What Are We Teaching Our Engineering Managers?

Abstract

Engineering management (EM) and management of technology (MOT) M.S. degree programs throughout the U.S. are entrusted with educating future leaders of industry and technology. However, little research has been conducted on the nature of the methods and tactics taught.This research used the six schools of management thought as developed by Dr. Harold Koontz (1961) to classify various EM and MOT programs. Combining similar schools of management thought reduced them to three. These are management process/empirical, human behavior/social systems, and mathematical/decision theory. This study indicates heavy use of the mathematical/ decision theory and the management process/empirical schools by most of EM and MOT programs.