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From: reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: more on estimation
Message-ID: <1990Jul24.130521.5538@pdn.paradyne.com>
Date: 24 Jul 90 13:05:21 GMT
References: <31989@cup.portal.com> <1990Jul23.154606.5854@axion.bt.co.uk>
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Reply-To: reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
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In article <1990Jul23.154606.5854@axion.bt.co.uk> jtaylor@zaphod.axion.bt.co.uk writes:

>Surprising to find MBA managers being thought the least competent managers;

     Well that depends.  If we are talking about a recent MBA grad who
goes right into management that is different from someone who is not
a manager or has recently been promoted to that level and has returned
to school to pursue an MBA.

            I don't equate an MBA with industrial experience.  I think
the two skill sets should complement one another.  In practice, I don't
know if this is true.  

>one would expect those individuals who had realised that managers
>need to develop their skills, not just rely on what they were born with,
>to operate more effectively than non-MBA managers.

            Unfortunately, it has been my experience that there is little
middle ground.  Many people I have seen promoted from the ranks of software
development groups over the years have received little or no training in
any way shape or form on many topics ranging from dealing with people to
managing budgets, etc......  It seems like you get all that through on
the job training.

>An MBA program would include Management Theory, 
>introducing the idea that productivity improves if the `workers' are 
>involved in defining objectives, plans, etc. and treated as people
>not simply resources.

       There certainly seems to be a demand for such information.  Witness
all the books that have sold over the past number of years in the category
of the "One Minute Manager" or "In Search of....".

>I would hope that software engineers would aspire to be `professional'
>managers also, if their career path so dictates.


       That depends upon if the "software engineer" is a professional
at what they do in the first place.  That is often debatable.

George

George W. Leach					AT&T Paradyne 
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