Engineering Management PDF

Engineering Management ZAHEER ABBAS Text Book Title: Engineering Management Challenges in the New Millennium Author: Dr. C. M. Chang Edition: 2005 Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall Chapter 1 Introduction to Management Challen...

Engineering Management ZAHEER ABBAS Text Book Title: Engineering Management Challenges in the New Millennium Author: Dr. C. M. Chang Edition: 2005 Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall Chapter 1 Introduction to Management Challenges for Engineers Engineering Management 1.1 INTRODUCTION In our modern-day economy, customers' needs are changing rapidly, competition is becoming global, and technology is advancing at an ever-increasing speed. To maintain competitiveness in such a challenging environment, companies need effective leaders who understand technology and business. Engineers with proper management training have great opportunities to make valuable and lasting contributions (Babcock 1996; Badawy 1995). In all companies, managers are select employees who are entrusted with the responsibilities of putting communications means to use, taking decisive actions, utilizing resources, and guiding the behavior of internal teams and external business partners to achieve company objectives (Compton 1997; Shainis, Dekom, and McVinney 1995). 4 Introduction The communications means applied by managers may be verbal or written, with or without body language. The actions taken include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The resources utilized are people, time, capital, equipment, facilities, technology know-how, and business relationships. The teams guided by managers are individual employees (teams of one), 'projects, task forces, quality circles, and others. The external business partners involved are customers, suppliers, networked partners, and joint ventures or otherwise aligned companies (Silverman 1996; Dorf 1999). This chapter starts with a brief review of the historical development of management theory and practices. Then it discusses the work of engineering managers and practicing engineers, and delineates the differences between these two types of work. Finally, the chapter addresses the challenges engineering managers face in the new millennium. 5 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES From the management practices of building the Great Wall in China and the Pyramids in Egypt to the customer-focused, supply-chain manage6:tent strategies of today's global companies, we have come a very long way indeed. This section reviews a slew of major milestones in the historical development of management theory and practices (Compton 1997; Babcock 1996). (See Table 1.1.) George (1972) summarized many of the ancient management thoughts related to major historical projects, such as the Great Wall in China, the Pyramids of Egypt, monoliths on Easter Island, Mayan Temples in South America, Stonehenge in Eng- land, and others. The Pyramids of Egypt (2500 B.C.) represent a remarkable engineering feat, but they are equally notable for the management skills that went into their construction. Many parties (customers, subcontractors, and workers) had to be coordinated, controlled, and monitored. It was estimated to have taken 100,000 men from 20 to 30 years to complete one pyramid. Projects were completed on the basis of trial and error and intuition. There was no systematic documentation of the management strategy and methodology used for these great production-centered projects. 6 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Chinese emperors (2350 B.C.) applied the principles of organizing, planning, directing, and controlling (George 1972). The constitution of Chow was the first known organization chart which specified the roles and responsibilities of officials reporting to the Chinese emperors. Around 500 B.C., the Persian Empire developed a logistic system for transmitting messages by creating posting stations separated from one another by the distance of one day's horse ride, so that the 2600-kilometer-Iong Royal Road could be traversed in only nine days. Sun Tzu wrote the well-known book The Art of War, which offered specific guidelines for strategic and tactical planning in waging wars. India (321 B.C.) was also known to have applied concepts relating to government, commerce, and customs. Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.) developed an informal council whose members were each entrusted with specific responsibilities. In 120 B.C., the Chinese started to select government officials objectively by holding public examinations. This system has been in use ever since. The Arsenal of Venice was a large industrial plant (1436), the government shipyard, that was designed to make galleys, arms, and equipment; to store equipment; and to assemble and refit ships on reserve. An assembly-line process was practiced to outfit ships. Also implemented were inventory control, personnel policies, standardization of specifications, accounting (double-entry bookkeeping), and cost control. 7 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES James Watt developed the steam engine in 1769. The steam engine, along with many other inventions during this era, changed the ways products were manufactured. Factories were built and workers were assembled. The Industrial Revolution destroyed the cottage industry in England. Chaos erupted due to crime, brutality, child labour, and overcrowded living conditions for workers. By 1800, factory layout planning, inventory control, production planning, workflow analysis, and cost analysis were developed in response to this factory chaos. Production management became the driving force to achieve productivity.. In 1790, emigrants from England set up textile mills in the United States. Railroads, steel mills, and canals were built. Industrial development in the United States was started. 