Introduction
Engineering and technology management is a form of management that specializes in the application of engineering ideology into business practice. Engineering management aims at integrating the technological principles of solving problems with the organizational planning abilities to manage complex enterprises rather than the fiction way of management.
Successful engineering managers require adequate skills as well as experience to better manage and balance business and engineering principles. Generally, incompetent managers lack enough support from the technical team in their field of work. Similarly, managers who lack commercial values do not have significant insightfulness to run organizations. This is the reason why engineering management was introduced to bring together entrepreneurial and technical skills towards improving market delivery.
In most cases, engineering managers perform the duty of managing nonentrepreneurial engineers who need skilled managers to coach and mentor them. However, many engineering professionals who venture into manufacturing industries find themselves in managerial positions from where they should learn management skills through practice (Inside, mines 2011, p. 1). This is not an effective way of developing managerial skills and may cause great losses to the firm especially when the person involved has no motivation towards management.
Engineering management has various programs such as economics, human resource management, system engineering, and accounting among others. Engineering and technology management group is aimed at encouraging the coordination of engineering and technology to management technicalities which has divisions for national and international conference participation.
Divisions of engineering and technology management
This discipline has several divisions amongst which is the management division which deals with management roles of all levels of the engineering process. This includes management programs especially on applied projects on both national and international levels. Other concerns under this division are technological innovation, employee motivation, managerial communication skills, organization and planning skills, technology assessment, and forecasting. Marketing and product analysis which is very essential in management practice is also emphasized.
Technology transfer especially in finance and economic development is also included in the management division. Another very important aspect of the management division is the management of information systems, especially those involving computer applications such as data banks and other programs. Management of small businesses as well education programs also forms part of the management division. Lastly, this division employs the measurement of performance through the use of quality and productivity tools as well as personal growth in the firms.
The other division is that of safety and risk analysis (SERA) which employs the implementation of safety and other related health risk technologies. The main function of this division is to disseminate safety analysis regarding technical engineering. According to this division, safety is the reduction of risks achieved through the successful application of engineering technology by controlling hazards (Inside, mines 2011, p. 1). Under this division, risks are identified by previous experience and are reduced through the application of conservative designs.
To promote maximum safety, this division works alongside relevant professionals such as regulatory organizations that promote improved occupational environments through the reduction of risks. The importance of this division is to reduce interruptions in organizations as well as to reduce insurance costs for the business. To execute these duties effectively, the associated work with this division includes researching consumer product safety, safety manufacturing, and transport improvements all to prevent occurrences of liabilities.
The technology and society division concerns the actions that engineers should take to build a better society for today’s generation and the future. This division responds to the impacts that engineering technologies are having on the environment and society at large. It aims at helping engineers build professional networks and promote change in our society. This is achieved by the identification and development of technical information, formulation of policies and public statements as well as creating awareness on social responsibility.
This division has objectives that aim at striving to create understanding between engineering technology and the society/environment (NetFORUM. 2011, p. 1). It provides information related to energy which has economic impacts on engineering and society as well. It also focuses on offering professional programs on engineering development and information on protection and management. Most importantly, this division identifies possible ethical issues related to society and formulates ways of solving them.
Conferences associated with engineering and technology management
Engineering and technology management is associated with several conferences which aim at promoting the discipline of engineering in our society. One of the most important conferences is the International Conference on Engineering and Technology Management (ICETM). It aims at incorporating professionals from various aspects of the scientific world including leading engineers, academic scientists, scholar students, and scientific researchers to share their experiences as well as the challenges encountered in different aspects of engineering and technology management (Ourglocal.com 2011, p. 1).
Another conference is the International Conference on Engineering Education and Management (ICEM) whose main purpose is to provide high-quality forums for international engineers and other scientists (ResearchBib.com. 2011, p. 1).
The third conference is the International Conference on Information Technology, Computer Engineering and Management Science (ICM). It aims at integrating innovative academics as well as experts in information technology and computer and software engineering. Others are the International Conference on Information Technology & Management Issues (ICITMI) and the International Conference on Advances in Civil Engineering – 2011 (ACE – 2011).
Reference List
Inside,mines. (2011). Engineering and technology management. Web.
NetFORUM. (2011). The American society for engineering management. Web.
Ourglocal.com. (2011). International conference on engineering and technology management. Web.
ResearchBib.com. (2011). International conference on engineering education and management. Web.