Towards the Construction of Organisational Professionalism in Public Service Interpreting
Jiqing Dong
Jemina Napier
2381/44621
https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Towards_the_Construction_of_Organisational_Professionalism_in_Public_Service_Interpreting/10220483
As an exploratory step into a larger qualitative investigation of the changing role of agencies
intersecting the professionalisation of public service interpreting, the case study undertaken in
this paper aims to explore the interpreters’ expectation of agencies and how that contrasts
with the viewpoints from organisational leadership. Fieldwork was conducted within an
interpreting agency in the UK. Preliminary findings revealed that interpreters have relatively
high expectations of their work organisation in the provision of screening, training,
monitoring and other support. Managers, on the other hand, are keen on constructing
organisational professionalism to inform practice. This implies that agencies might have
gone far beyond the traditional role of information broker to become a crucial institutional
gatekeeper and the centre of the occupational community. Unethically managed, it may
exacerbate the fragmentation of the employment structure through encroaching professional
autonomy, thus increasing the precariousness of the work relationship. Among other things,
this paper highlights the lacuna in theorisations of commercial organisations in the
professional project framework and the need for a more inclusive approach to understanding
the factors that affect an occupation to professionalise, one that gives more weight to the
social context and the key actors in shaping the change.
2019-06-26 11:20:27
public service interpreting
interpreting agencies
professionalisation
organisational professionalism