Engineering Management
A Course for Survival
Marcus O Durham, PhD, PE
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, OK
Robert A Durham, PE
D2 Tech Solutions, Inc.
Tulsa, OK
Rosemary Durham
THEWAY Corp
Tulsa, OK
Abstract
Engineering survival & success
Depends on many skills
In addition to technology
Gordian Knot
Class looks at topics
– Professionalism to ethics
– Presentation to people skills
– Project management to international cultures
More impot than ever
– Engineering environment very dynamic
– Frequent transitions between employer
– & job function
Assessments
Numerous personality styles
Needs & motivation
Changing int’l face of upper level
– Cultural nuances
– Remote management
Industrial interaction
– Quality
– Legal
Not one text available
Engineering Management
Almost an oxymoron
• Engr train to deal w/ things & how work
• Mgt train to deal w/ people & how to work
First engr semesters: pre-business
Engr well-adapted to business?
Engr perceived as difficult
Reality
Engr one of best backgrounds for mgt skills
Engr quick learner & analytical
Studies
Carnegie Foundation
– >30 years of surveys
– 60% of engr degree become
• Mgr or businessmen
• w/in 15 yrs
Cleland & Kogaolu
– 40% of industrial execs
– 34% of all top corporate managers in US
– Have engr education
Universal Symbol
Unfortunately many engrs lower value of mgt
Find reality of universal engr symbol
$
All engr units convert to it
If project cannot be converted to money
It is unlikely to develop
Book
1. Dichotomy between engr & mgt
2. Very difficult to find truly cross-sectional book
3. Business type writes
focus on cash, money, financial risk mgt
4. Tech type writes
focus on technology & not people
5. Very few text books of any persuasion
focus on people
6. Joint venture - online
university professor
vice-president international engr firm
image consultant
Publish
People Skills
Where most engr have greatest shortcomings
Simply not been part of process or education
Naïve engr disdain need
– Soft science & unimportant
– Doomed to stagnation
People do business with people they like.
Engr
Dale Carnegie
Guru of modern people skills
How to Win Friends & Influence People
1939 & still going
3rd mantra
Find out what people want
& help them to get it
In the process, you will get what you want
Real Objective
 Move from engr & mgt to leadership
 Leader know why, mgr know what, engr know how
 Mgr does things right, leader does right things
 Hire people that know how,
Takes a vision or dream to know why
 Mgr works for someone,
Leader is working toward something
 Mgr is a leader without the vision
So What is the Program
Chapter headings identify topics
Each area designed for one-hour discussion
Seven broad sections
Not technical – get that elsewhere
Assumed people have technical qualifications
– Now working on functioning with people.
Topics
Style
Communication
Legal
Business
Ethics
Projects
Profile
Style
Tasks
How you are wired
As inherent as color of eyes
Not one is better or worse
Two questions?
• Are you more task or people oriented?
• Are you more outgoing or reserved?
Differences are source of much conflict
& Lack of performance
With training anyone can compensate
People
Outgoing
Reserved
Communication
Presenting your idea in most effective way
& getting feedback
More about listening than speaking
Perhaps weakest link for tech professionals
If can’t communicate, do not have knowledge
Numerous vehicles
Books, papers, articles, reports, memos,
emails, letters, lectures, presentations,
phone calls, audio recordings, video,
handshake, backslap, touch.
Business
Life cycle of technology
Theory of technology growth
Impact on theory of economics
W = P Tn
Shift in technology cost opens new options
Shifts affect people, education, organizations
Legal
Involves all outside structural constraints
Risk mgt: safety, environmental, quality
Force technical solution
– Not most cost effective
– Not highest performance
Present litigious environment
– Every product suspect
Ethics
 Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), philosopher
 The Advancement of Learning
“For the end of logic is to teach a form of
argument to secure reason and not entrap it;
the end of morality is to procure the affections
to obey reason, and not invade it…”
 Bacon asserted it is reasonable & logical to
pursue morality.
First Inaugural
President George Washington
“There is not truth more thoroughly established
than that there exists in the economy and
course of nature an indissoluble union
between virtue and happiness”
Can ethics & morality be taught?
Begs the question, everything is learned
Projects
Projects are unique in an organization
Exist for a set time & purpose
Definable cost, schedule, & task
PM skill w/ people, dollars, technology
PM trade-off time, money, quality
Tech training – how things work
So, first responders in forensics
– By training assume right
– Other side also assumes right
Profile
Dr. Benjamin Franklin
1 of most influential leaders of early republic
Businessman, architect of government,
diplomat, scientist, philosopher
Retired from business at 40
Early technologist experimenter
Developed support societies, Junto, to
investigate ideas
Must continue professional development
Does it work?
Evaluations of participants are best guage
Uniformly positive
– “An excellent course for engineering and
science students”
– “We should have more such courses to
improve professional skills helpful in the real
world.
– “I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It
enhanced my communications skills.”
Conclusions
 Engineering is more than technology
 People skills necessary to survive
 Engineers are interested in learning these skills
 With training, engineers are most effective managers
Success requires skill with people, dollars, & technology
Engineering management is the course for survival
QUESTIONS
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