book

Navigating the Engineering Organization

Name: Navigating the Engineering Organization
Author: Robert M. Santer
ISBN: 9781000860504

by Robert M. Santer

May 2023

Intermediate to advanced

408 pages

13h 21m

English

CRC Press

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Cover
Half-Title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Author

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Territory Ahead
1.1 Across the Great Divide: The Need for Change1.2 Defining a Common Language1.2.1 Management Ranks1.2.2 Organizations1.2.3 Common Organizational Levels1.2.4 Professionals, Identified1.2.5 Engineering Disciplines1.3 Some Boundaries and Ground Rules1.3.1 From “Great Man” Theory to Schools of Thought1.3.2 Which Approach: Scientific Management or Human Relations?1.3.3 Which Perspective: Engineering, Business, or Other?1.3.4 What We Won’t Address1.4 RealizationsNotes
PART ONE Preparing for Change
Chapter 2 The Impending Problem: From Student to Engineering Professional
2.1 Welcome to Your Brave New World2.2 The Basic Transition: Student to Professional2.3 Easy or Not? Your ChoiceCase Example 2.1 Building the F-18 Jet Fighter2.4 Crossing the Great Divide2.5 Internships Are Not Preparation2.6 The Boss Is Not the Professor2.7 Creating an Engineering Archetype2.7.1 Demographics2.7.2 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator2.7.3 The Five-Factor Personality Inventory2.8 The Past as Prologue2.9 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 3 Embracing a New Mindset
3.1 A New Perspective3.2 Is What You Know Really True? Contingency Theory as Reality3.2.1 The Critical Importance of Contingency Theory3.3 The Data Will Set You Free … or Not3.3.1 Statistics and the Scientific Method3.3.2 Partnering Qualitative Data with the Quantitative3.4 The Fallacy of the Optimum Answer3.5 The Paradigm and the Paradox3.5.1 The Paradigm3.5.2 The Paradox3.6 And Just Who Are You, Anyway?3.6.1 Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences3.6.2 The Bolling Four-Step Exploration3.7 The Engineer as Anthropologist3.8 Nobody Knows Anything3.9 Taking Comfort from Discomfort3.10 RealizationsNotes
PART TWO Guiding the Way: Adopting the Essential Engineering Framework
Chapter 4 Establishing the Essential Engineering Framework
4.1 Mapping the Engineering Organization4.2 Looking Outside Ourselves: The External Environment Element4.3 More Than We Might Think: The Input Element4.3.1 People as an Input: Commodities vs. Talents4.3.2 Funding as an Input4.3.3 Ideas as an Input4.3.4 Willingness or Commitment as an Input4.3.5 Time and Information as Inputs4.4 Is This What We Really Want: The Output Element4.5 Are We Doing the Right Thing: The Feedback Element4.5.1 Goal Approach4.5.2 Resource Approach4.5.3 Internal Process Approach4.5.4 Competing Values Approach4.5.5 Balanced Scorecard Approach4.6 The Heart of the Matter: The Transformation Process and Inner Core Element4.6.1 The Formal Organization4.6.2 Human and Hard Resources4.6.3 The Technology System4.6.4 The Hidden Organization4.6.5 The Ubiquitous Communication Network4.7 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 5 A Tour of the Inner Core
5.1 The Five Components of the Core5.1.1 Birthing an Engineering Organization5.2 The Formal Organization5.2.1 The Key Components of Organizational Structures5.2.2 Organizational Structures: Which and When5.2.3 The Divine Trinity of Product Development5.3 Human and Hard Resources5.3.1 The Same, But Not5.4 The Technology System5.4.1 Technology vs. Transformation Systems5.5 The Hidden Organization5.5.1 Cultural Strength5.5.2 Subcultures5.6 Ubiquitous Communication5.7 RealizationsNotes
PART THREE Operating within the Inner Core
Chapter 6 Navigating the Formal Organization
6.1 Understanding the Formal Organization6.2 Management of Management6.2.1 Mapping Your Management’s Worldview6.3 The Paradox of Organizational Timing6.4 The Lure of the Formal Organization Chart6.5 Different Goals, Different Methods, Different Structures6.6 Meet Cerberus, the Three-Headed Beast6.6.1 Operating Around Power6.6.2 Individual Managerial Power6.6.3 Navigating Conflict6.6.4 Politics Lurking around the Corner6.7 Leadership Is Not Management6.8 Staying Safe vs. Stepping Out6.8.1 An Imperative6.9 Standards Are Not Necessarily Standard6.10 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 7 Understanding Human and Hard Resources
