This industry covers membership organizations of professional persons for the advancement of the interests of their profession.
813920 (Professional Organizations)
Professional membership organizations spent the mid and late 1990s stepping up efforts to attract members and remain the premier catalysts for their fields. These associations remain a vital source of information for individuals practicing in those fields, as well as for related businesses that take advantage of associations for client outreach and valuable marketing information. Among the chief concerns of associations was to establish a strong presence on the Internet, which has rapidly become one of the primary sources of the type of rapidly evolving information in which major associations specialize. Moreover, an Internet presence afforded associations the opportunity to greatly streamline their operation by cutting down printing and meeting costs.
In 1999, there were approximately 135,000 associations operating in the United States, up from 100,000 in 1995. Of these, 110,000 were local, state, or regional associations; 23,000 were national; and 1,300 were international. Associations annually contribute more than $48 billion to the U.S. economy, provide some 295,000 jobs, and annually spend $56 billion to host meetings and conventions. According to the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the national organization for association managers, 9 out of 10 adults in the United States belonged to at least one association in the mid 1990s, and one in 4 belonged to four or more associations. As many as 1,000 new associations crop up each year.
Professional membership organizations are nonprofit voluntary membership associations that represent individuals with a common background in a subject or profession such as law, medicine, or accounting. Three types of professional societies exist. The first includes any group with a common personal interest such as, the International Society of Stamp Collectors. The second type is dedicated to religious, charitable, public service, or fraternal causes such, as the National Council on Aging or the American Heart Association. The third classification covers organizations dealt with in this industry classification. This category includes scientific, engineering, and learned societies whose purpose is to advance knowledge related to their respective fields. Examples include the American Chemical Society, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the National Association of Accountants.
The main responsibilities of professional membership organizations are to provide and enforce standards of professional practice and to conduct research. These organizations generally also provide educational programs to their members, and most supply current information and research materials to their members, governmental agencies, and the public. Since dissemination of timely information has been of the utmost importance, implementation of communications technology has become critical for effective association management.
Professional membership organizations include bar associations, dental associations, engineering associations, medical associations, professional standard review boards, and scientific membership associations. The memberships of professional societies are made up of individual doctors, dentists, or scientists. Membership services generally have been designed to benefit the individual members and include continued education, accreditation programs, government relations, publishing, and research.
Professional membership organizations can be organized at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels. Sometimes an individual may be a member of an organization at several different levels. For example, a doctor may belong to the local, state, and national levels of the American Medical Association. Groups with similar interests also can belong to a federation or collection of professional membership organizations, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Most professional societies, depending upon the nature of their membership, fall under one of the following tax-exempt categories defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Classification 501(c)(3) includes religious, charitable, scientific, public safety testing, literacy, and educational organizations. Section 501(c)(4) covers civic or social welfare organizations and local associations of employees. Section 501(c)(5) includes labor, agricultural, and horticultural groups.
The structure of a professional membership organization depends upon the size of its membership and its budget. A large national organization may have hundreds of people on its staff. Usually, a board of directors sets the policies of an organization, and the executives and staff members are responsible for the implementation of these policies. Divisions within a professional society include the legislative staff, meeting planners, publications executives, public relations personnel, information and research executives, membership services personnel, and fund-raisers.
The formation of professional associations in the United States began during the Industrial Revolution. However, most of these groups were trade-related, not professional societies. As the United States began to develop urban areas in the mid 1800s, many professional and educational groups were established. Some organizations, such as those representing medicine, law, and accounting, were created specifically to develop and enforce standards of practice. The following organizations are among those formed during this period: the American Medical Association, founded in 1854; the American Dental Association, established in 1859; and the American Bar Association, created in 1878.
By 1900, 100 national associations existed in the United States, and by the end of World War I, that number had reached 1,000. After World War II, many trade associations changed their focus or evolved into new organizations due to technological advances in the modern business community. However, unlike trade groups, professional membership organizations maintain many of the same responsibilities as they did when they were first founded.
