Management in the Engineering Disciplines

Abstract

The increasing number of specialized disciplines in engineering presents increasing problems to management. In cases of difficulty the manager either has to consult even more specialized experts, or take decisions himself in fields in which he has no particular competence. Good management in practice turns more on judgement of character than on any particular background or course of training. The availability and future development of computers may offer the chance of a breakthrough. By carrying out many processes that now form part of the professional syllabus, the computer could make it possible to cover in a single course groups of subjects now requiring separate courses; professional work would be more broadly based, and increasingly concentrated on value judgements. A much more generalized first degree course and later specialization not on single subjects but on related groups could evolve.