Professionalization and Bureaucratization

Author(s): Richard H. Hall

Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Feb., 1968), pp. 92-104
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2092242 .
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 *
AND BUREAUCRATIZATION
PROFESSIONALIZATION
RICHARD H. HALL
University of Minnesota

Analysis of structural and attitudinal aspects of professionalization, and of the organizational

settings in which many professional occupations exist, suggests that there is generally an
inverse relationship between professionalization and bureaucratization, although there is
considerable variation within the relationship. The data further suggest that the structural
and attitudinal aspects of professionalization do not necessarily vary together. The organiza-
tions in which professionals work also differ in their degrees of bureaucratization. It is suggested
that the presence of professionals in an organization affects the structure of the organization,
while at the same time, the organizational structure can affect the professionalization process.

Two relatedbut oftennoncomplementarymodel are of two basic types. First are those
phenomena are affecting the social characteristicswhich are part of the structure
structure of Western societies today. of the occupation, including such things as
The first of these is the increasingprofession- formal educational and entrance require-
alization of the labor force. Occupational ments. The second aspect is attitudinal, in-
groups that have held the status of "marginal cluding the sense of calling of the person to
professions" are intensifying their efforts to the field and the extent to which he uses col-
be acknowledged as full-fledged professions. leagues as his major work reference.
Occupations that have emerged rather re- The structural side of the professional
cently, and some that have not previously model has been intensively examined by Wi-
been thought of as professions, are also at- lensky, who noted that occupations pass
tempting to professionalize.At the same time, througha rather consistent sequence of stages
work in general is increasingly becoming or- on their way to becomingprofessions.2Wilen-
ganizationally based. This is true among both sky includes the following attributes in his
the established professions and the profes- discussion:
sionalizing occupations. The intent of this 1. Creation of a full time occupation-this
paper is to examine the professionalization involvesthe performanceof functionswhich
process in the context of the organizational may have been performedpreviously, as
structures in which professional or profes- well as new functions,and can be viewed
sionalizing workers are found, in order to as a reactionto needsin the socialstructure.
2. The establishmentof a training school-
determine how these phenomena affect and this reflectsboth the knowledgebase of a
are affected by each other. Data from a va- professionand the efforts of early leaders
riety of occupational groups found in a va- to improvethe lot of the occupation.In the
riety of organizational settings will be used more establishedprofessions,the move is
in this analysis. then followedby affiliationof the training
school with establisheduniversities.In the
newer professions,university affiliationis
BACKGROUND concurrentwith the establishmentof train-
ing schools.
Discussions about the nature of professions 3. Formationof professionalassociations-the
typically revolve around the professional formationof such associationsoften is ac-
model. This professional model consists of a companiedby a changein the occupational
series of attributes which are important in title, attempts to define more clearly the
exact natureof the professionaltasks, and
distinguishing professions from other occu- efforts to eliminate practitionerswho are
pations. Movement toward correspondence
with the professional model is the process of (eds.) Professionalization, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
professionalization.1 The attributes of the Prentice-Hall, 1966, for a clear distinction between
the terms profession, professionalization, and pro-
* Grateful acknowledgement is given to Grant fessionalism (pp. vii-viii). Their distinctions will
GS 882 from the National Science Foundation be followed in this paper.
which provided support for the project from which 2Harold L. Wilensky, "The Professionalization
this report is taken. of Everyone?" American Journal of Sociology, Vol.
'See Howard M. Vollmer and Donald L. Mills LXX, September, 1964, pp. 137-158.
92

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 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIZATION 93
deemedincompetentby the emergentpro- 2. A belief in service to the public-this
fessionals.Local associationsunite into na- componentincludesthe idea of indispensi-
tional associationsafter a period of some bility of the professionand the view that
political manipulations.As stronger asso- the workperformedbenefitsboth the public
ciations are formed, political agitation in and the practitioner.6
the formof attemptsto securelicensinglaws 3. Belief in self-regulation-this involves the
and protectionfrom competingoccupations belief that the personbest qualifiedto judge
becomesan importantfunction. the work of a professionalis a fellow pro-
4. Formationof a code of ethics-these ethi- fessional,and the view that such a practice
cal codes are concernedwith both internal is desirableand practical.It is a belief in
(colleague) and external (clients and pub- colleaguecontrol.7
lic) relations.They are designedto be en- 4. A sense of callingto the field-this reflects
forced by the professional associations the dedicationof the professionalto his
themselves and, ideally, are given legal work and the feeling that he would prob-
support.3 ably want to do the work even if fewer
extrinsicrewardswere available.8
A professional attribute that is both struc- 5. Autonomy-this involves the feeling that
tural and attitudinal is the presence of pro- the practitionerought to be able to make
fessional autonomy.4While the structuralas- his own decisionswithoutexternalpressures
pect of autonomy is indirectly subsumed from clients, those who are not members
of his profession,or from his employing
under the efforts of professional associations organizations
to exclude the unqualifiedand to provide for
the legal right to practice, autonomy is also The combination of the structural and the
part of the work setting wherein the profes- attitudinal aspects serves as the basis for the
sional is expected to utilize his judgment and professional model. It is generally assumed
will expect that only other professionals will that both aspects are present to a great de-
be competent to question this judgment. The gree in highly professionalized occupations,
autonomy attribute also contains an atti- while they are present to lesser degrees in the
tudinal dimension: the belief of the pro- less professionalizedoccupations. Whether or
fessional that he is free to exercise this type not this is the case will be examined in this
of judgment and decision making. research. It may be, for example, that occu-
The attitudinal attributes of professional- pations which are attempting to become pro-
ism reflect the manner in which the practi- fessions may be able to instill in their mem-
tioners view their work. The assumption here bers strong professional attitudes, while the
is that there is some correspondencebetween more established professions may contain
attitudes and behavior. If this assumption is less idealistic members.
correct, then the attitudes comprise an im- Variations from the professional model
portant part of the work of the professional. occur in two ways. In the first place, occupa-
If he or his occupation has met the structural tions vary in the degree to which they are
prerequisitesof professionalism,the approach professionalized.The established professions,
taken in practice becomes the important con- such as medicine or law, appear to fit the
sideration. The attitudinal attributes to be professional model in most ways, although
consideredhere are: the attitudinal attributes may or may not
1. The use of the professionalorganizationas adhere to this pattern. The newer emerging
a major reference-this involves both the professions do not appear to be as profession-
formal organizationand informalcolleague
groupingsas the major sourceof ideas and Community: The Professions," American Socio-
judgmentsfor the professionalin his work.5 logical Review, Vol. 22, April, 1957, p. 194; and
Greenwood, op. cit.
3 Theodore Caplow uses a slightly altered formu- 6See Edward A. Gross, Work and Society, New
lation in his "Sequential Steps in Professionaliza- York, Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1958, pp. 77-82;
tion," in Vollmer and Mills, op. cit. pp. 20-21. and Parsons, loc. cit.
Both Wilensky and Caplow include the same gen- 7 See Greenwood, op. cit., and Goode, op. cit.

