Engineering Management - short answer questions from AMIE exams (Summer 2018)

Answer the following in brief

Types of Organization

A set-up where individuals from diverse backgrounds, different educational qualifications and varied interests come together to work towards a common goal is called an organization.

• Line or Scalar Organisation: This type of organisation is also known as a departmental or military type of organisation. In this type of organisation business activities are divided into three groups, namely fi­nance and accounts, production and sales. Each of these departments is sub-divided into certain self-contained departments, i.e., sections.
• Functional Organisation: The difficulties in finding all round qualified man to be foreman in the line organisation are overcome with this type of organisation. He is replaced by various functionalised people. This system is advantageous because each supervisor is specialised in a particular field and he attends to one factor in all the departments.
• Line and Staff Organisation: In a firm of large size operating on a big scale, managers cannot give careful attention to every part of management. Hence ‘Some Staff is deputed to do other works like investiga­tion, research, recording, planning and advising to managers.
• Line, Staff and Functional Organisation: In this system, as regards the discipline and output are concerned, the workers are kept under the direct control of the foreman. As regards quality, the inspector will have the proper authority to control the quality and he can directly order the workman as in the functional organisation. In the staff relationship, there may be a research department for the analysis of raw materi­als, semi-finished and finished products to withstand market competition.

General Management

General Management involves taking care of all managerial activities of a business. The general management program is very broad-based and covers all functional areas of management – Finance, Marketing, HRM, Operations, IT, and more. 

Policies and Procedures

• Policies set some parameters for decision-making but leave room for flexibility. They show the “why” behind an action.
• Procedures, on the other hand, explain the “how.” They provide step-by-step instructions for specific routine tasks. They may even include a checklist or process steps to follow.

Participative Management

Participative Management refers to an open form of management where employees are actively involved in the organization’s decision-making process. Participative Management can also be termed as ‘Industrial Democracy.  There are many companies that have embraced this particular style of management and are now getting positive results. Toyota is the best example. The company has been following suggestion schemes and employee involvement procedures for over a decade now. 

Layout types

There are four basic layout types: process, product, hybrid, and fixed position.

• Process layouts.  Layouts that group resources based on similar processes or functions. Process layouts arrange items by type as seen in this grocery store.
• Product layouts are found in flow shops (repetitive assembly and processes or continuous flow industries). Flow shops produce high-volume, highly standardized products that require highly standardized, repetitive processes.
• A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a product that is too large or too heavy to move. For example, battleships are not produced on an assembly line.
• Many situations call for a mixture of the three main layout types. These mixtures are commonly called a combination or hybrid layouts. For example, one firm may utilize a process layout for the majority of its process along with an assembly in one area.

Price break in building inventory model

A price break is a reduction in price, especially for bulk purchases. The concept of Economic Order Quantity fails in certain cases where there is a discount offered when purchases are made in large quantities. Certain manufacturers offer reduced rates for items when a larger quantity is ordered. It may appear that the inventory holding cost may increase if large quantities of items are ordered. But if the discount offered is so attractive that it even outweighs the holding cost, probably the order at levels other than the EOQ would be economical. 

Theory of firm

The theory of the firm refers to the microeconomic approach that every firm operates in order to make profits. Companies ascertain the price and demand of the product in the market and make optimum allocation of resources for increasing their net profits.

Quality Planning

Quality planning focuses on taking all of the information available to you at the beginning of the project and figuring out how you will measure quality and prevent defects. The quality planning process takes careful thought, planning, and execution. Each element has an important role in working towards perfection – or as we think of it in quality as the elusive zero defects goal.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations. A complete ERP suite also includes enterprise performance management, software that helps plan, budget, predict, and report on an organization’s financial results.

Project scheduling and Monitoring

• Scheduling in project management is the listing of activities, deliverables, and milestones within a project. A schedule also usually includes a planned start and finish date, duration, and resources assigned to each activity. Effective project scheduling is a critical component of successful time management.
• Project monitoring involves tracking a project’s metrics, progress, and associated tasks to ensure everything is completed on time, on budget, and according to project requirements and standards. Project monitoring also includes recognizing and identifying roadblocks or issues that might arise during the project’s execution and taking action to rectify these problems. 

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