GAMARA, EMMERSON P.

JANUARY 25, 2018

LLANES, MANETH CARMEL F. CE-4202
PITALLO, TRICIA M.

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Engineering management is the application of the practice of management to the

practice of engineering.
Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-
solving savvy of engineering and the organizational, administrative, and planning
abilities of management in order to oversee the operational performance of complex
engineering driven enterprises.

Different perspective exists, that two people can see the same thing but differ with each
other. According to Stephen Covey, there are 7 habits of highly effective people.

1. Be proactive. Work from the center of your influence and constantly work to
expand it. Don't sit and wait in a reactive mode, waiting for problems to happen
before taking action.
2. Begin with end in mind. Envision what you want in the future so you can work
and plan towards it.
3. Put first things first. Leadership in the outside world begins with personal vision
and personal leadership. Talks about what is important and what is urgent.
Priority should be given in the following order: Important and Urgent, Important
and not Urgent, Not Important and Urgent, Not Important and not Urgent
4. Think win-win. Genuine feelings for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements
in your relationships.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Use empathetic listening to
genuinely understand a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening
and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere
of caring, and positive problem solving
6. Synergize. Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to
achieve goals that no one could have done alone.
7. Sharpen the Saw. Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to
create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle.

Four levels of leadership and the corresponding four key principles for each that you
can begin to cultivate in order to become an effective leader:
Personal level (Leading Self). “Begin within.” In order to lead from a personal level the
principles that you must develop are trustworthiness. Can you trust yourself? Without
trustworthiness you will not be able to develop the character and competence
necessary to lead others.

Interpersonal level (Leading Others). The same trust, character and competency you
have developed with yourself is then utilized in your relationships with others. In order to
lead others they must trust you.

Managerial level (Short Term with Existing People and Processes). The principle

you develop on this level is empowerment. Be a mentor, coach and guide to those you

wish to lead and they will supervise themselves in order to solve problems and seize
opportunities. The six conditions of empowerment are:

1. Character - you must hire people who are trustworthy and have character.

2. Skills - the person you hire must be a self-starter and have the skills to succeed.

3. Win-win agreement - the employment agreement must be a win-win for both

parties. This is the most often overlooked aspect of management. Win- win

agreements are based on a clear understanding of the employee’s purpose and

goals so that the work they do is meaningful to them.

4. Self-supervision - the employee must be motivated by a common cause or

mission in order and have the flexibility to make decisions that will solve

problems and seize opportunities.

5. Structure and systems - of the organization are there to support the employee

in being successful and moving them towards where their purpose intersects with

the organizations purpose.

6. Accountability - there must be a feedback system in place that helps employees

learn from their mistakes and celebrate their successes.

Organizational level (developing the organization by recruiting people, training

them, building teams, solving problems, compensating them, creating strategy
and developing systems). The principle of alignment is what creates an effective
organization. When there is trust then every level of the organization finds productive
ways to align themselves with the values, strategy, style, structure and systems of the
organization. Alignment towards a common cause is the most powerful form of
leadership.

The last question to ask yourself is what is your leadership paradigm? How do you look
at, and thinking about your role as a leader. “What principles guide you? What do you
believe your key roles as a leader are? If you have trouble answering these questions
then consider the following.

1. Behave as if you work for your employees, not the other way around.
2. Be a sounding board not a problem solver. When employees have challenges
that they can’t overcome do not provide answers.
3. Instead of motivation focus on removing undermining conditions.

4. Your credibility is your most valuable commodity.

5. Make sure you have all the information before taking an action. Human
interaction and behavior is the leading cause of tension and conflict and by
understanding others you can reduce miscommunication.
6. Develop friendships with the people you work with.

The Engineer as Leader

The purpose of this part is simple – to provide comments on how technocrats, including
engineers of all stripes, should increasingly assume leadership positions in their society.
It will not, however, “teach leadership”, since leadership capabilities develop over an
entire career.

