(egduGayandSalaman,1992);astheexampleofTeamcowillillustrate,thecustomerisinvokedtolegitimiseprogrammesoforganisationalreformsinthefaceofincreasedcompetition.Thisallegedlynewcustomerorientationismobilisedtocallfortheemotionalisation and aesthetisation of work (Lash and Urry, 1994),deemedcentralfor satisfying customers.The increasinglydiscern-ing and demanding customer is supposedly no longer satised withscripted performances following rigid prescriptions. Employees haveto be seen to act out of genuine concern for the customer, they areempowered to own customers problems and to display appropri-ateresponses(egbychoosingtheirownwordsamongarangeofpositive vocabulary, see Fineman and Sturdy, 1997). The emotion-alisationandaesthetisationofworkcallforamoveawayfromdirect techniques of control towards the appropriation of control byemployees themselves (empowerment):Quality is thus dened as usual, in terms of giving customerswhat they want, yet at the same time traditional methods ofcontrol are too overtly oppressive, too alienating and too inexi-ble to encourage employees to behave in the subtle ways whichcustomers dene as indicating quality service, many of which -subtleties of facial expression, nuances of verbal tone, or type ofeye contact are difcult to enforce through rules, particularlywhen the employee is out of sight of any supervisor. (du Gay andSalaman, 1992: 621).ItshouldbestressedatthispointthatIacknowledgetheproblem-aticnatureofdrawinguponthenotionofnewformsofcontrolandIdonotwishtosubscribetoaradicalbreakthesisnortoadualistanalysiscontrastingsomeneworganisationalforms(egpost-bureaucratic, postmodern, enterprise) with bureaucratic forms.Organisational control in advanced capitalism work through diverseandheterogeneoustechniquesratherthanthroughsomeuniformlogic(Rose,1993).ThusIam not suggestinga completeshift frombureaucratictoexibleformsofcontrolbutseebothcontinuitiesand discontinuities between the two forms; some people continue tobegovernedinabureaucraticandcoerciveway(egseeThompsonand McHugh, 1995).Furthermore, some of thesenewsoftwaresofValrie Fournier292 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999controlrelyonacomplexinterweavingbetweenbureaucraticlogicandtheautonomisationofconduct.Forexampleaswillbeillus-tratedwiththecaseofTeamco,competenciesoperatethroughacombinationof,ontheonehand,standardisationandcodicationof conduct (indexed in a set of dimensions on which employees per-formanceisevaluated),andontheotherhand,autonomisationofconduct(markedbyashiftofemphasisfromtaskrelatedbehav-iourstobroaderdimensionsrelatedtoemployeesattitudesandself-understanding).The appeal to professionalism is one of the new softwares of con-trol, one of the techniques that governs at a distance. In this respectitneedstobeseenalongsideothersimilartechniquessuchascul-tural management which invites employees to re-imagine themselves(egduGay,1996;Willmott,1993),informationtechnologywhichservestomakevisibleonascreenthedistantandautonomousbehaviourofemployees(egSewellandWilkinson,1992),careermanagementwhichservestocreateahappycoincidencebetweenindividual and organisational development (eg Fournier 1998; Grey,1994),andcompetencieswhichservestoconstitutethecompetentpersonalongthemodelfavouredbyexcellentorganisations(egduGay et al, 1996). These different techniques are not necessarily inde-pendent but can map over one another; for example the next sectionwill suggest that the Teamco professional is constituted in terms ofcompetenciesthatalignprofessionalismwiththecultureofenter-prise.The appeal to professionalism serves to responsibilise autonomybydelineatingthecompetenceoftheprofessionalemployee,byinstillingprofessionallikenormsandworkethicswhichgovernnotsimplyproductivebehaviourbutmorefundamentallyemploy-ees subjectivities. The analysis of the appeal to professionalism as atechnique of control follows a tradition which sees power and con-troloverthelabourprocessasbeingsecuredthroughtheconstitu-tionofsubjectivityortechnologiesoftheself(egKnights,1990;Knights