Research II Revised

8/14/2019 Research II Revised

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California $tate {lniyersityNarthridge

Group Research Assignment II (Revised)

Overview of Engineering Management

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Hassan AlanaziUnmesh SirvastavaIbrahim Albawardi

Patrick Yomba

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November 18,2009


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Index

Defining Engineering Management....... 4Objectives of EM...... .................. 6

Manage the Workforce.... 6Strategic Planning. 7Forecasting 8Organizing. 8

EM & MBA courses Comparison............. 9Engineering Management Career l0

1011

Salary.Tasks

Business Activities of Engineering Management..... L2t2131416

Finance and AMarketing

ccounting

Managerial ScienceManufacturing systems and production

Conclusion 17References 18


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IntroductionOver the years, people have interests and concerns regarding the

aspects affecting their lives. Characteristics, such as financial, social, andeducational standards, have either positively or negatively affected them asindividuals or groups. For instance, education tends to have an effect on theindividuals by increasing their knowledge and expertise. One of the bestprocedures to acquire an educational advantage is to gain an academic degree.An academic degree is defined as a status levels awarded by an institution ofhigher education, such as universities, as the result of successfully completinga program of study (1). In other words, the academic degree serves as a proof,given by an academic institute, of the educational experience a student gainedwithin his or her academic years.

Academic degrees have a wide variety of majors, such as medicine,management, and engineering. Also, multiple levels, such as bachelor, master,and doctorate, rank academic degrees. For management degree, studentsmajoring in management learn the successful skills and techniques to achievethe organization's aim and goals in the business field. Such techniques includeplanning, organizing, leading and controlling (2).

Also, management, as a major, has the flexibility to be merged to othermajors based on the industry demand. The successful application ofmanagement on other majors has generated new managerial academic


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programs. Moreover, the demand from the job market for new graduate with amanagement perspective has increased the application within other differentmajors. Examples of successful majors after the application are hospitalitymanagement, information systems management, project management, andengineering management. 1 f,,, , \{

Engineering management has showed great success in the businessfield by applying the managerial techniques to an engineering perspective thatgenerate more efficient results and findings. This report will defineengineering management as a major, shows its main differences andsimilarities with other academic programs, the careers available forengineering management graduates, and its applications within the business

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Defining Engineering Nlanagement:

As mentioned earlier, engineering management graduates have a highdemand in the business. Before discussing engineering management as amajor, a clear and precise definition of the major is required. Engineeringmanagement is defined as: the blend of the management skills andengineering experience that guides specialists in highly technical tasks (3).The American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) defines


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engineering management as "the art and science of planning, organizing,allocating resources, and directing and controlling activities which have atechnological component" (4).

The main subjects an engineering management student or managerfocuses on are material management, product design, quality management,engineering economy, innovation management, and operation management.Also, strong communication skills is required from an engineer manager topresent the findings clearly and in a professional manner. The degree isprovided in both on-campus and online with multiple academic levels, suchas bachelor, master, and certificate programs. Due to its attractiveness as amajor, engineering management have multiple concentrations for students tochoose from. Examples of the concentrations atei engineering andtechnology management, operation research and management science, andknowledge management (3).

Similar to the other engineering degrees, engineering managementgraduates have established organizations to support engineeringmanagement professionals. ASEM is the main organization that supportsengineering management professionals with new solutions, technologies,and systems studied and successfully applied within the business. ASEM isfamous for their journal, which is an excellent source for effective casestudies and projects from around the US and world businesses (4).


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As we learned from Dr. Mark lectures, engineering management goal

is to prepare managels and engineers to be ready to manage engineers,strategic plan, forecast, organize and control. Most of engineering managersmanage engineers as we can imply from its comprehensive definition. Theylead a technology or engineeling organization to help reach its goals and reachits bottom line which is profit (5).

