How Many Oceans Do We Have?
Publication: Leadership and Management in Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 4
At the start of each semester’s class, I ask the question, “How many oceans do we have?” I direct the students to write their answers down, and then I ask for the answers:
“Four.”
“Six.”
“Five.”
Next, I ask them to imagine that they are in a space shuttle. They are going out and up into outer space, near the moon. From there I ask them to look back at Earth. “How many oceans do we have?” I ask. In unison they say, “One.” What changed?
The oceans didn’t change—there was always only one! The students’ perspective changed. And so it is with leadership and management in engineering. Unless and until we change our perspective, we will continue to search for the quick and easy way to lead and manage others and the work itself. Until we see familiar scenarios in new ways, we will continue the search for “instant-oatmeal” solutions to management challenges.
Background
ASCE has decided that this issue, October 2013, will be the last issue of Leadership and Management in Engineering (LME). The Journal has been discontinued in part because we need to determine, going forward, what form, format, and content engineers would prefer for their leadership and management knowledge. Whether new content is made available in a newsletter, blog, or some other electronic or even print medium, ASCE is committed to providing members with leadership and management information. In the meantime, all content previously published in LME will be available for free with registration on the Journal website at http://ascelibrary.org/journal/lmeeaz.
This article addresses the need to move the subjects of leadership and management in engineering into equity with the technical subjects of engineering. Can you imagine a project structural engineer unable to check a computer program’s solution? If not, then why wouldn’t you expect this same professional to be able to effectively collaborate, cooperate, and communicate with other project members and major stakeholders.
People, Process, Technology, Leadership
People, process, technology, and leadership synergistically provide the supportive framework for meeting project goals. Yet our university education programs concentrate mainly on technology. And when the other three topics are mentioned, they are treated as isolated workshop/seminar topics, rarely connected to specific project work.
The most frequently needed application centers are at the project, organizational, and individual levels of the firm, as illustrated in Table 1.
| People | Process | Technology | Leadership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organizational | ||||
| Project | ||||
| Individual |
Immediate Subject Areas
Those entrusted with developing the next wave of leadership and management topics might consider the following subject areas:
•
Change of management process;
•
Team roles and responsibilities;
•
Comprehensive project stakeholder analysis;
•
Organizational performance measures;
•
Functional interdependence collaboration;
•
Comprehensive risk management;
•
Quality management systems;
•
Cost of quality metrics;
•
Client relationship measurement;
•
Internal customer measurement; and
•
Subconsultant partnerships and alliances.
Question Du Jour
What value might be added to a project/program by applying a fundamental strategic management framework as a guideline for the project plan?
Biographies
William M. Hayden Jr. is an adjunct assistant professor at the University at Buffalo within the School of Management. He is also president of Management Quality By Design, Inc., 90 Roycroft Blvd., Amherst, NY 14226-4527. He can be reached at [email protected].
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Leadership and Management in Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 4 • October 2013
Pages: 229
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 3, 2013
Accepted: Jul 3, 2013
Published online: Sep 16, 2013
Published in print: Oct 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Feb 16, 2014
ASCE Technical Topics:
Authors
Metrics & Citations
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