ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

2 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICE

2.1 ENGINEERING
Definition;

Engineering is the profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and natural

sciences, gained by study, experience, and practice, is applied with judgment, to develop
ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of
mankind

Types;
1. Agricultural Engineering
2. Architectural Engineering
3. Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering
4. Ceramic Engineering
5. Chemical Engineering
6. Civil Engineering
7. Computer Engineering
8. Electrical Engineering
9. Environmental Engineering
10. Fire Protection Engineering
11. Industrial Engineering
12. Manufacturing Engineering
13. Mechanic Engineering
14. Metallurgy and Materials Engineering
15. Mineral and Mining Engineering
16. Nuclear Engineering
17. Ocean Engineering
18. Transportation Engineering

2.2 MANAGEMENT
Definition;
The word “Management” originates from Old French ménagement “the art of
conducting, directing”, and from Latin manu agere “to lead by the hand”)
Management characterizes the process of leading and directing all or part of an
organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources
(human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible).
Areas of Management;
• Change management
• Communications management
• Constraint management
• Cost management
• Crisis management
• Customer relationship management
• Earned value management
• Engineering management
• Enterprise management

Page 2
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

• Facility management
• Integration management
• Knowledge management
• Marketing management
• Micromanagement
• Pain management
• Perception management
• Procurement management
• Program management
• Project management
• Process management
• Product management
• Quality management
• Resource management
• Risk management
• Skills management
• Spend management
• Supply chain management
• Systems management
• Time management
• Stress management

2.3 ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

Definition;
Engineering management is a specialized form of management concerned with the
application in engineering, as a result of the unique personalities and technical nature of
engineering.

Engineering management refers to the functional management of technical professionals.

Example areas of engineering are product development, manufacturing, construction,
design engineering, industrial engineering, technology, production, or any other field that
employs personnel who perform an engineering function.

Successful engineering managers typically require training and experience in business

and engineering. Technically inept managers tend to be deprived of support by their
technical team, and non-commercial managers tend to lack commercial acumen to deliver
in a market economy. Largely, engineering managers manage engineers who are driven
by non-entrepreneurial thinking, thus require the necessary people skills to coach, mentor
and motivate technical professionals.

Engineering professions joining manufacturing companies tend to become engineering

managers over a period of time. They learn all the facets of management on job and
often this process is slow and disoriented.

2.4 EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT

2.4.1 Approaches to Management

• Classical Approach
• Behavioral Approach
• Quantitative Approach
• Modern Approaches to Management

Page 3
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

According to one school of thought, history has no relevance to the problems faced
by managers today. Some are also of the opinion that management theory is too
abstract to be of any practical use. However, both theory and history are
indispensable tools for managing contemporary organizations.

Like most modern disciplines, contemporary management thought has its

foundations in the history of management and the many significant contributions of
theorists and practitioners. A theory is a conceptual framework for organizing
knowledge that provides a blueprint for various courses of action. Hence, an
awareness and understanding of important historical developments and theories
propounded by early thinkers is important for today’s managers.

2.4.2 Major Classification of Management Approaches and their Contributors

Table 2.1: Major Classifications

Major Classification of Management Major Contributors
Approaches
Classical approach Scientific management Frederick W. Taylor, Frank and
Lillian Gilbreth and Henry Gantt
Bureaucratic Max Weber
management
Administrative Henri Fayol
management
Behavioral Group influences Mary Parker Follet
approach
Hawthorne studies Elton Mayo
Maslow’s needs theory Abraham Maslow
Theory X and Theory Y Douglas McGregor
Model I versus Model II Chris Argyris
values
Quantitative Management science -
approach
Operations -
management
Management -
information system
Modern The Systems Theory -
approaches
Contingency Theory -
Emerging approaches: William Ouchi
Theory Z and Quality
management

Page 4
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

2.5 HENRY FAYOL’S PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

Fayol developed theory of management. According to him managerial excellence is a

technically ability and can be acquired. He developed theories and principles of
management which are universally accepted and make him universalistic. He was pioneer
of the formal education in management. Fayol's principles of management meet the
requirements of modern management.

