Some Human Aspects of Organizing

Lecture 8

October 16, 2011

Advanced Organizer
Managing Engineering and Technology
Management Functions
Planning

Managing Technology
Research

Personal Technology
Time Management

Decision Making Organizing Leading Controlling

Design
Production

Ethics
Career

Quality
Marketing

Project Management

Chapter Objectives
Describe the steps in staffing technical organizations Discuss the process of an employment application Discuss the nature of Authority and Power Explain the concept of delegation Describe the structure of committees

Staffing Technical Organizations

Identify the Skill Base Estimate the Number of Personnel Plan Recruiting Policies Select the Best Applicants Orient and Train Applicants Evaluate Performance Provide Compensation

New Hires

Establish the need for new hires

Determine sources for new hires
New college graduates Experienced professionals Technician support Other sources

Human Resource Planning Selection

Usually involves several steps in a filtering process Applications/Resumes reviewed Interviews accomplished References checked Candidates passing initial screens formally interviewed

Resume
The first impression an engineer makes is usually through the resume
1. Name and Address, and telephone number
2. Current job position status (eg. Graduating) 3. Current and long-term employment objectives 4. Summary of education qualification 5. Employment experiences 6. Publications, significant presentation, honors awards 7. Professional affiliations 8. References

Employment Application

Cover Letter
Resume - If the resume creates a favorable impression the job candidate will be asked to fill out an application Interview - May be redundant with the resume but will usually lead to an interview

Campus Interview
Graduating engineer typically makes contact with potential employers on campus Successful campus interviews Applicant learns about employment opportunities and other advantages with firm Interviewer learns enough about the applicant

Site (Plant) Visit

Means company has a substantial interest Normally means three or four staff interviews Would include a tour of the area in which the candidate will work Normally includes a briefing on company benefit programs and general company policies

The Job Offer

Is a formal letter offering specific position and identifies Salary Reporting date Position and title The supervisor the candidate reports to Provisions regarding moving expenses (if applicable)

Orientation and Training

Helps newcomer become aware of organization and values Some corporations Hold orientation classes Rotate newcomers through short assignments in various key departments Includes total socialization of newcomer to the environment and culture of the organization

Appraising Performance

Provide feedback to the employee Provide guidance on how to improve performance Provide a performance basis for rewards/promotions Provide objective documentation for actions against non-performers

Authority and Power

In organizations, legitimate power based on position, to direct subordinates work. In corporate, individuals invest their assets in corporate stock and delegate the right to manage them to board of directors. Acceptance theory of authority: because subordinates choose to accept the directives of superiors.

Sources of Power
Legitimate/position Reward Coercive/punishment Expert Referent

System 1 System 2

System 1 works with traditional bureaucratic orgs. System 2 works with high-tech people.

Additional sources of power

Thro access to important individuals Thro praise Manipulative Thro persistence/assertiveness Forming coalitions

Status and Culture

Functional status: from type of profession, like status to doctor in hospital or prof. in non-academic setting. Eg. Scientist and labcoat.
Scalar status: due to level in org. Usually avoided to lessen social distance b/w levels of org. Called corporate culture.

Delegation
Assignment: mgrs use authority to assign duties to subordinates, making them responsible. Flow is downwards.
assign Vice president assign Chief project engineer

president

Delegation of auth: give auth to subordinate to order resources etc. subordinate must have enough auth. to carry out assignments.
Accountability: mgr must extract accountability from subordinate making him `responsible to mgr. But mgr is responsible for higher authorities. Flow is upwards.
president accntble Vice president

accntble

Chief project engineer

Delegation
Reasons for delegation Relieves mgr. of that work Allows subordinates to develop skills Delegation concentrates decision-making closer to activity Barriers to delegation for engineers Do it right yourself v/s allow subordinates to do their work

5 degrees of initiative
Initiative on part of subordinates 1. Wait until told 2. Ask what to do 3. Recommend, then take resulting action 4. Act, but advise at once 5. Act on own, then report routinely Should progress from 4&5 ASAP.

Committees
Reasons for using committees: Policy making/administration: operating decisions are made by a subset of this group called `executive committee. Representation: a) reps from each org unit affected by a particular class of problems. b) committee members are supposed to reflect the opinions and needs of the unit that sent them to group deliberation. Shared knowledge and expertise: no one person has all the expertise needed to solve a complex problem.

Committees
Reasons for using committees: Securing co-operation in execution: must secure co-op from committee members for smooth operation. Pooling of authority: a committee of people need authority to accomplish a job, then solve the problem by joint decision. Training of participants: a) excellent education to potential managers and they get to b) consider viewpoints that they dont see every day.

Committees
Disadvantages of committees: Tend to produce compromise solutions and `get back to work, this produces inferior solutions compared to that of most competent member. Usually holds one person responsible. Committees usually cause delay in solving the problem.

Effective Committees

Purpose and chair: careful defn. of purpose the committee is to serve, its authority and expected life span.

Size and membership: 5 members is logical, but for complex problems, groups also ok. Members should be chosen well, they should contribute but not dominate.
Preparation: chairman is responsible for this. Publish meeting date in advance, agenda to be prepared and distributed to members.

Effective Committees

Conduct of meeting: task functions: to get the job done AND group relations function: to maintain constructive relations among members to facilitate attaining group objectives. Meeting follow-up: chairman should provide concise, clear and readable minutes of meeting to members. Should identify action items, who is responsible for what, deadlines etc.

Effective Committees

Conduct of meeting: task functions: to get the job done AND group relations function: to maintain constructive relations among members to facilitate attaining group objectives. Meeting follow-up: chairman should provide concise, clear and readable minutes of meeting to members. Should identify action items, who is responsible for what, deadlines etc.