KNF4073

Engineering Management
Chapter 1 - Introduction

Course Objectives
Review the engineering
management functions
of planning, organizing,
leading and controlling,
introduce business
fundamentals of cost
accounting, financial
accounting, financial
management and
marketing management,
and prepare engineers to
become effective leaders
in meeting the
challenges in the new
millennium
2

Major Premises
Technology and business savvy represents
a very powerful combination of great
demand in society
Market environment is rapidly evolving
(changing marketplace complexities, webbased technologies, globalization)
Leaders with understanding of technology
and management perspectives are needed
Engineers with proper management and
leadership training have great
opportunities to add value in the new
century
3

Focal Points
Make engineers more effective as
technical contributors (understand
managerial points of view, effect
teams coordination, drive to add value)
Ready engineers for managerial
positions (managerial functions,
success factors, leadership talents,
business/management perspectives,
expectations, contributions
4

Course Materials
Required Text Engineering
Management: Challenges in the New
Millennium, Prentice Hall (2005)
Harvard Business School Case
Materials

KNF4073 Engineering Management

Course
Outcome
s

Marks Distribution

CO1

Final Exam (Module I) = 15%

Final Exam (Module II) = 15%
Final Exam (Module III ) = 15%

PO
Assessed

Marks

Weig
ht

PO12

75%

[3]

PO10

15%

[2]

PO9

10%

[1]

Carry Mark (Module I) = 10%

Carry Mark (Module II) = 10%
Carry Mark (Module III) = 10%

CO2

Project = 10%
Peer Evaluation = 5%

CO3

Oral Presentation = 5%
Feedback (Reflection) = 5%

Total
Module

Lecturers in Charge/ (Invited Speaker)

Module I

Mdm Ana Sakura Zainal Abidin

Module II

Prof Amir Azam Khan

Module III

Dr Shanti Faridah Salleh

Module IV

Invited Speaker from SMIDEC (proposal)

100
%

KNF4073 Engineering Management

Learning Units

Chapters

Module 0
(No. of week = 1)

Introduction to
Engineering
Management

Module I
(No. of weeks =
4)

1. The Functions of
Engineering
Management
2.
Planning
2. Organizing
3. Leading

Module II
(No. of weeks =
4)

4. Controlling
5. Cost Accounting
6. Marketing

Module III
(No. of weeks =
4)

7. Engineers as
Managers and
Leaders
8. Ethics in Engineering
Management
9. Globalization
10.Engineering
Management in the
New Millennium

Module IV
(No. of week = 1)

Engineering
Management and
Entrepreneurship in
Malaysian Perspective
(Invited Speaker)

CLASS SCHEDULING
Week

Electronics

Mech + Chem

Module 0

Module 0

Module I

Module II

Module II

Module III

Module III

Module I

Module IV/ Oral

Presentation

Module IV/ Oral

Presentation

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Class Policy
Attend all classes
Read the chapters beforehand, as the
instructor will call upon students to
discuss specific topics from time to
time.
Participate in class discussions (weekly
lectures and HBS cases); Ask questions
(in class or by emails); Arrange face-toface meetings
Participate and commit yourself to
complete group project

Skills for Managers/Leaders

Administrative
Skills

Leadership
Skills

Technical Skills
9

Value Addition
Increase Sales Revenue (new and
enhanced products/services - faster, better,
cheaper - to create greater customer
satisfaction)
Reduced Cost to Do Business (simplified
product design, new technologies, improved
productivity, raised efficiency, reduced
inventory via supply chains, new production
and marketing partnerships and alliances)

10

Value Mantra
As a Mantra, engineers and
managers alike must focus on Work
Which Adds Value (large/small,
direct/indirect, short/long-turn, and
certain/uncertain)

11

Value to Stakeholders
Customers (Product
quality, service)
Shareholders (ROI, EPS)
Suppliers (Market
position, financial
stability, collaboration)
Employees (Workplace,
compensation, stability)
Community (Corporate
citizenship, brand image,
tax contribution)
12

Selected Definitions
Efficiency - Accomplishing tasks with
the least amount of resources (time,
money, equipment/facilities,
technology - know-how, procedure,
process, skills) - do things right
Effectiveness - Accomplishing tasks
with efforts commensurate with the
value created by these tasks - do the
right things
13

Selected Definitions
Strategic Decisions - Setting direction
by specifying what are right things to do,
high level engineering managers
participate in making strategic decisions
Operational (Tactical) Decisions Engineers participate in defining how to
do things right (e.g., methods or
procedures to carry out a specific
task/project efficiently)
14

Four Dimensional Work

15

Work of an Engineer
As Technical Contributor

Understand objectives of tasks specified

Develop action plan for implementation
Define standards (performance metrics)
Select methodology/techniques
Implement task with proper efforts
Generate results and secure value
Report findings (impact, lessons)

16

Tips for Engineers

Demonstrate Technical Competence &
Innovative capabilities
Brush Up Communications skills (ask, listen,
write and talk)
Show unfailing reliability to induce trust and
confidence
Be Proactive in seeking challenging tasks
Exhibit readiness for assuming larger
responsibilities (take courses, practice skills,
gain experience)
17

Typical Engineering
Activities
Design/development of
products/processes
Project engineering/management
Value engineering and analysis
Technology development and applied
R&D (laboratory, field)
Production/manufacturing and
construction
Customer service
18

