Engineering Management Principles

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. Define Engineering Management.
2. Understand the management levels and the basic
managerial skills.
3. Compare engineers from managers.

Management is getting things done though people. It The process

of achieving organizational goals by engaging in the four major
functions of planning & decision-making, organizing & staffing,
directing/leading, and controlling. Identifying a “force”/ group of
people whose job is to direct the effort and activities of other people
towards a common organizational objective. The performance of
conceiving and achieving desired results by means of group effort
consisting of utilizing resources, that will determine the success and
failure of an organization.

Engineering management
Engineering management is similar to other definitions of
management, but with a slant toward technical issues. Management
applies to any kind of organization. It applies to all managers at all
organizational levels. Managing is concerned with productivity which
implies effectiveness and efficiency.
A process of leading and controlling a technical function/
enterprise.
Concerned with the direct supervision of engineers and the
management functions (planning, organizing, leading and controlling)
in a technological organization. The process of designing and
maintaining an environment in which, individuals, working together in
groups, efficiently accomplish organizational goals/ objectives.

Functions of management
a. Planning & Decision-Making
Involves selecting goals and objectives, as well as the actions to achieve
them. It requires decision-making, that is choosing the “best” from
among alternatives.
b. Organizing
Involves establishing an international structure of roles for people to fill in
an organization. The process of allocating and arranging human and
non-human resources so that plans can be carried out successfully.
c. Staffing

Involves filling, and keeping filled, the positions in the organizational

structure. Process by which managers select, train, promotes, ad retires
subordinate.
d. Controlling

Measuring and correcting individual and organizational performance

to ensure that events conform to plans. Facilitates the accomplishment
of plants. The process of regulating organizational activities so that
actual performance conforms to expected organizational standards.

Management Levels
Lower level management
- directly supervise non- managers
- carry out the plans and objectives of higher management using
the personnel and other resources assigned to them.
- Short-range operating plans governing what will be done
tomorrow or next week, assign tasks to their workers, supervise the
work that is done, and evaluate the performance of individual
workers.
- Examples: product/ office managers, supervisors
Middle management
- Manage through other managers
- Make plans of intermediate range to achieve the long-range
goals set by two top management, establish departmental
policies, and evaluate the performance of subordinate work units
and their managers.
- Provide and integrating and coordinating function so that the
short-range decisions and activities of first line supervisory groups
can be orchestrated toward achievement of the long range
goals of the enterprise
- Examples: General manager, regional manager
Top management
- Responsible for defining the character, mission and objectives of
the enterprise.
- Establish criteria for and review long-range plans
- Evaluate the performance of major departments, and they
evaluate leading management personnel to gauge their
readiness for promotion to key executive positions
- Examples: the senior management executives

Basic managerial skills

 Social psychologist Robert L. Katz in 1974, in his article,” Skills of an
Effective Administrator“ in Harvard Business thought about the
relationship of managerial skills (competences) and hierarchical
management levels. The result was the setting of the three areas of
managerial skills and determination, for which level they are
characterized:

a. Technical skills - involves process or technique knowledge and

proficiency. Managers use the processes, techniques and tools of a
specific area
- competencies important, particularly for lower management
b. Human skills – involves the ability to interact with people. Managers
interact and cooperate with employee
- competencies needed for all levels of management
c. Conceptual skills – involves the formulation of ideas managers
understand the abstract relationship, develop ideas, and solve problems
creatively
- competencies with a substantial importance, particularly for top
management

Basic Managerial Roles

Some reasons an engineering background can help prepare for an
engineering management position
1. Engineers: logical, methodical, objective, and make
unemotional decisions based on facts.
2. Use their technical knowledge to check the validity of
information.
3. Can analyze problems thoroughly, look beyond the immediate
ones, and ask good questions to explore alternative solutions to
technical problems.
4. Understand what motivates engineers
5. Can review and evaluate the work of their subordinates since
they understand what they are doing.
6. Can engage in future planning with appropriate consideration
for technology and its relationship to cost effectiveness.
7. Engineering backgrounds help in technical discussions with
customers.
8. Their background increases the manager’s credibility with
subordinates, customers, and superiors. People attribute qualities,
abilities, skills and knowledge to them, which allows the manager
to influence those who have that perception.

Role differences between engineers and managers

 What Engineers Do What Managers Do
Minimize risk Take calculated risks
Emphasize accuracy and mathematical Rely heavily on intuition, take educated
precision guesses, and try to be "about right"
Exercise care in applying sound Exercise leadership in making
scientific methods on the basis of decisions under widely varying
reproducible data conditions based on sketchy
information
Solve technical problems based on Solve techno-people problems based
their own individual skills on skills in integrating the talents of
others
Work largely through their own abilities Work through others to get things done
to get things done

Philosophical Similarities Between Engineering and Management

a. Both engineers and managers are trained to be decision makers

in a complex environment.
b. Both allocate resources for the operation of existing systems or
for the development of new systems.
c. Both have to recognize, identify and evaluate the interactions
among system components. (Cleland and Kocaoglu 1981)

What managers actually do

a. Unrelenting Pace
Managers began working at the moment they arrived at the office in
the morning and kept working until they left at night
b. Variety, and Fragmentation
Managers handled a wide variety issues throughout the day.
c. Verbal contracts and networks
Managers showed a strong preference for verbal communication and
relied heavily on networks

Excellent managers are/ have

a. Good communicator-Acquire the skills of listening, speaking,
reading, and writing
b. Integrity-Living it myself before leading others
c. Flexible- Multi-tasker, imaginative and innovative
d. Committed- Willing to do whatever it takes to attain
organizational success
e. Gratitude- Give credit where it is due
 f. Focused- Try to see the big picture within the forest of details
g. People-oriented- Knows that people ‘s feelings are important
The scope of management
a. Large businesses: Most knowledge comes from large profit-
seeking organizations.
b. Small and Start-Up Businesses: Management is key as wrong
decisions may never be recovered. This is how most businesses
start. Compaq started by 3 in 1982. In 1994 76th largest with sales
of $7b.
c. International management: Most large organizations derive a
significant portion of their business from international markets.

Non-profit organizations

a. Government Organizations: Subject to political and public

pressure.
b. Educational Organizations: Unique management and
administration problems.
c. Healthcare Facilities: Clinics, Hospitals, HMOs. New educational
programs.
d. Nontraditional Settings: Religious organizations, service
organizations, households, …, etc.
e. Social Forces: The norms and values that characterize a culture.
f. Economic Forces: Economic systems and general economic
conditions. Market economy. Competition.
g. Political Forces: Governing institutions and general policies and
attitudes. Legal cases against business.
Name: _________________________________ Date:
_____________
Course and Year: ______________________

Activity 1

Direction: Explain the quotation from a Chinese Proverb.

“ If you are planning for one year-plant rice. If you are planning for ten
years-plant trees. But if you are planning for 100 years-plant people!”