eral variables, with Wilensky's appearing to be 8 See Gross, op. cit.

more descriptively accurate. 9Richard Scott distinguishes between autono-
4 For discussions of the importance of autonomy mous and heteronomous professional organizations
see William Kornhauser, Scientists in Industry, while, at the same time, stressing the importance of
Berkeley, University of California Press, 1963 and autonomy for the professional in "Reactions to
Simon Marcson, The Scientist in American Indus- Supervision in a Heteronomous Professional Organi-
try, New York: Harper Bros., 1960. zation," Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 10,
6 See William J. Goode, "Community Within a June, 1965, pp. 65-81.

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94 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
alized on the various attributes. If each at- These organizationalbases for professional
tribute is treated as a separate continuum, occupations are of three types. Following
multiple variations are possible in terms of Scott's useful distinction, the first type is
the degree to which occupations are pro- the autonomousprofessional organizationex-
fessionalized. emplified by the medical clinic or the law
The second form of variation is intra- firm.'2 Here the work of the professional is
occupational. Even among the established subject to his own, rather than to external
professions, members vary in their conform- or administrative jurisdiction. The profes-
ity to the professional model in both the sionals themselves are the major determiners
structural and attitudinal attributes.10Both of the organizationalstructure, since they are
inter-occupational and intra-occupational the dominant source of authority. The second
variations appear to be based on three fac- type is the heteronomousprofessional organ-
tors. First is the general social structure ization in which the professional employees
which, at the abstract level, may or may not are subordinatedto an externally derived sys-
need the services performed by the occupa- tem. Examples are public schools, libraries,
tion and, at the more pragmatic level, may and social work agencies, all of which are af-
not give the occupation the legal and be- fected by externally (often legislatively)
havioral sanctions to perform its functions. based structuring. Scott suggests that the
The second factor lies within the organiza- level of professionalautonomy is correspond-
tion of the occupation itself. Here, for ex- ingly lessened in such a setting, a point which
ample, the presence of multiple and compet- will be examined in this research. The third
ing professionalorganizationsmay be divisive organizational setting is the professional de-
and thus inhibit professionalization through partment which is part of a larger organiza-
multiple standards for entrance and through tion. Examples of this are the legal or re-
varied regulative norms. The third source of search departments of many organizations.
variation is the setting in which the occupa- In this kind of situation, the professionals
tion is performed. The work situation may employed are part of a larger organization
have an impact on the degree to which the and may or may not be able to affect the
profession can be self regulative and autono- the mannerin which their own work is struc-
mous. tured. It is this setting which has served as
Professionals work in four distinct types the basis for many discussions of profes-
of settings. Many members of established sional-organizationalconflict.
One way of analyzing these three types of
professions are found in individual private
settings is to determine the nature of the
practice. This setting for professional work
organizational structures found in the differ-
appears to be diminishing in importance as ent organizationalbases. In order to do this,
organizationally based professional practice the degree of bureaucratizationwithin each
increases, and it will not be considered in type will be examinedwith a dimensionalap-
this analysis. Lawyers are increasingly found proach to the concept of bureaucracy.13 This
in law firms or in legal departmentsof larger allows determination of the degree of bu-
departments of larger organizations, and reaucratizationof an organization, or a seg-
medical doctors are increasingly working in
group or clinic practices. Among the pro- in Louis D. Brandeis, Business-A Profession,
fessionalizing groups, almost all are coming Boston: Small, Maynard, 1925.
from an organizationalbase such as the social 12W. Richard Scott, op. cit., pp. 65-81.
13 See Stanley H. Udy, Jr., "Bureaucracy and
work agency or the business firm." Rationality in Weber's Theory," American Socio-
logical Review, Vol. 24, December, 1959, pp. 791-
10 Bucher and Strauss, in "Professions in Process," 795, and Richard H. Hall, "The Concept of
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. LXVI, January, Bureaucracy: An Empirical Assessment," American
1961, pp. 325-334 discuss this type of variation as Journal of Sociology, Vol. LXIX, July, 1963, pp.
do Jack Ladinsky and Joel B. Grossman in "Organi- 32-40. The discussions are primarily based, of
zational Consequences of Professional Consensus: course, on Weber's original discussion of bureaucracy
Lawyers and Selection of Judges," Administrative in Max Weber, The Theory of Economic and Social
Science Quarterly, Vol. 11, June, 1966, pp. 79-106. Organization (trans. A. M. Henderson and Talcott
11 Brandeis recognized the trend toward profes- Parsons), New York: Oxford University Press,
sionalization among businessmen as early as 1925 1947.