and Willmott, 1989; Willmott, 1990). We can here establisha parallel between the disciplinary logic of professionalism as a wayofregulatingtheautonomousconductoftheprofessions,andtheextension of professional discourse to new occupational domains toregulate the increased margin of indeterminacy created by the intro-duction of exibility and emotionalisation of work. Just as the logicof professionalism serves to make professional practice accountableto those in the names of whom the professions govern, the appeal toprofessionalisminnewoccupationaldomainsservestoregulateThe appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 293autonomousconductinthenameofoneself(forwhowantstobeunprofessional?)8and in the name of the client.Constituting the professional employee through the articulation ofcompetenciesThissectionillustratestheappealtoprofessionalismasadiscipli-narylogicbydrawinguponmaterialrelatedtotheintroductionofcompetenciesinTeamco(notitsrealname),alargeBritishserviceindustry.ThestudyIconductedatTeamcowasnotoriginallycon-cernedwithprofessionalismbutwithgraduatecareers(Fournier,1998).However,Iwasstruckbytheextensiveandpeculiaruseofthevocabularyofprofessionalisminthecompanysliterature,aswellasininterviewswithseniormanagersandsomegraduateemployees.Theimageofprofessionalismwasnotusedtorefertocertaingroupsofemployeespossessingspecicskillsandknow-ledge(suchassayaccountantsorengineers)buttoindexacertainformofconductorworkethics,oftencentredaroundthecus-tomers, and applicable to all Teamco staff. This alignment betweenbeing professional and being a member of Teamco is illustrated byone of the companys ve core values: We are professional.It is important to situate the appeal to professionalism within thecontextofchangeintherulesgoverningorganisationallifeatTeamco. Teamco was one of the public service organisations priva-tisedbytheConservativegovernmentinthemid80s.Followingitsprivatisation,Teamcoengagedinavastprogrammeofreforms(includingtheusualelementsofculturalchange,restructuring,delayering,anewemphasisoninnovation,qualityandthecus-tomer)designedtotransformitfromapublicsectorbureaucracyintoaninnovative,customeroriented,andglobalenterprise.Theprogrammes of change were motivated by the competitive pressuresTeamcofacedafterenjoyingamonopolyposition.AlthoughtheextenttowhichTeamcoactuallyfacedmuchcompetition(atleastinitially)isarguable,therhetoricofhavingtocompeteforcus-tomers on a global market pervades the strategic discourse of seniormanagement.Thecompanysliterature(egGraduateRecruitmentBrochures,AnnualAccounts)isrepletewithreferencestoglobalcompetition, for example:At the beginning of the 1990s, only about 20% of the worlds[. . .]9market was open to competition, by the end of the decade,only 10% will not be.Valrie Fournier294 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999Inthecontextofthisincreasinglycompetitiveandglobalmarket,Teamcos mission is to become the most successful global player intheindustry.Inordertoachieveitsmission,Teamcohashadtotransformitselffromacomplacentmonopolydrivenbyadminis-trativeandtechnicalprinciplesintoamorecommerciallyandcus-tomer oriented company (at least if we believe Teamcos ofcial andseniormanagersdiscourse).This(constructed)imageofTeamcoprior to privatisation as an organisation bearing all the hallmarks ofpublicsectorbureaucracy(withthenegativeconnotationssuchanimage entails in managerialist discourse) pervaded senior managersandgraduatesemployeestalk,manyofwhomusedthecontrastbetweencivilservicecultureandcommercialculturetodescribethetransformationTeamcohadundergone.Indeedmanyrepro-ducedtheofcialdiscourseaboutthecontinuousneedtobecomemorecustomeroriented(andtoshedtheremainsofthebureau-craticpast)inordertocompetesuccessfullyonaglobalmarket(although not all agreed that the programmes of change initiated byTeamco were the best way of doing so; or that Teamco was actuallybecoming less