8 9 1 1 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Babbage (1832) published the first study known that described the use of machinery and the organization of human resources for production purposes. He advanced the ideas of division of labor, factory size determination, profit-sharing schemes, methods of observing manufactures, and time-study methods. Taylor (1911) studied work methods and shop management. He decomposed a factory job of a mechanical nature into a set of elementary motions, discarded unnecessary motions, and examined the remaining motions (with stopwatch studies) to find the most efficient method and sequence of motion elements. He developed wage rates to pay workers. He came up with a "frequent resting" method to minimize the physical fatigue of workers who carried iron blocks weighing 92 pounds apiece from the factory up an inclined plank to railroad flat cars. The load transferred was subsequently increased from 12.5 tons to 47.5 tons per day per worker. 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Taylor was focusing on the production aspects without paying attention to the most important element in the process; namely, the workers. According to Taylor, work is divided into planning/training (a management responsibility) and rote execution (by the uneducated worker of the day). Workers were regarded as passive partners in carrying out production orders. As a result, some U.S. managers have been "Taylorized" into thinking that they do not need the input of workers. A major deficiency of scientific management has indeed been its failure to engage workers as an active part of the overall management system. Only in recent years have empowered teams become accepted as an improved organizational system over the Taylor model. 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES At about the same time as Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth started to emphasize the aspects of human factors in the workplace. Meanwhile, behavioral studies at Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Company (near Cicero, Illinois) were initiated in 1927 by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger of Harvard Business School to study the environmental, psychological, group, and other factors which impacted the work output. Fayol (1949) divided the industrial undertakings into six groups: technical (production), commercial (marketing), financial, security, accounting, and administrative activities (planning/forecasting, organization, command, coordination, and control). He also developed 14 general principles of administration which have remained valid to this day. 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Weber (1947) developed a model for rational and efficient organizations involving position charter, roles and responsibilities, compensation policy, and other features. According to Urwick (1972), the study of management started with engineers. It was in the sciences underlying the engineering practice--mathematics, physics, mechanics, and so on-which were first applied by Taylor to analyzing and measuring the tasks assigned to individuals, that the science of management got started. 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Management theory and practices were also studied from several other points of view: quantitative approach (decision making is the central focus of management decision theory and group decision making), operations research (expressing management problems in terms of mathematical symbols and relationships), and systems approach (organizations as interacting systems influenced by the external environment). McGregor (1957) developed the Theory X and Theory Y of management. Theory X says that workers are passive and they are to be induced by management to contribute to the organizational objectives. Workers may be motivated according to Maslow's model of need hierarchy. McGregor proposed to optimize the worker's motivation by management. According to Theory Y, workers can be motivated. Management must arrange workplace conditions and methods.-of operations (participatory management) to influence the worker's motivation. 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Ouchi (i981) came up with the Theory Z to place emphasis on the following: the bottom-up process, the senior manager as a facilitator, the middle manager as an initiator and coordinator, decision by consensus, and concern for the employee. Theory Z advances four specific principles: Employees should be offered lifetime employment. Promotions should be based on length of service, as distinct from evaluation of immediate job performance. Individuals should not be specialized but should be moved throughout the company. Decisions should be made through a collective decision-making process. 1 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICES Today, not all Japanese companies practice Theory Z as recommended. Further more, Theory Z aims at satisfying only the first three levels of hierarchical human needs (i.e., physiological, safety, and social). Paying attention to ways of satisfying the next two higher level needs (i.e., esteem and self-actualization) may bring about a management system superior to the current systems in practice. This is certainly not the end of the story. Greater development of management theory and practice is yet to come, in view of today's workforce mobility and diversity, worker preference for independence, and business globalization. Furthermore, not every knowledge worker has the same high-intensity needs at the ego, peer recognition, and self- actualization levels. The needs of production workers may be quite different from those of professional workers. In addition, the needs of individual workers are expected to change in time due to personal circumstances (such as life stage, family circumstances, and value perceptions), business climate, and other factors involved.. The author believes that an effective worker motivation strategy may need to be individually tailored in order to maximize employee satisfaction and maintain organi- zational productivity. Such an approach demands that managers and leaders understand the individual workers and motivate them according to their respective' unsatisfied needs. 