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 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIZATION 95
ment thereof, in terms of the degree of bu- alization. Thus, findings of a mixed nature
reaucratizationon each dimension. are anticipated on this basis.
The dimensions utilized are:
METHODOLOGY
1.The hierarchyof authority-the extent to
which the locus of decisionmakingis pre- Measurement of the degree of profession-
structuredby the organization.
2. Division of labor-the extent to which alization is accomplished in two basic ways.
work tasks are subdividedby functional The structural attributes of the several oc-
specializationdecidedby the organization. cupations included in the study will be ex-
3. Presence of rules-the degree to which amined using the method followed by XWi-
the behaviorof organizationalmembersis
subjectto organizational control. lensky.'6 Personnel managers and stockbrok-
4. Procedural specifications-the extent to ers, occupations not included in his study,
which organizationalmembersmust follow are examinedhere using the Wilensky format.
organizationallydefinedtechniquesin deal- The use of this approach not only allows
ing with situationswhich they encounter. comparison with the Wilensky work, but
5. Impersonality-the extent to which both
organizationalmembersand outsiders are also will permit categorization of the occu-
treatedwithout regardto individualquali- pations by length of time the professional
ties. attributes have been met by the occupation
6. Technicalcompetence-the extent to which and the order in which the occupation has
organizationally defined "universalistic" proceeded in its attempt to professionalize.
standardsare utilizedin the personalselec-
tion and advancementprocess. According to Wilensky, the closer the occu-
pation follows a given sequence of profes-
Each of these dimensions is treated as a sionalization steps, the more likely it is to
separate continuum. Previous research has be more professionalized. In this case, the
indicated that these continua do not neces- two additional occupations would fall in the
sarily vary together.14It is generally assumed "doubtful professional" category, since some
that there is an inverse relationship between of the structuralcriteria are not met.17
professionalization and bureaucratization.15 The attitudinal attributes, including use
In this study the relationship will be ex- of the professional organization as a major
amined without making that assumption. In- reference, a belief in service to the public,
stead, it is anticipated that the empirical belief in self regulation, a sense of calling to
findings will show that on some dimensions the field, and a feeling of autonomy in work
of bureaucracy, there is a positive relation- are measured by standard attitude scales.
ship with professionalization. For example, The scales were developed by use of the
a highly developed division of labor might Likert technique.'8 This technique was
well be related to a high degree of profession- chosen not only because of its relevance for
alization on all attributes, since professionals the kinds of attitudes being measured, but
are specialists. By the same token, a high also because the question format is the same
emphasis on technical competence as the as that for the measurement of the degree
basis for hiring and advancement would also of bureaucratization.'9
appear to have a logical relationship with
professionalization. On the other hand, a 16Wilensky, op. cit.
17 William M. Evan discusses some of the bar-
rigid hierarchyof authority seems incompati-
to the professionalization of stockbrokers in
ble with a high level of professionalism, es- riers
"Status-Set and Role-Set Conflicts of the Stock-
pecially in terms of the attributes of au- broker: A Problem in the Sociology of Law," Social
tonomy and colleague control. The presence Forces, Vol. 45, September, 1966, pp. 80-82.
of extensive organizationallybased rules and 18 The advantages of this form of scaling are
B.
procedureslikewise appears to be negatively discussed in John E. Barclay and Herbert
Weaver, "Comparative Reliabilities and Ease of
associated with a high level of profession- Construction of Thurstone and Likert Attitude
Scales," Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 58,
14 Hall, op. cit. 1962, pp. 109-120 and Charles R. Tittle, "Attitude
15 Peter M. Blau, Wolf V. Heydebrand, and Measurement and Prediction of Behavior: An Eval-
Robert E. Stauffer in "The Structure of Small uation of Five Measuring Techniques," unpub-
Bureaucracies," American Sociological Review, Vol. lished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Texas, 1965.
31, April, 1966, pp. 179-191 began with this assump- 19 Each scale attained a reliability of .80 or
tion which was later modified. higher using the split-half method with the Spear-

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96 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
BY OCCUPATION,
DISTRIBUTION
TABLE1. RESPONDENT AND
NUMBERDISTRIBUTED,
TYPE OF ORGANIZATION,
RATEOF RETURN

Occupation Type of Organization N Distributed N Returned

Physician University Health 17 10 59
Government Hospital 18 11 61
Nurse University Student Health 15 8 53
General Hospital 50 26 52
Accountant University Department 3 2 67
Manufacturing Firm 20 14 70
CPA Firm 1 40 15 38
CPA Firm 2 30 13 43
Teacher High School 40 29 73
Elementary School 14 12 86
Lawyer Law Firm 1 18 9 50
Law Firm 2 25 13 52
Law Firm 3 13 9 69
Legal Department 1 6 4 67
Legal Department 2 17 11 65
Legal Department 3 10 6 60
Social Worker Private Agency 1 8 7 88
Private Agency 2 17 11 65
Public Agency 20 14 70
Stock Broker Brokerage Firm 1 10 8 80
Brokerage Firm 2 20 8 40
Librarian Public Library 60 44 73
Engineer Manufacturing Firm 20 15 75
Personnel Management Manufacturing Firm 1 10 7 70
Manufacturing Firm 2 25 14 56
Advertising Advertising Firm 1 10 4 40
Advertising Firm 2 6 4 67

