Engineering Management Overview

Engineering Management:

• Key responsibility - Lead their group to produce a desired output that meets required specifications.

Engineer in Various Types of Organizations

• Level 1: Minimal engineering jobs, example: Retailing firms.
• Level 2: Moderate degree of engineering jobs, example: Transportation companies.
• Level 3: High degree of engineering jobs, example: Construction firms.

General Managership or Presidency

• Top leadership position an engineer manager might occupy within a firm.

Management

• A creative problem-solving process that involves planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization's resources to achieve its mission and objectives.
• Directing a group to achieve a goal or objective efficiently.

The Australian EDMUND YOUNG Defines Management

• A frequently used but misused term.

Definitions of Management:

• A set of definitions suggested by a sample of business executives:
  • Achieving effective accomplishments from others towards a common business objective.
  • Organizing and coordinating a profitable effort through good decision-making and people motivation.
  • Getting things done through people.
  • Keeping customers happy by delivering quality at a reasonable cost.

Motivation to Manage

• Desire to behave distinctively, standing out from the crowd.
• Sense of responsibility in carrying out managerial duties.
• High scores in these dimensions are associated with high motivation to manage.

Opportunity for Successful Management

• Must have the ability and motivation to manage.
• Requires:
  • Obtaining a suitable managerial job.
  • Finding a supportive climate within the job.

Supportive Climate

• Recognition of managerial talent through financial and non-financial rewards.

Managerial Roles - What Managers Do

• Henry Mintzberg's Managerial Roles:

Plans with Time Horizon

• Short Range Plans:
  • Cover less than a year.
  • Primarily used by first-line supervisors.
• Long-Range Plans:
  • Cover more than a year.
  • Primarily used by middle and top management.

Plans According to Frequency of Use

• Standing Plans:
  • Used repeatedly.
  • Focus on recurring situations.

Classification of Standing Plans

• Policies:
  • Broad guidelines for decision-making in recurring situations.
• Procedures:
  • Step-by-step plans for specific situations.
• Rules:
  • Statements that require or forbid certain actions.

Single-Use Plans

• Developed for unique and unlikely to be repeated courses of action.

Classification of Single-Use Plans

• Budgets:
  • Plan for projected expenditure and funding sources.
• Programs:
  • Plan for coordinating multiple activities.
• Projects:
  • Plan for specific activities within a program.

The Contents of the Marketing Plan

• Content varies based on the organization.
• Must include:
  • Executive Summary: Overview of the project and its potential.
  • Table of Contents.
  • Situational Analysis and Target Market.

Concerns on Structuring an Organization

• Divison of Labor: Determining the scope of work and its combination into jobs.
• Delegation of Authority: Assigning various degrees of decision-making authority to subordinates.
• Departmentation: Grouping similar jobs, activities, or processes into organizational units..
• Span of Control: Number of people who report directly to a manager.
• Coordination: Linking activities across the organization to achieve a common goal.

Formal Organization

• Planned structure detailing responsibilities, authority, and position.

Formal Structure Components

• Organization Chart: Diagram of official positions and authority lines.
• Organizational Manual: Written descriptions of authority relationships, organizational unit functions, and job procedures.

Functional Organization

• Centralized decision-making.
• Well-defined lines of authority.
• Excellent communication and coordination within departments.
• Encourages development of specialized skills.
• Provides career progression within functional departments.

Disadvantages of Functional Organization

• Poor communication and coordination between departments.
• Decision delays as issues requiring multiple departments get stuck at the top.
• Routine, non-motivating tasks due to specialization and division of labor.
• Difficult to identify responsibility for problems.
• Limited view of overall organizational goals by employees.
• Limited general management training for employees.

Organizing

• Facilitates plan implementation.
• Structures resources and activities to achieve objectives efficiently and effectively.

Organizing Roles Must Incorporate

• Verifiable objectives.
• Clear duties or activities involved.
• Understanding of authority and discretion.

Explore the key responsibilities and roles of engineering managers within various types of organizations. This quiz covers essential concepts of management, including leadership, problem-solving, and the definitions provided by notable business executives.