1 1.3 ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Engineers interested in moving into leadership positions need to know what it takes to be selected as managers by their employers. In order to lead their employers to greater prosperity, they need to prepare themselves to accept leadership roles and responsibilities by honing their people skills and interacting effectively with peer managers in other corporate functions, and become versed in the use of Web-based management and technology tools. They also must nurture a clear vision for the companies they work for, be innovative and creative in product development and other ways of utilizing emerging technologies, and possess the required business savvy with a customer focus and a global orientation (Kossiakoff 2003; Hermone 1998). This book assists engineers in acquiring the skills and attributes deemed essential for assuming leadership roles in the new millennium. Not all engineers are interested in becoming managers (Mintzberg 1990). Indeed, in 2003, the author conducted a small-scale survey that showed that about one-third of an engineering undergraduate class each responded "yes," "no," and "maybe" to the survey question: "Wanna be a Manager?" This book, Engineering Management: Challenges in the New Millennium, is useful to both engineers who want to remain technical contributors and those who elect to become managers. 2 1.3.1 Making Engineers Effective Technical Contributors As a technical contributor, every engineer reports to a superior who is typically a supervisor or manager. The superior makes decisions that will have a profound impact on the engineer's contributions to the company and hence on his professional career. Exposure to the functions, concepts, skills, and best practices of engineering management allows the engineer to better align his own work with the needs of his superior and hence that of the company. The engineer is then in a better position to accept the fact that his superior will typically decide whether or not to adopt a new technology, program, or project primarily based on the value it can add to the company. The decision is likely to take into account the resources (e.g., money, people, time, technologies, and business relationships) required for implementation. The decision will not likely be made based on inherent technological sophistication, innovative strength, rational elegance, or theoretical robustness. Value is said to have been added if the company's profitability is derived from Increased sales revennes-for example, due to new product features, better customer service, novel logistics in product and service delivery, shorter time to market, etc. Reduced cost to do bussiness-for example, due to improved engineering and manufacturing productivity, raised operational efficiency, new synergy among aligned business partners, simplified product design, better quality control, etc. 2 1.3.1 Making Engineers Effective Technical Contributors The superior sets project priorities. Priorities are usually set based on whether the anticipated value of a project is large or small, short term or long term, direct or indirect, and certain or uncertain. Exposure to Engineering Management: Challenges in the New Millennium makes engineers more effective in increasing their cumulative value contributions to their employers; such an objective is shared by Covey 1994, Longeneck and Somonetti 2001. 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities For those engineers who aspire to become managers, a comprehensive exposure to the topics reviewed in this book enhances their readiness for being selected when such managerial opportunities arise. Knowledge is power. The new knowledge gained from this book can motivate engineers to experiment and to excel. They accumulate experience as they systematically correct their own deficiencies and practice interpersonal skills, decision making, problem solving, delegating, cost accounting, strategic planning, project management, and team coordination. Both the new knowledge gained and the experiences accumulated provide them with a decisive advantage over other management candidates (O'Conner 1994; Matejk and Dunsing 1995). Engineering managers must be able to lead. This is particularly true in the dynamic marketplace of the new century, which is affected by sophisticated communications tools, Web-based enablers, flexible supply chains, and business operations of global proportions. Web-based enablers are tools that are Internet based. These tools enhance the productivity of product design, project management, plant operations, facility maintenance, innovations, knowledge management, marketing and sales, enterprise resources planning and integration, and procurements. 2 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities Since programs and projects will become increasingly interdisciplinary and complex in the future, decision making is likely to involve the use of Web-based tools and the participation of team members who have divergent cultural backgrounds, value systems, business priorities, and engineering practices. Also much needed is the push for technological innovations, which many engineers are particularly qualified to provide. Those engineering managers who are innovative and have both technological insights and business savvy will have opportunities to create significant value for and be richly rewarded by their employers in the new millennium (Kales 1998; Uyterhoeven 1989; Noori 1990). 