Problems of Engineering Management

Abstract

All problems of management can ultimately be traced to human beings. The technical manager must have the respect of his people to be effective. They can best assess him through the common ground of technical ability. It is the obligation of the technical manager to convey his philosophy of management to his people and to train them in his methods of operation. The successful manager must constantly fight the desire to participate in the technical details of work. He must realize that it is wrong for him to make decisions which are not appropriate to his level in the organization where those decisions should be made by either those above or those below. He must permit people who work for him the freedom to make mistakes. Engineers have an underlying fear of criticism which makes supervising them often very difficult. This fear of criticism hinders their effective delegation of work. The aspirant to managerial status should seek out criticism and get used to receiving it. Reviews of work performance which have been requested of a supervisor will be invaluable in developing the recipient's managerial skills since it provides a greater awareness of the human problems that are involved in this phase of technical management.