ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

1. Planning (forecasting, setting objectives, action planning, administering

policies, establishing procedures)
2. Organizing (organizing workplace, selecting structure, delegating,
establishing working relationship)
3. Leading (deciding, communicating, motivating, selecting/developing
people)
4. Controlling (setting performance standards,
evaluating/documenting/correcting performance)

ORGANIZING
Organizing is a management function which refers to the “the structuring of resources and activities to
accomplish objectives in an efficient and effective manner.” It is undertaken to facilitate the implementation of
plans.
The arrangement or relationship of positions within an organization is called the structure. The result of
the organizing process is the structure.

FUNCTION OF ORGANIZATION
1. Organizing Workplace
2. Developing Structure
3. Delegating Work
4. Establishing Relationship

When structuring an organization, the 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, or 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.

THE FORMAL AND INFORMAL ORGANIZATION

The formal organization is “the structure that details lines of responsibilities, authority, and position.”
What is depicted in the organization chart is the formal organization. It is “the planned structure” and it “represents
the deliberate attempt to establish patterned relationships among the components that will meet the objectives
effectively”.
The formal structure is described by management through:
1. The organizational chart is a diagram of the organization’s official positions and formal lines of
authority.
2. The organizational manual provides written descriptions of authority relationships, details the
functions of major organizational units, and describes job procedures.
3. The policy manual describes personnel activities and company policies.
Informal organizations are oftentimes very useful; in the accomplishment of major tasks, especially if
these tasks conform with the expectations of the members of the informal group.
The informal organization, useful as it is, is “vulnerable to expediency, manipulation, and opportunism,”
according to Valentine. Its low visibility, Valentine added, makes it “difficult for management to detect these
perversions and considerable harm can be done to the company.”

Organizational Structure - The formal system of work roles and authority relationships that govern how
associates and managers interact with one another.

STRUCTURING CHARACTERISTICS
1. Centralization - The degree to which authority for meaningful decisions is retained at the top of an
organization.
2. Standardization - The degree to which rules and standard operating procedures are followed.
 3. Formalization - The degree to which rules and operating procedures are documented on paper or in
company intranets.
4. Specialization - The degree to which associates and managers have jobs with narrow scopes and limited
variety.

FACTORS AFFECTING STRUCTURE

1. Corporate strategy – The overall approach an organization uses in interacting with its environment. The
emphasis is placed on growth and diversification.
2. Growth – Related to increases in sales as well as increases in associates and managers.
3. Diversification – Related to the number of different product lines or service areas in the organization.

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.
Functional organization structures are very effective in smaller firms, especially “single-business firms
where key activities revolve around well-defined skills and areas of specialization.”

2. Discipline Based Organization

Favored by universities, governmental laboratories and other R&D organizations
Promote innovative pursuits in individual disciplines, allowing employees to drill down to deeper
knowledge levels without requiring much coordination with others.

3. Product or Market Organization

This refers to the organization of a company by divisions that bring together all those involved with a
certain type of product or customer.
The product or market organization, with its feature of operating by divisions, is “appropriate for a
large corporation with many product lines in several related companies.”

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4. Matrix Organization
It is an organizational structure in which each employee reports both a functional or division manager
and to a project or group
A matrix, organization, according to Thompson and Strickland, “is a structure with two (or more)
channels of command, two lines of budget authority, and two sources of performance and reward.” Higgins
declared that “the matrix structure was designed to keep employees in a central pool and to allocate them to
various projects in the firm according to length of time they were needed.”

5. Team Organization
Team members “on loan” from functional organizations to eliminate organizational conflicts; Team
Leader in full control; Short term high-priority tasks/projects
Examples: Product team, special task force
Purposes: (1) create recommendation, (2) make or do things, and (3) run things

TYPES OF AUTHORITY
The delegation of authority is a requisite for effective organizing. It consists of three types.

