Q.Is management a full-fledged profession? Explain your answer with reference to the essential features of a profession.

Testing management against the standard features of a profession shows it meets some but not all of the criteria.

A profession requires: (a) a well-defined, specialised body of knowledge; (b) restricted entry through a formal, compulsory qualifying examination; (c) a professional association to regulate the profession; and (d) a code of conduct binding on its members.

Management satisfies (a) partly — formal management education (MBA and similar courses) does provide a systematic body of knowledge — but fails (b): unlike a doctor (who must hold an MBBS and be registered with a medical council) or a chartered accountant (who must qualify the CA examination and be a member of ICAI), no legally compulsory qualification is required to become a manager. A person can become a manager purely on the strength of experience, without any formal management degree at all. Professional bodies for managers (such as the AIMA) exist, but membership is voluntary, not a legal requirement to practise.

Because the restricted-entry and compulsory-qualification tests are not fully met, management is best described as an emerging profession — moving towards, but not yet fully, a profession in the strict legal sense.

Answering simply "yes, because MBA colleges exist" without addressing that entry into management, unlike medicine or law, is not legally restricted to those who hold such a qualification.