Unwritten laws of engineering and laws of personality

According to James Skakoon (2001), the corpus of unwritten laws of engineering are basically generalized procedural structures, characterized by exceptions in special scenarios. Skakoon also posits that engineers need not to be urged to adhere to these procedures or subjected to scenarios of red-tape in the case that they do not adhere to them owing to the fact that there is no standard of judgment in case one fails adhere. The basis of application of these laws depends greatly on the individuals’ initiatives to ensure that they are appropriately applied to solve urgent engineering situations. However, Skakoon asserts that these laws are like the norms of a society, which cannot be violated through impunity on a frequent basis (1).
There are three major dimensions of unwritten laws of engineering that need to be taken into consideration. The first essence of unwritten engineering law that needs to be given a consideration by engineers is: Lessons that need to be learnt by beginners in the engineering field; these lessons cover three major issues, which are:
a) Issues related to their work: Beginners in the engineering field are required to give their first duty, not matter how minor they may appear, a high sense of commitments and professionalism (Skakoon, 5)
b) Issues ascribed to their supervisors: According to Skakoon 2001, engineering supervisors have the right to know the level of progress of activities in their departments. In this regard, beginners in the engineering field are required to ensure that their supervisors are kept up-to date on issues affecting their duties (10).
c) Inter-personal relationship between them and their colleagues as well as their supervisors: In addition, Skakoon asserts that beginners in the engineering field should endure that they maintain a good inter-personal relationship between their colleagues and other stakeholders. This can be achieved through proper communication techniques and keeping an information up-date (Skakoon, 15).
Another dimension of unwritten laws of engineering is the chiefly relationship with engineering managers. The article explicates three techniques that can be applied to achieve this, they include:
a) Technique and Individual Behavior: According to Skakoon 2001, the need to know about what is going on by a manager in an engineering department is another unwritten law of engineering. This can be achieved through a collaborations and facilitating a positive relationship between manager and their sub-ordinate staff (23).
b) What managers owe their employees: Skakoon notes that engineering managers are the face of their organizations. In this regard, they are required to facilitate a positive representation of their sub-ordinate staff (36).
c) Issues related to organizational structures: Engineering organizations have distinct structures. These structures are made up of different duties and responsibilities, therefore, managers are required to ensure that each personnel within a departments is assigned a specific duty to ensure that a smooth flow of operations (Skakoon, 33).
d) Management of designs as well as development projects: Management of an engineering organization’s project designs and development projects require certain skills that should be acquired by engineers. These skills can be updated from time to time owing to the ever changing project management needs (Skakoon, 30).
There are also unwritten laws of professional and personal consideration in the engineering field: These laws occur in three different dimensions as discussed below:
a) Laws of personality and character: This is another dimension of unwritten law of engineering that should be taken into consideration. Basically, it requires that engineers appreciate the fact that work places are characterized by different personalities from different cultural as well as social background (Skakoon, 44).
b) Regarding Work Place and Behavior: Skakoon 2001 notes that the essence of personal appearance and etiquette is another unwritten law of engineering. In this regard, engineers should maintain a positive look through proper grooming and proper etiquette (51).
c) Regarding personal development and Career: Engineers should focus on maintain their employability through facilitating their career development and personal developments to ensure that their skills are not only valuable to their current employers, but also other external employers (Skakoon, 54).
Work Cited
Skakoon, James G. The Unwritten Laws of Engineering. New York: ASME, 2001. Print