“DON’T DEPEND ON YOUR ENGINEERING EDUCATION, OR ON ANYONE ELSE,

TO MAKE YOU A LEADER.” Being a leader is an inseparable part of sustainable
engineering. So, the first step is to get rid of that idea of you as just an engineer, or just
a technically trained expert, and to begin understanding yourself as an engineer and a
leader in training.

ATTITUDE AND PREPARATION

The real challenge of sustainable engineering is the design, operation, maintenance,

and evolution of engineered systems in a context of serious complexity, where the
usual guides – simple design tools, assumptions about what society wants – are
inadequate. As a technically competent individual, you need to respect the complexity
and unpredictability of the systems you are responsible for or with which you work. But,
as a leader, part of your job is to understand this complexity well enough to be able to
simplify it for others who may not have your background, but, do this with integrity, so
that stakeholders can make decisions of their own, not those who are predetermined by
you as a leader.

TWO LEVELS TO PRACTICE LEARNING:

 EXPLICIT LEARNING LEVEL – techniques, thought processes, algorithms, and

other tools and attitudes that characterize engineering. Here, you need to be
technically competent because this has to be your baseline.
 METALEARNING LEVEL – What is it not teaching you? What skills are you not
learning? What is the professor saying that is already obsolete? And etcetera.
Here, you need to expand your learning. Good leadership, in fact, requires
continual learning. This does not mean doing well in traditional engineering
courses; but, to the extent such courses that are not found on the book.

Make sure you know what leadership is going to cost and that you understand
the responsibilities as well as the benefits. An important part of leadership, in fact,
consists of knowing yourself and what you want from your work and your life.

LEAD BY FOLLOWING

By definition, leadership often involves creating or supporting change, and most

institutions and individuals don’t like to change. It requires ability to present change in
the way most conducive to acceptance, or in many cases, present change as if it
weren’t change. The general rule: CHANGE ONLY AS MUCH AS YOU NEED TO,
AND TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE MAKE THE CHANGE INCREMENTAL AND,
INDEED, EVEN INVISIBLE.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

1. Learn and practice good communication skills. Public speaking, writing skills.
2. Learn and practice good organizational skills. Be competent at what the
organization wants you to do, whether it is an engineering task, project
management, or costumer interactions.
3. Speak the language of the tribe you want to talk to, not your own. Focus on
their responsibilities and interests. The more you use their language to
communicate what you want, the more any changes you want to encourage
appear incremental, familiar, and less threatening than might otherwise be the
case.
4. Learn and practice leadership. If you have an opportunity to lead a team, or to
manage a project, don’t just focus on the project itself, but also pay attention to
your performance.
5. Don’t sell yourself short. Many people fail, or don’t live up to their potential.
 6. Don’t be afraid to fail.
7. Don’t sell those who work for you short. “Success is ours; failure is mine.”
The more your team members are recognized and rise, the more you will be
equally valued.
8. Listen to your critics and, indeed, seek them out. You will learn a lot from
people who critique you than those who agree with you. Though may not be
right, you have to know when to change your views and positions based on
criticism, and when not to.
9. Learn when to negotiate and when not to. If someone raises legitimate
concerns that haven’t been considered, or is seriously interested in agreement
and mutual progress, see what can be done.
10. Be your own harshest critic. The point should not be mere self-skepticism or
self-destruction, but continual challenge of what you believe.

“He, only, merits from freedom and existence who wins them each day anew” – Goethe,
Faust

Organization, Culture and Leadership

Organization Structure

- This differentiates specialist skills and seeks to delegate tasks in a way that
ensures coverage and prevents overlap of responsibility.

- (Weber) Bureaucracy – hierarchical and permanent with a deep structure and

dependence on procedures.

- (Walker) Three major components influencing organizational structures:

(1) the way the client and the project team relate,

(2) the way the design team is organized, and

(3) the integration of the contractor into the process.

Centralization of Authority
 -Centralization – a contractor will try and impress procedures and process on the
project setup. Major decisions will be made by the contract manager and
contractual issues and supply chain will be paid through them.