Manage the Workforce:

Management in general involves interacting with people and gettingthem to achieve the organization goals and objectives. This is more difficultwhen we talk about managing engineers and high professionals. Thesedifficulties range from decision making and taking consideration managingconflicts between each other. Engineering managels tend to make toughdecisions and these decisions are sometimes critical to some engineer'spersonal life. Also, performance evaluation is one of the critical parts ofmanaging engineers. There ale so many different trends on evaluating anengineer's performance and mistakes may arise when evaluating candidates.Some of these critical factors are personal conflicts, miscommunications onpeer evaluation, one to one evaluation and negative approach. This could benoticed when you are a coworker or a subordinate and you have to evaluatethe candidates you manage or work with. You could experience diversity of


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personalities and the best way is sharing experiences to learn from eachindividual when there is a lack of knowledge. (5)

Strategic Planning:

Strategic planning is a vital part of the engineering managementdiscipline which involves mission, vision, values and (Strengths WeaknessesOpportunities Threats) SWOT analysis within an organization. Most of the500 fortune companies have a successful mission and vision statements wherethey declare their objectives and goals for the next five to ten years. Forexample, chevron set their goals to satisfy a safety and quality of products inSaudi Arabia that meet the people's values and expectations (5) (6).

SWOT analyses identify the internal and external factors that arefavorable and unfavorable to achieving organizations' objectives. SWOTanalysis helps an organization with a good forecasting and planning to reducerisk to the company and identify weaknesses that are critical to the company'soutcome. Strengths and Opportunities are helpful to achieving the objectiveswhere on the other hand Weaknesses and threats are risky to achievingorganizational objectives. Likewise, strengths and weaknesses are internalattributes of the organization where opportunities and threats are externalattributes of the environment. An organization could look at their strengthsand ask themselves what are the strengths of our company. This could open upan opportunity for development such as investing on internet or onlinemarketing and product development (6).


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Forecasting:

Forecasting is defined as "a statement about the future value of avariable of interests such as demand". The purpose of forecasting is to makeeffective decision. Forecasting could be a used in a long-term or short-term, Ithas a valuable impact on decisions in variety of functions of accounting,marketing, production, design and finance. Forecasting is important because itplays an effective role in planning for a long range and short range of time.There are many methods in forecasting. One of the methods is Delphi method,it involves opinions and feedbacks. Also, there are some types of forecastssuch as judgmental, time series and associate models (5).

Organizing:

Organizing is one of the engineering management functions. Italranges and relates jobs tasks relative to work to be performed by people.

- Financial Planning & Budget Analysis- Time Management- Organizing workplace- Developing structure

Establishing Relationships and Delegating work (5).


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BM & MBA Courses Comparison

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"-Here is a comparison of some of the major courses in EngineeringManagement and Management of Business Administration within CaliforniaState University Northridge in the school of Business and Engineering. Mostof the Management of Business Administration and engineering managementcourses are slightly similar in the degree courses plan. In MBA, courses aremore general where in engineering management courses are moreconcentrated on engineering and management only (7) (8). \ ,l,i * i: . -

.MEM MBAEngineering Financial & Cost AnalysisEconomic Analysis of Engineering SystemsOperational ResearchEngineering StatisticsManagement of Engineering ProfessionalsAdvanced Engineering ManagementMEM Comprehensive Studies

Financial Theory & PolicyStrategic EconomicsOperational ManagementBusiness StatisticsHuman Resources ManagementManagement of InnovationMBA Consulting Graduate Project

Table 1. Engineering management and MBA comparison (7) (8)


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Engineering Management career

Salary:

The typical salary for an engineering manager in the United Statesrange from $99,000 to $128,000 with an average of $113,000.This salarycould change due the experience, company size and location (11).

Planning which is the most primary function and take the most timerequires the selections of goals and the tools to achieve that goal. To be able toplan engineering manager have to forecast where forecast is the mostimportant and usually don't need money. Decision making is the step whereEngineering manager have to take action and deal with the uncertainty. ByOrganizing Engineering manager tend to actualize the plan by using themoney allocating time schedule the operation. Organizing required a lot ofmoney. By leading they supervise and manage the activity or performance ofthe technical personnel. Controlling allows Engineering Manager to have theconfirmation that they progressing in accord with the plans and objectives. Bycontrolling they keep things in check and balance (12). Engineering Managerhas the primary goal of for implementing the technical and scientific goalsdefine by management goal (14). Personally I believe Engineering managersare very different from other managers by the fact that they have bothmanagement and engineering background. That allows them to easilyunderstand technical task as well as manage them. To be able to leadEngineering Manager need a lot of personality they should have good writingand communication skill.

