Does the concept of professionalism apply to the creative industries?
Nowadays professionalism is a buzzword, and we can find slightly different definitions of the term which refer to the concept of professionalism. First, the most common definition saying professionalism is an understanding by person"standards, code of conduct and or collection of qualities that characterize accepted practice within a particular of activity". The second definition is less instrumental and touch on ethical aspects and says: individual responsible for work should have skills, good judgment of work and a polite attitude while doing the job. I think when we combine these two definitions our definition will be more complete.(1)
Creative Industry is quite a new and fluid area where new technologies determine workflow and therefore the importance of keeping current standards is imperative. In other words, adhering professionalism for example as a web developer gives you more chance to get a job and allow you to perform at the workplace successfully. A recent study has shown 97.5% of respondents identify it as either “absolutely essential” or “essential” for a new college hire’s success.
I like thinking about professionalism as a tool that helps to maintain daily work related to my profession. Let see some pillars of attitude which call professionalism:
a) Commitment
Commitment at work is crucial, and correlate with motivation. The best option to keep a good level of commitment is to prioritize, plan and manage your assignments and projects. Updating and discussing progress with supervisor and team members will always help you focus on main goals, etc.
b) Integrity
No matter what try to keep the integrity and follow the same path. Sometimes the trap could speed, therefore don't try to sacrifice quality to do your job faster. The same when you fail, from my experience I know is better, to be honest than just "put the problem under the rug". Being honest in front of yourself allow you to see when you have made a problem and fix it or avoid it next time.
c) Responsibility
Management of time is key, new technologies required time to learn and develop. Therefore is crucial to be productive and use time wisely. The best tip is to avoid getting pulled into social media, web browsing and phone activity at work and just focus on your job responsibilities and eliminate all distractors.
Another value is being accountable for your work, actions and behaving. Ensure you understand all expectations for assignments. The same about words, also try to identify problem and solution instead of making excuses(1),(2).
Don't hesitate to read more about Pillars of professionalism here.
To be honest first time I heard about Professional Codes of conduct was when I started my Uni course. However, every company has certain codes of conduct and it depends on the industry. For instance, in the web dev industry, we have documents that describe general ethical behaviour e.g., W3C Ethical Guidelines, IGDA Scotland Code of Ethics.
In this paragraph we are going to revise some principles proposed by W3C:
The new web technologies and platforms we develop must cross-regional and national boundaries. Web pages should be accessible from anywhere that is connected to the internet, regardless of the location of the users.
It is our intention to consider what harm new features or technologies could do to society and to vulnerable groups. Our goal is to give preference to potential benefits for web users over potential benefits for web developers, content providers, user agents, advertisers, and other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
The technologies and platforms we build allow ideas and information to be distributed, for virtual interaction, and mass collaboration. However, those tools can also be used harmfully for spreading misinformation, harassing people both online and in-person, and creating vile online communities. Considering these risks will be at the core of our work and we will develop tools and platforms that provide features to empower individuals against threats like these.
It is crucial to internationalize and localize our specifications and websites. The web platform as well as the tools used to create it must be accessible to people with disabilities. See guideline related to accessibility: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Specs, user agents and content should all be made accessible by the platform, and users should be able to meaningfully participate in the creation of these components. Various disabilities may constitute an accessibility component, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and so on
It's our responsibility to build platforms in a way that respects users' right to have their personal data protected. We will write specs and build platforms in a way that respects their right to have their data protected. The data we collect includes their conversations, their financial transactions, and everything else they do. We will start by creating technologies that provide as few risks as possible and be sure people understand what they are risking by using our services.
Our work will encourage free expression, but will not compromise other human rights. We will not support attempts to limit this freedom by censorship, surveillance, or other methods. To uphold this principle, we need to balance it with respect for other human rights, and not assume that all speech shall be supported on the web. (For example, hate speech, harassment, and abuse can be denied a platform)
We must build web technologies that help counter misinformation, allowing information sources to be traced and facts to be checked. This architectural principle is a crucial tenet of web security, and we will ensure the new technologies we develop do not only work toward but also work against it.
Developing new technologies and platforms can have potentially destructive effects. We try to mitigate against these possible abuses and patterns and avoid introducing technologies that may increase the likelihood of such harm.
To this end, we believe that a decentralized web architecture can be beneficial. We will also design technology that is friendly to individual developers as well as to developers at large companies and organizations. The web should make development more accessible.
We want to avoid worsening the situation by introducing new web technologies to the web that will consume more power. We will maximize the lifespan of physical devices and minimize the data storage and processing requirements.
Our commitment is to ensure it is possible to trace the development paths of web applications and understand how they work. As well, we will always ensure it is possible to audit and inspect web applications and underlying software for security or privacy reasons.
We do not want URLs to be created so they work only in one browser. A URL should offer a consistent, thematic experience regardless of how it is accessed. There are a variety of choices that come with multiple interoperable implementations, meaning web ecosystems continuously improve.
We will build platforms and write specs that respect people's sovereignty and will create user agents to represent those preferences on someone's behalf. People should be able to install style sheets, assistive browser extensions, and blockers of unwanted content or scripts.(3)
Read more about ethical aspects of Web Development here.
I agree withAdrian Wheelerwho says reputation is a slow process and he distinguishes 6 components that allow building a good reputation:
• Be obsessed with your product or service: Nothing comes close to superior product quality in influencing the way people feel about your organisation.
• Deserve confidence: Lead from the front and engender trust from employees and customers.
• Be available: Don’t hide behind a wall of middle managers and advisers. Build relationships with customers, employees and suppliers.
• Admit mistakes: If mistakes are made, admit them and respond rapidly.
• Engage people’s interest: For CEOs and companies, taking up a public cause separates you or your company from the rest. Get all staff involved.
• Have something to say: Most people think business is boring, so make it interesting and human. CEOs can use their own and the business’s personality to communicate with impact and colour.(4)
Respect for your employer, clients and peers is also part of reputation and an important part of a culture of work. We can benefit from the workplace where employers and employees are aware of rules which can help to create a more positive atmosphere at work. A work environment where respect is standard could be less stressed and reduce the impact of work on our health. Moreover respect improve productivity, collaboration and employees satisfaction.
Summarized: employees should create an environment where employers have the opportunity to present their knowledge and skills, regardless of their background. Also, every individual at work should have a voice as his colleagues, and everyone's ideas are appreciated, no matter where they come from. Therefore is very important to understand how to create this kind of environment because everyone can benefit also clients.
Professionalism is a concept which looks perfect on the paper however, we need to be aware of the fact wrong understanding of professionalism by employers can kill creativity. Some employers create space that could be demanding to creative and ambitious people by imposing the approach of being just a standard proper worker by reducing your emotional connection related to the process of creation or motivation. In my opinion professionalism work in two ways, therefore is very important to find an employer who will support you to grow up your creativity the same as professionalism because they are just two sides of a coin in a creative industry.
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