Who is a Professional?

Background Note | HBS Case Collection | December 2003 (Revised March 2005)

Who is a Professional?

Abstract

Many occupations lay claim to professional status. Business executives, social workers, musicians, sportsmen, and academics describe their occupations as "professions". Office assistants call themselves "administrative professionals". Obviously, not all occupations that claim to be professions are so recognized by society. Society attaches the professional label only to certain occupations. Doctors and lawyers are professionals; auto mechanics and restaurant wait staff are not. Yet, gray areas exist. Are nurses professionals? Teachers? Real estate brokers? This case identifies the distinguishing characteristics of professional work. Professionals are a subcategory of service providers. An understanding of what distinguishes professionals from other service providers must be grounded in an understanding of 1.) what constitutes service provisions and 2.) how the various categories of service provision differ.

Keywords: Status and Position; Jobs and Positions; Service Industry;

Format: Print

9 pages

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Citation:

Nanda, Ashish. "Who is a Professional?" Harvard Business School Background Note 904-047, December 2003. (Revised March 2005.)

As a strategist, you must decide for your firm what products to produce, what customers to serve, what geographies to operate in, and what activities to perform. This note on Corporate Strategy, which introduces the fifth module of the RC Strategy course, offers a perspective for thinking about how these questions can be addressed so that you can determine the scope of your firm across three dimensions (horizontal, vertical, and geographic), and, given the scope, manage it in the most effective manner.

This note provides a perspective and some tools to predict and shape interactions with other players when making strategic decisions. As a strategist, you must consider that your firm’s actions evoke reactions from other players in the market and that, reciprocally, you may need to respond to their actions. The note on Strategic Interactions introduces students to the fourth module of the RC Strategy course. We look at strategic interactions in three contexts: between players along the supply chain, between symmetrically placed rivals, and between asymmetrically placed rivals. Common themes run through the three circumstances, but there are important distinctions as well.

For years, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz—a small, New York City law firm—has consistently boasted the highest profits per partner and one of the highest “prestige” ratings among U.S.-based law firms. The firm has remained loyal to a distinctive strategy ever since its founding in 1965. Whereas most law firms have multiple offices, seek long-term retainer relationships with clients, operate across multiple services, and bill by the hour, Wachtell Lipton operates from a single location, offers legal services on a matter-by-matter basis, focuses on transactional work (primarily M&A advisory), and value bills for its services. Despite its extraordinary success, as the legal services market evolves and the firm’s name partners, 87-year-old Herbert Wachtell and 88-year-old Marty Lipton, approach retirement, questions arise about whether Wachtell Lipton’s magic formula will continue to yield extraordinary results in coming years.

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Who is a Professional?

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