Autonomy, Accountability, and Professional Practice: Contemporary Issues and Challenges

Contemporary society holds numerous challenges to professionals. These include coping with the information explosion, responding to heightened consumer awareness and demands on services, and in meeting ever increasing regimes of compliance within an era of mangerialism and accountability. This article explores these issues and posits some responses for professionals including developing robust communities of practice to enhance context specific knowledge generation and in enhancing the political profile and representation of professional groups within decision making fora.