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164 Corporate Communications in Practice

organization theory, processes and tactics, and (3) the knowledge and skills concerning
research and environmental scanning. Detailed scorecards for measuring the knowl-
edge and skills for each practitioner in each of these areas were subsequently drawn
up, and the audit was conducted.
The results of the audit revealed that the workforce was generally knowledgeable
and also skilled in communications management, but that there was not enough
differentiation between the different profiles or roles of practitioners. When cast in
their official roles of technician (at either a junior or senior level) or manager, there
was not enough differentiation between practitioners performing manager and tech-
nician roles. That is, in some areas such as strategic planning and communications
strategy development, managers were not particularly more knowledgeable than
their technician counterparts. Senior management therefore decided to sharpen the
profiles of their managers and technicians, and to draw up a formal chart of what
knowledge and skills are required at each level: junior technician, senior technician,
manager/advisor, manager/executive. In this way, it became clear what was required
of practitioners in any one role, and also what training and development was needed
to support practitioners in their professional development.

6.3 The status and development of
the communications profession

Virtually all organizations, with the exception of small businesses, have one or more
communications practitioners working within them.These practitioners, as we have
seen, carry out various tasks and activities, and in the general patterns of activities
that they undertake can be characterized as technicians or managers. In other words,
the practice or occupation of communications management thus simply exists as an
inevitable part of organizations, with thousands of practitioners being employed in
communications roles in companies across the world. This observation, of course,
simply asserts that communications is practised in large measure across organizations,
which furthermore begs the more qualitative question of whether the current way
in which it is practised is valued and can be characterized as a true and full-grown
profession.

Communications management as a profession

To answer whether the way in which communications is nowadays practised can be
qualified as a profession, instead of as a mere occupation, one of course first needs to
have a clear picture of what a profession actually entails.Wylie suggests that interdis-
ciplinary guidelines for a ‘profession’ as opposed to a mere occupation generally
include requirements for (a) a well-defined body of scholarly knowledge, (b) com-
pletion of some standardized and prescribed course of study, (c) examination and
certification by a state as an authoritative body, and (d) oversight by a state agency
which has disciplinary powers over practitioners’ behaviours. 13 Reflecting upon
professionalism in the practice of communications, Nelson added that professionalism