By the late 1990s, associations were increasingly mirroring the behavior of the industries they represent. As merger activity sweeps across all industries, associations from different but related industries have likewise merged in order to maintain viable and effective membership. Seeking out new strategies to provide high-quality services to their members and the public, professional membership organizations have increasingly relied on non-dues income, such as fees derived from online information provision. At the same time, however, new associations have arisen quickly to serve the interests of emerging industries, particularly those related to technology. For example, twenty-five technology companies joined forces in 1999 to establish the ASP Industry Consortium to develop and implement guidelines for software service companies. Companies involved included as AT&T Corp., International Business Machines Corp., and Compaq Computer Corp.
Professional societies conduct research, set professional standards, collect statistical information, produce educational programs, and represent their members' interest before legislative and regulatory bodies. They also provide information about their respective fields of study to many audiences, including the general public, association members, and government officials.
Perhaps the most important responsibility of professional societies has been the development and enforcement of standards of practice and safety as well as ethical codes. These organizations provide education and testing for certification, accreditation, and licensing of their membership. They also encourage the peer review process, offer courses that meet legal requirements, and issue standards that form the basis for disciplinary action. Approximately 30 percent of all professional societies set professional standards and 15 percent certify that these standards are met.
Membership education has also played a critical role in professional societies, since the public interest is served by the quality of members' service and standardized accreditation. About 95 percent of professional membership organizations offer such educational programs, leading to annual expenditures of more than $3 billion on educational programs and services, while 46 percent offer scholarships. Seventy-one percent of all associations gather statistics and conduct research. For professional societies, the duty of research has been part of their very definition and purpose of existence. Research findings set important new directions and define the scope, standards, and trends within a particular field, and are often a primary source of government research and statistical compilations. This information usually is shared through some form of print or electronic journal published by the professional society. According to survey conducted by the ASAE, 62 percent of associations publish both periodicals and non-periodical literature; among these, 33 percent publish only periodicals, 82 percent publish newsletters, and 75 percent publish magazines and scholarly or research journals.
One of the most visible activities of professional membership organizations has been legislative or lobbying efforts. Approximately 40 percent of all national associations have at least one lobbyist and one-third maintain political action committees (PACs). PACs are particularly popular among smaller organizations; 52 percent of state and regional associations have political action committees. Professional societies allocate approximately 5 percent of their total annual expenditures to providing information to Congress regarding legislative or regulatory proposals that could affect the activities of their membership.
Other issues relevant to professional societies, as shown by advertising expenditures, include environmentalism, energy conservation, and health care costs. For example, in 1999 a coalition of scientific organizations pooled their resources to launch an $8 million campaign for television, radio, and print advertisements to raise public awareness of and spark political action against global warning. Future trends likely to affect these groups include, shifting values and attitudes in the workplace, technological innovations, decline in quality education, increased regulations, and a growing global economy.
American Medical Association. Founded in 1854, the American Medical Association's (AMA) membership totaled 295,000 in 1998. Headquartered in Chicago, the organization maintained 54 state groups representing physicians and county medical societies. In 1962, the AMA boasted 82.1 percent of the country's physicians as members. By 1998, that figure had dropped to slightly more than 40 percent; the number of total physicians, however, nearly tripled over that period.
With an annual budget of $190 million, the AMA disseminates a tremendous amount of information to both the public and members of the medical profession. The AMA informs members about medical and health legislation at the state and national levels, and represents its membership to legislative and regulatory bodies. It also assesses physicians' adherence to its uniform standards through the American Medical Accreditation Program and seeks to enforce ethical codes of conduct for use throughout the medical profession. In 1999, the AMA established a national labor organization, the Physicians for Responsible Negotiations, which represents practicing physicians to increase their leverage in patient-care management decisions.
With a $60-million publishing operation, the AMA is the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific information. Two of its most well-known publications are American Medical News, a weekly publication covering political, social, and economic issues as they pertain to medical care, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA) a weekly publication devoted to topics in general medicine. The AMA also assists in setting standards for medical schools, hospitals, residency programs, and continuing medical education courses. In addition, the organization offers physician placement services and counseling regarding practice management issues.
American Bar Association. The American Bar Association (ABA) is the world's largest voluntary professional association, with a budget of $100 million in 1999. Founded in 1878, it is a national organization that represents all attorneys in good standing of the bar throughout the United States. The ABA is headquartered in Chicago, has 380,000 individual members, including 40,000 dues-paying associates and law students, and is affiliated with 20 other professional organizations.
