1.5 ENGINEERING MANAGERS
Engineering managers have engineering training and specific technical knowledge and experience, and are accountable for the results of the unit, section, or department they head up.
1.5.1 Prerequisites to Be an Effective Engineering Manager
Generally speaking, to be effective, an engineering manager needs to be motivated to acquire knowledge (e.g., roles, functions, and vocabulary) and skills; prepare mentally (job outlook, management orientation, personality traits, and flexibility); and be deter mined to diligently practice the principles of engineering management. Many skills of engineering management are learnable.
1.5.2 Characteristics of an Effective Engineering Manager
The effective engineering manager is a rational and organized individual who behaves like a trained professional with regard to ethics, fairness, and honor.
1.5.3 Resources Controlled by an Engineering Manager
The engineering manager has a number of resources at his or her disposal. He or she decides who is to do specific work, what plant or equipment is to be involved, how much money should be spent, which technology is to be applied, and which business relationships and connections should be invoked to achieve predetermined objectives. The technology to be applied may include proprietary innovations, specific know-how,
operational procedures, tried-and-true design processes, and others.
1.5.4 Nature of Four-Dimensional Work
The work of engineering managers is four dimensional. Engineering managers need to
interface with, and manage the interactions with, subordinates, as well as coordinate
their own management actions with those of other managers and peer groups. They manage their own time and efforts. They also attempt to anticipate the requirements of
their superiors by making recommendations for future courses of action. Figure 1.1
illustrates this four-dimensional nature of work.