Title: The discursive construction of professionalisation in British management

Authors: John Wilson, Janet Hewitt, Peter Thomas

Addresses: University of Liverpool Management School, Chatham St., Liverpool, L69 7ZH, UK. ' Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, UK. ' Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, UK

Abstract: In assessing the professionalisation of British management and the influential position enjoyed by accountants in British business, a multidisciplinary approach is adopted in order to provide a better understanding of the processes at work. After devoting some space to analysing the literature on professionalisation, our main concerns are: 1) the degree to which British management has become professional; 2) the relationship between managers and accountants; 3) the extent in which the former |mimic| the latter. The power exerted by accountants could well be seen to have successfully challenged the autonomy of other managers, further undermining the ability of the latter to lay claim to any professional status.

Keywords: professionalisation; managerial professionalism; accountants in business; mimicry; UK; United Kingdom; professional management; managers; accountants.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCA.2010.033435

International Journal of Critical Accounting, 2010 Vol.2 No.3, pp.319 - 336

Published online: 02 Jun 2010 *

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