The ABA addresses broad social concerns, which in the 1990s encompassed the high costs of litigation, legal services, domestic violence, and free press and fair trial issues. This organization conducts research, provides educational programs and public services, and seeks to improve the administration of civil and criminal justice. The ABA has 800 employees who operate 25 sections, including Criminal Justice, Economics of Law Practice, and Family Law. The organization's major publication is the monthly ABA Journal, which covers developments in law and association news.
American Dental Association. Founded in 1859, the American Dental Association (ADA) is a national professional society for dentists with 54 state or territorial and 529 local dental societies. Its membership of 141,000 gives the ADA a market share of 70 percent of all dentists in the United States. This organization promotes dental health issues to the public and dentistry issues regarding legislation, standards, and regulation. The ADA inspects and accredits dental schools and schools for dental hygienists, assistants, and laboratory technicians through its Commission on Dental Accreditation, which derives its authority from the U.S. Department of Education.
The ADA, which maintains a 50,000-volume library, conducts a vast amount of research and produces most of the dental health educational materials used in the United States. The organization also compiles statistics regarding personnel, practices, dental care needs, and attitudes of patients, as well as maintaining a biographical history of dentists in the United States. The ADA is headquartered in Chicago, operates with a staff of over 400, and has a $57.7 million budget. Its official publication is The Journal of the American Dental Association, as well as the ADA News and the Index to Dental Literature.
American Association for the Advancement of Science. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest general organization representing all areas in the field of science. Its membership includes 143,000 individuals from 130 countries, including 120,000 members in the United States, and 296 societies, professional organizations, and state and city academies. Founded in 1848, the AAAS, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has a staff of 300 people, and a $44 million budget. It retains close links to 275 affiliated societies with more than 7 million additional members.
The goal of the AAAS is to promote the work of scientists and "improve the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfare." This professional membership organization conducts seminars and colloquia regarding scientific issues. The AAAS plays a role in settling crucial scientific questions and addresses issues such as population growth, environmental destruction, and viral infections. It also produces an annual report and a monograph series that provide information about proposed federal research and the development budget for the upcoming year, and maintains Science Online on the World Wide Web. Its highly respected weekly journal Science boasts a readership of more than 500,000 people.
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is a professional society of accountants certified by the states and territories. The organization was founded in 1887, and in 1999 had 330,000 individual members, with 42.0 percent composed of accountants working in industry, 41.0 percent in public practice, 2.4 percent in education, and 4.4 percent in government. Headquartered in New York, the AICPA employs 700 people. This organization has become known for its preparation and grading of the national Uniform CPA Examination for state licensing bodies. Other responsibilities of the AICPA include, establishing, auditing, and reporting standards and determining the financial accounting standards included in the financial statements of U.S. companies. The AICPA also conducts research and continuing education programs and operates more than 135 boards, committees, and subcommittees that deal with issues ranging from accounting standards and professional ethics to computer services.
The AICPA publishes a number of newsletters and journals. The most prominent of these publications include: CPA Client Bulletin, a monthly publication for clients of AICPA members; CPA Examinations, a semiannual study package of past CPA examinations and unofficial answers; and the Journal of Accountancy, a monthly publication covering all aspects of accounting for practitioners and financial executives. It also produced the CPA Client Tax Letter, the CPA Healthcare Client Letter, and Practicing CPA.
National Society of Professional Engineers. Founded in 1934, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) is an organization representing professional engineers and engineers-in-training in all fields registered in the United States and Canada. The NSPE, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, has a staff of 49 and a $6 million budget. Qualified graduate engineers, student members, and registered land surveyors are among the organization's 60,000 members, who are organized in 500 chapters.
The NSPE is concerned with the social, professional, ethical, and economic considerations of engineering as a profession. It focuses on these issues through a number of public relations programs and provides continuing education programs. The organization also monitors legislative and regulatory actions of interest to the engineering profession. The NSPE publishes the monthly Engineering Times.
More than 295,000 people are employed in associations throughout the United States. This figure has declined gradually since the early 1990s, reflecting the consolidation forced by downsized and concentrated industries. Staff size and responsibilities largely reflect the membership size and budget of each association. Employment positions within associations generally have been divided evenly between executive and staff positions.
