Business Commons^™

Launch Editorial, Jindong Qin, Xiaofang Chen, Lida Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

The digital economy is first and foremost a data economy, and data is the first element of the digital economy. Management System Engineering (MSE) is dedicated to the methodology of System Engineering (SE) and the practice of Management Decision Making. The digital economy is a network economy, and the Internet is the basic carrier of the digital economy. [Extracted from the article]

Learning By Doing - Energy Systems Management, Nima Shahriari, Adrian V. Gheorghe

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Climate change concerns have confronted energy policy makers by unprecedented challenges in the 21st century. Revolution of renewable energy technologies, as well as more efficient energy systems, has been promising in the context of global warming. However, these technologies are not maturing and chaning. Consequently planning for development of these resources requires dealing with various multidisciplinary research questions such as financial feasibility of renewable energy projects. Nevertheless, there is considerable lack of education programs offering multidisciplinary approach for addressing the current energy challenges. Based on the 21st evolving energy landscape, an interdisciplinary graduate certificate course work was designed at Old …

A Heuristic For The Analysis Of Truncated Standard Normal Distribution Assemblies, John Walter Ralls, Cesar Ariel Pinto, Shannon R. Bowling, Resit Unal, Charles B. Daniels, S. Long (Ed.), E.H. Ng (Ed.), C. Downing (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The analysis of data sets and process conditions commonly assume the use of standard normal distributions and truncated standard normal distributions (TSND). The use of these distributions has application to various engineering disciplines along with numerous other industries (e.g., financial industries, medical fields, management, etc.). For engineering managers, the use of truncated standard normal distributions has particular relevance when evaluating process conditions commonly associated with assembly tolerances, manufacturing, and associated measures of quality. This article summarizes a heuristic approach for the analysis of assembly-level truncated standard normal distributions and associated research from a recent dissertation (Ralls, 2014). This article provides …

Effectiveness In Executive Decision-Making Bodies: The Role Of Conflict, Chris L. Day, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The theory and practice related to team processes such as communication, coordination, conflict, and their impact on team performance and effectiveness has been focused on principles applied to teams in general and to specific subsets of teams/situations. Executive decision-making bodies are a specialized subset of teams charged with managing strategic and enterprise-wide change typically consisting of talented team members who make decisions having a broad impact on the organizations they lead. Executive decision-making bodies have been largely unexplored in the team research literature. This study presents an in-depth review of prior research exploring the role of input factors and conflict …

Emotional Intelligence And Its Potential In Engineering Management, Jesse Ray Toepfer

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Assuming that the modern connotation of Emotional Intelligence (El) took shape with Wayne Leon Payne's 1986 dissertation, A Study of Emotion: Developing Emotional Intelligence, Self-Integration, Relating to Fear, Pain, and Desire, EI is nearing its thirtieth birthday. Relatively speaking, EI is still very young, and there are a handful of researchers who are still trying to explore and define El. Significant efforts have been made to develop the concept of EI, and the ramifications of EI on an individual's professional performance.

Often more technical and exacting in nature, the field of engineering management exhibits many aspects that are unique relative …

An Evaluation Of Risk Management Courses Offered In Engineering Management Programs, S. Jimmy Gandhi, C. Ariel Pinto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

For this paper, the authors have surveyed a total of 22 engineering management (EM) programs in the United States (both accredited and non-accredited). The purpose of this study was to analyze the offering of risk management courses as part of the engineering management curriculum. The findings showed that the majority of the programs did not offer a single dedicated course on risk management and merely covered the topic as part of other courses such as project management. The authors have made recommendations that risk management should be included as a required part of the EM curriculum due to the higher …

Transformation Paradox: A Framework For The Analysis Of Politics In Enterprise Transformations, Cindy S. Miller

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of politics in enterprise transformations using a dialectical analysis approach (Hegel, 1989; Heraclitus, 1979; Pinkard, 1988; Skinner, 1978a, 1978b) and conduct an evaluation of the framework validity. The framework is constructed using a dialectical analysis of concepts stemming from the work of Alford and Friedland (1992) and considers four theoretical perspectives: autocratic, bureaucratic, pluralistic, and cognitive. The framework is then validated by means of qualitative metrics and adherence to critical ideology.

This research addresses the problem that there is no holistic theoretical framework for the analysis …

Engineering Management Framework In Support Of Modeling & Simulation Application For Domain Specific Procurement, Thomas Guy Litwin

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A strategic process is desirable for project-based organizations in order for them to be efficient and effective when developing Modeling & Simulation (M&S) systems. This thesis proposes an overarching process that combines traditional M&S and Engineering Management methodologies in a new framework to support M&S organizations during the procurement process.

This thesis proposes both a Strategic Project Management Process (SPMP) and a systems engineering process for M&S federation development projects. The systems engineering process utilizes the artifacts of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) to support building M&S federations driven by operational requirements. Detailed research of this systems engineering process revealed a …

Major Factors That Influence The Employment Decisions Of Generation X Consulting Engineers, Robert William Mayfield

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study Generation X consulting engineers (those born between the years 1964 and 1980) in Lynchburg, Virginia, to determine the major factors that influence their employment decisions. Engineering consulting firms throughout the United States, particularly those in Lynchburg, have struggled to recruit young engineers in recent years. The recruiting of young engineers has been regarded by managers and executives as the single greatest challenge to the consulting profession. Despite the consensus within the profession that the problem existed, recommended solutions have been mostly speculative in nature and unsubstantiated by supportive data. This study focused …