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Archive for the ‘Technology Management’ Category

T-Shaped Individuals 09/28/08

Posted in Duke, Engineering, Engineering Management, Management of Technology, Master of Engineering Management, Masters Degree, MEM, MOT, Technology Management, tagged on January 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Dear MEMP Students,

Recently there has been mention of the “T-shaped individual” in articles
about engineers, out-sourcing, etc. Actually, companies like IBM have
been talking about T-shaped individuals for quite some time. No,
T-shaped does not refer to ones physical appearance! The most recent
reference I have seen to the T-shaped individual was from the National
Research Council conducting a study for the National Academies (“Science
Professionals: Master’s Education for a Competitive World,” National
Research Council). It was only while reading this most recent article that I understood the importance
of this term and its relevance to the MEM program. Let me explain.
Loosely translated, the T refers to the fact that an individual has both
deep knowledge in a specific area such as the discipline in which they
have studied engineering or science (the stem of the T indicating depth)
as well as a breadth of skills in different areas, such as business,
management and communication (the top of the T indicating breadth).
This breadth of skills enables an individual to implement their
expertise in the real world. Thus, most companies require that
individuals be T-shaped in order to be effective. As one moves up in
their career, the depth of expertise may decrease but you will always
have this base expertise to draw on and your judgment in this base
expertise area will be superior to judgment in other areas. As you
reach the highest levels of an organization I would suggest that the top
of the T both extends and thickens such that you develop deeper
expertise in a range of areas. You may replace the technical stem of
the T with areas such as strategy and personnel management if you reach
the executive suite of an organization.

Why is all this important to you? First, it is exactly what the MEM
program is trying to develop in each of you. We expect that you come in
with an expertise in some field of engineering or science. We are
trying to provide the top of the T (your core courses) while
simultaneously strengthening the stem of the T (i.e., the technical
electives). Of course, depending on what technical electives you
choose, you may be extending the top of the T with your elective
courses, which is fine. However, what I have observed which I do not
think is healthy for your career or a good way to look at the MEM
program, is that some of you expect to move the stem of your T to a
different area in one year! 🙂 It simply is not viable to develop the
top of your T and move the base of your T in a single year program.
Thus, keep in mind that the vast majority of companies will look at your
undergraduate degree (i.e., technical knowledge and skills from your
undergraduate degree and any work experience) as the stem of the T and
will look at general courses as the top of the T; enabling you to apply
your technical knowledge to company issues. This is not to say that
your technical knowledge cannot be applied to different applications –
certainly it can! But it is best to think of the technical knowledge as
one of the key reasons that an employer will want to hire you, not as
something you can change within the one year MEM program. And in many
cases obtaining a deeper technical knowledge while simultaneously
strengthening the top of the T will be viewed as very favorable by the
companies hiring you from the MEM program. If you want to learn more
about the T-shaped individual concept and understand different
interpretations, you can simply Google it and find a number of references.

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First Fall 2008 Thought of the Week 08/24/08

Posted in Duke, Engineering, Engineering Management, Management of Technology, Master of Engineering Management, Masters Degree, MEM, MOT, Technology Management on January 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Dear MEMP Students,

Welcome to the Master of Engineering Management Program and
congratulations for making it through Orientation! Last semester I began
sending out “Thought of the Week” emails which simply provide my
perspective on relevant issues to your education and career. For those
of you who are new to the MEM program, this should be your first
“Thought of the Week.” For now, I simply want to welcome you to
the program, encourage you to get to know your classmates, and provide a
few initial suggestions for your time here:

• First and foremost, we are trying to transition you from an
undergraduate mindset to a professional mindset. This means that
professionalism will be a strong emphasis throughout the program. Acting
professionally has many different facets which we will review throughout
the year, but suffice it to say here that one of the key elements is
“doing what you say you are going to do.” By this I mean everything from
following through on projects and commitments to attending meetings
which you have agreed to attend.

• Get to know your classmates, and not simply those from the same
geographical region with whom you are most comfortable. Every year both
domestic and international students come to me and complain that they
are surrounded by people from their own region of the world. And yet
every year at seminars, social events, and various parties I see
students interacting with people from their own geographical region
because they are most comfortable with that. This is certainly
understandable! Especially when so much effort is expended elsewhere and
fatigue sets in. But think about it and consciously make an effort to
achieve what you want to achieve in the program. This will also improve
your opportunities to network with new people.

• Be careful of over committing! Many, if not most, students want to
accomplish three years worth of work in one year when they first arrive
in the program . This is an admirable trait and I fully support very
hard work and focused effort. However, the main problem with this is
over committing and under delivering. This is also related to the
professionalism issue that is discussed above. Your goals should be to
under commit and over deliver on projects which requires good planning
and managing your colleagues’ expectations. Although there are many
fantastic extra curricular opportunities at Duke, make sure that your
core responsibilities are taken care of first. One manifestation of this
is that every year students will come to me complaining about the team
scores they received in their classes. They indicate that they did a
better job and worked harder than their team mates scores indicate. But
team scores are meant to reflect the team’s perception of your effort
and accomplishments. Thus, regardless of what your self assessment might
be, the team score accurately reflect the team perception. If you manage
expectations and under commit-over deliver, it is likely you will not
have any reason to come to my office and complain about your team scores!

• There are many other areas that I could discuss in this welcome note,
but I will end simply with the idea that you are in control of your own
experience here. Some instructors will be better than others, some teams
will be better than others and some activities are better then others
but all provide an opportunity to learn. This is also the case in the
“real world.” If you can learn from every aspect of your experience
here; observing and analyzing situations to determine how to work
through the struggles that you have in any interaction, you will have
optimized your time in this program. It is a safe place to try different
ways of approaching each situation (i.e., you won’t be fired!). Follow
the honor code, practice basic ethical behavior, observe, reflect and
try different approaches that you have been taught for handling
different situations. AND HAVE FUN!

Sincerely,

Jeff Glass

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