ME 489 Practices of Modern Engineering Lecture 11

ME 489 Practices of Modern Engineering Lecture 11 March 1, 2011 Cultural dimensions Luis San Andres Mast-Childs Tribology Professor Texas A&M University http: //rotorlab. tamu. edu/me 489 1

Lecture 11 Date: March 1, 2011 Today: … Cultural dimensions Definition of culture – values and dimensions Team Left. Overs presents: Beyond Genetic Engineering Assignments & reading: A 3 – Due March 8 – Assess COE Strategic Plan Other: complete ONE MINUTE PAPER NO CLASS Thursday March 3, 2011 2

Re-schedule Group presentations Group Name 22 Mar 29 Mar 31 Mar 5 -Apr 12 Apr 14 Apr 19 Apr 21 Apr 26 Apr 28 Apr 1 The Wrecking Crew X X X 2 A&M Team X X X 3 Classic Style X X 4 The Better Team X X 5 Team Alpha X X X 6 Last Pick X X X 7 Gilligan's Blade X X X 8 Left. Overs X X X April 26 & 28 - last two classes – Let’s welcome any group wishing to make an additional presentation 3

Recommended topics National Academy of Engineering Pick one of the GRAND CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEERING in the 21 st Century http: //www. engineeringchallenges. org/ Make solar energy economical Provide energy from fusion Develop carbon sequestration methods Manage the nitrogen cycle Provide access to clean water Restore and improve urban infrastructure Advance health informatics Engineer better medicines Reverse-engineer the brain Prevent nuclear terror Secure cyberspace Enhance virtual reality Advance personalized learning Engineer the tools of scientific discovery 4

Recommended topic National Academy of Engineering GRAND CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEERING in the 21 st Century • • • Justify Need – Why is this challenge important? Why is it important for the US and the world? Note state of the art and current pitfalls and shortcomings What is the needed knowledge to achieve goal? Note practical constraints (technological, economic, political) Where are the resources to attain the goal? How can you (us) get involved to face the challenge? When do you foresee the challenge be resolved? 5

Schedule Guests: Practicing Engineers Date Feb 17 (R) Sulzer Turbo: Ash Maruyama & friends March 8 (T) March 10 (R) Pratt & Whitney Engines March 24 (R) UT graduate students March 29 (T) GE Oil & Gas young engineers April 7 (R) Southwest Research Institute old engineers Crash on Entrepreneurship - Richard H. Lester Learn from practicing engineers All confirmed 6

Comments on lecture 9 (prepare yourself), group presentation & others 7

Lana Wilson recommends Watch a GREAT Movie: The Pirates of Silicone Valley The history of Steve Jobs & Steve Wasniak (Apple) and Bill Gates (Microsoft). It shows how you really have to believe in and develop your ideas. It will pay off! See also http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pirates_of_Silicon_Valley Based on Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by P. Freiberger and M. Swaine Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 8

Questions Want to know more about SPORTS ENGINEERING? Entertainment Eng. and Sports Eng. are fast growing branches of eng. Every sports item (balls, bats, shoes, skies, etc. ) are designed & tested to satisfy specific needs for performance enhancement (long life, more or less friction, more or less traction, etc). TRIBOLOGY contributes greatly to the field of Sports Eng. Visit ISEA (international Sports Engineering Association) at http: //www. sportsengineering. co. uk/ Univ. of Nevada (UNLV) offers a BS degree in Entertainment Engineering and Design http: //www. eed. egr. unlv. edu/ Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 9

Question How do some upper level classes and technical electives lead to job opportunities & specialties? Taking electives and involvement in research projects gives you an edge (a step in the door) to many specialized jobs. Talk with faculty! Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 10

Prepare yourself The top 10 1. Poor planning on one’s part does not constitute automatic emergency from others 2. Know corporate structure + follow chain of command 3. The inquisitive idiot: must ask, but think first 4. Own your project or assignment: anticipate needs 5. Less is more: work smarter, not harder 6. The enemy of good is perfect: learn when to stop 7. Keep a paper trail, write more and write well, It is not what you know, it is what you can prove 8. Leave work at work 9 Mistakes are inevitable: GIGO 10. Save money early, pace yourself Comments on lecture delivered by Ash Maruyama 11

Prepare yourself Great presentation, but I am surprised Ash did say treat people the way you want to be treated… Best presentation I’ve heard while at TAMU. Ask presenter at the time. It is not impolite or disrespectful. Earning respect and treating others as one wants to be treated are tracts practiced daily (they could be lost in a second as well) In Ash’s case it is most important since he deals with clients and suppliers, and technical personnel with all levels of education and backgrounds. 12

