Engineer vs Manager roles

• Management has become a significant part of everyone's job duties, from front-line employees to executives.
• Increased competitive pressures, rapid decision-making needs, delegated responsibilities, and information availability have created a need for everyone to develop management skills.
• Employees now manage information and relationships with customers, peers, subordinates, and managers.
• An employee's success depends on how well they manage these relationships and information.
• The four functions of management include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Engineer vs Manager

• Engineers build, test, and oversee production, focusing on technology and technical skills.
• Engineers also concentrate on tasks.
• Managers develop plans for technical goals, focusing on people and team skills.
• Managers also consider the value and stakeholders' interests.

Functions of the Engineer

• Research involves learning about nature and codifying knowledge.
• Design and development turns product concepts into finished items, with a focus also on manufacturability and value engineering.
• Testing assesses the workability of new products or parts.
• Manufacturing involves direct management of production personnel and product responsibility.
• Construction engineers oversee construction personnel and ensure quality.
• Sales engineers assist customers with technical expertise.
• Consulting engineers offer services to individuals or organizations.
• Government engineers regulate and monitor public and private institutions.
• Teaching engineers instruct engineering courses.
• Management engineers manage groups performing specific tasks.

Engineering in Various Types of Organizations

• Organizations vary in the degree of engineering jobs performed, which influences an engineer's career path.
• Level One organizations have minimal engineering jobs, limiting opportunities for engineers to rise to general management positions.
• Level Two organizations have a moderate degree of engineering jobs, allowing engineers to head engineering divisions and develop management skills.
• Level Three organizations have a high degree of engineering jobs, providing the greatest opportunity for engineers to become president or general manager with adequate management skills.

Engineering Management Explained

• Engineering management combines technical knowledge with organizational and coordination skills.
• The main responsibility is leading a group to produce a specific output.
• As an engineer manager moves up the ladder, management tasks increase.
• Knowledge of management functions is important for engineers in management roles.

Organizations

• An organization is a collection of people working together to achieve a common purpose.
• Organizations are open systems that interact with their environments to obtain resources and transform putputs.
• Organizations create value by producing goods and services.
• Businesses earn a profit by selling products for more than the costs of making it.
• Nonprofit organizations add wealth to society by providing public services that are more valuable than their cost.
• Organizations perform better when they treat people as valuable strategic assets.

Levels of Managers

• Managers support, supervise, and activate work efforts in organizations.
• Top managers guide the performance of the whole organization, set objectives, plan, and make decisions.
• Top manager's examples are CEOs, Presidents, and Vice Presidents.
• Middle managers oversee large departments or divisions, working with top managers and coordinating with peers.
• Middle manager examples are clinic directors, deans, plant managers, and regional sales managers.
• First-line managers supervise nonmanagerial workers and report to middle managers.
• First-line managers examples are department heads, team leaders, and supervisors.

Management Defined

• Management is the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives in a changing environment.
• The effective and efficient use of limited resources is central to this proces with:
  • Working with others
  • Achieving objectives
  • Balancing effectiveness and efficiency
  • Making the most of limitied resources -Coping with a changing environment

The Management Process and Managerial Functions

• The "bottom line" in management is to help an organization achieve high performance by utilizing resources.
• Management includes: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
• Planning involves formulating future courses of action and setting objectives.
• Organizing includes structural considerations such as command chain, division of labor, and assignment of responsibility.
• Leading involves inspiring others.
• Controlling involves comparing desired results with actual results and taking corrective action.
• Deviations from plans should be considered when forming new plans.

Managerial Skills and Competencies

• A skill is the ability to translate knowledge into action.
• Three categories of skills are: technical, human, and conceptual.
• Technical skills are the ability to perform specific tasks.
• Human and interpersonal skills involve working well with others.
• Conceptual and analytical skills involve critical thinking and problem-solving.

Ethics and Social Responsibility

• Ethics is defined as the moral code of principles that sets standards of good or bad, or right or wrong, in one's conduct.
• Ethics guides people in making moral choices.
• Ethical behavior aligns with "good" and "right" in the context of moral code.
• An ethical dilemma is a situation that requires a choice regarding a course of action that may be considered unethical.
• Common ethical dilemmas include:
  • Discrimination
  • Sexual harassment
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Product safety
  • Use of organizational resources

Maintaining High Ethical Standards

• Archie Carroll distinguishes between immoral, amoral, and moral managers.
• The immoral manager behaves unethically for personal gain.
• The amoral manager disregards the ethics of a decision unintentionally.
• The moral manager considers ethical behavior as a personal goal.
• Ethics training and codes of ethical conduct can assist the process of instilling ethical behavior in an organization.
• Ethics training consists of structured programs to help participants understand ethics in the decision making process.
• Whistleblowers expose improprieties to ensure ethical standards and protect against misdeeds.

Social Responsibility

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the obligation to serve both its own and society's interests.
• Stewardship refers managers who act in ways that protect the interests of society.
• Corporate governance is the oversight of management decisions by boards of directors.
• Managers must accept personal responsibility for doing things ethically.
• Personal responsibility is fulfilling tasks and functions in an ethical and socially responsible manner.
• Ethics self-governance. describes this process.