.5.5 Nature of Management Decisions
Managers decide what should be done (strategic), and technical contributors deter- mine how things should be done (tactical). As an engineering manager rises in an organization, his or her daily decisions will become more strategic. The CEO of a company primarily makes strategic decisions only.
•1.5.6 Work of Engineering Managers
Engineering managers plan, organize, lead, and control people, teams, money, technology, facilities, and other resources to achieve the business objectives of the company.To ensure company operations for the short term, they pay attention to problem solving and conflict resolution. As a rule, engineering managers do not perform the technical work themselves. Instead, they work through people. Their job is to decide what the unit, department or company should be doing to advance the objectives of the company and then assign resources to implement their decisions.
An illustration of managerial concern is an issue related to product development. Some companies initiate new product development on a market-driven basis. First, they use market surveys and customer feedback to define product concepts of potential interest to customers. Then they secure resources to develop the product concepts, manufacture the products, and offer customer services to market the products involved. Doing so allows them a high probability of achieving commercial success. Other companies adopt a technology-driven approach.They first invent and develop new technology, and then they incorporate the resulting inventions and innovations in products that they hope to sell to the marketplace. Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages. Surveys show that both approaches have yielded successes and failures. Managers decide which approach is the best choice for a company to take.
Another example is the potential difference in opinion between departments when deciding on "buy versus build" options and on setting task priorities. Still another area of potential disagreement is the choice about the level of standardization in product design that reduces cost while allowing a sufficient level of innovation to enhance