ENEL 300 MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE

March 4, 2013

Structures of Large Companies Functional Structure o Engineers in the company are organized based on function ex. Digital design group o PROS: allows for good mentorship and skill development o CONS: There are no champion for products/projects that require multiple skill set Divisional Structure o Staff are organized based on the product theyre working on, ex displays for smart phones is one team o PROS: very product focused. All aspects of a products development in one place o CONS: skill sets can be isolated with little chance for mentorship relocating staff Matrix Structure o Combines elements of both functional and divisional structures o Engineers are members of functional teams based on their discipline (software, hardware, etc) o PROS: Provide product and people focus o CONS: Adds more management overhead Very large companies will assemble teams for new products Admin, Financial & Customer Groups Financial groups include accounting and investment teams Business groups often identify new product opportunities Typically a large corporation will use a hierarchical structure at the top thats organized partly based on function and partly based on division The lower levels use a matrix structure to organize the engineers working directly on the products

Product and Employee Cycles Large organizations will often be working on several products at several different stages of maturity Processes are used to manage the progression of an idea to the market Ideas come from: o Advanced technology groups o Customers o Us When a company turns an idea into reality, they will assign money, a project manager and engineering resources to a design effort BEFORE this can happen, your company needs to be convinced the idea will make money

ENEL 300 MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE

March 4, 2013

o The business case is typically done by senior business and technical people o The business plan is presented to senior management o If approved the idea is incorporated into the budget planning cycle The Budget Cycle A regular (usually annual) planning cycle where company resources get allocated to specific activities. This means new products usually only get launched once or twice per year Multiple projects at various stages of development are managed in this cycle New products can get launched and existing projects cancelled The start of the budget cycle is where project managers are assigned. Its also where functional managers determine if they have enough people. If not they ask for funds to hire more

The Employee Management Cycle Employee development cycle occur in parallel with the budget cycle and are meant to manage employee development and performance At the start of the year, each employee is told what theyre working on and what their goals will be. Employee is often part of this Your performance meeting these goals is then evaluated a couple of times per year