Chapter 4 Enm 1.Docx

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 4
ORGANIZING TECHINICAL ACTIVITIES
Organizing is a management function which refers to “the structuring of resources and activities to accomplish
objectives in an efficient and effective manner.”
The arrangement or relationship of positions within an organization is called a structure. The result of the organizing
process is the structure.
THE PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE

1. It defines the relationships between tasks and authority for individuals and departments.
2. It defines formal reporting relationships, the number of levels in the hierarchy of the organization, and the span of
control.
3. It defines the groupings of individuals into departments and departments into organization.
4. It defines the system to effect coordination of effort in both vertical (authority) and horizontal (tasks) directions.
When structuring an organization, the engineer manager must be concerned with the following:
1. Division of labor – determining the scope of work and how it is combined in a job.
2. Delegation of authority – the process of assigning various degrees of decision-making authority to subordinates.
3. Departmentation – the grouping of related jobs, activities, processes into major organizational subunits.
4. Span of control – the number of people who report directly to a given manager.
5. Coordination – the linking of activities in the organization that serves to achieve a common goal or objective.
FORMAL ORGANIZATION
The formal organization is “the structure that details lines of responsibilities, authority and position.”
The formal structure is described by management through:
1. Organization chart – diagram of organization’s official positions and formal lines of authority.
2. Organization manual – provides written descriptions of authority relationships, details the functions of major
organizational units, and describes jobs procedures.
3. Policy manuals – describes personnel activities and company policies.
INFORMAL GROUPS
When members of an organization spontaneously form a group with friendship as a principal reason for belonging. This
group is called an informal group.
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

1. Functional organization – this is a form of departmentalization in which everyone engaged in one functional activity,
such as engineering or marketing, is grouped into one unit.
2. Product or market organization – this refers to the organization of a company by divisions that brings together all
those involved with a certain type of product or customer.
3. Matrix Organization – an organizational structure in which each employee reports to both a functional or division
manager and to a project or group manager.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
The grouping of employees who perform a common task Communication and coordination between the
permit economies of scale and efficient resource use. departments are often poor.
Since the chain of command converges at the top of the

Decisions involving more than one department pile up at
organization, decision-making is the centralized, providing
the top management level and are often delayed.
a unified direction from the top.
Work specialization and division of labor, which are

Communication and coordination among employees within
stressed in a functional organization, produce routine,
each department are excellent.
nonmotivating employee tasks.
The structure promotes high-quality technical problem- It is difficult to identify which section or group is
solving. responsible for certain problems.
The organization is provided with in depth skill

There is limited view of organizational goals by employees.
specialization and development.
Employees are provided with career progress within There is limited general management training for
functional departments. employees.
PRODUCT OR MARKET ORGANIZATION

There is high possibility of duplication of resources across

The organization is flexible and responsive to change.
divisions.
The organization provides a high concern for customer’s

There is less technical depth and specialization in divisions.
needs.
The organization provides excellent coordination across

There is poor coordination across divisions.
functional departments.
There is easy pinpointing of responsibility for product

There is less top management control.
problems.
There is emphasis on overall product and division goals There is competition for corporate resources.
The opportunity for the development of general

management skills is provided.
MATRIX ORGANIZATION
There is more efficient use of resources than the divisional There is frustration and confusion from dual chain of
structure. command.
There is flexibility and adaptability to changing There is high conflict between divisional and functional
environment. interests.
The development of both general and functional

There are many meetings and more discussion than action.
management skills are present.
There is interdisciplinary cooperation and any expertise is There is a need for human relations training for key
available to all divisions. employees and managers.
There are enlarged tasks for employees which motivate There is tendency for power dominance by one side of the
them better. matrix.
TYPES OF AUTHORITY
1. Line authority – a manager’s right to tell subordinates what to do and then see that they do it.
2. Staff authority – a staff specialist’s right to give advice to a superior.
3. Functional authority – a specialist’s to oversee lower level personnel involved in that specialty, regardless of where
the personnel are in the organization.
Line departments perform tasks that reflect the organization’s primary goal and mission. In construction firm, they
negotiate and secures contracts for the firm.
Staff departments include all those that provide specialized skills in support of line departments.
Staff officers may be classified into the following:
1. Personal staff – those individuals assigned to a specific manager to provided needed staff services.
2. Specialized staff – those individuals providing needed staff services for the whole organization.
Functional authority is one given to a person or a work group to make decisions related to their expertise even if these
decisions concern other departments.
COMMITEE
A committee is a formal group of persons formed for a specific purpose. For instance, the product planning committee, as
described by Millevo, is “often satisfied by top executives form marketing, production, research, engineering and finance,
who work part-time to evaluate and approve product ideas.”
Committees may be classified as follows:
1. Ad hoc committee – one created for a short-term purpose and have a limited life. An example is the committee
created to manage the anniversary festivities of a certain firm.
2. Standing committee – it is a relatively permanent committee that deals with issues on an ongoing basis. An example
is the grievance committee set up to handle initially complaints from employees of the organization.
CHAPTER 5
STAFFING THE ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION
Staffing may be defined as “the management function that determine human resource needs, recruits, selects, trains, and
develops human resources for jobs created by an organization.”
Staffing is undertaken to match people with jobs so that the realization of the organization's objectives will be facilitated.
THE STAFFING PROCEDURE
1. human resource planning
2. recruitment
3. selection
4. induction and orientation
5. training and development
6. performance appraisal
7. employment decisions (monetary rewards, transfers, promotions and demotions)
8. separations
Human Resource Planning
The engineer manager must collaborate with a human resource officer to ensure systematic deployment of human
resources at various levels for an organization's planned output.

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ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

ORGANIZING TECHINICAL ACTIVITIES

THE PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE

The formal structure is described by management through:

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

Since the chain of command converges at the top of the

Work specialization and division of labor, which are

The organization is provided with in depth skill

PRODUCT OR MARKET ORGANIZATION

There is high possibility of duplication of resources across

The organization provides a high concern for customer’s

The organization provides excellent coordination across

There is easy pinpointing of responsibility for product

The opportunity for the development of general

The development of both general and functional

Staff officers may be classified into the following:

Committees may be classified as follows:

STAFFING THE ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION

THE STAFFING PROCEDURE

1. human resource planning

4. induction and orientation

5. training and development

7. employment decisions (monetary rewards, transfers, promotions and demotions)

Human Resource Planning

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