Unedited
10/30/09
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Professional Knowledge

When a banker hands his clients some loan forms to sign he provides them with a pen not a pencil. By law and custom using a pencil carries with it certain security risks and so it is not done. A banker has professional knowledge of this.

A professional auto mechanic working in a top-of-the line repair shop has professional knowledge of the difference between a new alternator and a used one. In addition he or she knows the difference between a poorly rebuilt alternator and an OEM* alternator. The mechanic knows these things because they are constantly replacing defective parts with new parts everyday throughout the year. Because a mechanic handles so many replacement parts they come to a working knowledge of which brands and manufactures make marginal products that soon break down and top of the line parts providers. Because a professional is supposed to have a working knowledge of their occupation they can be said to have a constructive knowledge** of good and bad parts and service techniques. If they are duly diligent in their work they will apply this knowledge.

* OEM means original equipment manufacturer.
**Ethical constructive knowledge differs from legal constructive knowledge.

If a professional should have known a fact they are deemed by the vast experience and technical insight of others to possess that knowledge. If they do not act on that knowledge they are not performing their duties with due diligence and therefore cannot be considered a professional. If by symbolic gesture, body language, or confusing verbiage they have conveyed a sense of professionalism to the client in the initial stages of a negotiation, they have led their client to false expectations.