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 1. Line authority – a manager’s right to tell subordinates what to do and then see they do it.
2. Staff authority – a staff specialist’s right to give advice to superior.
3. Functional authority – a specialist’s right 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 a construction
firm, the department that negotiates and secures contracts for the firm is a line department. The construction
division is also a line of function.
Staff departments include all those that provided specialized skills in support of line departments.
Examples of staff departments include those which perform strategic planning, labor relations, research,
accounting, and personnel.
Staff officers may be classified into the following:
1. Personal Staff – those individuals assigned to a specific manager to provide 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. This authority is given to most budget officers of
organizations, as well as other officers.
A LINE AND STAFF ORGANIZATION

THE PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES

When certain formal groups are deemed inappropriate to meet expectation, committees are oftentimes
harnessed to achieve organizational goals. Many organizations, large or small, make use of committees.
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 staffed by top executives from marketing, production,
research, engineering, and finance, who work part-time to evaluate and approve product ideas.’’
Committees are very useful most especially to engineering and manufacturing firms. When a certain
concern, like product development, is under consideration, a committee is usually formed to provide the
necessary line-up of expertise needed to achieve certain objectives.
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.

Committees may not work properly, however, if they are not correctly managed. Delaney suggests that ‘’it might
be useful to set up some procedure to make the committee a more effective tool to accomplish our goals.’’

EFFECTIVE ORGANIZING AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

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Organizational Culture
- Involves the values and norms shared by managers and associates that influence behavior. It is a
powerful force in organizations.
- shared set of beliefs, expectations, values, and norms that influence how members of an organization
relate to one another and cooperate to achieve organizational goals

• Strong / Adaptive cultures

– values and norms help an organization to build momentum and to grow and change as needed
to achieve its goals and be effective
• Weak / Inert cultures
– Those that lead to values and norms that fail to motivate or inspire employees
– Lead to stagnation and often failure over time

Sources of an Organization’s Culture

1. Characteristics of Organizational Members
• Ultimate source of organizational culture is the people that make up the organization
• Members become similar over time which may hinder their ability to adapt and respond to changes
in the environment
2. Organizational Ethics
– moral values, beliefs, and rules that establish the appropriate way for an organization and its
members to deal with each other and people outside the organization
3. Employment Relationship
• Human resource policies:
– Can influence how hard employees will work to achieve the organization’s goals,
– How attached they will be to it
– Whether or not they will buy into its values and norms
4. Organizational Structure
• In a centralized organization:
– people have little autonomy
– norms that focus on being cautious, obeying authority, and respecting traditions emerge
– predictability and stability are desired goals
• In a flat, decentralized structure:
– people have more freedom to choose and control their own activities
– norms that focus on being creative and courageous and taking risks appear
– gives rise to a culture in which innovation and flexibility are desired goals.

Developing Organizational Culture

Organizational cultures are based on shared values.
Culture begins with shared values, which then produce
norms that govern behavior. Behavior produces outcomes
that are reinforced or punished, thereby bolstering the
culture. Thus, any culture, positive or negative, becomes
self-reinforcing and difficult to change.
The strength of an organization’s culture is based to
some degree on the homogeneity of associates and
managers and the length and intensity of shared experiences
in the organization.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

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 Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on the
recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in an organization.
Goal of HRM

- To meet the needs of the business and management

- To link human resource strategies/policies to the business goals and objectives
- To find ways for human resources to “add value” to a business
- To help a business gain the commitment of employees to its values, goals and objectives

As a process: HRM is a process of four functions and features

1. Acquisition of human resources
o Human Resource Planning, Recruitment, Selection, Placement and Induction of Staff
2. Development of human resources
o Training and Development and Career Development
3. Motivation of human resources
o Giving recognition and rewards to the staff, Performance Appraisal and handling the problems of
staff
4. Maintenance of human resources
o Providing the best working conditions for employees and looking after the health and safety of the
staff

Scope of HRM
1. Procurement – placement of right kind of person to the right post (Job analysis, Nature and scope of
manpower requirements, employee selection and placement of employment)
2. Training and Development – prepares the worker to the actual situations in an organization
3. Job analysis and Job Description – gives detailed explanation about each and every job in the
company
4. Remuneration – includes determining wage rates, incentives, wage payment, rewards and benefits and
performance appraisal.
5. Welfare and Industrial Relations – includes health and safety program, sanitary facilities, recreational
facilities and maintenance of co-ordinal relations with union members.