Total 542 328 61

Each of the bureaucratic dimensions was occupations and employing organizations.

measuredby means of a series of items which The purpose of the research called for inclu-
form a scale for the dimension.20The sub- sion of occupations which are acknowledged
jects in each organization responded to the professions in addition to those which are
items according to the degree to which the aspiring to become professions. At the same
statement corresponded to their own per- time, a variety of organizationalsettings was
ception of the organization. An ordinal scal- desired for the analysis of this variable. With
ing of each dimension was thus obtained. these considerations in mind, organizations
For both the professional attitude scales and were contacted to determine if they were
the bureaucracy scales, the mean score for interested in cooperating in the research.
each set of respondents was utilized as the The selection of organizations was based on
measure for the group involved. at least some knowledge of their size and
At the outset of the research, it was de- functioning. Those selected do not represent
cided to try to obtain a wide selection of a sample of the universe of organizations,
but they do appear to be representative of
man-Brown correction formula. Pretest data also organizations of similar types. After the
suggested that the scales were valid. Physicians,
nurses, teachers, and accountants comprised the initial contact was made, personal interviews
pretest group. A complete discussion of the pro- with officials in each organization were held
cedures followed is contained in Richard H. Hall, and cooperation was solicited. Three organ-
Professionalization and Bureaucratization, unpub- izations declined participation. Table 1 indi-
lished manuscript, Indiana University, 1966.
20 Hall, "Concept of Bureaucracy," loc. cit., con-
cates the kinds of organizations included in
tains a discussion of the development of these the study, as well as the number of ques-
scales. tionnaires distributed and returned. In all

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 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIZATION 97
cases, all of the professional personnel were patterns. On the belief in service to the public
asked to complete the questionnaire. and sense of calling to the field attributes,
The lawyers in the study represent three both of which are related to a sense of dedi-
medium sized law firms, two legal depart- cation to the profession, the teachers, social
ments of private corporations, and part of workers, and nurses emerge as strongly
a departmentof the federal government.The professionalized. This may be related to
physicians are membersof a medical depart- the relatively low financial compensation
ment in a large government hospital and of which these fields receive since dedication
a university student health service. The seems necessary if one is to continue in the
nurses work in a private general hospital and field. An interesting exception is that the
in the same university health service. Both of teachers are somewhat weaker on the sense
the Certified Public Accountant groups are of calling to the field variable. An important
part of large national CPA firms, while the factor appears to be the entry of many
accounting departments are part of larger women into teaching because it is a "safe"
organizations. The teachers are in the same women's occupation rather than because of
school system at the levels indicated. any real dedication. The established profes-
The social workers represent two private sions are relatively weak on these variables.
agencies and a social work department of Among the lawyers, the results indicate
a school system. The stockbrokers are part that on all but one attribute a legal depart-
of large national brokerage firms, while the ment is more professionalized than the law
advertising agencies are both small, regional firms. This suggests that professionals work-
concerns. The engineering department and ing in large organizations are not, by defini-
the personnel departments are part of large tion, confronted with situations which re-
national manufacturingfirms. The library is duce the level of professionalization. The
the public library in a large metropolitan variations among the lawyers also suggest
area. that the conditions of employment may play
a dominant role in the development of pro-
FINDINGS fessional attitudes. The lawyers in this study
have quite common backgroundsin terms of
Evidence from the behavior of the re- their legal education and bar organizational
spondents provides strong support for the memberships.Thus it appears that these atti-
validity of two of the professionalism scales tudinal variations should probably be attrib-
and also suggests that the attitudes measured uted to the organizational"climate"in which
are quite strongly associated with behavior. they work.22
Background information regarding the fre- Table 3 indicates the ranks for each occu-
quency of attendance at professional meet- pational group on each of the bureaucratic
ings and membershipin professional organi- dimensions. There are rather wide variations
zations was cross-tabulatedwith the attitude in degree of bureaucratization both among
scale which measures the strength of the pro- and within occupational groups. There are
fessional organization as a reference group. also rather strong interrelationships among
The behavioral data support the validity of the dimensions, as Table 4 indicates, except
the scales and also suggest that the respond- in the case of the technical competence di-
ents practice what they verbalize. Similarly, mension, where the relationship is reversed.
the scale measuring belief in self regulation Apparently these organizations, unlike more
is strongly associated with the actual presence broadly based samples of organizations, are
of licenses or certification as reported in the rather internally consistent in their degree
background questions.21 of bureaucratization.It should be noted that
The results on the attitude scales reveal these results represent both the total organi-
some interesting and somewhat surprising zation (in the cases of the autonomous and
21 Those who strongly believed in using the 22
Jerome E. Carlin suggests that law firms vary
professional organization as a reference group also in the degree to which ethical norms are enforced.
belonged to and attended the meetings of profes- Jerome E. Carlin, Lawyers Ethics, New York:
sional organizations (p<.OO1). Similarly, belief Russell Sage Foundation, 1966, pp. 96-103. The
in self regulation is associated with the presence climate should also affect other professional atti-
of licensing and certification (p<.001). tudes.

