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Current Sociology
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Professional Discourses under the Pressure of Economic Values

The Case of French Architects, Landscape Designers and Industrial Designers

Florent Champy

National Centre for Scientific Research

More and more professionals are being put under intense pressure by markets and organizations to achieve ‘economization’ of their field of activity. The new discourse of professionalism and the managerial norms that characterize it illustrate these pressures. Despite this evolution, which jeopardizes the autonomy of professions as an alternative form of coordination of economic activities to that of markets and organizations, some professional groups still seek to achieve the status of a self-regulated profession or at least some of the advantages of it. The case of industrial designers and landscape designers, as shown in this article, however, bears testimony that these pressures for economization have had a strong effect on the evolution of the discourse of these professionals and of their representatives seeking recognition. The economic benefits of the professional work for both clients and employers as well as for society as a whole now constitute a key theme in this discourse. However, the case of architects, an old profession already quite well protected, shows how dangerous it can be to maintain a traditional discourse without adapting it to new requirements from the professionals’ partners in economic life.

Key Words: architects • designers • professional autonomy • professional discourse • professionalism • professionalization • state regulation • training

Current Sociology, Vol. 54, No. 4, 649-661 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0011392106065095
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