Subject Introduction to Management

Relevance of Managerial Knowledge for Engineers Prerequisites for a successful career in Engineering

Most of the jobs in Engineering discipline are not in Design / Development

Overview

Most engineers careers include managerial tasks though many remain in predominantly technological jobs. Over 80% indicated that they needed some of the managerial skills and expertise. Most difficult or demanding aspect of job People related tasks outweighed the technology-related tasks.

For engineers generally, managerial and social skills and expertise are as important as technical ones, and not least for newly Chartered Engineers.
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Preferred reason for selecting management subject

It's in syllabus Easy to get marks Better than technical subject I'm curious It may be interesting For career growth To perform better
Based on survey conducted in a technical university during 2009-10
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75% 15% 5% 2% 1% 1%

Partial List of Managerial Functions

Costing, Estimating, Project financing, Evaluate projects, Analyze project risks, Analyze corporate risks, Plan and control budgets, Company accounting, Corporate (business) strategy , Plan and schedule project, Planning, Patenting Marketing of products, Marketing of consultancy, technical services, Use of company law, Use of health & safety law, Use of employment law, Use of consumer safety law, Draft contracts, Negotiate contracts with client/customer, Negotiate with supplier/contractor , Negotiate with employees, Negotiate with Union Representatives, Negotiate with public authorities (not as customers), Negotiate with senior management , Statistics , Operational research, Systems analysis, Organization and Methods (O & M), Work study (methods study), Data processing, Make formal presentations, Plan and chair formal meetings, Plan personnel requirements, Recruit and select personnel, Motivate others, Supervise others, Appraise personnel, Employee training manual workers
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Philosophical Demands

What is not studied as a student may never be learnt at all, or not learnt at all thoroughly. Continuous trend among engineers opting for higher degrees in management subjects indicates that the need for more professional preparation is perceived by engineers and employers. The trend that studies to precede experience is a typical characteristic of the evolution of all professional work.
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The Present Situation

Engineers with management skills and expertise have higher added-value than more technological ones.
Employability and then success in the first years of an engineers career may thus depend upon competence in technical matters combined with communications and managerial skills.

Engineers need considerable expertise in some managerial tasks early in their careers even when not in predominantly management jobs.
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Above all....

Engineers need to be aware of the mechanism with which their superiors manage their functions to relate their job expectations to the overall functions to which they contribute.
Engineers need to be conversant in the processes and able to adopt to them to be productive

Engineers need to be familiar with the politics of decision making in the organization for their career progress.
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The Balloonist
A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The man below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet about the ground. You are between 40 and 42 degrees north latitude and between 58 and 60 degrees west longitude." "You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am," replied the engineer, "but how did you know?"
January 2, 2013

"Well," answered the balloonist,

"everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information. You are not of much help to me, and the fact is I am still lost even after talking to you." The engineer below responded, "You must be a manager."

"I am," replied the manager, "how did you know?"

"Well," said the engineer, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are exactly in the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, you seem to imply that it's my fault." 8

REAL LIFE

EXAMPLES

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MY DAYS WITH SUSPA...

Technocrat life turning into a Managerial Life Thrown into challenges En-cashing opportunities Adopting and Learning Seeding of Self belief Recognition and Confidence acquiring
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First Opportunity
Opportunity not of an ENGINEERS but of a MANAGER

Profit-Center-Head responsibility turned me into a MANAGER first and then to an ENTREPRENEUR.

Technical know-how and Managerial Experience coupled with the Confidence derived out of delegation.
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Starting own venture...

Confidence borne out of seasoning. Not satisfied with the tasks given initiatives taken to own the operations.

Technical problem solving skills acquired.

Getting to know the management functions with superior's confidence and risk management. Accepting the realities and value orientation.
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Getting to adopt business values

Ownership, values obtained in first venture failure. Politics of ownership. Utility time frame. Learning the importance of financial control.
Seasoned risk managing desires. Importance of risk exposure for progress. Learning to be decisive and willing to take unpalatable decisions. ...Certainly not a domain for an ENGINEER.
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Lessons learnt used effectively

Many ventures floated and operations delegated. (Delegation means confidence earned)
Tendency to delegate borne out of experience. (Many successful ventures exist.) Bitter experience of dropped-off strengthened the resolve for quick and firm decisions in trying and closing business associations. (Some working partners severed off.)
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Summing up...

Managerial thinking is essential for Engineers. Experience add substance to managerial thinking. Engineers knowledge expands more into business management domain than in technical domain in the long run. (Efficacy of technical enhancement is
not through experience, more through training and learning)
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