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98 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
heteronomous professional organizations) The distribution of the groups into the
and organizational segments (in the cases of autonomous, heteronomous, and departmen-
professional departments). Whether or not tal categories was relatively simple, using
such internal consistency exists throughout Scott's criteria. In the autonomous category
the larger organizationsinvolved in the latter are found the physicians (who, even though
case is subject to further investigation. It they are part of larger organizations,autono-
seems doubtful in view of the wider variations mously determinetheir own work structures),
in task which would be found in the organi- the law firms, the CPA firms, and the ad-
zations as a whole. For example, while an vertising agencies. The latter were included
engineering department might exihibit es- in this category because of their direct rela-
sentially the same degree of bureaucratization tionships with clients and the fee basis of
on the various dimensions, the sales depart- their financing. Also, both agencies had been
ment of the same organizationmight not. established by persons who had been in the

TABLE 2. RANKS ON PROFESSIONALISM SCALES BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUP

Scale
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
Professional Belief Sense
Organization in Service Belief in Self of Calling Feeling of
Occupational Group as Reference to Public Regulation to Field Autonomy

Accounting
CPA Firm 1 12 18 15 18.5 19
CPA Firm 2 16 10 20 10.5 6
Acct. Dept. 1 2.5 6 24.5 4 3
Acct. Dept. 2 1 1 2.5 1 1
Advertising
Ad. Agency 1 8 4 9 15 20
Ad. Agency 2 20 23 7 20 23
Engineering
Engineering Dept. 4 9 2.5 5 11
Lawyer
LawFirm 1 22 16 19 10.5 14
Law Firm 2 13 14 22 7 22
Law Firm 3 23 12.5 18 13 15
LegalDept. 1 26 11 23 8.5 10
Legal Dept. 2 99 24 14 2.5 25
Legal Dept. 3 11 5 4 2.5 26
Librarian
Public Library 21 15 11 25 4.5
Nurse
Nursing Division 1 10 20.5 16 18.5 4.5
Nursing Division 2 14 19 27 24 2
Personnel Mgmt.
Per. Dept. 1 7 2 5.5 8.5 7.5
Per. Dept. 2 5.5 7.5 9 22 13
Physician
Med. Dept. 1 19 3 17 21 21
Med. Dept. 2 5.5 7.5 9 16 12
Social Worker
Private Agency 1 17 17 12 17 9
PrivateAgency2 18 22 21 27 16
Public Agency 25 20.5 5.5 26 17
Stock Broker
Firm 1 2.5 12.5 24.5 6 24
Firm 2 27 25 26 23 27
Teacher
Elem. School 24 26 13 14 7.5
High School 15 27 1 12 18
NOTE: Lower rank indicates lower degree of professionalization.

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 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIZATION 99
TABLE 3. RANKS ON BUREAUCRACYSCALES BY OCCUPATIONALGROUP

I II III IV V VI
Hierarchy Division Technical
Occupational Group of Authority of Labor Rules Procedures Impersonality Competence
Accounting
CPA Firm 1 3 5 5 6 9 16
CPA Firm 2 11 4 7 9 15.5 25
Acct. Dept. 1 19 25 21 26 24 2
Acct. Dept.2 27 27 27 27 27 1
Advertising
Ad. Agency 1 9.5 3 9 12 1 20.5
Ad. Agency 2 2 10.5 1 3 3 4
Engineering
Engineering Dept. 17 18 17 19.5 11 3
Lawyer
LawFirm 1 1 2 2 1 7 24
LawFirm2 4.5 8 3 4 12 18
Law Firm 3 6 6 6 2 13 20.5
LegalDept.1 21 15.5 8 7 4 13.5
Legal Dept.2 4.5 1 4 8 10 19
Legal Dept.3 9.5 17 11 10 19.5 5
Librarian
Public Library 25 19.5 26 24 14 23
Nurse
Nursing Division 1 24 21 25 23 21.5 10
Nursing Division 2 26 23 24 25 25 15
Personnel Mgmt.
Per. Dept. 1 18 26 15.5 19.5 26 8.5
Per. Dept.2 22 13 18 18 6 12
Physician
Med. Dept. 1 12 12 12 5 5 7
Med. Dept.2 23 22 21 21 17 17
Social Worker
Private Agency 1 16 10.5 13 13 21.5 22
Private Agency 2 14 15.5 14 16 8 26
Public Agency 13 9 10 14 2 13.5
Stock Broker
Firm 7 14 22 22 18 6
Firm 2 8 7 15.5 11 15.5 27
Teacher
Elem. School 20 19.5 23 17 19.5 11
High School 15 24 20 15 23 8.5
NOTE:Lower rank indicates lower degree of bureaucratization.

advertising business with larger firms and the administrative and policy practices of
had later established their own organizations the medical staff. Nursing services must,
without external administrativeconstraints.23 therefore, adjudicate between the policies of
Similarly, the heteronomous organizations the medical staff and their own professional
were rather easy to classify using Scott's codes. Stockbrokersalso were placed in this
criteria. The social work agencies, the library, category. This occupational grouping, which
and the two schools were placed in this cate- appears to operate quite autonomouslywithin
gory. Two other occupational groups also each regional office, nevertheless is subject
were placed in this category on the basis of to rather extensive external policies. The
their degree of self determinationof structure rules of the various stock and commodity ex-
and policy. Neither are considered by Scott changes, the Securities and Exchange Com-
in his developmentof this category, but both mission and the particular company policies
appear to fit. First are the nurses. As a pro- themselves, appear to make placement in the
fessional group, nurses are subject to both heteronomous category most appropriate.
Brokers do have individual clients and oper-
23 See Scott, op. cit. ate on a fee basis as do membersof the auton-

