Engineering Management Principles Quiz

Engineering Management Principles

• Management is getting things done through people, achieving organizational goals through planning, organizing, staffing, directing/leading, and controlling activities.
• It involves identifying a group of people to direct efforts toward common organizational objectives. Success depends on using resources effectively.
• Engineering is the application of scientific and mathematical knowledge to develop practical ways to use natural resources for human benefit.
• Engineering management involves leading and controlling technical functions, similar to general management but with a focus on technical issues.

Functions of Management

• Planning and Decision-Making: Selecting goals and objectives, choosing actions to achieve them, involves decision-making.
• Organizing: Establishing intentional roles for personnel within an organization to allocate and arrange resources, successfully carrying out plans.
• Staffing: Filling organizational positions, including activities like selection, training, promotion, and management of subordinates.
• Directing/Leading: Influencing people to contribute to organizational and group goals.
• Controlling: Measuring and correcting individual and organizational performance to ensure plans are met.

Managerial Levels

• Top Managers: Responsible for the entire organization, titles include CEO, President, etc.
• Middle Managers: Directly responsible for the work of lower-level managers.
• First-Line Managers: Directly responsible for non-managerial employees.

Managerial Skills

• Conceptual Skills: Ability to think strategically and understand how parts of an organization fit together.
• Technical Skills: Expertise in a particular functional area.
• Diagnostic Skills: Ability to identify problems and diagnose causes.
• Interpersonal Skills: Ability to communicate and work effectively with others.

Managerial Roles

• Unrelenting Pace: Managers work long hours, with little time for breaks.
• Variety and Fragmentation: Faced with multiple issues and tasks with diversity in type.
• Verbal Contacts and Networks: Relying heavily on verbal communication and networks of relationships.
• Workload Increase: Long hours (70-80+ per week) are common for managers.
• Supervising Former Peers: Managing individuals previously on an equal level.

Scope of Management

• Production Management: Producing goods in right quantity and quality, at the correct time and cost. (designing products, materials location, storage, factory operations, control).
• Marketing Management: Identifying consumer needs and fulfilling them effectively. (activities like market research, product planning, pricing, sales promotion)

Decision Making

• Programmed Decisions: Routine decisions for recurring situations, with established procedures.
• Non-Programmed Decisions: Unique and poorly structured decisions, with significant consequences.
• Major & Minor: Minor decision is a small-scale choice while major has substantial impact on the organization.
• Routine & Strategic: Routine involves daily operations, strategic involves long-term goals and direction.
• Individual & Group: Decisions made by one person or multiple people.
• Policy & Operative: Policy decisions are high-level, while operative deals with daily operations.
• Long Term, Departmental & Non-Economic: Long-term planning, departmental decisions, and issues unrelated to financial matters.

Planning Process

• Identify the Decision: Define the problem or opportunity.
• Gather Information: Collect relevant information.
• Identify Alternatives: Generate possible courses of action.
• Weigh the Evidence: Evaluate the pros and cons of each alternative.
• Choose Among Alternatives: Select the best option.
• Take Action: Implement the chosen plan.
• Review: Evaluate the results and make adjustments.
• Skills needed for Decision Making: Analytical ability, problem-solving, information gathering, foresight, emotional intelligence, risk assessment, and learning from mistakes.

Planning at Various Management Levels

• Top Management (Strategic Planning): Long-term goals and overall direction.
• Middle Management:(Intermediate Planning): Plans for medium-term objectives (e.g. a department or team).
• Lower Management (Operational Planning): Short-term, daily operations (e.g. individual tasks, processes, and projects.)

Financial Management

• Seeking funds (right amount, right time and at reasonable cost.)
• Managing existing funds (proper utilization, appropriate allocation and distribution).

Personnel Management

• Manpower planning
• Recruitment, selection, and training
• Compensation and benefits
• Performance appraisal
• Employee services and benefits
• Record maintenance

Parts of Strategic Plan

• Company or corporate mission: The overall purpose.
• Objectives or goals: Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives.
• Strategies: Actions for achieving those objectives.

Parts of Functional Plans

• Marketing: Executive summary, overall view of the plan, target market, objectives, strategies, tactics, schedules, and budgets.
• Production: Expected output, capacity, employees, materials needed.
• Financial: Analyses of the firm's financial condition, forecasts, budgets, and capital requirements.

Problems in Planning

• Improper planning process, lack of commitment.
• Focusing on the present.
• Reliance on the planning department, concentrating only on controllable variables.