2 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities This book is written to prepare both engineers to become better technical contributors and engineering managers to become better leaders in engineering organizations, so that all of them will add substantial value to their employers in the new millennium. This book shows that certain management principles do not change over time (Shannon 1980, Dhillon 1987; Tharnhain 1992; Bennett 1996; Cardulo 1996; Mazda 1997). However, management practices do change in response to changes in customers’ needs, employees' attitudes, business models, technologies, organizational structures, resources, and external business relations. Managers must be able to lead and manage these changes. A good strategy for young engineers is to learn the fundamentals of management (principles, skills, functions, roles and responsibilities, success factors, etc.), and then seek opportunities to actively practice these skills, functions, principles, and management roles. Opportunities to do so may exist in professional societies and volunteer organizations (e.g., the United Way, churches, boy scouts, girl scouts, and so forth). As more management experience is accumulated, proficiency will result and allow the engineer to naturally stand out when management openings become available in the future. Example 1.1. Example 1.1. Several U.S. universities offer the academic degree program that is concentrated on-engineering management. Others have developed the degree program for Management of Technology. Are they fundamentally different from one another? Answer 1.L These two types of degree programs are essentially similar, with minor differences in the course work involved. Both programs are aimed at training managers to point the way in technology. 2 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities The Management of Technology degree program was envisaged to correct a deficiency noted in the U.S. educational system (National Research Council 1987). This degree program is designed, to address important management issues, such as those enumerated here, which were neglected in the master of business administration program existing at the time: A. Integrating technology into the overall strategic objectives of the firm B. Getting into and out of technologies more efficiently C. Assessing and evaluating technology more effectively D. Developing better methods for transferring and assimilating new technology E. Reducing new product development time F. Managing large, complex, and interdisciplinary or interorganizational projects, programs, and systems G. Leveraging the effectiveness of technical professionals Currently, the degree programs in engineering management offered by many U.S. universities address these topics as well. 2 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities Over time, company management is responsible for satisfying this diverse set of expectation of all stakeholders. 1.4.2 Type of Work Work is the task performed to add value to the company. Performing the work involves the use of resources (e.g., time, money, energy, tools, human efforts, technologies, facilities, etc.). There are three types of work: A.Management Work-Plan, organize, lead, and control the efforts of self and others; this requires thinking B.Technical Work-Specialized, non-management work done by engineering managers, if others cannot do it for them; this requires doing C.Operating Work-Management and technical work that has been delegated to others; this requires monitoring and controlling 2 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities 3. Chain of Command The chain of command refers to the chain of direct authority relationships between superiors and subordinates. This is derived from military systems. 4. Principle of Unity of Command According to this principle, an engineering subordinate reports to a single superior. 5. Efficiency Efficiency refers to the accomplishment of a given task with the least amount of effort. Being efficient means not wasting resources (e.g., time, money, equipment, facilities, skills, talents, etc.). 6. Effectiveness Effectiveness refers to the accomplishment of tasks with efforts that are commensurate with the value created by these tasks. The paradigm "All things worth doing are worth doing well" should be replaced by "All things worth doing are worth doing well only to the extent of their contributing value to the company." Engineers and managers need to be value conscious. Perfectionists have no place in a progressive industrial environment. 2 1.3.2 Readying Engineers to Accept Managerial Responsibilities 1.4.7 Strategic and Operational (Tactical) Decisions Strategic decisions are those which set the direction for the unit, department and company and determine what the right things to do are. Examples include which new markets to pursue, what new products to develop, who should be engaged as supply chain partners, and when the right time is to acquire which new technologies. Operational decisions are those that specify ways to implement a specific task, project, or program and define how to do things correctly. Engineers with managerial responsibilities are involved in making strategic decisions. Engineers as technical contributors are typically involved with decisions that are operational in nature. 3 1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS Engineering managers have engineering training and specific technical knowledge and experience, and are accountable for the results of the unit, section, or department they head up. 1.5.1 Prerequisites to Be an Effective Engineering Manager Generally speaking, to be effective, an engineering manager needs to be motivated to acquire knowledge (e.g., roles, functions, and vocabulary) and skills; prepare mentally Gob outlook, management orientation, personality traits, and flexibility); and be determined to diligently practice the principles of engineering management. Many skills of engineering management are learnable. 