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Engineers, Management And Work Organization: A Comparative Analysis Of Engineers' Work Roles In British And Japanese Electronics Firms

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  • Alice Lam

Abstract

Many commentators have attributed the poor performance of British manufacturing to the ‘under‐representation’ of engineers in management, and have proposed policies for bringing more engineers into management so as to develop a technologically oriented management culture. This paper argues that the under‐representation of engineers in management is a symptom not the root cause of the problem, which lies in the split between technical and managerial expertise at the enterprise level. Based on a comparative analysis of engineers’ work roles and the relationship between technical and managerial functions in British and Japanese electronics firms, the paper argues that the mechanistically structured organization systems in the British firms generate a vertical polarization between technical and managerial roles, inhibit knowledge sharing and lead to the gross under‐utilization of engineers in product development. A technologically oriented management cannot simply be achieved by getting more engineers into management. It requires, instead, organizational restructuring and changes in work practices to enable a better integration between technical and managerial expertise.

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  • Alice Lam, 1996. "Engineers, Management And Work Organization: A Comparative Analysis Of Engineers' Work Roles In British And Japanese Electronics Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 183-212, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:33:y:1996:i:2:p:183-212
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1996.tb00157.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Dekkers, Rob & Chang, C.M. & Kreutzfeldt, Jochen, 2013. "The interface between “product design and engineering” and manufacturing: A review of the literature and empirical evidence," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 316-333.
    2. Ismil HOSSAIN & Fredrick AGBOMA, 2015. "Examining The Impact Of Institutional Environments On The Hrm Practices Of Mncs And Their Operation And The Path Dependency Between Developed And Developing Countries," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 9(1), pages 679-693, November.
    3. Lam, Alice & Lundvall, Bengt-Aake, 2007. "The Learning Organisation and National Systems of Competence Building and Innovation," MPRA Paper 12320, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Lam, Alice, 2004. "Organizational Innovation," MPRA Paper 11539, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Nicolai J. Foss & Kenneth Husted & Snejina Michailova, 2010. "Governing Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: Levels of Analysis, Governance Mechanisms, and Research Directions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 455-482, May.
    6. Edward Lorenz, 2001. "Models of Cognition, the Contextualisation of Knowledge and Organisational Theory," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 5(3), pages 307-330, September.

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