Two Kinds of Engineers

When I was in college, I worked in a factory with a man (Carl Hansen) who told me there are two kinds of engineers: The kind that sit in the office and never come out "on the floor ‘cause they think they are better than us" and the kind "that come out and get their hands dirty with us and then go have a beer with us after work.  And by God you better be the second kind!!!”  

I like to think, at least, that I have fulfilled Carl’s plan for me.  The culture and atmosphere which we tried to create and build had some basis in being "Carl's kind" of company.   

People want to be treated like people, not automatons.   

There were lots of people along the way who believed in the "project" and were very involved in culture building and reinforcement. 

I once had someone tell me that "their management did not care, they were never 'on the floor' just talking to people."  A person who worked at Richway told me they had once worked in a small factory where the owner would often "deliberately look the other way" when he met people in the building.  

The Hawthorne Studies, begun in 1924, were the basis for the "human relations school" of management.  Basically it was concluded that the mere fact that the workers were being paid attention to led to improved attitudes and improved productivity.  This movement really "picked up steam" beginning in the 1960's, though it was not widely adopted until even later.  Even now, many do not fully subscribe to that approach to management.  My preferred term is "people centered management".  See my "Notes" on the upper right for more information and the beginnings of my "conversion."



Coming soon:  The foundations of Richway culture. 

Learn More About the Hawthorne Experiments Here 


Learn more about automatons here