7.1 Comprehending Resources7.2 Human Resources7.2.1 The Mystery of the HR Office7.2.2 What Human Resources Does (and Doesn’t) Do for You7.2.3 Your Objective Set7.2.4 So What Does Your Supervisor Think?7.2.5 Notes on Career Development7.2.6 Rewards and Recognition7.2.7 Flattening the Organization: Job Promotion vs. Enhancement7.2.8 The Dual Ladder7.2.9 Thee versus We: Your Place in the Team7.2.10 When Is a Mentor Not a Mentor?7.2.11 Hidden Testing, When You Least Expect It7.2.12 Characters You Will Meet7.3 Hard Resources7.3.1 Projects and Their Funding7.3.2 Budgets and Budgets7.3.3 Economy and False Economy7.4 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 8 Exercising the Technical System
8.1 A Universe of Systems8.2 Decision Techniques as Tools8.2.1 Engineering-Based Decision Methods8.2.2 Organizationally Based Decision Models8.2.3 Decision Risk and Failure8.2.4 A Different Type of Decision8.2.5 Implementing Decisions8.2.6 The Trap of Decision Making8.2.7 Understanding the Data Driving Decisions8.2.8 Decision-Making Under Stress: The After Action Review8.3 Measuring System Results8.4 Types of Technical Systems8.4.1 Manufacturing Systems8.4.2 Service Systems8.4.3 Technical System Satisfaction Measures8.5 Melding the Technical System to the Organization8.6 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 9 Searching for the Hidden Organization
9.1 Seeing the Invisible: The Hidden Organization9.2 Representations of Corporate Culture: The Sackmann and Schein Models9.3 Group Culture: The Denison Model9.4 Self-Awareness in Corporate Culture9.5 The Quid Pro Quo9.6 Social Rites and Ceremonials9.7 The Power of Myth: The Founders’ Story and Others9.8 The Dynamics of Culture9.9 Respect the Collective9.10 Subcultures9.11 The Stubbornness of Corporate Culture9.12 Whose Culture Is It, Anyway?9.13 In Pursuit of Culture9.14 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 10 Ubiquitous Communication
10.1 Organizational Communication: It’s Nothing Personal10.2 Communicating in Engineering Organizations: Definitions, Models, and Designs10.2.1 A Working Definition10.2.2 Designing a Communication System10.3 Toward the Great Divide: Navigating the Communication Network10.3.1 Communication Opportunities and Situations10.3.2 Not All Ground Rules Will Be Communicated10.3.3 Calling an Audible10.3.4 Control Issues in Presentation10.3.5 Standardizing Communication10.3.6 Context, Leveling, and Bias10.3.7 Simple, Declarative Statements in Presentation10.3.8 Silos, Jargon, and Acronyms10.3.9 Listening and Voice in Personal Communication10.3.10 Touchstones and Mavens10.4 Special Cases10.4.1 Communicating in the Senior Management Meeting10.4.2 Bad News: Reporting Serious Problems to Management10.5 RealizationsNotes
PART FOUR Creating a Personal Roadmap
Chapter 11 Final Preparations: Integration and Ethics
11.1 Final Preparations: Reaching the Penultimate Steps11.2 Melding the Components Together11.3 Resolving the Contradictions: Organizational Sensemaking11.4 The One Critical Exception: Your Personal Code of Ethics11.5 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 12 Crafting the Roadmap: Creating Your Personal Guide
12.1 Constructing Your Roadmap12.2 Crossing the Divide: Turning Insight into Action12.3 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 13 Coming Attractions
13.1 Previews of Coming Attractions13.2 Facing the Immediate13.2.1 Continuing Sources of Information13.2.2 You May Not Be in Control13.2.3 Management Fad or Management Insight?13.3 Anticipating the Long Term13.3.1 Impact of the Changing External Environment13.3.2 Understanding the Organization’s Lifecycle13.3.3 Reconciling Expectations13.4 Small Matters to Be Attended to13.5 RealizationsNotes
Chapter 14 Some Final Thoughts
14.1 The Meaning of the Great Divide14.2 Demonstrating Technical Mastery14.3 What Makes You Special?14.4 Would You Rather Be Liked or Respected?14.5 Committing Engineering14.6 The Legacy of Your Work14.7 Across the Great Divide14.8 Au RevoirNotes
Index

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Navigating the Engineering Organization

by Robert M. Santer

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
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