Engineering Management
Functions
Planning

Leading

Manager

Engineer

Organizing

Controlling

19

Engineering Management
Functions
Planning (forecasting, setting objectives,
action planning, administering policies,
establishing procedure)
Organizing (selecting organizational structure,
delegating, establishing working relationship)
Leading (deciding, communicating,
motivating, selecting/developing people)
Controlling (setting performance standards,
evaluating/documenting/correcting
performance)
20

Changing Work Content

Technical
Managerial
Visionary

First Line Supervisor

Mid Manager

Executive

70%
25%
5%

30%
40%
30%

5%
25%
70%

21

Learnable Skills
Time management and work Habits
Interpersonal skills to get along with
people
Team building, communications and
motivation skills
Decision support tools (what-if analysis,
risk analysis, kepner-Tregoe decision tool,
problem solving, root cause analysis,
decision tree, optimization, etc.)
22

Talents to Be Nurtured
Over Time
Vision - Strategic thinking
capabilities to set direction or initiate
new projects through technological
insight and intuition (lateral thinking)
Net-Working - Building a wide base
of business/professional connections
Drive to Excel (competitive,
proactive, energetic, persistent)
23

Interactions Between
Groups

24

Challenges In the New

Millennium
Marketplace changes rapidly (Web-based
technologies, globalization, customer
demand, business networks) affecting how
progressive companies will be organized
Engineering managers to lead by
supervising complex teams, innovating
with vision for the future, designing global
products, and organizing supply chains,
apply global resources to derive
economies of scale and scope.
25

Challenges In the New

Millennium

Inside O
utside

P
resent

F
uture
L
ocal G
lobal
26

Challenges
Inside - implement
projects/programs; manage people,
technologies, and resources to add
value; develop new product features
to enhance company
competitiveness; define, control and
reduce costs to improve profitability;
initiate technology projects to sustain
company position
27

Challenges
Outside - keep abreast of emerging
technologies and apply them to
strengthen companys core
competencies; apply web-based tools to
enhance operations and foster customer
relations; identify best practices to
improve engineering operations and
surpass them; create supply chain
networks to derive speed, quality and
cost benefits
28

Challenges
Present - Do things right to keep
company operating smoothly; use
Balanced Scorecard to monitor nonfinancial and financial performance;
control costs and eliminate wastes to
attain profitability in the short-run

29

Challenges
Future - seek e-transformation
opportunities to create company
profitability in the long-run;
introduce new generation products
timely; create vision for the future
related to technologies; Define what
should be done for technologybased success in the future
30

Challenges
Local - Utilize resources to best
achieve companys objectives; take
ethical and lawful actions while
taking into account local conditions;
maintain and nurture local
professional networks; share lessons
gained with people at other company
sites
31

Challenges
Global - Apply location-based
resources to realize global economies
of scale and scope for achieving cost
and technology advantages; develop
global professional networks; acquire
a global mindset; exercise leadership
roles in international settings

32

Assignments
Read text - historical development
of engineering management
Seek opportunities to practice EM
skills constantly - Student life,
student societies, other non-profit
groups

33

Literature References
Fraidoon Mazda, Engineering Management,
Addison Wesley (1997)
Daniel L. Babcock, Managing Engineering and
Technology, Second Edition, Prentice Hall (1996)
M. W. Cardullo, Introduction to Managing
Technology, John Wiley (1996)
F. Lawrence Bennett, The Management of
Engineering, John Wiley (1996).
H. J. Thamhain, Engineering Management, John
Wiley (1992)

34

Literature References
W. D. Compton, Engineering Management: Creating and
Managing World-Class Organizations, Prentice Hall
(1997).
Hamid Noori, Managing the Dynamics of New
Technology, Prentice Hall (1990)
M. Badawy, Developing Managerial skills in Engineers
and Scientists, Second Edition, Van Nostrand Reinhold
(1995)
H. Uyterhoeven, General Managers in the Middle,
Harvard Business Review (Sept-Oct. 1989)
S. R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People, Simon and Schuster (1994)
35

Question #1.1
Tom Taylor, the Sales Manager, was
told by his boss, Carl Bauer, to take an
order from a new customer for a batch
of products. Tom knew that the
products involved would only partially
meet the customers requirements
and that Carl knew that. But, Carl
insisted that the order was too
valuable to lose. What should Tom do?
36

Question #1.2
Nancy Bush, the plant manager, needs to
decide whether to make or buy a
component for the companys core product.
She would like the advice of her production
supervisors, since they must implement his
eventual decisions. However, she fears that
the supervisors will be biased
towards
making the component in house, as they
tend to favor retaining more work for their
people. What should Nancy Bush do?
37

Question #1.3
Student A works hard to finish her Masters
degree by the due date of January 8, in order to
graduate on February 4. She plans to fly back
to her own country immediately thereafter. If
she graduates on June 10, the next available
graduation date, she will need to pay tuition for
one more semester. Her advisor Professor B
cannot accept the work as presented, because
the results of a major marketing activity
designed by Students A will become available
only after January 20, not before January 8.
How can this problem be solved?
38

Question #1.4
The engineering Manager proposes to install
an automated bar code scanner costing
$4,000. He estimates that he can save about
100 hours of labor time per month because
of its speed. He further reasons that at the
wage rate of $15/hour, the benefit of using
the scanner is $1,500/month and the scanner
can be paid back in 2.67 months.
As the president of the company, do you
agree or disagree with the way he computes
the cost/benefit ratio? Why and why not?
39