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100 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
TABLE 4. SPEARMAN RANK ORDER CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS BETWEEN BUREAUCRATIC DIMENSIONS

Hierarchy Division Technical

of Authority of Labor Rules Procedures Impersonality Competence
Hierarchy of
Authority .... .791 .821 .737 .477 -. 242
Division of Labor .... .... .796 .782 .682 -.573
Rules .... .... .... .898 .641 -.272
Procedures .... .... .... .... . 618 -.342
Impersonality .... .... .... .... . -.2 70

omous category, but placement in this cate- rigid in its hierarchy of authority. With the
gory appears unwarranted because of the exception of one legal department, (see Table
factors noted above. The departmental cate- 3), the various settings in which lawyers
gory is comprised of the three legal depart- work are essentially the same on this dimen-
ments, the engineering department, the per- sion. This suggests that work in the larger
sonnel departments, and the accounting de- organization does not, by definition, impose
partments. a more rigid hierarchy on the practitioner.
The data were analyzed by means of the Nevertheless, the term "autonomous profes-
Kruskal-Wallisone-way analysis of variance. sional organization" appears to be relevant
(H)24 This technique allows the determina- since these organizations do, in fact, exhibit
tion of whether or not the differencesin the less bureaucratizationon this dimension.
ranks of the various categories are due to On the division of labor dimension, the
chance or to real differences in the popula- autonomous organizations are again much
tions studied. less bureaucratic, while the heteronomous
On the hierarchy of authority dimension, organizationsand departmentsare essentially
the autonomous organizations are signifi- similar. The autonomousorganizationsexam-
cantly less bureaucratic than the other two ined apparently have not begun the more
types of occupational groupings, as Table 5 intensive division of labor that Smigel found
indicates. There is relatively litle variation among larger New York law firms. On this
among the ranks in this category, while more dimension, also, the law firms and the legal
variation exists within the heteronomousand departmentsdo not vary widely among them-
departmental categories. This is consistent selves. While the division of labor is more
with Scott's suggestions in this regard. At intense in the other two categories, again
the same time, the variations within the there is rather extensive variation in these
latter two categories are sufficient to suggest categories. Obviously, the extent of the divi-
that neither category is inherently more sion of labor is dependent upon the tasks
24 For a discussion of this technique, see Sidney
being performed rather than on the level of
Siegel, Non-Parametric Statistics for the Behavioral
professionalizationor the externally imposed
Sciences, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956, pp. 184- administrative structure.
193. Findings on the presence of rules dimen-

TABLE 5. AVERAGERANKS AND ONE WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE(H) ON DEGREEOF BUREAUCRATIZATION

IN
THESE TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL
SETTINGS

Autonomy Heteronomous Department H Value

(average rank) (average rank) (average rank) (2 df)
Hierarchy of Authority 8.0 16.8 17.4 6.96*
Division of Labor 8.1 16.3 17.9 7.31*
Rules 7.3 19.2 13.7 14.70***
Procedures 7.0 18.0 17.0 9.80**
Impersonality 9.2 16.8 15.9 4.29
Technical Competence 16.9 16.2 8.0 5.11*

*=P< .05.
**=p< .01.
***=pK .001.

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 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIZATION 101
sion are somewhat consistent with those ulations, and professions in the departmental
already discussed. The autonomousorganiza- category usually do not have individual cli-
tions are characterized by much less bu- ents. While the number of clients may con-
reaucratization on this dimension. In this tribute to impersonality, a high level of
case, however, the professional departments impersonality may itself inhibit the occupa-
are less bureaucratic than the heteronomous tion in its drive toward professionalization.
organizations.This is consistent with Scott's If public acceptance as a profession is a
discussion, but at the same time suggests component of professionalism, then this
that professional departments in larger or- higher level of impersonality may partially
ganizations are not inherently more bureau- block further professionalization. The ques-
cratic than professional organizations. The tion remains whether or not this higher level
case of the lawyers in the two settings pro- of impersonality is a result of organization-
vides evidence for this position. These results ally generatednorms or of standardsimposed
raise an important issue in regard to profes- upon the organization by the professions
sional-organizationalrelationships. The data themselves.
suggest that the occupational base of an The findings in regard to the last dimen-
organization (or an organizational segment) sion, technical competence as the basis for
may have a real impact on the structure hiring and advancement, are reversed from
which the organization itself takes.25In this those previously discussed. On this dimen-
case, the professional's self regulatory pat- sion, the autonomous and heteronomous
terns may reduce the need for and utility of organizations are relatively bureaucratic,
organizational rule systems. It might be while the professional departments are rela-
hypothesized that the more developed the tively non-bureaucratic.Here it appears that
normative system of the occupations in an a higher level of bureaucratization or more
organization, the less need for a highly emphasis on technical competence is quite
bureaucraticized organizational system. compatible with professional standards in
Findings on the procedural specifications that the practitioner is selected for employ-
dimension of bureaucracy are quite similar ment and advancement on the basis of abil-
to those discussed above. The autonomous ity. In this case, a real source of conflict for
organizations are characterized by quite a persons employed in a professional depart-
low level of bureaucratization, while the ment is evident if criteria other than per-
heteronomous organizations are the most formance are utilized in the personnel poli-
bureaucratic and the professional depart- cies.26
ments are slightly less bureaucratic. The relationships between professionaliza-
On the impersonality dimension, the same tion and bureaucratizationare examined from
general pattern emerges, although not to the two perspectives. First is an analysis of the
same degree. Autonomous organizations are relationships between the attitudinal varia-
the least bureaucratic, while the other two bles and the bureaucratic dimensions, as
types exhibit more impersonality.The higher indicated in Table 6. The generally negative
level of impersonality found in the latter two relationships indicate that higher levels of
categories may be an aspect of the "bureau- professionalizationare related to lower levels
cratic personality" which has been discussed of bureaucratization,and vice versa.
as a characteristic of organizations such as When each of the professional variables is
social work agencies. The aloofness and de- examined, some interesting patterns emerge.
tachment which may inhibit the effectiveness First, in the case of the professional organiza-
of these groups appears to be due partially tion as a referencegroup, there is a relatively
to the fact that the professions in the small negative relationship between this
heteronomous category must deal with rela-
26 Marcson has noted the frustrations felt by
tively large client populations. Those in the scientists when the reward system is blocked if they
autonomous category have smaller such pop- follow a strictly research route in their careers.
The higher rewards come from joining the admin-
25 Blau, et al., op. cit., and D. S. Pugh, D. J. istrative structure, which is a contradiction of their
Hickson, et al., "A Scheme for Organizational Analy- professional standards. Simon Marcson, The
sis," Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 8, De- Scientist in American Industry, New York: Harper
cember, 1963, pp. 289-315 make this suggestion, also. Bros., 1960, pp. 66-71.

