The Emergence of Management Paradigm in Engineering Organizations: A Case Study of U.S.

Engineering Firms

Introduction

Management is the core of any company. The effectiveness of a company to retain its core competencies lies in the effective management of resources and employees. Effective management allows companies to align goals of employees with those of an organization. When those goals are accomplished, the companies get a chance to compete in the industry.

Topic Justification

The industrial and management paradigms have changed a lot during the last 30 years. There are diverse factors which have resulted in these changes including mass customization, innovation, product development cycles, innovative business models, and several other competitive factors. These factors have largely influenced the area of engineering. In the changing scenario, the requirements of engineers and engineering firms have also changed. The developments, taking place in the world, have posed new challenges for engineering companies.

Therefore, it has become important to carry out a study on the emergence of management paradigm in engineering firms. A comprehensive study of this topic will be helpful in understanding the importance of management for engineering firms.

Research Aim

This research aims to address the emergence of management paradigm in engineering firms which has been caused by ubiquitous management and communication environment. There are several factors due to which engineering firms have started to realize the importance of management. The engineering industry has been characterized with expansion of networks, linking systems, critical infrastructures, software, and end users. The increasing complexity of these factors cannot be managed through top-down traditional engineering mindset. It has not only puzzled engineering but also large engineering firms. Therefore, it is time to start a worldwide revolution in engineering.

This study aims to explore appropriate methods of managing engineering firms which can effectively manage complex engineering projects as well. This research also aims to explore the focus of management in the case of engineering firms.

The focus of this research is on the emergence of management paradigm in engineering firms in the United States. Therefore, this study will be carried out by comprehending and analyzing case studies of U.S. engineering firms.

Areas to Be Covered In the Literature Review

In the literature review section of this research, deductive approach will be used. The literature review section will start from a general and broad description of the topic and will proceed towards narrow conclusions.

The topics, which will be covered in the literature review section, include an overview of management, different kinds of management styles appropriate for different types of organization, importance of management in engineering, and appropriate management styles for engineering firms. The management paradigm in engineering will be studied with respect to U.S. engineering firms.

Appropriate Methodology for the Research

In order to carry out research on the emergence of management paradigm in engineering firms, qualitative research methodology will be appropriate. The secondary data of U.S. engineering firms will be analyzed in order to comprehend the emergence of management paradigm in these companies. In addition, the case studies of engineering firms will be helpful in understanding the ...

Clinical Systems Engineering

Clinical Systems Engineering is the result of applying the principles and techniques of engineering to the field of medicine. It is principally involved in the design and construction of medical devices and health technologies such as medical equipment, prostheses, medical devices, diagnostic devices (medical imaging) and therapy. Also involved in the management or administration of technical resources related to a system of hospitals. It combines engineering expertise with medical needs to obtain benefits in the care of health. The cultivation of tissues, as well as the production of certain drugs, are generally considered part of bioengineering.

Clinical Systems Engineering is widely recognized as a multidisciplinary field, resulting from a broad spectrum of disciplines that influence from various fields and sources of information. Because of their extreme diversity, not surprisingly, bioengineering focus on one particular aspect. There are many different breakdowns of the engineering disciplines, often unfolds in:

biomagnetism and technical brain

imaging and biomedical optics

biomaterials

biomechanics and biotransport

medical instrumentation

engineering molecular and cellular

systems biology

In the beginning, this discipline was linked primarily to the application of techniques of engineering electrical and electronic products for the construction of medical equipment (medical equipment) and the design of prostheses and orthoses (Biomechanics and rehabilitation). Subsequently, a very important part of the applications of engineering to medicine was the instrumentation for imaging the human body (medical imaging) (Alm). With the development of computers, the importance of instrumentation was decreasing while processing the acquired signals gained further momentum because it was possible to obtain additional information from the instrumentation signals provided, and that was not visible directly from the strokes pure (biomedical signal processing). Today the discipline is also linked to others such as genomics and proteomics ( computational biology ). Today there are specialties in clinical engineering.

The biomedical engineer must know and deepen the fundamental principles and methods used in biomedical technologies and systems for the diagnosis and medical therapy: biosensors and electrical, electronic, optical or other, allowing the recruitment, preparation, acquisition and signal processing and physiological variables, the study of clinical samples, and the exploitation and development of technologies for acquisition, processing and transmission of medical images, which enable the analysis of the internal anatomy and physiology, all of which help and support diagnosis and clinical therapy of living beings.

The 'biomedical engineering (or bioengineering; not to be confused with biotechnology ) is that branch of engineering that uses engineering methods and proprietary technologies in order to understand, formalize and solve problems of interest in medical - biological , through close cooperation of specialists the various sectors involved.

Historically, born on the one hand thanks to biomedical applications of various engineering disciplines ( mechanical , chemical , electronics , etc..) developed independently within their area since the development of biomechanics , the biochemistry , of biomaterials , of ' electrophysiology , the neurophysiology , the cognitive sciences , the biosistemistica and secondly the approach for the synthesis of type cybernetic tending to put the central system in biomedical object (an organ, a cell, an organic function, a biochemical process, ...

Decline Engineering Majors in U.S

Abstract

The numbers of students studying engineering have declined in recent years, both in the United States and in Western European countries. Many factors have contributed to this decline – including the difficulty of the curriculum, the attractiveness of alternate paths to good technical jobs, and the lack of attractiveness of projected employment paths for engineering graduates. This decline has occurred at a time when the employers of engineers face new challenges due to globalization, offshore outsourcing, and the need to “move up the food chain” in innovation and technical expertise in order to remain competitive – thus creating a demand for more highly qualified engineering graduates. Much of what needs to be done to make engineering more attractive to bright students is well known – but educational institutions, employers of engineers, and government policy makers have been slow to move aggressively to address the issues effectively. The authors attempt to describe “what can be done” in a comprehensive way.

Decline Engineering Majors in U.S

Introduction

The number of engineering graduates at the bachelor’s level in the US peaked at around 80,000 per year in the mid 1980’s, then declined to about 65,000 per year until the end of the century (Engineering Workforce Commission 2004). The number of graduates is increasing again, but not yet keeping pace with employer’s needs. To put these numbers in global perspective, it is of interest to note that China currently has 3.7-million engineering students in its pipeline.

Discussion Analysis

Pipeline Issues

There are many reasons for the decline of student interest in engineering:

The curriculum is difficult – Much difficult study and hard work is included in the current undergraduate curriculum in engineering, and that is built on top of strenuous prior preparation requirements in the secondary education years. Engineering curricula typically start with two years of intense mathematics and science – including calculus, probability and statistics, modern physics, chemistry and biology – often taught by service department faculty members who do not put this preparatory work in the context of engineering applications. This is typically followed by challenging engineering science courses, taught by engineering faculty members – but often research oriented doctoral graduates with little applied engineering experience to bring into the classroom for motivation.

The curriculum is densely packed and inflexible – Even though the number of credit hours required for graduation in engineering has drifted downward as other parts of the university head for only 120 credit hours for graduation, the actual time required for engineering students to complete degree requirements remains much higher than for other fields. The four-year bachelor’s degree programs in engineering schools are typically highly lock-stepped, with prerequisites offering little flexibility for individualized programs or broadening experiences – such as a semester abroad. Engineering students who miss a required step in the proper order often must take an additional semester or year to complete their studies – at considerable extra expense and loss due to postponed employment.

Other paths to good jobs are easier – High school students looking at various options for university level study often compare engineering ...