DUCHON, Bedrich
Horska 3, 128 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic, Czech Technical University in Prague,
Abstract: The history of industrial development was in every stages connected with the managerial changes. The current approach to the future situation is influenced through the following items: the change of environment, the change of customers and the change of competition. All these changes will cause the quite different future development of management. It comes the time of small business finding the new opportunities through information technologies. The new organisations must be created to be able to manage the new opportunities.
Technology is changing the traditional role of the engineer. The technology operations as design, prototype and manufacture of product can be provided in a fraction of the time because of the recent advance in computer and information technology. The engineer, for this reason, must take a broader role in business, otherwise will be relegated to the position of technician as profession.
To emphasis on profits, the changes coming with the global economy require that the education system prepare students for more complex role at the beginning of their careers.
Keywords: education, technology, management, teamwork, communication
Rapid changes in technology development are influenced by the phenomenon called global economy. Global economy brings the new approaches to the business thinking and creates new economic paradigm. The global competition is connected with changes in the enterprise
culture, in its environment, especially in the requirements of suppliers and customers.
These rapid changes are contributing to a major evaluation of the traditional engineering of study. Like microeconomic system, industry and entreprises, the engineering education system must change to respond to economic needs.
Business in industry is undergoing a fundamental shift. Global competition development of information technologies together with “turbulent environment” require that engineers of the future be more aimed not only at technology, but also at communication, team skills and leadership. The problems must be viewed from a system perspective and be able to deal with multidisciplinarity. This approach means that such person will become not only a engineer but also a manager. He or she must understand besides technical and technology aspects also the social, environmental and political ones of solved problems. In other words, they must do more than design, production or service, but must be involved in all phases of product life cycles ( product development, sales, engineering economy) while managing complex system (project) with complex persons. All these aspects bring us the challenge for education system.
Technology is changing the traditional role of the engineer. The technology operations as design, prototype and manufacture of product can be provided in a fraction of the time because of the recent advance in computer and information technology. The engineer must take a broader role in business, otherwise will be relegated to the role technicians as profession.
In the past and current situation of industry these broader role have been filled by senior engineers who passed technical education and operating experiences. The background of these people has been based on the hard knowledge as the mathematics, physics, technology, statistics, modelling and accounting. These perons had started as young engineers and were allowed to design, to operate, to make mistakes and errors and grow in the position of middle management. Some persons of middle management had continued and worked up through the system and were allowed to train and develop managerial concepts, communication skills and leadership.
To emphasis on profit, the changes coming with the global economy require that the education system prepare students for complex role at the beginning of their careers.
The global economy will influence the the complex role of engineer in the following ways: engineering, economics and leadership (managerial behaviour). The system approach to the industry and business from the holistic view of management skills falls into two categories: business (enterprise) management and project management.
Business management is aimed at organisation to be profitable so that the needed skills include engineering economy, strategic planning, allocation of human resources, leadership and management behaviour, teamwork, marketing and quality management.
Project management is connected with specific projects, in which an industrial system has taken the responbilities. This subject includes skills as planning, design, production, operation, maintenance and investment.
We must take into account the fact that both approaches are very close connected with team of educators and industry participants from all areas: technology, economy, quantitative methods, psychology, sociology. It is very important the involment and interest of industry to help to train students and selfeducation of the engineers and managers from participating firms.
Team is very important base of new organisational structure. Teamwork involves personal and social skills, team creation, interdisciplinary training, conflict solution, encourage ability and to maintain diversity. To create education programme of management concepts, as has been mentioned in pre vious part, is a perfect working model for the study of teamwork.
The teamwork is connected with two problems of education: technical proficiency and interactive problem solution. Technical proficiency is one of set elements called the hard knowledge. This proficiency can be demonstrated through such subjects as mathematics, physics, engineering disciplines, experimental approaches, data interpretation, system construction and application. Interactive method can be demonstrated through effective communication, ability to work together with a team, professional, ethical and social reponsibilities, professional development, managerial behaviour.
There are two attributes of communication skills: oral and written expression. The presentation in both cases must be tailored to certain level of readers or listeners. The broad spectrum from engineers to workers or different members of parliament or municipal boards, etc. The student must be supported in his/her abilities to communicate well alone or in groups. The student or engineer must be able to formulate and present parts of solved problem that a team is writing or verbally presenting. It would be useful to train how to choose, to develop and to employ the suitable technical means of presentation.
Integration of communication skills, management skills, teamwork and leadership into curricula is also needed. Educator would develop implementation and integration and interdisciplinarity that will engage students in teamwok. The focus must be aimed at case studies as a useful part of education project and the possibility how to get the real engineering, management and decision problems to the classroom.
The problems discussed in this article can provide the base for general idea of proposal of education system suitable for engineering students. The main problem is in fact how to get real situations to the class. The recommendations that could better serve to broaden skills might include:
In the long term, the education process will be influenced by demand of customers ( from students to the industry client). The education system must be reengineered and changed with the respect to the differently teaching.
The student profile can be presented by the several groups of subjects which might be divided to tje following groups:
First group of subjects can include such courses as mathematics, physics, computer, general engineering and other courses relating to the engineering faculty tasks. Second group is connected with the management knowledge base and is devoted such courses as economics, resource management, time management, cost management. Personal development is oriented to the interpersonal skills, personal skills and ethics including professional, social and personal aspects.
One idea how to bring together all subjects needed for advance engineering education is to develop a standard engineering courses including elements of management, economics, teamwork and communication so that through this approach is possible to prepare very complex case studies. For such approach would be necessary to use advance presentation technologies. It is very economic way how to spend time and money for institution. The main problem especially for Central European Universities is in beginning investment cost.
Second way how to prepare needed courses could be based on the curricula the three groups of subjects above describing. The schedule of these courses would be common for all branches of engineering (master) study and would be finished by case studies from certain engineering specialisation.
Practical solution of the second approach has been provided at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Czech Technical University in Prague. There are three branches of master study and for all branches is presented 9 courses as a common base including the three groups of subjects describing above in this part. The subjects are following:
The basic subjects are accompanied by the courses relating to the special knowledge of branches.
The new ways in global economy and industry recognize that engineering students after their graduation will be more than only production engineers. The economic pressures result in the need for students to point at the work place with other value adding skills. It must be to take into account besides technology competence the knowledge as a economics, management, teamwork, communication skills and leadership. The future engineering managers will be able to solve problems that require integration of technology, science, economics, mangement and public policy. The changes connected with the global approaches in economy could bring light to the education system.
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DUCHON,B. Management and Technical Education. In Workshop 98. Prague: Czech Technical University, 1998, pp. 1049-1051.
DUCHON, B. The Future Changes and Mangement Education. In Proceedings of International Conference. Prague: Czech Technical University, Faculty of Transportation Sciences, 1998, pp: 24-27. (in Czech)
DUCHON,B. Global Economy and its Influence on the Infrastructure Networks. In Proceedings of International Conference. Pardubice: University of Pardubice, 1999, pp.6 ( in press).