bureaucratic).Thediscourseofprofessionalismneedstobeseeninthecontextofthisprocessoftransformationtowardsacommercialorcus-tomer orientation, and as part of the new values driving the changeprogrammes.Morespecically,professionalismisoneofthevecorevaluesindexingthenewformsofenterprisinggovernmentinTeamco: We put our customers rst We are professional We respect each other We work as one team We are committed to continuous improvementThevecorevaluesservetocreateahappycoincidencebetweencustomers, Teamcos own corporate objectives, and employees per-sonaldevelopment.However,thisalignmentisnotlefttochancebut is actively constructed through the competency framework thatTeamcointroducedin1993toassessanddevelopallmanagementstaffintheorganisation.Thecompetenciesarticulateamodeofprofessionalconductinlinewiththefavouredmodeofgovern-mentoftheorganisation,amodeofgovernmentembracingthepopulardiscourseofenterpriseandexcellence.TheanalysisofTeamcoscompetenciesprovidessomeindicationofthewayinwhichtheappropriateconductoftheTeamcoprofessionalis The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 295constructed.Competencyframeworksservetotranslatethecorpo-ratevaluesandobjectivesintocodesofappropriateconduct.Asseveralwritershaveobserved,theturntocompetenciesmarksashiftinthewaysemployeesareevaluated;theyrelatenotonlytoskillsandtaskrelatedbehavioursbutalsotovalues,attitudesandmotives (eg Townley, 1989, 1994). Competencies delineate appropri-ate ways of being, of conducting oneself. Going back to the case ofTeamco,thecompetencyframeworkarticulatesthewaysinwhichemployees are to conduct themselves to live up to the professional-ism promoted by the company.Teamcos competency framework centres around a set of 15 stan-dard competencies10used for the assessment and development of allmanagersinTeamco(allTeamcomanagersaresubjectedtothreekindsofannualevaluation:performancereview,performancepayreview and personal development review). Each of these competen-cies is then detailed in terms of four to nine items related to employ-eesbehaviour;someoftheseitemswillbeillustratedinthediscussionbelow.Theappealtoprofessionalism(Weareprofes-sional) anditsarticulationintermsofcompetenciesinscribeemployees conduct within a disciplinary logic a chain establishingconnections between the customers, Teamcos values, competencies,andpersonalconduct.TheparallelbetweentheoperationofthedisciplinarylogicofprofessionalismintheprofessionsandinTeamco is illustrated in Figure 2 and discussed below.Asinanyorganisationaspiringtoexcellence,thecustomerisplacedinasovereignpositionbyTeamcosdiscourse(duGayandSalaman, 1992); this is made explicit in the core values (We put ourcustomers rst) where Teamco offers itself as guarantor to the cus-tomer.ThisgovernmentinthenameofthecustomerservestolegitimiseTeamcosactionsanddecisionsandtoeffaceorganisa-tional control (a point developed later). The competencies translateTeamcosvalues(egservingthecustomer)intonormsofpersonalconduct for employees. Teamcos competencies, just as the notion ofprofessionalcompetence,servetoarticulateappropriateformsofconduct and work subjectivities in the name of other actors (eg theclient, the customer . . .).Thecompetenciesdelineateanappropriatemodeofconductratherthansimplyawayofperformingonesjob(thiswouldhaveto be the case since the competencies are used for assessing all man-agers and professionals at all levels and in all functions of Teamco).The competent person, or the Teamco professional is not the per-sonwhoismerelycompetentathis/herjoborexpertinaeldValrie Fournier296 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999(Technical/Professionalcompetence isonly1outof15competen-cies)butwho,forexample,seeksresponsibilityandwelcomesaccountability,demonstratescustomercareprinciples,interactswithcolleaguesinanappropriateway(egtreatscolleaguesascus-tomers,generatesenthusiasm),isself-critical,orlistens.Thesecriteria are clearly not just about the way one performs ones job