1.5.2 Characteristics of an Effective Engineering Manager The effective engineering manager is a rational and organized individual who behaves like a trained professional with regard to ethics, fairness, and honor. 3 1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS 1.5.3 Resources Controlled by an Engineering Manager The engineering manager has a number of resources at his or her disposal. He or she decides who is to do specific work, what plant or equipment is to be involved, how much money should be spent, which technology is to be applied, and which business relationships and connections should be invoked to achieve predetermined objectives. The technology to be applied may include proprietary innovations, specific know-how, operational procedures, tried-and-true design processes, and others. 1.5.4 Nature of Four-Dimensional Work The work of engineering managers is four dimensional. Engineering managers need to interface with, and manage the interactions with, subordinates, as well as coordinate their own management actions with those of other managers and peer groups. They manage their own time and efforts. They also attempt to anticipate the requirements of their superiors by making recommendations for future courses of action. Figure 1.1 illustrates this four-dimensional nature of work. 3 Figure 1.1 Four-dimensional work of engineering managers. 3 1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS 1.5.5 Nature of Management Decisions Managers decide what should be done (strategic), and technical contributors determine how things should be done (tactical). As an engineering manager rises in an organization, his or her daily decisions will become more strategic. The CEO of a company primarily makes strategic decisions only. 1.5.6 Work of Engineering Managers Engineering managers plan, organize, lead, and control people, teams, money, technology, facilities, and other resources to achieve the business objectives of the company. To ensure company operations for the short term, they pay attention to problem solving and conflict resolution. As a rule, engineering managers do not perform the technical work themselves. Instead, they work through people. Their job is to decide what the unit, department or company should be doing to advance the objectives of the company and then assign resources to implement their decisions. An illustration of managerial concern is an issue related to product development. 3 1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS Some companies initiate new product development on a market-driven basis. First, they use market surveys and customer feedback to define product concepts of potential interest to customers. Then they secure resources to develop the product concepts, manufacture the products, and offer customer services to market the products involved. Doing so allows them a high probability of achieving commercial success. Other companies adopt a technology-driven approach. They first invent and develop new technology, and then they incorporate the resulting inventions and innovations in products that they hope to sell to the marketplace. Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages. Surveys show that both approaches have yielded successes and failures. Managers decide which approach is the best choice for a company to take. Another example is the potential difference in opinion between departments when deciding on "buy versus build" options and on setting task priorities. Still another area of potential disagreement is the choice about the level of standardization in product design that reduces cost while allowing a sufficient level of innovation to enhance competitiveness. 3 1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS In general, enforcing a high level of standardization with strict rules and guidelines tends to impede creativity and innovation, as illustrated by Figure 1.2. Managers are expected {o constantly interact and work closely with other managers to resolve such differences. For those engineers who elect to become managers, there are skills that can be readily learned to make them more efficient and effective. These include time management, work habits, people-related skills (such as team building, communications, and motivation), and use of decision support tools (e.g., Kepner-Tregoe decision methodology, what-if analysis by modeling, risk analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, forecasting, statistics, regression, linear programming, optimization, and office technologies). 3 1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS 3 1.6 WORK OF PRACTICING ENGINEERS (TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTORS) The roles of practicing engineers (technical contributors) are to do things correctly (mostly operational) and to upgrade the ways things are done. When assigned to perform specific work, a practicing engineer is typically told of the specific work objectives as well as any timeline, budgetary, technological, and other constraints that may apply. The engineer is then expected to develop a project plan, jointly define standards with his or her superior, select methods of performing the work, carry out the tasks, and deliver results. A document is prepared to summarize the project; this includes conclusions, the impact of the outcome on the objectives of the group, unit, or company, and possibly suggestions related to potential improvements in methodology and future technical applications of the results. The performance of practicing engineers is evaluated according to how well they carry out their technical assignments within the time and budget constraints, as well as the value of the project outcome to the company. Young engineers entering an organization are typically assigned to perform tasks of a highly technical content for which their academic training is best utilized. 