Engineers and Management: International Comparisons

Abstract

This study compares the situation of engineers in Britain with those in other countries, and examines the development of industrial cultures along different industrial traditions. It covers such issues as education, employment and labour relations to show how far engineers are undervalued. In an increasingly competitive climate, well-trained, experienced management is vital for establishing the long term future of industry. In response to this need, the number of management training courses have been growing in recent years. However, there is a group of highly skilled professionals who are not always recognized for their management potential. Engineers, often viewed as nothing more than technicians, are a valuable but neglected human resource. Their expertise has helped to generate the recent organizational restructuring throughout the manufacturing industry. This study compares the situation of engineers in Britain with those in other countries. It analyzes the industrial cultures of countries that have developed along very different traditions such as Japan, Germany and Hungary as well as countries like Canada and the US where British traditions have prevailed but where the outcomes are different. Bringing together leading writers on management who have specialist knowledge of the engineering profession, it covers such issues as education, employment and labour relations to show how far engineers are undervalued in British culture. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, MBA students, academics and researchers in management, engineering, new technology, industrial sociology and organizational behaviour.

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