Conference 7.286::digital

    I think it would be worthwhile for them to face the fact that the vast
    majority of their co-workers and superiors will be more interested in
    the politics of the company and in their personal progress than in the
    products and process that normally engage engineers professionally. 
    
    That is not to say that the engineers should mimic those people, just
    be aware where others are coming from.  My experience with young
    engineers in their first industrial job is that they have spent so
    little time thinking about the politics that they are surprised and
    dismayed when they first encounter it.  
    
    They need to learn some strategies how to distinguish politicians from
    others and deal with them.  They need to understand that focus on
    products and processes will never give them the financial rewards of
    politics, but that politics will never give them the satisfaction of
    creative engineering.
    
    I think this will be profitable for all involved.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Dick

	publishing is an opportunity beyond engineering.  Digital even
	compensates peer-review papers pertinent to the business.
tom

When I entered my first job after a college degree, I found my supervisor able to
advise on how to follow a politically correct approach to a situation.  That is,
seldom are entry level people swiming with the sharks.  A good coach handles it
for you or demonstrates how to deal with it by example.  

Eventually you are at a stage where you have to deal with it yourself, after
having some opportunity to establish the cultural norms, ethical standards and
policies that define the boundries within a given organization.  That is, assuming
that one is a part of a much larger organization and not running their own shop.

As one assumes more responsibility either through changing job roles, getting
a new boss/coach, or changing companies, one can expand their skills in how to
cope with/challenge the politics of the situation.  Each change brings its own
"reward".  Some changes are more painful, others true growth opportunities, but
most all are unique.   I went through a period of 12 months where I had 9
different supervisors!  While there were many reasons for this, (my job changed
twice, through a promotion then later to a lateral move) the 9 viewpoints I got
from managers handling "politics" the way they saw fit was very interesting....
but not necessarily fun.   

FWIW - moving through levels of supervision and management will require some
       ability to deal with the politics going on at each level.  If the
       individual contributor -engineer- is doing this without guidance or
       experience, to get "approval" on a "policy or process....the stuff you
       say is involved in engineering work....they will probably pick up 
       some political savvy along the way, whether they were trying to or not.
       Most managers use that strategy to indoctrinate the unknowing and monitor
       progress from a distance.  (And sometimes scrape up the remains when the
       nieve suddenly run into a brick wall that just jumped out and got in their
       path)    

    I cannot recommend enough that they read:
    
    	Games Mother Never Taught You
    
    although written for women, it applies to anyone politically naive in
    American workforce. Try to get past your own biases...
    
    learn.

    Author? ISBN?

>>>    Author? ISBN?

Here's what VTX DLNCATALOG says:


     Title: Games mother never taught you : corporate gamesmanship for women


    Author: Harragan, Betty Lehan


      Type: Book                   Year Published: 1981        Record: 16779

  Subjects: United States; Women managers; Discrimination; Women in business




     Sites: CXO1,MKO,MLO,MRO1,SHR1,TWO

  Call No.: HF5500.3.U54 H37
 Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Warner Books, [1981] c1977.


 Collation: 399 p. ; 21 cm.



     Notes: Reprint of the ed. published by Rawson Associates, New York.
             Includes index.

I read this book several years ago and highly recommend it. It might seem to be
slightly out of date by now (though probably not).

It's written specifically for women, but is also useful for men, particularly
the ones who don't understand how corporate politics influences the job. 

The gist of it is: competence is only a small part of succeeding in
corporations.

Vicki Meagher

    Games... is a great book.  Grit your teeth a little an try to ignor
    some of the radical feminist huffing and buffing.  That part is a 
    bit out of date.
    
    I first read this book in the early 80's and it was a great eye opener
    for me.  I was indeed a babe in the woods.  It is also a good book for
    men who have to deal with women in the work place.  These engineering
    students would profit from GAMES... point of view.
    
    Judy