butthesortofpersononeneedstobetobecomeaTeamcoprofes-sional.ThereisaclearparallelbetweentheTeamcocompetencies,deningappropriatepersonalconduct,andthenotionofprofes-sional competence delineating the conduct of the professional prac-titioner.Aswasmentionedearlier,professionalpracticeisnotregulated through the direct control of professional acts but is gov-ernedatadistance,byregulatingthepersonofthepractitioner.Similarly,employeesatTeamcoarenotassessedintermsoftask-related behaviour, but in terms of the sort of person they are.The professional person that the competencies construct is prob-ablynotverydifferentfromthesortofpersonconstructedinotherorganisationsaspiringtoexcellence;indeedthesortofpersondepictedinthecompetencyframeworkcloselyresemblesthemodeloftheentrepreneur,ortheenterprisingselfpopularisedbytheman-agementliterature(egPetersandWaterman,1982;Kanter,1990).The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 297The Professions Teamcos professionalsActors in the network of liberalActors in the name of whom Teamco government within which theoperates: the sovereign customer,professions are inscribed: eg theTeamcos shareholders and state, the client, the sovereignstaffcustomer, the marketCriteria of legitimacy: eg truth,Teamcos values and objectivespublic good, social welfare, (eg We put the customer rst)efciencyProfessional competence CompetenciesKnowledge Personal ControlConduct over practice, actsFigure 2 Professionalism as disciplinary logic among professionalemployees11ThecompetenciesconstitutetheTeamcoprofessionalintermsofenterprisingattributes,suchasinitiative,self-reliance,theabilitytoaccept responsibility for oneself (Keat, 1991b). For example, the com-petenciesdenetheTeamcoprofessionalintermsofhavingatastefor change and exibility (eg Reacts positively to, and leads change);havingafeelforthemobilisationofhumanneedsandenergy(e.gGeneratesenthusiasm,highmoraleandpositiveteamspirit;. . . buildingappropriatealliancesandnetworks);andasacceptingresponsibilityfortakingcareofoneself,(egApproachesallexperi-encesandsituationsasopportunitiesforlearninganddevelopment;Takes responsibility for own personal and professional development).Thecompetenciescreateanalignmentbetweenprofessionalismandenterprisingbehaviour;theyarepartofaseriesoftechniques(includingculture,TQM,performancerelatedpay)whichservetodiffusetheenterpriselogicthroughtoindividualconduct.Justasthe notion of professional competence serves to inscribe the disci-plinary logic of professionalism in the person of the practitioner bytranslating truth into appropriate conduct, the Teamco competen-ciesinscribethedisciplinarylogicofenterprisewithinthepersonalconduct of employees.Furthermorejustastheliberalprofessionsthroughtheirinscriptionintheartofliberalgovernmentaregovernedinthenameoftheirconstituency(egtheclients),Teamcoprofessionalsare governed in the name of the customer. The appeal to profession-alismthroughthearticulationofcompetenciesservestoeffacedirectcontrol;themanagers/professionalsarenotdirectlycon-trolledbyTeamco(oritsseniormanagers)butbytheneedsof,inthe name of, the customers (du Gay and Salaman, 1992; McArdle etal, 1995). The competency framework gives a privileged position tothecustomer;thusemployeesareurgedtoowncustomersprob-lems,seethroughtheeyesofthecustomers,anddowhateverittakes to satisfy customers needs. This last item is a poignant illus-trationofgovernmentatadistance;employeesarenottoldwhattodobutareempoweredtousetheirinitiativeinresponsibleways, that is, in ways that answer to the sovereign needs of the cus-tomers.Thecustomerismobilisedasaresourcetolegitimisetheregulationofconduct,toresponsibiliseconduct,andatthesametime effaces direct managerial control. It is for the customer (at leastpartly) that employees have to display particular forms of conduct.However,thecompetencyframeworksuggeststhattheTeamcoprofessionals do not regulate their conduct merely for the customersbutalsoforthemselves.ProfessionalismisarticulatedintermsthatValrie Fournier298 