Between academic dissertation and technical school work: sketching a model for 'professionals studies' in administration

Abstract

This paper justifies and sets up the basics of a method for final works of non-academic graduate courses, in administration – but going beyond the circumstance of being linked to a “course”. They are conceived as dif-ferent to as academically formatted works, such as dissertations, as technical monograph pieces (Act n. 80/98, BRAZIL, 1999). We will call them here “monographic studies by organization professionals” or, for brevity sake, “professionals studies”, without intending to innovate by the expression or speaking of something not practised yet. Support is taken on linguistics and philosophy of language, both of pragmatic bases. The starting point is that we face a particular speech genre, defined by the pragmatic context of symbolic interaction with an audi-tory of professionals interested in strategic self-orientation and decision-making in practical situations. This is to define a specific, non-colloquial language game, with high level of justification for those intentions and entitled to scientific status. After drawing a scheme of theoretical basis, the concept of professionals studies in admini-stration is set up and distinguished of other close speech genres in use. Some crucial points of method are raised from author’s experience. The essay concludes by some questions on the theoretical and institutional horizon of the proposal.