Engineering and Business: Converting Engineers to Businessmen - Proceedings of a Symposium Sponsored by the Engineering Management Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Business practices and the role of the engineer as manager are covered in the papers presented at a symposium on engineering management at the October, 1982 National Convention of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In a case history of the development, growth, and evolution of a consulting engineering firm formed in 1958, the setbacks and rewards of running a consulting engineering firm are presented. Considerations for the establishment of a new business within the engineering community are outlined in a subsequent paper. The development from engineer to businessman is reviewed from four different viewpoints, including an assessment of desirable individual characteristics, an outline of fast track methods for developing managers, an overview of manager development within a matrix structure, and a review of manager development programs. Risk management from a contractor's viewpoint is presented and a basis for effective decision-making in probabilistic risk assessment follows.