ROLES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The human resource management team suggests to the management team how to strategically manage
people within the organization. This includes managing, recruiting and hiring employees, coordinating employee
benefits and suggesting employee training and development strategies.

FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The main function of human resource management is classified into two types:
A. Managerial Function

1. Planning: necessary to give the organization its goals and directions to establish best procedure to
reach the goals
2. Organizing:
3. Directing:involves encouraging people to work willingly and effectively for the goals of the
organization
4. Controlling: helps to evaluate and control the performance of the department in terms of various
operative functions
B. Operative Function

1. Recruitment: The process by which a job vacancy is identified and potential employees are notified
2. Training and Development: Aims to train and develop employees to improve and update their
knowledge and skills in order to help them perform better
3. Compensation/Reward system: It involves rewarding employees and through fringe benefits for their
contribution to the organization
4. Integration: Deals with employees as a social group, it contributes to the organization and enhances
group interaction and communication
5. Maintenance: Deals with maintaining employees safety and creating a sense of security among the
employees

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RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
It is the process of identifying the need for a job, defining the requirements of the position and job holder,
advertising the position and choosing the most appropriate person for the job.
Recruitment- is the process of generating a pool of qualified candidates for a particular job or the process of
discovering potential candidates. It is a two – way street where the organization is looking for qualified applicants
and applicants are looking for the potential emplacement opportunities.
Sources of Recruitment:
1. Internal Sources -sources within the organization itself (like job posting and bidding, promotions and
transfers, employee referrals) to fill a position
2. External Sources – recruitment candidates from all other sources (school colleges and universities,
labor unions, media sources and employment agencies)

Selection – the process of making a “hire” or “no hire” decision regarding each applicant for a job or the process
of choosing qualified individuals who are available to fill the positions in organization
Basic Selection Criteria:
1. Formal Education
2. Experience and Past Performance
3. Physical Characteristics
4. Personality Characteristics

Employee Selection Process:

1. Preliminary Interviews: used to eliminate those candidates who do not meet the minimum eligibility
criteria laid down by the organization
2. Application Blanks: candidates who clear the preliminary interview are required to fill the application
blank. It contains data record of the candidates such as details about age, qualification, reason for leaving
previous job experience, etc.
3. Employment Interviews: one to one interaction between the interviewer and the potential candidate. It
is used to find whether the candidate is best suited for the required job or not
4. Medical Examination: Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical fitness of the potential employee.
5. Appointment Letter: a reference check is made about the candidate selected and then finally he is
appointed by giving a formal appointment letter

MANPOWER PLANNING
It is the process of reviewing an organization’s employee, or manpower, needs and then selecting the
best people for certain jobs. It is a process that requires careful analysis and consideration to achieve the desired
outcome.
Key to Managerial Functions
o Efficient Utilization- It becomes an important function in the industrialization world of today. It can
be effectively done through staffing function
o Motivation- It also comprises motivational programmes, i.e., incentive plans to be framed for further
participation and employment of employees in concern.

Steps in Manpower Planning

o Analysing the current manpower inventory- before a manager makes forecast of future
manpower, the current manpower status has to be analysed
o Making future manpower forecasts- Planning can be done for the future manpower requirements
in several work units.