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999alignprofessionalconductandcompetencewithselfandpersonaldevelopment.Professionalismisdenedintermsofadoptingacer-tain relationship to oneself, professional persons are urged to pursueSelf-Management and Personal Development (eg has realistic viewof own strengths and areas for personal development, take respon-sibilityforownpersonalandprofessionaldevelopment).Hereweareremindedthatprofessionalismisadisciplinarylogicrelyingontechnologiesoftheself.Thusprofessionalconductisnotimposedon employees by Teamco but is offered as a way for individuals todevelopandbetterthemselves.Thearticulationofprofessionalismthrough competencies serves to translate organisational control andauthority into individual self-development. However, this alignmentis predicated upon a particular understanding of individual develop-ment; individual development is articulated in terms such as takingresponsibility,exibility,adaptabilityandpersistenceintheachievementofgoalsandindealingwithchangingbusinesspriori-ties.Thecompetenciesallowforanalignmentofindividualsself-regulatingandself-developingcapacitywithcorporatevaluesandobjectivesbydelineatingthespacewithinwhichindividualsaretoexercise their development and autonomy. Under the banner of pro-fessionalism, competencies inscribe employees conduct within a net-workestablishingconnectionsbetweencustomers,Teamcosvalues,employees competence and development.Discussion: (re)negotiating professionalism, loosening thedisciplinary logicThe professionalisation of conduct through the articulation of com-petenciesallowsforthecontrolofemployeesatadistance,inthenameoftheclientandtheself.Themobilisationofprofessionalimagesisinterwovenwithtwoothercentralmotifsincurrentpro-grammes of organisational reforms: the cult of the customer (eg duGayandSalaman,1992)andthecelebrationoftheself-actualisingemployee(MillerandRose,1995).Re-imagininglabourasofferingprofessionalserviceservestoconstructanimageofqualityandreliabilityappealingtotheallegedlyincreasinglydiscerninganddemanding customer; it also opens up some imaginary space withinwhich self-actualising employees can strive for continuous fullmentand improvement. Competencies, just as the notion of professionalcompetence,actasatranslatingdevicethatpotentiallyestablishesconnectionsbetweenemployees,customersandorganisations The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 299interests.Iwanttoendthispaperbydiscussingthepotentialorcontingentratherthanpre-determinednatureofthisalignment.The analysis of the Teamco professionals presented above needs tobequaliedwithtwoimportantpointsofcaution,bothpertainingto the negotiable and contestable meaning of professionalism.First,Iamnotsuggestingthattheappealtoprofessionalismalwaystravelsinnewoccupationaldomainswiththesameeffects,or is always inscribed within the logic of enterprise. Professionalismmay not always be indexed to enterprise and may not always governthroughtechnologiesoftheself,atleasttothesameextent.Forexample,waitressingorretailingpersonnellabelledprofessionalare unlikely to be seduced into professional conduct through similartechnologiesoftheself(egappealtoself-development)andaremore likely to be coerced into appropriate conduct by the threat andinsecuritycharacteristicofthelabourmarketinwhichtheyndthemselves.Secondly, I am not suggesting that the professionalisation of con-duct operates in a deterministic fashion, or always produces the sortof conduct and subjectivities articulated by competency framework.Toillustratethispoint,weneedtoexaminethevariouswaysinwhichTeamcoemployeesengagewiththedisciplinaryregimeofprofessionalism. I have discussed elsewhere how graduate employeesatTeamcoembracedorresistedthedominantenterpriseculture(Fournier,1998),hereIwillonlyprovideabriefillustrationoftheways in which they accepted or contested the model of professional-ism propounded by Teamcos ofcial discourse. Some of the gradu-ates certainly seemed to buy into the enterprise and