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Tasks:

Engineering Management student could explore a wide range of careeropportunity such as Project manager, consultant, plan supervisor,manufacturing engineer, financial analyst, Chief Executive Officer and more.From the university of Wisconsin-Madison official webpage we could noticehave the approximate information regarding the career of engineeringmanager. "25 Va of engineering graduates will become Top CorporateManagement, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, Vice President ofOperations, Director of Engineering, Business Planning Manager, andManufacturing Management ". 30Vo of engineering manager students willfollow the career path of Plant Manager, Supervisor of Supply ChainIntegration, Manufacturing Systems Engineering Manager, and ProjectManager. 12 Vo of the students will choose to become, Quality AssuranceEngineer, Technical Contributor/Practitioner, Assembly and Test Engineer,Automation Engineer, Applications Engineer, Materials Engineer

727o of the student will also become, Training Executive/Management,Head of Supply Chain Management, Senior Management Consultant, andQuality Engineer. I3Va of the student will take Other Executive/Management,Group Manager, Mechanical Engineering Supervisor, Senior ManagerInformation Systems, and Research/Development Project Manager. Andfinally 87a of the student will choose Academic Professionals career. (13)

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Business Activities of Ensineering Management

Finance and Accounting:

The Engineering Management progams all over the world have greatimportance of Engineering Finance and cost analysis. The course work mainlyconsists of the following Syllabus:

Balance Sheet, Income Statement, The Cash Flow Statement,Refinements of Accounting Transactions, Closing transactions, RatioAnalysis, Cooking the Books, Financing a Business, Introduction to CostAccounting, Apply Overhead , Managerial Accounting (CPV Curve andContribution Margin), Budgeting and Variance Analysis, The Budget andControlling Expenses. ( 15)

By the above course work the Engineering Managers are totallyequipped to handle real life indusffy concepts such as future markets, pricingof forwards and futures, interest exchange rates, option markets, optionmarkets and option strategies. (16)

Engineering managers should have sound knowledge of finance fromaccount receivables to account payables and double book entries, theengineering managers need to know the sales and levenues and how each ofthese financial tools helps in each sphere of business activities.

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The modern day Engineering Managers should know how to:

a. Accounting fundamentals such as debits, double-entry bookkeepingand credits.

b. Analyze basic financial documents such as balance sheets and incomestatements.

c. Use financial tools to manage performance of the business.d. Determine how assets and liabilities affect area of operation.e. Apply financial ratios and risks in decision making.f. Justify requests for new capital investments.g. Improve budgeting and finances.h. Relate their department finance to bigger processes.

Marketing:

Very often in engineering companies, the role of marketing is assumed tobe too naffow a perspective. A more comprehensive view of marketingidentifies three distinct roles of marketing:

a. Business philosophy use in Marketing.b. Strategic Marketing.c. Marketing at functional level.Thus, marketing especially in engineering industry is a combination of

particular skills and practices which are combined together to come up withparticular solutions to diverse set of problems, There was a survey done taking

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different manufacturing companies and came up with a finding which wasbased on the following.

The Miles and Snow strategy in which the analyzers, prospectors,defenders and reactors are considered as the optimum strategy which is mostlyused in the engineering industry to come up with optimum business plans. Inthe engineering both prospectors and analyzers follow the latest trend inTechnology. Marketing in engineering is now done by different media such asinternet, print media and news media, with internet being the most famousmeans of media of marketing. Engineering companies are now slowlydeveloping their marketing departments to get the marketing part of productintact which was earlier being handled by various marketing and advertisingcompanies (18)

Managerial Science:

Managerial Science, is a branch of applied mathematics which iscombined with economics, business, engineering, and is utilized other scienceswhich helps Engineering Managers make optimized decisions. EngineeringManagers apply methods which have come up with research and developmenton various fields to come up to a solution which is optimized and gives thebest possible solution for the problem being considered. It utilizes ProgramEvaluation and Review Technology (PERT), Critical Path Method (CPM),

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Linear programming and various other mathematical models to come up to anoptimal solution. This field is called Operations research

Some of the roles of engineering managers relating to Managerial Science are:

. Improve the operational systems, processes and their streamlininggoing hand in hand with the company policies being intact.