As associations continue to grow in size and strength, so have the possibilities for employment within these organizations. According to Ronald Krannich, author of Jobs and Careers with Nonprofit Organizations, all organizations need people with fund-raising skills. Professional organizations need communication specialists, researchers, writers, meeting planners, publicists, and lobbyists as well. Because staff members are exposed to a wide variety of functions and responsibilities, association employment can offer tremendous advancement potential. Executives can earn salaries nearing the $1 million mark.
Entry-level employment at associations generally can be found in the areas of conference planning, public relations, or membership services. Most jobs require that employees have a liberal arts degree with strong interpersonal and communication skills, and some computer knowledge. Additional education, such as an M.B.A. or legal training, may be necessary for financial services or legislative positions. Association executives may earn Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation upon the successful completion of a one-day, written test.
Although associations are located across the United States, many can be found in metropolitan areas. Perhaps reflecting the growing prominence of political action committees, Washington, D.C., is home to more professional membership organizations that any other city, boasting 2,500 association headquarters. New York City followed with 1,900, and Chicago placed third with 1,500. Moreover, many professional membership organizations have chapters located in or near state capitals.
The emerging global community has increased the interest and the need for U.S. professional membership organizations to share their talents overseas, especially with growing business communities in emerging democracies. Many organizations have begun to develop subcommittees or international task forces to deal with these expanding needs as they pertain to their respective profession. For example, the International Relations Task Force of the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) has begun to work with several international professional and financial organizations. This group has been providing education and networking opportunities with foreign officials, and has been assisting U.S. and Canadian finance officers in becoming competitive in the international economy. The GFOA has been especially active in Eastern Europe.
Staff members of professional societies who handle international relations issues usually have expertise in overcoming language barriers, finding alternative delivery systems, and forming chapters outside the United States. Most often, these people most often are contacted by members regarding international economic, social, and political issues.
Effective information management has become a vital function for the successful professional society, and the driving force for the computerization of their office operations. Eighty-one percent of all professional organizations incorporated networked personal computers. More and more associations were bringing their information and operations online, often to generate additional revenues. For example, the AMA has made especially aggressive moves to tap into this resource, recognizing that health information represents one of the most commonly sought topics on the World Wide Web. In conjunction with six other medical associations, the AMA invested heavily to establish Medem.com to compete with the growing number of other major online heath-information services that do not promote physician-empowerment. The American Society of Association Executives, moreover, concluded an agreement with Microsoft Corp. in 1998 whereby the software giant agreed to build technological proficiency, resource access, and a model upon which associations can develop more effective networks with members. "Members only" sections on Web sites increasingly connect organization members beyond firewalls and generate additional revenue for the association from the online purchase of information materials and from advertisers. About two-thirds of the associations maintain Web sites, while more than three-fourths have e-mail.
Most large professional societies purchased mainframe systems in the 1970s to automate their record keeping. They added personal computers during the 1980s, and by the 1990s had amassed a collection of computers unable to communicate or interact with one another. Therefore, many of these organizations have begun to use local area networks (LANs) in order to share information among their departments. For instance, the AMA has been converting its legal information system from a Wang VS 300 minicomputer to microcomputer LANs with the intention of simplifying the coordination of work groups and reducing downtime. The AMA also has moved from a proprietary system to an open client/server setup, hoping to unite a divided user community and consolidate several small data centers.
With the use of LANs, many professional membership organizations have begun to operate database management systems and experiment with a variety of software packages and hardware products. Some of these items include legislative affairs and grassroots software, relational database software, text-based information retrieval programs, and bar coding and document scanners.
Many associations are now involved in some kind of Internet interaction, whether it is a World Wide Web home page or other online research capabilities. Marketing their programs and products, recruiting new members, and providing educational information and services to members and the public can be easily accomplished on the Internet or other electronic databases, making technology of the 1990s an important tool for success.
"AMA Hopes Strategy Will Click." Pharmaceutical Executive, December 1999.
"Consortium Is Formed To Develop New Class Of Software Services." Wall Street Journal, 12 May 1999.
Dea, Don, and Hugh K. Lee. Online Strategies: Association Models for Success. Washington, D.C.: American Society of Association Executives, 1999.
"It's Lucrative At the Top." Modern Healthcare, 8 March 1999.
"Top Medical Bodies Join Net Gold Rush." Online Reporter, 1 November 1999.
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