Engineering Management - Chapter 1: Field of Engineering Management

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing core definitions, pioneer theorists, management functions, organization levels, and manager qualifications from Chapter 1 of MGMT 312.

Management

The creative problem-solving process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization's resources to achieve its mission and objectives.

Engineering Management

The activity combining technical knowledge with the ability to organize and coordinate worker power, materials, machinery, and money.

Main Responsibility of an Engineer Manager

To lead their group in producing a certain output consistent with the required specifications.

Planning

Formulating organizational objectives, evaluating alternative paths, and setting key blueprints to achieve targets effectively.

Organizing

Structuring human roles, resources, and systems, as well as assigning concrete tasks to specific personnel for maximum flow.

Directing

Motivating, leading, and guiding personnel dynamically to make sure their daily work outputs align with the core vision.

Controlling

Setting standards, monitoring actual progress, comparing outputs, and enforcing correction paths if deviation occurs.

Level One Organization Level

An organizational level where minimal engineering tasks are performed (e.g., retailing firms, commercial shops) with slim chances for engineer presidency unless self-owned.

Level Two Organization Level

An organizational level with moderate technical jobs (e.g., transportation, utilities, logistics) where engineers can head engineering divisions and managerial training is vital.

Level Three Organization Level

An organizational level with a high degree of engineering (e.g., construction firms, design consultancies) providing the highest opportunity to scale into CEO/President positions.

Frederick Winslow Taylor

An early pioneer of management theory and mechanical engineer (1856-1915) who believed management's task was to design jobs properly and provide incentives to motivate workers.

Principles of Scientific Management

Management principles formulated by Frederick Winslow Taylor: replace rule-of-thumb methods with scientific study, select/train workers scientifically, cooperate with workers, and divide work equally between managers and workers.

Jules Henri Fayol

A management pioneer (1841-1925) who stated that workforce specialization promotes efficiency, increases productivity, and enhances worker accuracy and speed.

Max Weber

A German sociologist who focused on organizational structures and stated an ideal bureaucracy consists of six characteristics: hierarchy of command, impersonality, written rules of conduct, advancement based on achievement, specialized division of labor, and efficiency.

Elton Mayo

A Harvard professor (1880-1949) who proposed people-oriented management and proved via Hawthorne studies that emotional, group pressure, and psychological factors affect productivity more than mechanical elements alone.

Hawthorne Studies

Studies conducted by Elton Mayo proving that emotional, group pressure, and psychological factors affect workplace productivity far more than mechanical elements alone.

Robert K. Greenleaf

Management theorist (1904-1990) who first proposed servant-leadership as a formal management concept, starting with a natural feeling to serve followed by the aspiration to lead.

Research Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer engages in learning about nature and codifying this knowledge into usable theories.

Design and Development Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer undertakes turning a product concept into a finished physical item.

Testing Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer works in a unit where new products or parts are tested for workability.

Manufacturing Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer is directly in charge of production personnel or assumes responsibility for the product.

Construction Function

An engineer manager function where the construction engineer is directly in charge of construction personnel or responsible for the quality of the construction process.

Sales Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer assists customers in meeting their needs, especially those requiring technical expertise.

Consulting Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer works as a consultant to any individual or organization requiring their services.

Government Function

An engineer manager function involving employment in the government performing tasks in regulating, monitoring, and controlling public or private activities.

Teaching Function

An engineer manager function where the engineer is employed at a school to teach engineering courses, with potential progression to dean, vice president, or president.

Managerial Ability

The capacity of an engineer manager to achieve organizational objectives effectively and efficiently.

Effectiveness vs. Efficiency

Effectiveness refers to whether objectives are accomplished, whereas efficiency refers to the relative amount of resources used in obtaining effectiveness.

John B. Miner's Motivation Model

A model identifying seven dimensions required for managerial motivation: favorable authority attitude, peer competition drives, work-related competition, self-assertion, desire for power, standing out from crowds, and operational responsibility.

Opportunity Requirements for Management

The two necessary requirements to manage successfully: obtaining a suitable managerial job and finding a supportive climate once on the job.

Qualifications of an Engineer Manager

Key requirements including a bachelor's degree in engineering (or a master's degree in engineering/business management), a few years' pure engineering experience, training in supervision, and special training in engineering management.