professionalismdiscourse;theysawthecompetenciesasabenevolentaidforself-development(technologiesoftheself)whichwouldhelpthembecomemoreprofessionalandbetterselves(Fournier,1998).Furthermore,theydeployedthevocabularyofprofessionalismtoindex a form of conduct closely aligned with Teamco competencies,andtoestablishconnectionsbetweenthecustomer,Teamcoandtheir own development. For example, several graduates talked aboutmovingtowardsmorecommerciallyorcustomerorientedworkascentral to their professional development; or as the following quoteillustrates,alignedtheirprofessionaldevelopmentwithabetterunderstanding of business and customers:Ive developed as a professional person, I understand a lot morewhats important in a business; everything is about business,dealing with customers.Valrie Fournier300 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999Others drew upon the vocabulary of professionalism to express theircommitmenttocontinuousimprovement,whichtheycontrastedwiththeunprofessionalismofthosewhowerejustinterestedingettingthejobdonebutlackedtheambitiontoimprovethem-selves. Ironically, although some graduates had accepted the modelofprofessionalismarticulatedbythecompetencyframework,theysaw Teamco as still rooted in bureaucratic rule (which was deemedunprofessional because not customer oriented).However,thehappyalignmentbetweencustomers,Teamcoandemployeesprofessionaldevelopmentindexedbythecompetencyframeworkwaschallengedatseverallevelsbysomegraduates.Inparticular,mostgraduateemployeesworkingincomputingfailedtoseethecompetenciesintermsofprofessionaldevelopment(ortechnologyoftheself);forthemthecompetencyframeworkwasatechnology of domination enticing (compelling) employees to workbeyondcontract,oraimedattargetingpeopleforthereleaseProgramme (ie voluntary redundancy). Here, the idea that profes-sional development, customer satisfaction and organisational inter-estscouldcoincidewasconsideredpreposterous.Manycomputinggraduatessawopportunitiesforprofessionaldevelopment(suchasmoving between different projects in order to acquire a broad expe-rience and skill base) as limited since it wouldnt be in the organisa-tions benets. One graduate argued that [Teamcos] logic is to getmoreandmoreoutoflesspeople,thiscreatesunhappinessandstressforstaff.Othersquestionedthealignmentbetweenthenewemphasisonthesovereigncustomerandemployeedevelopment,customer satisfaction could only be at the expense of employees:Management has promised everything to the customers, and thestaff has suffered.However,rejectingthemodelofprofessionalismarticulatedbythecompetenciesdidnotnecessarilymeanabandoningthenotionofprofessionalism.Indeed,manycomputinggraduatesusedthevocabulary of professionalism. However, they did so to refer to theirdesiretoremainintechnicalareasofworkratherthanclimbthegreasypoleofmanagement.Theyimaginedprofessionaldevelop-ment in terms of building expertise by working across different pro-jectsandacquiringdifferentskills,orintermsofdoingtechnicalwork;forexamplesometalkedaboutthesatisfactionofjobwelldone, of solving problems, of doing something that is of benet,orofworkingforcustomerswhoappreciatewhatyouvedone.The appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 301Thusformanycomputinggraduates,professionalismwasseenasthepreferred(and,tothem,implicitlymoremoral)alternativetoenteringthecorruptedworldofenterpriseandmanagement(Fournier,1998);unlikeTeamcosofcialversionofprofessional-ism,itwasnotalignedwith,butopposedto,thevaluesofenter-prise.Incomputinggraduatesdiscourse,asinTeamcosofcialdis-course, the image of professionalism is deployed to invoke a particu-lar form of moral conduct (eg broadening technical expertise for theformer,enterprisingbehaviourforthelatter),andtoportrayotherforms of conduct as immoral (eg corrupting oneself with manageri-alisminonecase,lackingdriveorambitionintheother).Inbothcases, as in the traditional professions, the appeal to professional-ismactsasadisciplinarymechanismbyinscribingprofessionalpracticewithinanetworkofaccountabilitythatestablishconnec-tions