. Manage and making the systems such as HR and technical supportmore effective by coming up with process improvements and alsoimproving the methods of working of the manpower.

. Foresee and implement long term planning and striving hard towardsoperational excellence.

. Look the financial aspect of the project inclosing finances and costfactor.

. Management of agency budget coordinating with the uppermanagement.

. Developing individual and team budgets.

. Calculating and invoicing completed units of service.

. Managing the payroll.

. Developing and organizing the fiscal documents.

. Regular meetings with upper level management for operations anddevelopment

. Project management (19).

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Manr"rtacturing systerns and production:

Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) is a collection oftechnologies and methods used by Engineering Managers to define howproducts are to be manufactured.

It is utilized in streamlining the process of manufacturing after eachcycle and also it is moreover important for proper management of the wholemanufacturing process.

MPM includes:

1. "Production process planning".2. Planning the process of manufacturing3. Planning of workflow and plant design4. Workloads on multiple stations by fragmenting the workload.5. Process Tools for simulation like manufacturing lines.6. Simulation and production ergonomically7. Activity Based Costing8. Cost and time estimates of the process.9. FMEA (20).

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Conclusion,1

--,_ In conchi'Sion, engineering management is the art and science ofplanning, organizing,locating resources, directing, and controlling activities.It plays a large role in strategic planning, managing the workforce, forecasting,and organizing. This also could involve SWOT analysis for a good short orlong term organizational plan. There are many similarities and differencesbetween MBA and MEM degree goals where EM is more concentrated andfocused on engineering professionals and activities. Also, the tasks of EMvary from supply chain management, project management, and consulting.Moreover, communication takes most of the managers' time, which can beused for analyzing the goals and how to achieve them. As for businessactivities, EM is involved in the following; accounting and finance,managerial science, marketing, and manufacturing systems and production.

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Reference:

1. "Academic degree." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web..2. "Department of Management - The Major." California StateUniv ersity, Northridge. Web. .3. Engineering Management Major lWhat Can You Do With a CollegeDegree in Engineering Management?" Online Degree Programs from OnlineColleges & Llniversities I WorldWicleLearn.corz. Web..4. "American Society for Engineering Management." Web..5. CSUN WebCT Home Page. Web. .6. "Strategic Planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations)." FreeManagement Library (SM). Web..7. "ManufacturingSysternsEngineeringandManagernent." CaliJbrniaS tate Univ ersity, Northridge. W eb..

8. "Graduate Programs -." California State University, Northridge.Web..9. "Saudi Arabian Chevron." Scu,tdi Arabian Chevron: Horne page.Web..10, Szasz-Gabor, Aron. "Forecasting methods applied to engineering."University Politehnica of Bucharesr (2006). Print.tt. Salary"corn Job Salaries & Compensatiott Survey Sqftware.Web..

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12. Morse, Lucy C., and Daniel L. Babcock. Managing Ertgineering andTechnology. 4th ed. Print.13, "Careers in Manufacturing and Erigineering Management." UW'-Madison I Manufac:turing Sy,stems Engineering I Horne.Web..

14. "Engineering Management Careers - Engineering Degrees, SalaryInfo." CooI Summer Jobs, Seasonal Jobs, and Interesting Careers in the U.S.and Abroad - JobMonkey. Web..15. "Professor Scott Wainess - MSE 608C - Ircture Notes." CalifuniaState Univ ersity, N ortltridge. W eb..1,6. Engineering Management Courses. Engineering Management Course.s.Engineering Management Courses. Web..t7. "Finance & Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers, Second Edition -Self-Sttrdy Courses." AMA Self-Stutly Courses - Self-paced leaming fcsr afastpuced vtorlcl.Web..18, "The role of marketing and innovation management in the Finnishelectrical and electronics industry ." Inde rs c i.enc e P ublishers. Web..19. "Management science -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedla. Web..20. "Manufacturing process management -." Wikipedicr, the freeencyc:lopeclla. Web..

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