L ETTERS

It's good to be reading the changes!Sir • Congratulations on a particularlyinteresting December/January edition ofManufacturing Engineer. I was espe-cially pleased to see a re-emergence ofparticipation, job enrichment and thelike as practices which can assist theprocesses of management change andproductivity improvement.

Members will remember the numer-ous papers, seminars, even some im-plementation of these ideas, in theSeventies. Hopefully these restatementsare not just the recycling of a manage-ment gimmick, but a genuine re-dis-covery of some basic principles linkinginvolvement and motivation.

Some of those who disagreed withsuch ideas in the past were too ready toassume that more involvement of em-ployees was necessarily going to be anexpensive option.

'Journey's Start' suggests that invol-vement in decision-making leads to fas-

ter implementation of change and re-sults with worker satisfaction and mini-mum resistance.

'All Join Hands' on group technol-ogy says "job enrichment makes goodbusiness sense". Will sceptics pleasenote, it is not just a case of being kind tothe workers - not that there is anythingwrong with that. It is a matter of adoptinga management and organisational stylewhich reflects the realities of human be-haviour - people are not machines andneed to be treated by a different set ofrules. Perhaps now that consensus islooking as though it might be back infavour in other fields, organisationsshould look again at how they use theirhuman resources!

The excellent 'Journey's Start' con-tained much that I agree with, but for onefalse note. Under the heading 'Hints forchange managers' was the followingsentence:

"Engineering others to make thesuggestion you have in mind can simplybe a question of presenting the facts andbackground to the problem and encour-aging your audience to suggest theproper solution". I am sure the authorhas not got manipulation in mind, butthere will be others who will see thisprescription as just that. If there is onesingle objective for all managers to haveit to create trust. Better stick to hard-nosed authoritarian rule if the only alter-native is to pretend that you are invol-ving your staff!

AV Gilbert MSc CEng MIMfgECranleigh

Surrey

This correspondent is a retired manage-ment consultant and author of 'Organi-sational Change', which was publishedby the Institution in 1980.

Sir - What a lovely breath of fresh airfrom the wind of change, in the article'Engineer ing Change' (MEDec90/Jan91).

Maybe as the ball starts to roll eventhe large engineering companies will getthe message; a professional engineer isthe person to have in managerial anddirectorate positions, in any companywhich relies on engineering or its pro-ducts for the survival.

Let's face it, if someone has the in-telligence and endeavour to get qualifiedfor his or her chosen profession, thentheir worth in that profession must be fargreater then those who do not.

Good luck to the owners, Peter Bur-ton and his team at BEL. It is companieslike this that will lead us into Europe andthe 21st Century.

H Hindle CEng MIMfgEBroadstone

Dorset

STANDING BY ITSEXHIBITIONSSir - We read the letter entitled 'Exhibi-

4 tion Stand' (ME Dec90/Jan91) with in-terest and would like to reply to the

y issues raised by the writer.The MTTA has always recognised

j the need for change in its many guises,as well as in the instances cited in the

A above.The writer's view of the need for ac-

< commodating systems engineering isserviced conveniently in the all-encom-

j passing MACH series of internationalmachine tool and manufacturing tech-nology exhibitions organised by theMTTA.

) The EMO rules - and by those I

believe you mean Clause 1.7, are en-dorsed by the EC as a reflection of theorderly market situation that CECIMOhas striven to establish in the interestsof all.

Exhibitions are, in the main, horsesfor courses and we feel that both theEMO and MACH series of shows caterfor a large cross-section of exhibitorsand, as such, are eminently suitable forcurrent practice and future demands.

Simon BrownAdministration Manager

MTTABayswater

London

> HERRO

• HORRANDER!Sir- With regard to 'Spaces in Between'

< in October: "Good Morning, my name isHollander "in Japanese is: "Ohayo gozi-

s mas, watashi no namae wa Hollanderdes"!

• GS Brosan CBE TO PhD CEng HonFIMfgE

> GodalmingSurrey

Make the most of your post!The letters tray has been a bit lonelyrecently, so put pen to paper!The Editor reserves the right toshorten letters.Send to:The EditorManufacturing EngineerRochester House66 Little Ealing LaneLondon W5 4XXor Fax to 081-579 2244

PUBLIC RECOGNITION

Sir - Assuming that the proposed mer-ger between the Institution of Manufac-turing Engineers and the Institution ofElectrical Engineers takes place, I wouldsuggest that members of each relevantdiscipline continue to use their designa-tory letters of MIMfgE and MIEE, as ap-propriate.

In this way, individuality will be re-

tained and no confusion would occur inthe minds of the public that a member ofthe Manufacturing Engineers is necess-arily an expert in electrical engineeringand vice versa.

Eur Ing Henry WattsKingsgate Castle

BroadstairsKent

IMfgE conferencesand seminars

1991

The EC Machinery Directive - One-day seminar, Birmingham.March 6

The Management of Product Innovation - One-dayinteractive seminar/workshop, National Motorcycle Museum,Solihull. March 20

Simultaneous Engineering - One-day seminar with AssociatedWorkshops, Coventry. March 14 and 15

More details from the Conference Department atRochester House on 081-579 9411 ex 243

MANUFACTURING ENGINEER FEBRUARY 1991