between other actors (eg the sovereign customer, or the appre-ciativeclient),criteriaoflegitimacy(qualityofservice,technicalcompetence) and professional conduct. However, as is evident fromtheTeamcocase,themeaningofprofessionalism,andthetypeofmoralconductitinvokes,isnotxedbutishighlycontestable.Anditispreciselythisindeterminacyandslipperinessthatmakesthedisciplinarylogicofprofessionalismaninevitablyimperfectform of government. Whilst the deployment of the discourse of pro-fessionalismandthearticulationofprofessionalcompetencemayindexnewformsoforganisationalcontrol,theyalsoopenupnewpossibilitiesforresistanceorsubversionasthemeaningofprofes-sionalism gets contested.Keele University Received 8 April 1998Finally accepted 14 September 1998Notes1. FollowingTrepos(1996),professionalisationcanbeseenasaprocessofblack-boxingofexpertise.Professionalisationisaprocessofsocialcrystallisationofexpertise allowing the expert to practice in peace. Thus experts acquire author-ityoncetheyhavesecuredautonomyandexclusiveappropriationthroughsuchstrategies as accreditation and licensure (Rose, 1993).2. Samuel Weber (1987) for example suggests that the professions have contributedto cultivate an atmosphere of anxiety among clients to establish and reinforce thelay public dependence on them.3. ItisimportanttonotethattheFoucauldiannotionsoftechnologyoftheselfandtechnologyofpower/domination(Foucault,1980,1988)donotreecttheValrie Fournier302 The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999oldfree-will/determinismdualismbutrefertodifferentwaysinwhichpowerisexercised, or individuals are made to adopt appropriate conduct. Technologiesof the self refer to the ways in which individuals act upon themselves as subjectstoeffectbytheirownmeansorwiththehelpofothers,acertainnumberofoperationsontheirownbodiesandsouls,thoughts,conductandwayofbeing,soastotransformthemselvesinordertoattainacertainstateofhappiness,purity,wisdom,perfectionandimmortality(Foucault,1998:18).Technologiesof power/domination refer to objectivising techniques through which individualsact over one another. But of course, technologies of the self and technologies ofdominationarenotindependentbutinterconnect,anditistheinteractionbetweenthesetwotypesoftechniquesthatweneedtotakeintoaccounttounderstandtheconstitutionandgovernmentofthemodernsubject(Foucault,1980). To repeat the words of Foucault quoted earlier in the paper, technologiesof domination . . . have recourse to processes by which the individuals act uponhimselfand,conversely,. . .,wheretechniquesoftheselfareintegratedintostructures of coercion (Foucault, 1980).4. Inresponsetooneoftherefereescomments,andmaybemoregenerallytolabourist critiques accusing Foucauldian analysis of reproducing the reactionarybias of functionalism (eg Thompson, 1993; Thompson and Ackroyd, 1995), it isimportant to note that this emphasis on the constructed and contested nature ofprofessionalism makes the analysis of the professions presented here fundamen-tally different from functionalist accounts. Functionalist analyses portray profes-sional specialisation into distinct areas of expertise as the inevitable product ofthedivisionoflabour,astheoutcomeofaprocessofrationalisationthatpro-vides for the most efcient way of organising and applying an increasingly com-plexknowledgetotheregulationandmaintenanceofthesocialorder(egCarr-Saunders,1928;Parsons,1954,1968).Bylinkingthedevelopmentandfunction of the professions to objective notions of truth, knowledge, and ratio-nalisation,functionalistanalysispresentsauniversalistandahistoricalaccountoftheprofessionswhichhasbeendiscredited(egAckroyd,1996;BurrageandTorstendahl,1990).Ontheotherhand,theFoucauldianaccountpresentedinthis paper suggests that what comes to count as professional expertise or com-petenceisnotthesimplereectionandorganisationoftruthbuthastobeestablishedandcontinuouslyre-negotiatedwithactors,andintermsofcriteria,varyinghistoricallyandculturally(egclientsversuscustomers,publicgoodversus