An Investigation into the Relationship Between an Engineering Manager\u27s Purpose-Seeking Beliefs and Behaviors and the Engineering Manager\u27s Perception of Employee Creativity, Initiative and Purpose-Seeking Behavior

Organizations have placed an overwhelming emphasis on extrinsic motivation of its workforce, normally in the form of financial incentives, in an attempt to assure individual and organizational high performance. While a significant level of financial resources is expended in this attempt to predict and influence employee behavior, no objective evidence exists of a favorable return of investment. In fact, the primary impact of most extrinsic motivation might actually be demotivation – the opposite of the intended use. In this research the prevailing literature was examined and a conclusion about the power of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation was synthesized to explore the nature of either purpose or meaning as an effective intrinsic motivator. In addition, a diverse group of over 100 Engineering Managers was surveyed to determine their beliefs about seeking meaning and purpose to determine to what extent they engage in purpose-seeking behavior. The relationship between those beliefs and behaviors and their perceptions of the behaviors of their direct reports was surveyed as well. The results show strong correlations between engineering managers\u27 purpose-seeking behaviors and their positive perceptions about their subordinates\u27 strengths in initiative and creativity. In addition, no significant correlations were found for those engineering managers who are still seeking purpose. The results of this research are important because it exposes the engineering management community to new paradigms of subordinate motivation that may lead to more predictable and positive organizational performance

The Non-Identity of Yaws and Syphilis

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The Archaeology of Fazzan, Volume 1

This book seeks to advance knowledge of human settlement and adaptation in the world's largest desert, the sahara. Previous studies focussed on the prehistoric phases but this study takes a wider historical and geographical perspective. It sets out to combine the results of several field campaigns, their histories and methodologies. We look at fieldwork, fortifications, funerary structures, irrigation, rock art and human occupation. The final summary looks at the current state of research and offers a platform for future investigations

Engineers\u27 Motivation to Influence Public Decision Making: A Grounded Theory Approach

In the United States of America, public policies and public decision making associated with the engineering field are set by individuals who does not possess expertise and knowledge to carry out these tasks [1]. Most of decision makers are lawyers and social scientists, not engineers [2]. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the various factors which either encourage or inhibit engineers from influencing and participating in public policy. In this study, a grounded theory approach will be followed, data will be collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed to develop a theory of research direct toward increasing the motivation of engineers to participate in public policy

The Root Cause of Failure in Complex IT Projects: Complexity Itself

Increased demand for better technology and perpetual global expansion continue to provide developers with many project opportunities for success, as well as failure. While no industry is immune from project failure, the Information Technology (IT) industry is shown to be more susceptible to risk and failure than those of other industries. Agile project management, which facilitates adaptation to changing circumstances and alleviates rigid formal controls, has become more popular in the software development industry though is not entirely compatible with traditional project management approaches.In this paper we will examine the primary causes of IT project management failure stated in modern literature, analyze these causes, and discuss the degree of complexity within the projects from a systemic perspective related to emergence, non- monotonicity, and non-ergodicity. The paper concludes with some conceptual management approaches that respond to these true root causes of failure, for applications in agile organizations and beyond. © 2013 The Authors