Henry Fayol, a frech industrialist, offered fourteen principles of management for the first
time in 1916. During the period of 1920-40 in the U.S. many authors did hard work in
developing and testing various principles of management. Today, there is a very lengthy
list of management principles and it is not possible to give an exhaustive lot of these
management principles.

According to Fayol management was a separate and distinct skill from other business
function. He also felt that management skills had been the most neglected aspect of
business operations. Fayol developed fourteen general principals of managements.
According to him these principles can be applied in all types, functions, levels and size of
organizations. This had earned him the title of “UNIVERSALIST”. For a long time Fayol’s
list was accepted on “Complete and Comprehensive”. Following are the fourteen
principles of management developed by the Henry Fayol:
i. Division of work: -
This is the principle of specialization which applies to all kinds of work. The
more people specialize the more efficiently they can perform their work.
Specialization increases output by making employees more efficient.
ii. Authority and Responsibility: -
According to Fayol responsibility is a corollary and a natural consequence of
authority. Responsibility implies an obligation to perform the task in a
satisfactory manner.
iii. Discipline: -
Good discipline is the result of effective leadership a clear understanding
between management and workers regarding the organization’s rules and the
judicious use of penalties for violation of the rules.
iv. Unity of Command: -
Every employees should receive order and instruction from only one superior.
Dual command is a perpetual source of conflict. If a person receives order
from more than one superior, it would lead to confusion and chaos.
v. Unity of Direction: -
This principle calls for one manager one plan for all operations having
the same objectives. This principle when applied properly, ensure unity of
action and facilitates coordination.
vi. Subordination of Individual Interest to the General Interests: -
The interest of the organization is above the individual and the group. This
can be achieved when manager set an example through their exemplary
behaviour. They must be prepared to sacrifice their personal interest when
ever such interest are in conflict with organizational interest.
vii. Remuneration: -

Page 5
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

Workers should be paid a fair wages for their service. The method of wage
payment should provide maximum possible satisfaction to both employees
and employer.
viii. Centralization:-
Everything that goes to increase the subordinate role is decentralization,
everything which goes to reduce it is centralization. Whether decision making
is centralized (to management) or decentralized (to subordinates) is a matter
of proper proportion. The problem is to find the best amount of centralization
in each case.
ix. Scalar chain hierarchy: -
The graded chain of authority from top to bottom through which all
communication flow is formed the “Scalar Chain”.
x. Order: -
People and material should be in the right place at the right time. A place for
everything and everything in its place.
xi. Equity:-
Manager should be both friendly and fair to their subordinates. Employees
should be justice and kindness promotes better relation between employees
and employer.
xii. Stability of tenure of personnel: -
Management must implement practice which encourages long term
commitment of employees. Instability of tenure can significantly affect the
fortunes of a company.
xiii. Initiative: -
Employees must be encouraged to think and implement a plan of action even
through some mistake may result. The opportunity to perform independently
is an essential component of employee growth and development.
xiv. Spirit of Co-operation (Spirit de crops)
This principle state that “Union is Strength”. Fayol defined esprit de corps as
unity of effort through harmony of interest. Promoting team sprit will give the
organization a sense of unity.
These fourteen principles were considered to be flexible and capable of meeting
every managerial need. Fayol’s contribution to management theory is unique and
valuable. In fact he was the first management thinker who contributed substantially
and brought respectability to management as a discipline. Undoubtedly, Fayol was
the important management thinker who has presented the most lucid and highly
systematic analysis of the management.

2.6 MODERN MANAGEMENT THEORY

The past thirty years witnessed a “Knowledge Explosion” in the field of managements.
During this period management writer have been primarily concerned with integrating the
findings of scientific management, principles of management and human relations
movements. However two integrating trends have developed throwing adequate light on
the dynamic nature of management namely: -
• System Approach
• Contingency Approach

Page 6
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

These modern management theories considered all elements the whole organization as
well as components parts. The organization is viewed as adaptive systems which must in
order to survive adjust to environmental changes. The organization and its environment
are seen as interdependent; each depends on the other for resources from scientific
management, human relations. It is a background that furnishes a foundation for
understanding Contemporary management theory and practice.

