Understanding Technical Professionals

Overview/Description
 As a manager, have you felt that technical professionals are sometimes difficult to understand? Do you find that the usual management models are not as effective as they could be? This course explains the ways in which these employees differ from other workers and how you can apply more appropriate and effective management techniques. You will also learn how business has responded with new corporate structures and management strategies to meet the challenges of the new high-technology economy with its increasing number of technical professionals. As a result of what you learn in this course, you will be better prepared to manage technical professionals so that they achieve their full potential as productive members of the organization.

Target Audience
 This course is designed for middle- and upper-level managers who manage technical professionals.

Expected Duration
2.5

Lesson Objectives:

The Era of High Technology

  • recognize the benefits of knowing how the era of high technology has impacted companies and their employees.
  • identify the activities of an organization that reflect the characteristics of a high-tech business environment.
  • select the structural attributes that distinguish high-tech companies from traditional companies.
  • analyze a hypothetical organization to recommend changes that will create a management structure more suited to a high-tech company.
  • identify the major trends that affect the high-tech workforce.

    • The Technical Professional

  • recognize the benefits of considering the personal and professional traits of technical professionals.
  • match the attributes of a professional employee to behaviors that reflect those attributes.
  • classify professional activities as more typical of either scientists or engineers.
  • relate the professional attributes of technical professionals to the potential tension points they can create within organizations.
  • predict the potential tension points that could arise from a technical professional's participation on a project.

    • Management Challenges in the High-tech Sector

  • recognize the benefits of overcoming the challenges of managing technical professionals.
  • rank the top four factors of job satisfaction for technical professionals in order of preference.
  • relate the management strategies for handling potential tension points of technical professionals to the tension points that each addresses.
  • apply strategies for handling potential tension points of technical professionals in a given scenario.
  • distinguish the factors that can undermine management credibility with technical professionals.
  • apply an effective strategy to establish credibility based upon interactions with technical professionals.


    • Course Number: MGMT0291