Management And Engineers
Authors: Maier G.J. 
Published: March 2010

Much has been said and written on management-employee relationships, particularly concerning professionals, and numerous guidelines have been suggested toward establishing a mutually beneficial working climate conducive to productivity. It is an area of great importance in today's economy, and one where there is no cut-and-dried approach.

My remarks are directed primarily to engineers in the drilling, producing, processing, exploration and exploitation segments of the petroleum industry. They are, however, equally applicable to other professionals in that industry, such as geologists, geophysicists and commerce graduates. It is hoped that some of the concepts and ideas presented here will be of interest and possibly helpful, to not only engineers and other professionals, but also to administrators and managers.

Managing Engineers

FIRSTLY, let's touch briefly on the question of managing engineers. It is generally conceded that as a group they present problems which are quite different from those encountered with other classifications of employees, such as process workers, clerks craftsmen etc. As a result, an aura of "mystique" has developed relative to the handling of engineers, and this "mystique" can quickly degenerate into "mistake" unless all levels of management and supervision understand and follow some fundamental but important principles.

Why is a different management approach required for engineers? After all they are human just like other people (although I may get an argument on this from outside the profession) and want to be treated accordingly! In my view the factors which are primarily instrumental in setting the engineer slightly apart from most other groups, even those that are as intelligent and as well educated, are what I term "Engineer Difference Factors", and are as follows.

His training. Much of an engineer's training is focused on self-accomplishment and as a result many engineers have difficult working in a group and in communicating freely. His high requirement for a sense of achievement. This is also related to training, but is also probably an integral part of the make-up of many engineers and a factor which influenced them to take engineering in the first place. His high professional needs. He must be challenged with meaningful work and be given both responsibility and related authority. His desire to do things his own way. He requires flexibility and freedom in his work, and wants to demonstrate his ingenuity and creativity. His requirement for rewards commensurate with his performance. In addition to monetary compensation, he needs recognition of his achievements, real advancement and an opportunity, to grow.

We could easily add to this list and expand on some of the factors listed, but I believe that the main issues are exposed. I would like to emphasize that the foregoing list is not the fruit of some long and exotic research project, but merely represents my observations over a number of years on both the engineering und management side of the fence.

In reviewing the foregoing factors one could easily state that they are applicable to most workers, so why suggest that they are so important just for engineers?