Corporate Assessment of Strategic Issues in Technology Management

can be attained earlier if engineering students are exposed to management, public speaking, and other non-engineering coursework. The most highly recommended courses beyond an engineering curriculum included business management, public speaking, and marketing. In addition to taking courses, the professionals surveyed suggested involvement in activities like sports, internships, volunteering, and clubs to improve interpersonal skills (The Engineers’ Leadership Foundation and the Foundation for Professional Practice, 2004). The same can be said for management majors—a well-rounded education both inside and outside of the classroom is necessary to succeed in a technology-infused business world. Any career involves the lifelong learning and application of not only technical skills and theoretical knowledge, but also “people skills”, written and oral communication skills, and teambuilding skills. In recent years, institutions of higher learning have made changes in curricula and have developed a variety of specialized programs in order to achieve that goal. These educational opportunities can be classified into several categories: engineering management, systems engineering, engineering entrepreneurship, leadership, internship, and other multi-disciplinary programs. Most of these programs are designed to introduce engineers to the business world through courses, project teams, and interaction with business enterprises and business leaders. Most schools also offer minors or individual courses designed to introduce students of all majors to technology and its impact on business. Overall, schools try to offer a variety of courses and extracurricular activities that allow students to gain a well-rounded education. Emphasis has also been placed on group projects or in-class group work to prepare students to work effectively on teams. Bucknell University’s Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management (ILTM) is an example of a program created for that purpose. In order to assess the climate for new hires in a technologydependent business world, a study was conducted of ILTM graduates working in industry and other middle managers and executives who could give insight into the demands for engineering and management graduates. Questions were specifically focused on the appropriateness of themes such as leadership, globalization, communication skills, and critical thinking in obtaining a job and advancing in industry. Middle managers and executives were asked to define and rate skills, thought processes, etc., that are necessary to participate in and succeed in business today. The results of the study, which includes both quantitative and qualitative questions, were compared to previously published rankings of desirable skills for graduates. A comparison of overall new hire performance to that of ILTM graduates was used to examine educational opportunities that position employees on the “fast track” to management positions.