Engineers and management

During 1986, three discussion meetings were held in which a number of important aspects of the relationship of electrical engineers to management were explored in some depth. At two of the meetings, the contributions of educational institutions and employers to the development of electrical engineers as managers were considered, together with requirements for top management posts in engineering companies. Career outlines were presented by way of illustration. At the third event, three employers gave their views on what, in addition to technical knowledge, makes an engineer effective. In this context, the speakers considered variously that personal qualities, organisational arrangements and ability to apply technical knowledge were the most important determinants of effectiveness. The report and commentary incorporates many valuable comments made by participants in the discussions, and concludes that there is a great need for practising electrical engineers themselves, as well as educators, employers and the Institution, to take a much more professional approach to the management dimension in engineering activities.