Chapter 6

Some Human Aspects of

Organizing
 Advanced Organizer

Managing Engineering and Technology

Management Functions Managing Technology Personal Technology

Planning Research Time Management

Design Ethics
Decision Making
Production Career
Organizing
Quality
Leading
Marketing
Controlling
Project Management
 Chapter Objectives

• Describe the steps in staffing technical

organizations
• Discuss the process of an employment
application
• Discuss the nature of authority and power
• Explain the importance of delegation
• Describe the structure of committee
 Staffing Technical Organizations

• Identify the Skill Base

• Estimate the Number of Personnel
• Plan Recruiting Policies
• Select the Best Applicants
• Orient and Train Applicants
• Evaluate Performance
• Provide Compensation
 New Hires

• Establish the need for new hires

• Determine sources for new hires
– New college graduates
– Experienced professionals
– Technician support
– Other sources
 Hiring Managers

• Most middle & upper management positions

are filled by promotion
• A healthy organization will have large annual
requirement for new first-line supervisors
Illustration of typical annual management flow
 Selection

• Resume & cover letter

• Employment application
• Interview
• Reference checks
• Site visits
• Starting salary
• Job offer
 Resume

The first impression an engineer makes is

usually through the resume
 The résumé itself includes all or most
of the following:

• 1. Name, address, e-mail address, & telephone number(s)

• 2. Current job position and/or status
• 3. Current and longer-term employment objectives
• 4. Summary of education (formal degrees and continuing
education)
• 5. Employment experience, with the most recent
employment first, emphasizing accomplishment
• 6. Publications, significant presentations, and patents
• 7. Significant honors and awards
• 8. Professional affiliations
• 9. “References available on request”
 Formatting & Appearance

• Make your name stand out with a bold, larger font

size
• Use standard fonts such as Times New Roman,
Arial, or Courier
• Type Size: 10 - 12 Point
• White, beige, or light gray quality bond paper
• Use a laser printer for best finish
• Length should generally be one page unless you
have extensive experience or graduate school
work
 Key Components

• Heading
• Objective
• Education
• Skills
• Experience
 Additional Components

• Professional affiliations
• Honors, awards and activities
• Campus/community involvements
• Leadership activities
• Foreign language proficiency
• Computer applications
• Volunteer experiences
 Heading

Includes contact information:

– Top of the page
– Name: large and bold
– Address: street, town, state & zip code
– Telephone number(s): with professional
message
– Email address: professional looking, check on
a daily basis
– Website (optional)
 Objective

• Short
• Specific
• Type of position
• Preferred work environment
• Specialized skills
• Tailor to each position
• What you can do for the employer
 Sample Objectives

• Management training internship in a community

service agency leading to a career in service to
the public.
• Program development position working with
geriatric clients
• Paralegal position with opportunity to conduct title
searches and other research
• Tax professional with a national accounting firm
 Education

• Educational institutions or specialized training

programs you have attended
• Name and location of the institution
• Major, minor and area of concentration
• Graduation or anticipated graduation date
• GPA – if 3.2 or higher
• Certifications and/or licensure related to
employment goal
• Relevant coursework and/or thesis may be
included
 Relevant Skills

Gained through:
• Coursework
• Employment
• Internship / Co-op
• Volunteer experience
• Student leadership
• Computer usage
• Foreign language
 Professional Experience

• Related employment (full-time or part-time)

• Internships (paid or unpaid)
• Co-op
• Summer jobs
• Volunteer/Service learning
• Senior projects or academic research
 References

• Separate page that complements resume – do

not include with resume initially
• Lists professional contacts who have direct
knowledge of your skills and qualifications
• References may include faculty, former
employers, and internship supervisors
• Obtain permission from references in advance
and provide them with current resume
 Cover Letters & Business
Correspondence: Do’s
• DO follow rules of a standard business letter.
• DO target your correspondence to the audience/employer
(Ex: avoid “To whom it may concern, Dear Sir/Madam).
• DO make sure there are no spelling, grammar or
punctuation errors.
• DO limit to one page.
• DO keep a copy of everything that you send out.
• DO make sure there is an original signature on all the
documents that you mail out.
• DO close with a direct request for some type of action (Ex:
interview, phone call, etc.).
• DO use high-quality stationery for hard copies.
 Cover Letters & Business
Correspondence: Don’ts
• DON’T start every sentence with “I.”
• DON’T use language that is gimmicky, jargonish,
unprofessional (Don’t try to be a comic).
• DON’T include personal information that is not
relevant to the position.
• DON’T give false impressions.
 Types of Correspondence

• Cover letter types

– Application
– Prospecting/Letter of inquiry
• Thank you letters
• Letters of acceptance, withdrawal and rejection
• Employment applications
• E-mail correspondence
 Cover Letters
Format
• Introductory paragraph
– Who are you?
– What is your interest?
– How did you hear of the opening?
• Body
– 1-2 paragraphs containing a summary of skills and
qualifications
– Highlight targeted experiences included on your resume
(DON’T repeat your entire resume)
– Sales pitch: Explain your value to the organization
– Show that you’ve done your homework
 Cover Letters, cont.

