ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

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
Engineering management is a specialized form of management
concerned with the application in engineering, because of the
unique personalities and technical nature of engineering.
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
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
 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
ENRY FAYOL’S PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
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. 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: 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.

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
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
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.
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
MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
Management consists of the functions given below. It is based
on Henri Fayol's thinking on the functions of management.
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing
5. Controlling
1. Planning
It is the basic function of management. It deals with
chalking out a future course of action & deciding in
advance the most appropriate course of actions for
achievement of pre-determined goals. It bridges the gap
from where we are and where we want to be. A plan is a
future course of actions. It is an exercise in problem
solving and decision making. Planning is determination of
courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning
is a systematic thinking about ways and means for
accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is
necessary to ensure proper utilization of human and non-
human resources.
2. Organizing
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial
and human resources and developing productive
relationship amongst them for achievement of
organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, “To
organize a business is to provide it with everything useful
or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital and
personnel’s”. To organize a business involves determining
and providing human and non-human resources to the
organizational structure. Organizing as a process
involves:
 Identification of activities.
 Classification of grouping of activities.
 Assignment of duties.
 Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
 Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.
3. Staffing
It is the function of manning the organization structure
and keeping it manned. Staffing has assumed greater
importance in the recent years due to advancement of
technology, increase in size of business, complexity of
human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put
 right man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes
and round pegs in round holes. Staffing involves
 Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of
searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
 Recruitment, selection & placement.
 Training & development.
 Remuneration.
 Performance appraisal.
 Promotions & transfer.
4. Directing
It is that part of managerial function which actuates the
organizational methods to work efficiently for
achievement of organizational purposes. It is considered
lifespark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the
action of people because planning, organizing and
staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work.
Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management
which deals directly with influencing, guiding,
supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement
of organizational goals. Direction has following elements:
 Supervision
 Motivation
 Leadership
 Communication
Supervision- implies overseeing the work of
subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching
& directing work & workers.
Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging
the sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative,
monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this
purpose.
Leadership- may be defined as a process by which
manager guides and influences the work of subordinates
in desired direction.
Communications- is the process of passing information,
experience, opinion etc from one person to another. It is a
bridge of understanding.
5. Controlling
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the
standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure
achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of
controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformities
with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to
predict deviations before they actually occur. Therefore
controlling has following steps:
 Establishment of standard performance.
 Measurement of actual performance.
 Comparison of actual performance with the standards and
finding out deviation if any.  Corrective action.