Evaluating the Professionalism of Real Estate Agents Paper Example

Introduction

Professions refer to occupations with autonomy, power, and social influence. Because the government typically strengthens the power that professional bodies have, state recognition is a fundamental moment in professionalization process, and major powerful professions such as law and medicine are controlled by regulatory legislation giving them better market position and other advantages (Adams, 2009, p. 218). While states are beneficial to professions, the creation of professions improves state legitimacy and helps in state governance.

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Recent studies have examined the relationship between the state and professions in details and revealed that the relationship between the state and professions vary across space, time, and professions (Adams, 2009, p. 218). The studies majorly centered across national differences describing how professions in the US and UK are more autonomous, self -regulating and more loosely connected to the government than their western European colleagues. However, few studies have examined emerging trends in the relationship between states and professions across time. Adams (2009) also noted that numerous historical studies have explored the creation of professions in particular periods and highlighted individual efforts of each profession to gain state recognition, as well as, the political and social factors that made the professions to succeed. Equally, they have examined the myriad of political, social, and occupational changes that supported the rise of careers to a position of power and the influence of early years of the 20th century. Surprisingly, few researchers have explored the general state of the relationship that exists between professions and the government despite the fact that the state recognition of professions in specific might have changed since the 20th century.

Adams (2009) reported that new regulatory legislation has brought closer regulations and more state controls to numerous professions across Canada. Intuitively, these developments seem to emanate from changing state priorities such as the urge to minimize state expenditures, as well as, the desire to respond to various consumer complaints. Studies across Canada reveal that economic patterns, changes in the nature and structure of the welfare state, as well as, the need to cut down state expenses are driving state institutions to actively engage in regulating professions such as real estate and other professional bodies (Adams, 2009, p. 218). Intuitively, studies of real estate professionals across Canada indicate that the professional regulation has changed significantly and co-governing and creation of a regulatory branch is a common practice in the country. Further, the practice of self-governing in the real estate profession is no longer practical as a government has formed numerous regulatory branches to control the real estate sector. These changes have elicited divergent views from various quotes on whether the state should continue to regulate real estate agents and establish a regulatory branch or allow realtors to regulate themselves. Therefore, this paper examines the changing nature of the real estate profession by offers arguments supporting self-regulation of real estate agents those supporting co-governing and establishment of the regulatory branch to control the real estate sector in Canada.

Arguments for Self-Governing and No Regulatory Branch

Self-regulation of real estate agents in Canada has existed for many years. Currently, the Financial Planners Association of Canada, a charitable organization is lobbying the government to recognize them as the professional self-regulating organization for real estate agents and financial planners. At the same time, the Canadian Antique Dealers Association argues that self-regulation is the most appropriate response for fraudulent assessment against consumers, as well as insurance organizations as opposed to government regulations (Adams, 2009, p.219). These individuals contend that ensuring that real estate agents are self-governing brings some order in the profession because realtors will be able to create legislation and make rules, explore, and adjudicate alleged misconducts and enforce penalties on members who violate such rules and legislation.

Allowing for self-government protects the public interest, provides citizens with independent representatives of the government and ensures self-regulatory body that can investigate and discipline bad behaviors of the members of the profession thus maintains the existing independence from the government control or regulations (Brockman, 1998, p. 589). Although safeguarding the public is included in the battle cry of every career, ensuring self-regulatory of real estate agents provides the agents with the means through which they can govern themselves and protect the vulnerable public.

Realtors should be self-regulated to ensure that real estate industry remains autonomous. Principally, different regions in Canada especially Saskatchewan and Ontario have seen real estate profession achieving a high level of autonomy because of the self-regulation that enacted (Brockman, 2010, p.6). In these regions, the lieutenant governor was not much concerned with the professional affairs especially in the early period but changed his mindset in the early 1960s. In Saskatchewan, the key change was abrupt and sweeping. In the year 1948, Saskatchewan implemented legislation that required every profession to submit its legislation to the provincial secretary so that the legislative assembly could evaluate such legislation (Brockman, 2010, p.5). On the contrary, the change was also evident though not abrupt and sweeping as the one witnessed in Saskatchewan. The number of self-regulating professions including real estate profession doubled, the number of professions that needed their legislation approved tripled while the number of professions with their board members appointed by the government increased six-fold. These results indicate a growing autonomy in each profession. Therefore, ensuring self-regulation for real estate agents ensure that the real estate profession is closely monitored and rules regulating the profession are amended to bring autonomy in the profession.