efciency). According to Foucauldian analysis, the possession of truth orexpertiseisnotsufcientforestablishingtheprofessions,fortruthisindetermi-nateandcontestable;itistheconstructionoftruthandofitslegitimacyintheeyesofotheractorsthatconstitutestheprofessions(Power,1991).Thusthedevelopment, power and status of the professions needs to be understood withinthe historical context of liberal forms of government typical of modern Westernsocieties,ratherthanastheoutcomesofauniversalandinevitableprocessofrationalisation.Furthermore,themovetowardsadvancedliberalismsuggeststhattheprofessionsmayneedtore-constructtheirpracticeandlegitimacyinterms of market related criteria rather than merely truth related criteria (Power,1997;Rose,1993).TheFoucauldianemphasisonthehistoricalandcontingentnatureoftheprofessionssuggeststhatthemeaningofprofessionalismiscon-testable for it can be constructed around various alignments and connections (egbetweenprofessionalcompetenceandthepublicgood,orprofessionalcompe-tenceandefciencytorepeatasimpleexample);assuch,itproblematisestheThe appeal to professionalism The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review 1999 303functionalistanalysisoftheroleoftheprofessionsinmaintainingsocialcohe-sion. The meaning of professionalism is not xed but negotiated and contestable;thus as any other forms of government, the disciplinary logic of professionalismcan never be total but is fragmented and subject to various forms of resistance orre-articulation, as will be illustrated in the nal part of the paper.5. Whilst I found it useful to summarise the arguments in the form of a diagram, Iacknowledge the dangers associated with representing relationshipsthroughthetracing of lines. Thus it should be stressed that the lines are not meant to repre-sent cause and effect relationships but processes through which connections andtranslationsaremade.Thedottedlinessuggestthatprofessionalcompetenceisonlylooselyconnectedwiththeknowledgeofthepractitioner,orcontroloverpractitionersacts;professionalcompetenceisessentiallytranslatedintermsofpersonal conduct.6. Bytalkingaboutthedeploymentofthediscourseofprofessionalismtonewoccupational domains, I am not implying that it was initiated in the real profes-sionsandisnowmovingintoshamprofessions.AsIhopeIhavemadeclear,professionalismandwhatcomestoberecognisedasprofessionsareculturallyand historically contingent. Thus when I talk about the traditional professionsIdonotmeanthereal/authenticprofessionsbutsimplythoseoccupationswhich have been constructed as professions in the UK.7. Althoughweneedtobecriticaloftheglobalisationthesis(egHirstandThompson,1996;Scott,1997),itremainsthatinvokingtheforcesofglobalisa-tion has been a favoured trope in managerialist discourse and has served to legit-imisevariousprogrammesoforganisationalrestructuring,aswillbeillustratedwith the case of Teamco.8. Oncethediscourseofprofessionalismpervadesorganisationallife,itbecomesdifcult for employees not to align themselves with it, or not to constitute them-selves as professional for not doing so would mean being marked as unprofes-sional. However, as will be discussed in the nal section of the paper, this is notto say that it leaves no space for resistance; adopting the discourse of profession-alismdoesnotnecessarilymeanacceptingthewayinwhichprofessionalismisarticulated by organisational discourse.9. Here the name of the industry has been omitted to protect the anonymity of thecompany.10. The 15 competencies are as follows: Customer Focus, Commercial and BusinessAwareness,PerformanceandResults,LeadershipandPeopleManagement,Teamwork,EffectiveCommunicationandImpact,ContinuousImprovementand Managing Change, Financial Awareness, Global Awareness, Strategic Visionand DirectionSetting, CreativeThinking andInnovation,PlaningOrganisationandProjectManagement,ProblemSolvingandDecisionMaking,Self-Management and Personal Development, Professional/Technical.11. 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