Abstract:
There is a common perception among corporate security managers that their occupation is afforded less status and is rewarded less well than the other management functions within business. In response to similar conceptions of the need to raise the value and status of their work, other occupations have historically embarked on so-called ‘professional projects’ whereby they collectively attempt to harness their specialist skills and knowledge as a commodity, the value of which they seek to raise and maintain.
This small- scale qualitative study is intended to provide an insight into the analysis of corporate security managers and directors as to the health of their occupation and its standing in the modern corporate world. The study then examines the methods which other occupations have used to successfully improve the status of their practitioners and the value of their work. Finally, based on the analysis of the security managers and directors and the experience of other occupations, a broad strategy for corporate security’s own professional project is proposed.
This study suggests that corporate security is currently enjoying divergent fortunes. The most successful security managers and directors enjoy parity of status with their peers from other functions and have taken on responsibilities far in excess of the traditional security department’s remit. However, at the other end of the spectrum there are many security managers who are afforded an inferior status to that of managers from other functions. As a result, they struggle to attract significant responsibility or resources within their organisations. The research suggests that other management functions have historically faced similar problems in their development. These other functions have used strategies of occupational negotiation, boundary work, closure and monopolisation to overcome their problems. Together these measures have constituted professional projects. Based on the appetite for professionalisation among our security managers, and the success of professional projects in comparable occupations, this study concludes that security management should embark on a professional project of its own.