Self-regulation of the real estate profession should be encouraged because it promotes and protects the culture of whistleblowing that allows for regular checks of conducts and behaviors of agents. Whistleblowing is a long-standing practice and a critical aspect of self-regulation that professional use to report violations of set legislation and rules within the profession thus maintaining the honor and dignity of the profession (Brockman, 2004, p. 56). Because of the financial stakes involved in the real estates, wayward agents are likely to violate set legislation and engage in unethical practices. Self-regulation of professions enables members of such professions to expose any misconduct to the proper tribunal without any fear or favor thus maintaining the integrity an honor of the profession. Reportedly, unless a real estate agent who has professional misbehaviors is monitored and reported at an early age and without any fear, damages to the customers or losses, as well as, other eventualities may ensue (Brockman, 2010, p.58). Therefore, ensuring that real estate agents are self-governed encourages the members of this profession to be on the look and report any cases of misbehavior that they may observe in the sector thus fostering the spirit and culture of whistleblowing.

Self-regulation of real estate agents needs to be fostered because it limits legal restrictions and curbs conflicts emanating from various jurisdictions within the profession. Although regulations that the government impose on multi-national corporations (MNCs) are likely to raise concerns of autonomy, self-regulation avoids this challenge while promulgating legislation beyond national borders (Brockman, 1998, p. 590). At times, self-regulation can provide necessary rules and legislation to control conducts especially when government agencies or regulators are unable to act. For instance, the First Amendment protections may restrict types of rules that the government agencies can impose on real estate agents but these similar restrictions would not be applicable to voluntary conducts of real estate agents.

Studies have also revealed that the self-regulation of real estate agents is cheaper and cost-effective as compared to state-regulated professions (Maroto, 2011, p. 110). Ensuring that real estate agents are self-governed may truly keep the prices affordable as possible since the prices are likely to be reviewed by a special committee known as a self-regulatory organization, charged with checking and reviewing the prices to be up to the current market prices and if possible lower. These self-regulating organizations have over time been proved much more efficient as compared to the state agencies charged with the regulatory functions of the real estate profession. They are therefore able to avoid massive wastage of resources that is normally experienced by the state agencies through a number of overheads in their spending after which the consumers of the profession's services channel the saved resources to assist in achieving low prices for their services. Self-regulating organizations also possess massive bargaining power as compared to the regulatory state agencies as they can obtain their goods and services at a cheaper negotiated rate that is then translated to their consumers enabling them to obtain more cost-effective and cheap services than what they would have otherwise received from the state regulatory services (Middleton, 2005, p. 815). Therefore, ensuring that real estate agents are self-regulated will assist in implementing reduced fees thus ensuring that the prices of houses remain cheap and are in line with the current market prices.

Ensuring that real estate agents are self-governed can assist the profession and other businesses to understand ethical principles and behaviors because the legislation is based on social norms and behaviors of the members of the profession as opposed to the top-down prescriptive legislation. This according to Brockman (1998) may foster deeper acceptance and strict adherence to the rules thereby leading to appropriate firm behavior and avoid bad situations that professionals and organizations try to seek exceptions to externally enacted legislation. Secondly, institutional ethics ensure that professionals use their knowledge and skills to advance the interest of the public and enhance the quality of work. Issues that touch on unethical behaviors in the workplaces are heavily discouraged in the self-regulatory approach, especially in the real estate industry. As such, there are very limited cases of over-heavy caseloads, inadequate space and support personnel. Freidson goes ahead to suggest that the high drive to maximize on the profession's profits is an unethical practice in the quest to promote the professionalization of the real estate industry (Brockman, 2004, p.60). Ethical behavior in the real estate profession is a very critical resource in maintaining the good relationship between the practitioners and the clients from the public. The noticeable absence of relevant enforcement of the agreed ethical standards in all the advanced nations in the industry has seriously eroded the public's trust in the ability of the state to deliver regulatory services. Self-regulation in the real estate industry involves the effective application of both soft and calculated approach in exercising their control on their members and in their relationship with the state that still has some administrative duties to perform on the self-regulating org...