Management of Engineers and Technology

Delegation and ControlCustomer Focus

Principle 1: Mastering Relationships

People are central to business Employees, boss, coworkers Suppliers, customers, regulators Family, friends, community

People need to be… Led Motivated Accommodated Organized

Control and Delegation

Are they opposites? Direct control Indirect control (guidance)

Material handling example

Control Steps (Engineer)Control Steps (Engineer)

Establish desired standardMeasure actual performanceCompute the error (actual - desired)Take corrective action to minimize the

error

Types of ControlTypes of Control

Open LoopNo feedback of the actual performanceSystem performance must be predictable

and repeatable

Closed LoopFeedback used to calculate errorCorrective action based on error

Feed Forward (predictive)

Feedback TimingFeedback Timing

Continuous feedbackRapidly changing systemsClose control requiredContinuous adjustment is desirable

Periodic feedbackSystems that change more slowly, or

where continuous adjustment is not advisable

Control may wander

Financial ControlFinancial Control

Establish a budget (desired value)Monitor spending (actual value)Apply pressure to increase or decrease

spending as neededFeedback is periodicMore detail or more frequent feedback

means better control

Controlling PerformanceControlling Performance

Establish measurable standardsMonitor actual performance

(more frequent in difficult cases)Take action to correct deviations

Objective: move toward the standard

Develop and evaluate alternativesMake choice and implement

McGregorMcGregor

Theory XManager

Responsible for all Controller Enforcer

Workers Unmotivated Lazy Dumb Uncommitted

Theory YManager

Shares responsibility Enabler, coach Leader

Workers Motivated Hard working Intelligent Committed

Hawthorne Studies

Illumination study(1924-27) Vannevar Bush (MIT)

Relay room experiments (1927-32) Wiring room experiments (1931-32)

Elton Mayo (Harvard)

Illumination Study(find optimum lighting level)

Light Production Light Production

24 fc Up 24 fc Up

46 fc Up 24 fc Up

70 fc Up 24 fc Up

10 fc Up 24 fc Up

3 fc Up 24 fc Up

0.06 fc Down 24 fc Up

Relay Room Experiments(explain illumination results)

Six female workers removed from production line to form a “team”

No supervision, but closely monitored Test variables

Length and frequency of breaks Length of work day Length of work week All changes resulted in increased output

(absenteeism dropped 65%)

Wiring Room Experiment

11 men working together Production rates stabilized at a

norm, even though pay was by the piece

Those above or below the norm were ridiculed and abused

Complex social group and hierarchy

Hawthorne Outcomes

“Hawthorne Effect” – studied people behave differently

Theory Y – People are intelligent, motivated, hard workers

Self-Directed Teams – Work groups form an organization without supervision.

Implications for control

Motivational TheoryMotivational Theory

Physical Needs

Safety and Security

Affection & Acceptance

Esteem & Prestige

Self Fulfillment

Maslow’s Hierarchy

HerzbergHygiene

HerzbergMotivational

Theory Y Management

Encourage ownership Involvement in decisions Timely feedback Open-book management

Relinquish control, replace it with leadership

Delegation - LevelsDelegation - Levels

Leverage to increase your productivityUnload routine work and decisions

Assign DutiesProvide resources

Pass on ResponsibilityTransfer authorityResponsibility without authority = STRESS

Barriers to DelegationBarriers to Delegation

Would rather do this than my management tasks I like it I am better at it

Doubt subordinate’s ability to handle the job

No one to delegate toDelegation is about TRUST

Themes

New engineering managers can become overloaded and burn out

Embrace Theory Y Controlling people is different from

controlling a technical system Encourage ownership Delegate effectively

Customer Orientation

Customers pay our bills Customer service should be a high

priority Customers ultimately decide the fate

of your business Manufacturing vs. Service

Evolution of Manufacturing

Internal company focus Market is infinite Reduce costs, increase production

Internal customer focus Customer wants quality Reduce defects

External customer focus Determine customer needs, meet them

Lack of Customer Focus Engineers…

See value in technical elegance Are often ignorant of customer desires or needs Are impatient with non-technical people

Companies focus on… Internal performance Performance against competitors

Marketing focuses on the next big sale

Build Customer Focus

Walk a mile in their shoes Consider your experiences as a customer Look at your business from a customer’s

perspective

Know your customers Who are they? Do they obey the Pareto principle? What do they want (good, fast, cheap)

Adoption Cycle

Innovators – buy technology for its own sake

Early adopters – buy when benefits become known

Majority – proven technology, low cost, style, availability

Laggards – buy only when forced to

Pleasing Customers

WOW them with extraordinary service Remember that they are human

beings Develop relationships with them Be genuine Make it a top priority – because it is!

Successful Companies

Wal Mart Del Computer (still?) Lands End (what happened?) Toyota Others?

Summary

Customer focus should be the ultimate business goal

Build a customer-oriented culture This can be a big change for an

engineer