Prepare yourself Pay for yourself? Employer invests in you to be productive. In short. Assume it costs your company (low estimate) $200 k/year to keep you employed [salary + benefits + administrative cost ]. You must generate business for at least $200 k/year to break even, i. e. , to justify your employment (pay for yourself). You will be rewarded and recognized when making more (net profit) and bring more (for others). 13

Recommendations for organizing? Only one – start today! Perpetual procrastination is the worst enemy of organization. Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 14

Comments on lecture 10 & group presentation: Driverless cars 15

Question – driverless cars Are the autonomous cars able to sense objects beyond immediate interferences, i. e. , a wrecked vehicle behind the 18 wheeler in front of you? How do sensors pick up edges or middle of roads that are only one lane and do not have lane lines (country back roads) to keep the car on the proper side of the road? I will really miss driving if we go in that direction. I really enjoy the “thrill” of driving although it may be “illegal” Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 16

Question – driverless cars What are other projects that will replace “people”? (as controllers or drivers? ) For example: pilots maneuvering UAVs (unmaned aerial vehicles), rescue missions, dirty jobs, etc. Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 17

More comments Thanks you for this class. It is keeping me motivated and excited about engineering! Good class as always! Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 18

Room for thought Pending legislation: Allow concealed guns in buildings at Texas universities Will you feel safer or will you fear more? A forum at http: //dof. tamu. edu/Guns%20 on%20 Campus. pdf Debate time 19

Topic The world we live in: What makes us unique or different from others? Practices of Modern Engineering – Spring 2011 20

Resource Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind by Geert Hofstede & Gert Jan Hofstede • Reveals the unexamined rules by which people in different cultures think, feel, and act in business, family, schools, and political organizations. • Explores how national cultures differ in the key areas of inequality, collectivism versus individualism, assertiveness versus modesty, tolerance for ambiguity, and deferment of gratification Product description found & copied in www. amazon. com 21

Resource Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind by Geert Hofstede & Gert Jan Hofstede • Explains culture shock, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, differences in language and humor, and other aspects of intercultural dynamics • Provides powerful insights for business people, civil servants, physicians, mental health professionals, law enforcement professionals, and others • Explains how organizational cultures differ from national cultures, and how they can--sometimes--be managed Product description found & copied in www. amazon. com 22

Culture [cultivate]: Dictionary: ALL THE KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES SHARED BY A SOCIETY Culture is the collective programming(*) of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group of people from others. Culture is learned (not innate), it derives from the social environment. (*) mental patterns of thinking, feeling and acting Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 23

Culture must be distinguished from human nature and from individual personality Inherited and learned Specific to individual Personality Specific to group Universal Culture Learned Human nature Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede Inherited 24

Culture The onion manifestation of Culture at different levels of depth Symbols es c i ct Heroes Values a Pr Rituals Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 25

Culture Values (tendencies to prefer certain states) Evil vs. good, Dirty vs. Clean, Dangerous vs. safe, Forbidden vs. permitted, Decent vs. indecent Moral vs. immoral Ugly vs. beautiful Unnatural vs. natural Abnormal vs. normal Paradoxical vs. logical Irrational vs. rational Values are acquired early in our lives Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 26

Dimensions of National Cultures Basic problems worldwide 1. Relation to authority 2. Conception of self – relation of individual and society, and the individual concept of masculinity and femininity 3. Ways to deal with conflict, including the control of aggression and expression of feelings Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 27

Dimensions of National Cultures 1980 -2000 s research & statistical analysis on the values of people for countries 1. Social inequality, including relationship with authority 2. Relationship between individual and group 3. Concepts of masculinity and femininity the implications of having been born as a boy or a girl 4. Ways to dealing with uncertainty & conflict (related to the control of aggression and expression of emotions) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 28

Dimensions of National Cultures Ideas were first based on a large research project into national culture differences across subsidiaries of a multinational corporation (IBM) in 64 countries. Later studies covered students in 23 countries, elites in 19 countries, commercial airline pilots in 23 countries, up-market consumers in 15 countries, and civil service managers in 14 countries. http: //www. clearlycultural. com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/ Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 29

Dimensions of National Cultures 1. Power Distance (More Equal than Others) 2. Individualism (I, We and They) 3. Masculinity (He, She & (S)he) 4. Uncertainty Avoidance (What is Different is Dangerous) 5. Long-Term Orientation (Yesterday, Now, or Later) See http: //www. clearlycultural. com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/ For a map of the World to evaluate how similar or different countries or regions are Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind By Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede 30

Questions? Next lecture 03/08 – “Culture and organizations” Power Distance Index, Individualism vs Collectivism 31

Practices of Modern Engineering © Luis San Andres Texas A&M University 2011 http: //rotorlab. tamu. edu/me 489 32