TABLE OF CONTENTS Industrial organizations have been increasing in size, number, and the size of their operations from the days of the Industrial Revolution. Today's organizations have to operate in more demanding and competitive environments than the environments of the past. For example, 50 years ago companies could survive with only one or perhaps two product lines, but in today's environments their survival depends on factors such as multiple product lines (i.e., diversification) and vigorous integration of technology into the existing setups [1]. Factors such as these have been instrumental in organizing the operations of industrial organizations in such a manner that they operate most efficiently and at the minimum cost. The term organizing may simply be described as the process of developing a structure for the organization or company to help its manpower to operate systematically to satisfy the organizational goals in an effective manner [2].
The human element plays a pivotal part in the success or failure of an engineering company. For example, a company may have an excellent engineering product, but poor human management within the organization may make it an unprofitable product. Human resources are probably the most important resource of an organization because they are a major element of cost in most enterprises (e.g., in the petroleum and chemical industries, the labor cost varies between 25% and 30% of the total operating cost) and they influence an organization's productivity [3].
This chapter presents important aspects of the organizing and human element considered useful for engineering...