3 1.6 WORK OF PRACTICING ENGINEERS (TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTORS) To perform well as technical contributors, engineers are advised to pay attention to the following five steps: 1.Demonstrate technical competence and innovative capabilities. In their early years, engineers need to demonstrate excellent technical skills in performing tasks and projects. They practice fundamental engineering principles correctly, deliver work that is technically free of errors, and are sensitive to time and budget constraints. It is also critically important for the engineers to demonstrate their innovative capabilities in product design, problem solving, and other technological areas. 2.Practice people skills. Engineers should ensure that they communicate effective throughly with others in both verbal and written forms. They need to interact with peers and management in an acceptable manner. Their interactions with management will be strongly enhanced if the engineers become familiar, through self-study or academic courses, with the perspectives of the company managers and with managerial issues and problems. They also need to demonstrate that they are easy to work with and get along well with most people.. 3. Show an unfailing reliability. Engineers need to show that they are reliable in taking on assignments that add value to their management and are capable of discharging responsibilities delegated to them. 4.Be proactive. Engineers should proactively seek team assignments, project coordination, and other roles to practice their managerial skills, foster teamwork, and showcase leadership qualities. 3 Example 1.2. Example 1.2. The company wants to develop a new product to preemptively enter the marketplace. Current information from marketing is sketchy, and the market size cannot be predicted accurately. Indications are that foreign imports are about to foray the market, causing the company to lose the precious opportunity of a preemptive entry. Should the company initiate a product development program now or wait for more marketing information? Are there other options available to the company? Answer 1.2. Yes, there is a third option: The company can act as a distributor and import the foreign product itself, but with its own brand name. This will allow the company to gauge the market acceptance of a low-quality and low- price product. If the results show that customers like the product and the market size is large, then the company can continue importing or develop a low-cost alternative to compete. Selling a foreign product under the company name requires that the company enter into a private-label production contract with the foreign producer. Typically, such an arrangement includes some of the following elements: The contract is good for a predetermined period (e.g., two years) and renewable with mutual consent. 4 Example 1.2. The company agrees to pay a unit product cost of x dollars for at least y units per year. The foreign producer agrees to hold the product defect rate at or below z per thousand. The foreign producer remains an exclusive subcontractor to the company for the product types in question during the contract period. The company respects all proprietary design and other know-how of the foreign producer. The company is obliged not to use any proprietary design of the foreign producer for the development of its own product or for u~e by its new production partners. The company is responsible for marketing, distributing, selling, and serving the product in the target market (e.g., the United States). The foreign producer agrees to upgrade product design, based on the marketing inputs of the company. 4 Example 1.2. The company strives to invest in the foreign producer for creating the next generation of products. The foreign producer has the first-refusal rights to accept such investment (i.e., funds and technology). Each party can cancel the arrangement after an initial period of collaboration. The foreign producer can go to someone else for marketing the product in the target market. The company may develop its own products or engage another foreign producer as a subcontractor. Thus, selling the foreign product does not preclude the company from selling a similar product after the contract has expired. Companies change subcontractors all the time. Such a private-label production arrangement is typically a win-win arrangement. The company can preemptively explore the market-that is, test the market and get valuable feedback from customers regarding useful product features-without spending a lot of resources. The foreign producer achieves instant profitability that is assured for the contract period, plus the potential of additional future investment from the company for the next generation product design and production. 4 1.6 WORK OF PRACTICING ENGINEERS (TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTORS) 5. Exhibit a readiness for advancement. Engineers need to ready themselves for assuming a higher level of technical responsibility so that their employers are able to entrust more challenging responsibilities to them. Engineers should strive to constantly enrich themselves by adding increasingly more value to their employers. A large, modern-day engineering organization may have many departments, each focusing on a specific function. These functions may include (1) production and manufacturing, (2) construction, (3) design engineering, (3) systems engineering, (4) systems and equipment maintenance, (5) project engineering, (6) program management, (7) process development, (8) product development, (9) technology development, (10) customer service, (11) applied research and development (R&D), and (12) others. Engineers may work in any of these departments. Some engineers may elect to stay in specific functional areas for a long period. Others may prefer to move from one functional area to another in order to attain a