• Closing Paragraph
– Thank the reader for reviewing your enclosed resume
– Restate your interest in the position
• Arrange a follow-up contact
– Passive Approach: puts responsibility on employer to
make contact with the applicant
– Active Approach: the applicant offers to initiate further
contact with the employer in the near future
• Closing (i.e. Sincerely)
 Employment Application

• If the resume creates a favorable

impression the job candidate will be asked
to fill out an application
• May be redundant with the resume but will
usually lead to an interview
 Campus Interview

• Graduating engineer typically makes contact

with potential employers on campus
• Successful campus interviews
– Applicant learns about employment
opportunities and other advantages with firm
– Interviewer learns enough about the applicant
 Site (Plant) Visit

• Means company has a substantial interest

• Normally means three or four staff interviews
• Would include a tour of the area in which the
candidate will work
• Normally includes a briefing on company
benefit programs and general company
policies
 The Job Offer

• Is a formal letter offering specific position

and identifies
– Salary
– Reporting date
– Position and title
– The supervisor the candidate reports to
– Provisions regarding moving expenses (if
applicable)
 Orientation and Training

• Helps newcomer become aware of

organization and values
• Some corporations
– Hold orientation classes
– Rotate newcomers through short assignments in various
key departments
• Includes total socialization of newcomer to the
environment and culture of the organization
 Appraising Performance

• Provide feedback to the employee

• Provide guidance on how to improve
performance
• Provide a performance basis for
rewards/promotions
• Provide objective documentation for
actions against non-performers
 Techniques for Performance
Appraisal

• Conventional rating scale (4

or 5 categories)
• Forced ranking
• Modified ranking
• Percentile
 Alternate Techniques for
Performance Appraisal
• Management By Objectives
• Self-evaluation
• Peer-evaluation
• Team evaluation
 Authority & Power

• Nature of Authority
• Sources of Power
• Status & Culture
 Nature of Authority

• Formal Authority: “Legitimate power” based

on one’s position in an organization to direct
the work activities of subordinates.
• Acceptance Theory of Authority: Authority
originates when subordinates choose to
accept the directives of superiors. (Chester
Barnard)
 Source of Power

• “System I” Style
– Legitimate or position power (authority)
– Reward power
– Coercive or punishment power
• “System II” Style
– Expert power
– Referent power (charisma)
 Additional sources of power

• Power through access to important

individuals
• Power obtained through ingratiation or
praise
• Manipulative power
• Power of persistence or assertiveness
• Power through forming coalitions
 Status & Culture

Status: one’s standing within a group that

may lead to deference or special privileges.
• Functional Status derives from one’s type of
work or profession
• Scalar Status due to one’s level in the
organization
Corporate culture: collection of corporate
practices & habits.
 Delegation

Three interrelated concepts:

• Assignment of duties,
• Delegation of authority, and
• Exaction of Accountability
 Reasons for Delegation

• Minimize workload of managers

• Benefits of specialization
• Motivation and morale
• Training and development
• Facilitates growth and expansion
• Quicker and better decision
• Basis of organizing
 Barriers to Delegation of
Authority
• Reluctant to delegate
• Fear of losing importance
• Loss of control
• Mutual distrust
• Fear of subordinates
• Imcompetent subordinates
• Lack of motivation
• Authoritarian Tendency
 Not to Delegate:

• Planning
• Resolving morale problems
• Reconciling conflicts
• Coaching and Developing employees
• Reviewing performance of employees
• Assigning jobs or tasks
 Decentralization
• Decentralization is the philosophy of systematic
and scientific delegation of managerial authority
to the middle and lower level managers in
accordance with their responsibility.
• This philosophy states that the top management
should keep limited authority and delegate
maximum authority to operating levels.
• Top Management has to play the role of
supervisor.
 Committees & Meetings

Two or more people are officially designated

to meet to pursue some specific purpose.

Committee represents a group of people with

various kinds of knowledge, which is
formally constituted to solve specific
problems.
 Reasons for using
committees
• Policy making and administration
• Representation
• Sharing knowledge & expertise
• Securing cooperation in execution
• Pooling of authority
• Training of participants
 Problems of Committee

• Compromising result
• Less accountable
• Delay
• Creating conflict
 Making Committee Effective

• Committee purpose & chair

• Committee size & membership
• Preparation for meeting
• Conduct of the meeting
• Meeting follow-up