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102 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
TABLE 6. RANK ORDERCORRELATION SCALESAND BUREAUCRACY
COEFFICIENTSBETWEENPROFESSIONALISM
SCALES

Professional Belief Sense

Organization in Service Belief in Self of Calling Feeling
Reference to Public Regulation to Field of Autonomy

Hierarchy of Authority -.029 -.262 -.149 .148 -.767**

Division of Labor -.236 -.260 -.234 -.115 -. 575**
Rules -.144 -.121 -.107 .113 -.554
Procedures -.360** -.212 -.096 .000 -. 603**
Impersonality -.256 -.099 -.018 -. 343* -. 489**
Technical Competence .593** .332* .420** .440** .121

*=p< .05.
**=p<.Ol.

variable and the presence of a rigid hierarchy they may become more burdensome for the
of authority. It appears to make little differ- professional.
ence if there is extensive reliance upon such The previously discussed relationship be-
a hierarchy in professionalizedorganizations. tween the level of professionalization and
This conclusion is supported by the findings the degree to which impersonality is stressed
of Blau, et al., who suggest that the presence is borne out by the findings here in regard
of such a hierarchy may facilitate the work to the impersonality dimension. That is, the
of professionals if they serve coordination more professional the attitude on this varia-
and communication functions.27 This is ble, the less impersonality is stressed. The
particularly so when the hierarchy is recog- more professional groups apparently do not
nized as legitimate. The professional may need to utilize impersonality in their organi-
thus recognize and essentially approve of zational arrangements.
the fact that certain decisions must be made The strong positive relationship between
by people in the hierarchy. this professional variable and the organiza-
A stronger negative relationship is found tional emphasis on technical competence is
on the division of labor dimension. If a not unexpected. Since this bureaucratic di-
division of labor is very intense, it may force mension is so strongly related to most of
a professional person away from his broader the professional attitudes, it might serve as
professional ties. This interpretation recog- an informal indicator of the level of profes-
nizes specialization within the professions, sionalism in organizations if other indicators
but the question here is the level of organiza- are not available.
tionally based division of labor. At the same The findings on the belief in service to
time, strong professional identification may the public, belief in self-regulation,and sense
impede intensive specialization on the part of calling to the field variables are essentially
of organizations. A weaker relationship is similar to those just discussed. The areas of
found on the presence of rules dimension. congruence and conflict which might emerge
Organizationally developed rules governing also are similar.
the behavior of members appear not to in- Strong negative relationshipsexist between
trude strongly on this or on other professional the autonomy variable and the first five
attitudes. bureaucratic dimensions. This suggests that
There is a strong negative relationship increased bureaucratization threatens pro-
between professional attitude and the pro- fessional autonomy. It is in these relation-
cedural specifications dimension. This is ships that a potential source of conflict
predictable since strong professional orienta- between the professionaland the organization
tions appear to be in basic conflict with can be found. The strong drive for autonomy
organizationally developed techniques of on the part of a professional may come into
dealing with work situations. As more pro- direct conflict with organizationally based
cedures are developed by the organization, job requirements. At the same time, the
organization may be threatened by strong
27 Blau, et al., op. cit. professional desires on the part of at least

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 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIZATION 103
TABLE 7. AVERAGERANKS AND ONE WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE(H) ON DEGREEOF BUREAUCRATIZATION
OF
THE WORK SETTINGSOF THREE TYPES OF PROFESSIONALS

Established Process Doubtful H Value

(average rank) (average rank) (average rank) (2 df)
Hierarchy of Authority 9.5 18.9 14.1 6.14*
Division of Labor 9.2 17.8 15.7 5.57
Rules 7.9 19.1 15.9 9.65**
Procedures 7.3 18.5 17.3 1G.96**
Impersonality 11.2 16.2 15.1 1.65
Technical Competence 16.5 14.7 10.2 2.02

*=p<.05.
**=p< .001.