well-rounded base of experience. Figure 1.3 displays the typical interactions between various engineering and nonengineering groups. Engineers are focused on creating value to their employers through their technical work, although they may get involved with various nonengineering functions from time to time. 4 1.6 WORK OF PRACTICING ENGINEERS (TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTORS) 4 1.7 ENGINEERING MANAGERS AND LEADERS This book is aimed at assisting engineering graduates to assume leadership positions in technology- based enterprises of the 21st century. Many of these enterprises are affected by rapid changes in technology and fast-paced development in globalization. The basic functions of engineering management provide engineers and engineering managers with foundational skills to manage themselves, staff, teams, projects, technologies, and global issues of importance. Engineers innovate to solve problems and minimize conflicts to achieve the company's objectives. They follow the best practices in industry to monitor and control internal operations. They use the Kepner-Tregoe method, among others, to make rational decisions and take lawful and ethical actions. To facilitate the engineering managers' interaction with peer groups and units, background knowledge in cost accounting, financial analysis, managerial finance, and marketing management should be added. The special cases of activity-based costing, ratio analysis, risk analysis by the Monte Carlo method, and economic value-added accounting are elucidated. These building bocks enable engineers and engineering managers to acquire a broad perspective with respect to the business of the company and its stakeholders. A critical step to developing technological projects is the acquisition and incorporation of customer feedback. By understanding the project evaluation criteria and the tools of financial analysis, engineers and engineering managers will be in a better position to secure project approvals. For them to lead, a major challenge is indeed the initiation, development, and implementation of major technological projects that contribute to the long-term profitability of the company. 4 1.7 ENGINEERING MANAGERS AND LEADERS The discussions on ethics, engineers as leaders, Web-based management and engineering enablers, and e-transformation provide additional building blocks to enhance the preparation for engineers and engineering managers to assume technology leadership positions. E-transformation encompasses all activities which electronically transform selected company operations to add value, such as applying enterprise resources planning tools, making procurement more efficient via e-markets, enhancing customer services through Internet portals, improving logistics using global positioning systems, etc. Many tried-and-true rules are included that serve as good guidelines for engineers and engineering managers to become excellent leaders. Above all, so that they constantly augment the satisfaction of customers, engineering managers are expected to lead by their vision of how to utilize company core competencies to add value, by their insights into how to capture opportunities offered by emerging technologies, and by their innovating ability in making products and services better, faster, and cheaper. The concepts of value addition, customer focus, time to market, mass customization, supply chains, enterprise resources integration, and others are also reviewed. E-transformation, as well as Web- based engineering and management enablers, are cited as specific examples of value addition by engineers and engineering managers to "bricks-and-mortar" companies. 46 1.7 ENGINEERING MANAGERS AND LEADERS Globalization is a major business trend that will affect many enterprises in the next decades. Knowledge of globalization expands the perspectives of engineers apd engineering managers with respect to divergences in culture, business practices, and value. Engineers and engineering managers must become sensitive to the issues involved and prepare themselves to contribute to enterprises that wish to capture new business opportunities offered by the high-growth global markets in emerging countries. Engineers and engineering managers need to be aware of the potential effects of job migration due to globalization and take steps to prepare themselves to meet such challenges. 4 Example 1.3. Example 1.3. John Snyder, the engineering manager, presented to the board of directors a project based on the results generated by Steve Hill, one of his staff members. The board approved the project and praised John for the excellent work done. At that moment, John failed to mention to the board that the work was actually done by Steve. Afterwards, John felt bad about it and recommended to give Steve a bonus. How would you assess John's handling of this situation? Answer 1.3. It would have been more correct for John to initially point out to the board that Steve was the one who did the actual work. However, John's way of handling this situation is acceptable in industry, since he did eventually recognize Steve's contribution by offering a bonus. John should follow through by including Steve in his subsequent monthly progress reports to his boss, the vice president of engineering, to set the records straight and by formally recognizing Steve's work in a staff meeting. 4 1.8 CHALLENGES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM To meet the management challenges of the 21st century, engineering managers need to manage the inside of the company as well as the outside, to lead from present to future, and to act locally and think globally. Table 14.3 contains explanations of this alternative viewpoint. On the inside, engineers and engineering managers practice the basic management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling to implement projects and programs. They manage people, technologies, and other resources to add value to their employers. They enhance the company's core competencies and develop products with features that customers want. They effectively define (by activity-based costing and Monte Carlo simulations), monitor, and control costs. They appraise the company's financial position and seize the right moment to initiate major projects with high technology contents. These projects are supported by rigorous financial analyses to meet tough corporate evaluation criteria. 