Work and Integrity: The Crisis and Promise of Professionalism in America

by William M. Sullivan, Lee S. Shulman

"Work and Integrity" is a timely resource that examines the crisis as well as the promise of professionalism in contemporary society. This vital book argues for the importance of a new civic professionalism that reflects the ideals of democracy and public service in our ever more complex economic environment. A publication of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, "Work and Integrity" explores the most current thinking on the various (and often conflicting) ways in which the concept of professional work is understood. Using examples from the United States and Europe, the author describes how the professions evolved from a limited kind of genteel occupation into one of the most widely emulated and sought-after models of work. The book also explores the rise of complex institutions of industrial and postindustrial society, especially the university and the bureaucratic structures of business, government, health care, and education.

Genres: Academic

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 2004

Reviews

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly readable history of the rise of the professions in America, the cultural and economic forces that now threaten to erode them, and what is needed to recapture a sense of the linkages between vocation and the public good.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was awkwardly written by someone who, in an attempt to make himself seem knowledgeable, came across as the opposite when he tried to string complex words together instead of simply using the right words.

[loafingcactus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very readable discussion of the issues addressed by Weber and Ellul. Though the author never cites Ellul, which accounts for the saccharine and unlikely conclusion.

[Spacek Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sullivan lays out the history of professionalism very thoroughly.