some of its members. Future research should in this. Therefore, changes in the social
delineate both the extent of the conflict and structure may bring about corresponding
its sources and the extent to which it is felt attitudinal adjustments.
by and threatens both the professionals) The organizations in which professionals
and the organization. work vary rather widely in their degree of
When the structuralaspect of professional- bureaucratization.The variation is not based
ization is considered, essentially the same on the distinction between professional de-
findings emerge. As Table 7 suggests, the partments and professional organizations,
more professionalized groups are found in since some professional departments are less
settings which are less bureaucratic. The bureaucratic than some professional organi-
more professionalized groups, that is, those zations, and vice versa. There is, however,
with more self regulation and longer sociali- a general tendency for the autonomous pro-
zation in preparationfor the field, perhaps do fessional organization to be less bureaucratic
not "need" the same kinds of organizational than either the heteronomousorganization or
controls as less professionalized groups in the professional department. This suggests
dealing with problems and decisions. At the that the nature of the occupational groups
same time, the presence of more bureaucratic in an organization affects the organizational
systems for the less professionalized groups structure. The workers (professionals) im-
may serve as an inhibitor to their further port standardsinto the organizationto which
professionalization. the organizationmust adjust. In the develop-
ment of a new organization, this importation
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS would probably occur without any conflict
In an established organization, the importa-
Among the major findings of this research tion, either by an entire department or by
is the fact that the structural and the atti- new employees within a professional depart-
tudinal aspects of professionalization do not ment, might be a real source of conflict if the
necessarily vary together. Some "established" professional and organizational standards do
professions have rather weakly developed not coincide.
professional attitudes, while some of the less With the exception of the technical compe-
professionalizedgroups have very strong atti- tence dimension, a generally inverse relation-
tudes in this regard. The strength of these ship exists between the levels of bureaucrati-
attitudes appears to be based on the kind zation and professionalization.Autonomy, as
of socialization which has taken place both an important professional attribute, is most
in the profession's training program and in strongly inversely related to bureaucratiza-
the work itself. An additional factor is the tion. The other variables are not as inversely
place of the occupation in the wider social related. This suggests that increased bureau-
structure. If the occupation receives rela- cratization and professionalization might
tively few rewards in a material sense, the lead to conflict in either the professional
level of dedication is likely to be higher. organization or department, but that this
If the occupation is allowed to be self-regu- conflict is not inherent, given the relative
lating, it will tend to believe quite strongly weakness of most of the relationships found.

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 104 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICALREVIEW
Conflict occurs within a professional group group and the employing organization ap-
or within an organization only to the degree pears to be unwarranted.If it is present, the
that specific aspects of bureaucratizationor bases of conflict in terms of professional atti-
professionalization vary enough to conflict tudes and/or organizationalstructure should
with other specific aspects. Stated in another be made explicit. After this is done, the anal-
way, the implication is that in some cases an ysis of conflicts based upon specific issues,
equilibrium may exist between the levels of such as resistance to non-professional super-
professionalization and bureaucratization in vision, can proceed. After any particularcon-
the sense that a particular level of profes- flict situation, changes in either the profes-
sionalization may require a certain level of sional orientations or the organizational
bureaucratizationto maintain social control. structure should be noted so that the essen-
Too little bureaucratizationmay lead to too tially stable conditions from which conflicts
many undefined operational areas if the emerge can be established. Since conflicts
profession itself has not developed opera- probably create changes, any conflicts which
tional standards for these areas. By the same follow would necessarily emerge from a dif-
token, conflict may ensue if the equilibrium ferent setting than that originally noted.
is upset. These changes must be noted in any longi-
An assumption of inherent conflict be- tudinal analyses of professional-organiza-
tween the professional or the professional tional relations.

DIFFERENTIAL ORGANIZATION OF HEALTH

PROFESSIONS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
RONALD L. AKERS RICHARD QUINNEY
Universityof Washington New York University
This study of the comparative organizational structure of five health professions-chiropractic,
dentistry, medicine, optometry and pharmacy-provides an ordinal ranking for each according
to organizational resources, specifically size, wealth and knowledge, and the structural variables
of orientational and relational cohesion. Orientational cohesion is represented in the paradigm
by membership homogeneity, involvement and participation, membership stability, and over-
lapping of organizational membership; relational cohesion is represented by the degree of
unity and integration of the profession and of the major professional association. The summary
rankings show the medical and dental professions to have the highest order of organization,
pharmacy and optometry to occupy an intermediate ranking, and finally chiropractic with
the lowest organizational ranking-relatively disadvantaged and undeveloped in resources,
and relatively non-unified and non-integrated. In addition to analysis exploiting possible
relationships among these organizational dimensions, the paradigm for comparison of group
resources and structures may be employed with other professions and other kinds of group.

AMONG the various empirical and theo- organization and politics of labor unions
retical problems that have been of and professional associations, but as yet
interest in the sociology of occupations there has appeared no systematic, overall
and professions, the internal social organiza- comparative analysis of this problem among
tion among professional practitioners has several occupations or professions. Since pro-
received relatively little attention.' There fessions are prominent among the many
have been scattered studies of the internal groups actively pressing claims upon and
1 See for example the range of interest represented through government, political scientists also
in Sigmund Nosow and William Form (eds.), Man, have paid attention to them as political in-
Work, and Society, New York: Basic Books, 1962; terest groups. The "group approach" to
and Howard M. Vollmer and Donald L. Mills (eds.),
Professionalization, Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Pren- politics, particularly, has made clear the
tice-Hall, Inc., 1966. relevance of studying the "internal govern-

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