4 1.8 CHALLENGES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM On the outside, engineers and engineering managers keep abreast of emerging technologies and screen new technologies that might affect the company's products and services. Proactively, to streamline the company's current operations, they define and introduce Web-based tools related to product design, project management, plant operations, facility maintenance, and knowledge management. Engineers and engineering managers identify the best practices in the industry, adopt those practices as standards for evaluating their own in-house practices, and relentlessly strive to surpass these best practices. These engineers look for potential supply-chain partners whose alliances could offer competitive advantages for their employers in production, distribution, product customization, and after-sale service. They are sensitive to the constant need to enhance the management of customer relationships through the use of Web portals and other current technologies. They manage their functions to add value to all stakeholders, namely customers, employees, suppliers, investors, and the communities in which the company operates. 5 1.8 CHALLENGES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM For the present, engineers and engineering managers focus on keeping the company operating smoothly by "doing things right." They pay attention to details. They introduce a balanced scorecard to make sure that both financial and nonfinancial metrics are selected to monitor and evaluate the company's performance. They contribute to continuously upgrade current company operations. They take care of tasks (e.g., cost control and waste elimination) needed for the company to achieve profitability in the short term. , For the future, engineers and engineering managers seek e-transformation opportunities to generate company profitability in the long term. These opportunities may be created by significantly enhancing the value of the company's products to customers through, for example, distribution, price, service, features, and ordering processes. They develop and introduce new-generation products in a timely manner to ensure a sustainable profitability for the company in the future. Engineers and engineering managers develop a vision for the future, contribute to new company strategies related to technologies, and assist company management in defining what should be done. 5 1.8 CHALLENGES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM At the local level, engineers and engineering managers seek the best way to utilize the available resources (skills and business relationships) to achieve the company's objectives. They adjust to local conditions and take lawful, ethical, and proper actions to discharge their daily responsibilities. They maintain their local networks of professional talents and business relationships to enhance the company's productivity. They communicate their experience and preserve lessons learned so that others may benefit at different sites within the company. At the global level, engineers and engineering managers effectuate the optimal use of location-based resources to realize global economies of scale and scope and to derive cost and technology advantages for their employers. They develop global networks of professional talents and business relationships and exploit innovative business opportunities. They acquire a global mindset and become global-business savvy. As companies pursue globalization over time, engineers and engineering managers ready themselves to exercise leadership roles in international settings. Because many companies are affected by the rapid advancement of technology and the fast-paced development of globalization, the new millennium offers ample opportunities for, and poses new challenges to, engineers and engineering managers. Those engineers and engineering managers who capture these new opportunities and meet these new challenges will be profitably rewarded. 5 Engineering Management Engineering Management is a specialized form of management that is required to successfully lead engineering or technical personnel and projects. The term can be used to describe either functional management or project management. Engineering managers typically require training and experience in both general management and the specific engineering disciplines that will be used by the engineering team to be managed. The successful engineering manager must have the skills necessary to coach, mentor and motivate technical professionals; skills which are often very different from those required the effectively manage individuals in other fields. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organizational, administrative, and planning abilities of management in order to oversee the operational performance of complex engineering driven enterprises. Engineering Management Functions Organizing Planning Leading Controlling 54 Engineering Management Functions Planning (forecasting, setting objectives, action planning, administering policies, establishing procedures) Organizing (organizing workplace, selecting structure, delegating, establishing working relationship) Leading (deciding, communicating, motivating, selecting/developing people) Controlling (setting performance standards, evaluating/documenting/correcting performance)  Thanks for queries ZAHEER ABBAS [email protected]