Published Resources Details
Conference Paper
- Title
- The development of engineers as managers
- In
- Australasian Engineering Education Conference, Brisbane, Sep 17-19, 1980
- Imprint
- Institution of Engineers Australia, 1980, pp. 196-202
- Url
- https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.464407582852542
- Description
[This paper was awarded the John Monash Medal, by the General College Board, 1983.]
- Abstract
A national sample of over 700 engineers in Australian manufacturing industry spend nearly as much time on managerial/administrative activities as on engineering/technical activities. As engineers, and as engineers who have already become managers, this sample is well aware of the importance of human relations skills and climate to their organization's operating efficiency, to their own and workers' job satisfaction, to quality of product, staff turnover and net profits. More than one-third believe that poor human relations climate contributes substantially to unwarranted absenteeism and strikes. Engineers are critical of manufacturing management, one-third believing that managers fail to recognize the importance of human relations climate, and two-thirds reporting that managers have inadequate human relations skills. Engineers are almost equally critical of their own human relations skills, although they believe they do better than managers. However, more than four-fifths of the engineers believe they should have considerably greater human relations skills, and specify what these should be. As to how these skills should be acquired, engineers most prefer 1) training within their work organization; next want 2) training as part of their engineering courses; and then 3) human relations training outside their work organization. They also want more general management training.
A conceptual framework, drawing on management literature, and showing the transition from engineering to management, is also developed.