Professionalism founders where ambiguity reigns

Leanda Lee - PhD. Assistant Professor, School of Management, Leadership and Government. Co-coordinator MBA Program and Coordinator Career Center, USJ.

You always know when there is a lack of professionalism somewhere – all hell breaks loose. It is not always clear, however, at which point in the complexity of any business or community event that individuals have been unable to act in a professional and responsible manner. The finger may be explicitly pointed in one direction but the reality of the situation is hidden from view of those not privy to the machinations of politics.
In any organisation, people sadly leave under less than happy terms to both themselves and the organisation. It is always a difficult situation for the organisation, the employee and those left behind. There are legal terms of contract to which organisations typically pay heed but then there is the more powerful psychological contract. This is often thought to be the expectations of what organisations should deliver to the employee but is better understood as the belief held by the individual employee of what the organisation promised them in return for their input. As it is believed to be a promise, violations of the terms of these individually perceived contracts can lead to lowered performance outcomes or counter productive behaviours whilst in the employ of an organisation but can also lead to very strong counterproductive behaviours damaging the organisation and other employees. The difficulty from an organisation’s perspective is understanding the power of the psychological contract and acknowledging that it is probably more important than the legal one.
When organisations are in stages of growth or change, tasks are ambiguous and norms have not yet been developed. This creates a situation in which psychological contract violation can occur more easily. Our university is one such place due to its entrepreneurial nature and developing pedagogical norms. These changes are happening in order to create an educational environment to suit the unique characteristics of Macau’s students moving into a complex internationalising community. I have never worked for such a dynamic and collegial environment in my entire working life and I have worked for a range of outstanding and successful organisations and universities in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Japan spanning 25 years. You can walk through our corridors and see office doors wide open and accepting of students and other colleagues at any time of the day and night. The care, friendliness and professionalism of the staff are palpable. The ongoing contributions by these academics to community columns such as this one and many other Macau publications are indicative of the citizenship behaviour that emanates from our university fellows. When you are greeted by a student whom you have never met before in the lift or the hallways with a smile and a comment, you know that something is right in this organisation. However, when an organisation differs from the average in its industry, people often fail to acknowledge good work due to a lack of understanding. At our university we work in challenging but mostly under rewarding circumstances. These academics are true academic professionals dealing with students whom many other universities fail to offer a chance and do so with a great deal of respect.
Macau is not an easy place to attempt to offer an international degree. With open access for students it is a very tall order supporting all levels of ability throughout the four years of an undergraduate program. It might just call for some unusual methods with which many of us might be uncomfortable.

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