INDUCTION

After an employee is hired into an organization, it is necessary he or she is familiarto organization’s

whereabouts. It can be defined as the HRM function that systematically and formally introduces new employees
to the organization, the job and the work group.
Steps of Induction Process
o General orientation by the staff- It gives general information about the history and the operations
of the firm

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 o Specific orientation by the job supervisor- The purpose is to enable the employee to adjust with
his work and environment
o Follow-up orientation by either the personnel department or the supervisor- The purpose is to
find out whether the employee is reasonably well satisfied with him.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
It is the systematic description of an employee’s job relevant strengths and weaknesses. The employee’s
merits such as initiative, regularity, loyalty, personality etc are comparerd with others. Then each employee is
rated or ranked.
o Rater - The employee who evaluates the employees
o Ratee- The employee who is rated
o Rating- The process of performance appraisal

REMUNERATION
It is termed as the reward for employment in the form of pay, salary, or wage, including allowances,
benefits (such as company car, medical plan, pension plan), bonuses, cash incentives, and monetary value or
the noncash incentives. It is the compensation that one receives in exchange for work or services performed.
Remuneration occupies an important place in the life of an employee.
Remuneration Program Objectives
1. Motivate employees to improve their performance continually
2. Reinforce the organization’s key values and desired culture
3. Drive and reinforce desired employee behavior
4. Ensure remuneration is maintained at the desired competitive level
5. Comply with company requirements

Employee Remuneration Method

a. Time Rate Method – under this rate system, remuneration is directly linked with the time spent or devoted
by an employee on the job. Time rate method leads to quality output and this method is very beneficial
to new employees as they can learn their work without any reduction in their salaries.
b. Piece Rate Method – it is a method of compensation in which remuneration is paid on the basis of units
or pieces produced by an employee. In this system, the emphasis focuses more on quantity output rather
that quality output.

Components of Remuneration
a. Wages and Salary – Wages refer the hourly rates of pay while salary refers to the monthly rate pay.
b. Incentives – also called “payment by result”, paid in addition to wages and salaries. It depends upon the
productivity of the employee.
c. Fringe Benefits – these included such employee benefits as provident fund, medical care,
hospitalization, accident relief, health insurance, canteen uniform, etc.
d. Perquisites – these are allowed to executives and include company car, club membership, paid holidays,
furnished house, etc.

What is Variable Pay?

Variable pay, also known as performance pay, is used to recognize and reward employee contribution
above and beyond their normal job requirements, towards company productivity, profitability, quality and the like.
It is often based on two main factors: your own performance and your company’s performance.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Training is the process of planned programs and procedures undertaken for the improvement of
employee’s performance in terms of his attitude, skills, knowledge and behavior. This training program can
significantly improve the overall performance of organization. Training aims to improve employees’ current work,
skills, and behavior.
Objectives of Training and Development
The principal objective of training and development division is to make sure the availability of a skilled
and willing workforce to an organization. In addition to that, there are other objectives as follow:
1. Individual Objectives – help employees in achieving their personal goals, which in turn enhances the
individual contribution to the organization.
2. Organizational Objectives – assist the organization with its primary objectives by bringing individual
effectiveness.

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 3. Functional Objectives – maintain the department’s contribution at a level suitable to the
organizational needs
4. Societal Objectives – ensure that organization is ethically and socially responsible to the needs and
challenges of the society.

Difference Between Training and Development

TRAINING
1. It’s a short-term process
2. Refers to instruction in technical and mechanical problems
3. Targeted in most cases for non-managerial personnel
4. Specific job related purpose
5. Training methods are limited
6. Training is one of the tools of development

DEVELOPMENT
1. It’s a long term educational process
2. Refers to philosophical and theoretical educational concepts
3. Managerial personnel
4. General knowledge purpose
5. Development is a never-ending process

Training Methods
A. On-the-job Training Methods
1. Coaching – a one to one training. It helps in quickly identifying the weak areas and tries to focus
them.
2. Mentoring – the focus on this training is on the development of attitude and is used for managerial
employees.
3. Job Rotation – the process of training employees by rotating them through a series of related
jobs.
4. Apprenticeship – system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill in which the
trainee serves as apprentices to experts for a long period.

B. Off-the-job Training Methods

1. Lectures and Conferences – traditional and direct method of instruction.
2. Vestibule Training – a near-the-job training as it offers the access to something new.
3. Sensitivity training – this training is about making people understand about themselves and
others reasonably.
4. Transactional training – provides trainees with a realistic and useful method for analyzing and
understanding the behavior of others.