EE-413 Engineering Management Lecture # 2

Class: EE, 7th Semester - Section A

By: M Sami uz Zaman

Quiz # 1 (7 minutes)

• Write down brief notes on the following. (Any extra information shall not be graded).

• Column 1: 5 Characteristics of Climbers.

• Column 2: 5 Characteristics of Supporters.

• Column 3: Levels of Management.

• Column 4: Generals.

• Column 5: 3 Definitions of Management.

• Column 6: 5 Characteristics of Administrators.

• Column 7: 2 Definitions of Engineering Management.

Management Responsibilities

• The functions that a manager performs are many & complex, which is partly why it is so difficult to define and record them accurately.

• Manager’s main task is to deal with other people, and human behavior is complex and difficult to predict.

• Generally, managers operate in an environment in which they voluntarily accept certain responsibilities as part of their jobs, while being constrained by other factors. (The responsibilities & constraints circle - Fig 2.5)

Roles Performed by Managers

• A manager wears many ‘hats’. Not only is a manager a team

leader, but he or she is also a

• planner,

• organizer,

• coach,

• problem solver,

• and decision maker — all rolled into one. And these are just a few of a manager's roles.

• In addition, managers' schedules are usually jam‐packed. Whether they're busy with employee meetings, unexpected problems, or strategy sessions, managers often find little spare time on their calendars. (And that doesn't even include responding to e‐mail!)

Roles Performed by Managers

• In The Nature of Managerial Work, Henry Mintzberg describes

a set of ten roles that a manager fills. These roles fall into three categories:

• Interpersonal: This role involves human interaction.

• Informational: This role involves the sharing and analyzing of information.

• Decisional: This role involves decision making.

Management Responsibilities

Management Responsibilities on the whole cover the following members of the company.

• Employees.

• Stakeholders.

• Shareholders.

• Community.

• Customers.

• Suppliers.

& many more.

Types of Customers

• There are two distinct types of customers managers have to deal with:

1. Internal.

2. External.

• The Design Engineering Example – how internal customer-ship works.

Internal Customer ship

Marketing

Manufacturing

Distribution

Sales

Design Engg

Procurement

Management Constraints

Management is constrained by following phenomena:

• Competitors.

• Creditors.

• Governments.

• Natural Environment.

• Labor Market.

• Pressure Groups.

& many more.

Tasks / Functions of Management

Management, as we have seen earlier, is the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources. All this effort culminates into a ‘project’ or ‘task’ with pre-determined objects.

Management has the following 3 characteristics:

• It is a process or series of continuing and related activities.

• It involves and concentrates on reaching organizational goals.

• It reaches these goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources.

Tasks / Functions of Management

• Well known authors & engineering managers (including Kerzner, Nawar) describe the functions of management as ‘Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Leading & Controlling’. (P.O.S.L.C)

• According to Koontz & O'Donnell, these task are Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing & Controlling. (P.O.S.D.C)

• In the textbook, the functions are Planning, Organizing, Integrating, Measuring. (P.O.I.M). This one shall be detailed.

• Regardless of this, all these definitions are correct.

Description of Management Function Models

• The POSLC Model.

• The POSDC Model.

• The Luther Gullick Model:

-This is a holistic model that gives an overview of all the activities of managing a project.

-Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordination, Reporting, Budgeting. (P.O.S.D.Co.R.B)

Task 1: Planning

• Planning involves choosing tasks that must be performed to attain organizational goals, outlining how the tasks must be performed, and indicating when they should be performed.

• Planning activity focuses on attaining goals. Managers outline exactly what organizations should do to be successful.

• Planning is concerned with the success of the organization in the short term as well as in the long term.

Task 1: Planning

Clearly define Goals, Objectives and Policies.

To draft a Strategic Plan:

• the line of action, to reach the goals.

• SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis .

• establishes processes and sets performance standards, which are used later in the measuring phase.

• includes budgets, covering expenses, capital and human resources.

• Training plans and costs have to be included.

• These plans also have to be communicated to all involved in the project.

A good manager always anticipates & creates positive change.

Task 2: Organizing

• Organizing can be thought of as assigning the tasks developed in the planning stages, to various individuals or groups within the organization. Organizing is to create a mechanism to put plans into action.

• People within the organization are given work assignments that contribute to the company’s goals.

• Tasks are organized so that the output of each individual contributes to the success of departments, which, in turn, contributes to the success of divisions, which ultimately contributes to the success of the organization.

Task 2: Organizing

• Splitting up of the work into manageable tasks and allocation to groups or individuals.

• Ensure that tasks are coordinated and duplication is avoided.

• Jobs and responsibilities need to be clearly defined (may be difficult due to flexible boundaries and overlaps).

• Teams established and Team Leaders appointed.

• Understand the needs of their customers and ensure that these are communicated to all.

Task 3: Integrating

• The task that makes the manager see the complete picture.

• To obtain accurate information on which decisions are based.

• Risks must be taken, not avoided (risk management).

• Set the direction, but be flexible enough to change if decision proves to be wrong, or if circumstances change.

• team members are in communication where their work affects each other.

• eventual goals are kept continually in front of the team

Task 4: Measuring

• Taking stock of achievements and putting in corrective actions, including process changes if necessary.

• must be taken continually throughout the implementation phase, not only at the end.

• Items that need to be measured and controlled during the project, include:

• The costs, which include salaries and expenses,

• The use of skills and specialized equipments,

• Progress on the project, measured on a time-scale,

• The quality of the product.

Measuring Techniques

• formal weekly measuring charts.

• the informal measures, a manager is continually making throughout the day: MWA, (Management by Walking About),

• The prime purpose of a measure is to record and provide feed back, resulting in corrective action and process improvement.

• Measurable targets for individuals may be used for growing staff and rewarding them, and not for finding defects and determining punishment

The Engineering Manager

• Saying: Management is management; it does not matter whether it is an Engineering department or a grocery shop.

• Feeling: It requires common sense and nothing more.

• Unfortunately, many engineers have no planning to take management as a career, (just by promotion) and then a good engineer may not be a good manager.

• Managers must learn to work through other people.

• Dual career ladder ……… ?

Engineers vs Engineering Managers

1. Technical Considerations:

• Management is creative and complex, as rules are not fixed and environment continually changing.

• Engineers working on technical projects want to be managed by someone who can understand their technical problems.

• Engineering managers have to get resources approved for their projects.

2. The Time Factor

• Engineering tasks require thought and time, e.g. a design

spread over months.

• Engineering management requires the ability to shift rapidly from one task to the next, from one person to another, often in the space of a few minutes.

• Managers are called upon to maintain an open door policy. They cannot shut themselves away for any length of time.

• Time Management.

3. The People Factor

• An engineer is primarily concerned with tasks while an engineering manager is concerned with people, whether they are within one’s direct control or not.

• Engineers find this wasteful of time and would rather do things themselves, something which the engineering manager must never do.

• Managers must delegate technical tasks.

• Reviews and discussions with staff should not be limited to tasks, but should cover personnel issues as well, such as development.

• A manager cannot poach staff from another department.

• Engineering managers must plan for product failure and be able to reorganize their team when it occurs.