- Decentralization - allows more autonomous culture to be developed and a

closer understanding between the project team members.

Mapping the Project Environment

The main elements of the wider environment: economic, social, political and
technological.
The Organizational Context

- Maps / Models for understanding wider environment.

Corporate Culture and Behavior

This shows that an organizations culture is influenced by a combination of its

own inherent characteristics and the elements of the external environment.

-Determinants of cultural differences: associations, economy, education, health,

kinship, politics, recreation, and religion.

The external environment, strategic issues, and forces for change

- Poster’s Five Forces:

Highly competitive industry –will reduce profitability as firms keep prices

low to be competitive.

The threat of substitutes – Most industries compete directly or indirectly

with other industries, which offer substitute products or services.

Ease of new entry to the industry – Where entry barriers are low an

industry’s profit potential will be limited because new entrants can

enter the market and compete.

The power of buyers – Powerful buyers can increase their profits by

negotiating lower prices, improved quality, better service and delivery

from their suppliers.

 The power of suppliers – In some circumstances where there are a small

number of suppliers, the suppliers may be able to make excessive profits

by forcing customers to pay high prices.

The role of partnering

- Partnering - a management approach used by two or more organizations to

achieve specific business objectives by maximizing the effectiveness of each
participant’s resources. It requires that the parties work together in an open and
trusting relationship based on mutual objective, an agreed method of problem
resolution and an active search for continuous measurable improvements.
(Bennett and Jayes)

- Partnering Model – the key objectives of partnering are mutual objectives,

continuous improvement, and empowered decision making.

- Customer focus – The longer term relationships associated with strategic

partnering allow the development of a greater focus on the needs of the
customers.

World-class performance- is achieved when there is an extremely high customer

satisfaction while having the following characteristics; Strong leadership, motivated
employees, A strong and/or rapid growing market share, Highly admired by peer group
companies and Business results that place in the upper quartile of shareholder value.

Achieving business excellence demands the following:

• Organisational learning

• Farsighted, committed and involved leaders

• A clear understanding of the company’s critical success factors

• Unambiguous direction setting

• Flexible and responsive process management

• People with relevant knowledge and skills

• Constant search for improving the ways things are done

 Self Assessment - it is a way of looking at how a company, organisation, functional
department or project is performing.

European Foundation for Quality Management – is a self assessment tool on all

levels of an organization and as an auditing instrument for the quality award.

The EFQM is an exercise in which an organisation or project team grades itself

against the nine criteria.

This helps organisations to identify current strengths and areas for improvement
against strategic goals.

Benefits of self assessment by using the EFQM model shows a commitment and
enthusiasm to continue to give a better and better service to their customers and
meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Learning Projects

Learning refers to the various processes by which skill and knowledge are acquired by
individuals, organisations and project teams and is increasingly being recognised as key
to innovation and learning.

The main reason for the increasing interest in learning is the growing pressure on
organisations to respond to the challenges of the rapid pace of the change in markets,
wider environment and globalisation.

Leadership-is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a

common goal

There are four main styles of leadership: Concern for task, Concern for people,
Directive leadership and the Participative leadership.

Based on Hershey and Blanchard, Telling, Selling, Participating and Delegating are
the leadership styles.

Ethical leaders

Ethical leadership- is the belief that a leader does not only have to be successful but
has to be able to provide exemplar principles for good and fair practice.

Leaders receive support from organisations that also have ethical standards.

O’neil believes that leadership is about:

• Providing meaning and purpose

 • Focusing on the right things to do

• Structuring the environment to achieve the organisations goal

• Getting others to do what you want

• Motivating people to get things done willingly

• Enabling others to take responsibility.

Project Leadership

Project leader has a responsibility to the organisation and the team members to ensure
that they are provided with high levels of motivation in the new challenging environment
of projects.

Project manager must be the leading player in creating and fostering a team spirit and
enrolling the commitment of the project participants.