2.6.1 System Approach

A system in simple terms is a set of interrelated parts. It is a group of interrelated

but separate elements working towards a common purpose. The arrangement of
elements must be orderly, there must be proper communication faciliting interaction
between the elements and finally the interaction should lead to achieve a common
goal. The organization transforms input into a variety of outputs and offers the same
to the external environment in the form of products good and services. Sale of the
output provides the necessary energy (feedback) to the system cycle.
The system approach provides a unified focus to organizational efforts. A major
contribution of the system approach results from its strong emphasis on the
interrelatedness or mutuality of the parts of an organization. Another important
benefit of system theory lies in its treatment of the organization as an open system.
A close system imports something from the environment and exports something into
the environment. The system theory of management is characterized by the
following: -
(a) Dynamic: - Within the organization the process of interaction between
subsystem is dynamic.
(b) Multilevel and Multidimensional: - It is micro within the nation’s
industrial network and it is macro with respect to its internal units. The modern
manager is forced to recognize the importance of parts as well as the whole.
(c) Multimotivated: - Motivation is an extremely complex process and drawing
simplistic equation is a futile exercise.
(d) Probabilistic: - Modern theory tends to probabilistic. “Statement in modern
theory tends to be qualified with phrases such as “may be”, in general” and usually”
because modern theory recognizes that few predictive statement can be made with
certainty.
(e) Multidisciplinary: - Modern theory of management is enriched by
contribution from disciplines like sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology,
ecology mathematics, operations research and so on.
(f) Descriptive:- Individual are free to select the objectives and the methods to
improve organizational effectiveness.
(g) Multivariable: - There is no simple cause effect phenomenon in
organizational activities. An event may be the product of many factors that are in
turn interrelated and interdependent.
(h) Adaptive: - An organization and its environment are expected to rearrange
their parts. Organization tries to cope with environment changes through the “feed
back” mechanism. An organization must produce output acceptable to components in
environment.

Page 7
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

It is true that “System theory provides a broad Philosophical perspective that bridge
academic disciplines and mounts integrated attack on a wide variety of problem”
2.6.2 Contingency Theory

In recent years especially after 1970 the word “contingency” has invaded the field of
Management. One important contribution of contingency perspective may best be
summed up in the statement that “there is no one best way to manage”. According
to this approach the best way to lead, plan organize & conduct managerial activities
varies with the situations. There are no plans, organization structure leadership style
or control that will fit all situations. A manager trained in the contingency approach
may offer a solution that is responsive to the characteristics of the total situation
being faced. Organization characterized by the limited resources, unskilled labour
force, limited training opportunities, limited products offered to local markets- work
simplification would be ideal. Job enrichment programme would work better if the
organization employs skilled labour force. Applying a contingency approach requires
that managers diagnose a given situation & adapt to meet the conditions present.
The strength of contingency theory rest on two points: -
➢ First it focuses attention on specific situation factors that influence the
appropriateness of one managerial strategy over another.
➢ Second it highlights the importance to managers of developing skills in
situational analysis. Such skills will help managers find out important
contingency factors that influences their approach to managing.

The contingency approach is a useful instructional device in the sense that it compels
us to be aware of the complexity in every situation and forces us to take an active
and dynamic role in trying to determine what would work best in each case. It is said
that the contingency approach is refreshing breeze in management literature that
clears away the humanistic and general system fog. The contingency theory is
concerned with achieving a “fit” between organization and its environment. The
contingency approach dose not incorporates all aspects of system theory and hold
that it is severely constrained by paucity of literature. Contingency theory is
theoretically complex. The goal of integrating functional, quantitative behavioral and
system approaches in the form of contingency model may prove to be too difficult to
realize because of the incomplete development of the earlier approaches.

Page 8