Corvinus Symposium Conclusions
July 25, 2008 by Brian Butler | Filed under: 2, 3-Manager vs. Scientist/Engineer
An alternate offering of this summary can be found HERE
Venue: Corvinus Symposium, June 23-24, 2008
Workshop Topic: The Environmental Management Skill Set:
A balance between engineering/science and management.
Workshop Moderator: Scott Wolcott
Summary:
It was proposed that the question, “What is the appropriate balance of skills?” be addressed by first identifying beneficial skill sets an engineer/scientist and business manager might possess. The following table presents the results of this discussion
Table 1 - Skill Sets
|
Engineer/Scientist |
Business Manager |
|
· Problem solving · Curiosity · Application · Determination/dedication · Persistent · Focused · Analytical skills · Ability to combine multiple knowledge bases into a single solution · Stepwise process · Holistic problem solving · Communication of problems and solution |
· Communication · Good organization o Self o Of task for others o Delegation of tasks/others · Balance between delegation of duties & sensitivity towards others o Good human resource skills · Strategic thinking · General overview of “department” and how it “fits” into system (holistic view). · Understanding strengths and weaknesses of staff · Determination/evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of decisions · Dedication · Problem solving with cool demeanor |
The next step involved the identification of tasks that typical environmental managers would be required to perform. The assessment involved labeling the task as best suited for engineer/scientist or business manager skill set, and rating the frequency of performing each task during a typical year. A simple rating system of 1 through 5 was employed where 5 was most important or most frequent.
The list of environmental manager responsibilities and corresponding scores are presented in Table 2.
Results, Conclusions and Recommendations
The results of this simple assessment suggest that an environmental engineer’s responsibilities require skill sets of an engineer/scientist 29 percent of the time and business manager skill sets 71 percent. The reaction of the session attendees was mixed. Some of the attendees were surprised and believed the distribution of skill sets was skewed too far towards the business manager. While others thought the results were a reasonably accurate balance of skills that an environmental manager should possess.
The question proposed at the beginning of the symposium was, “What is an appropriate balance of skills?” What followed was only a 60-minute discussion on the topic and the question should not be considered answered. However, one session attendee believed the environmental manager tasks assessed were biased towards the business manager skill set. This needs to be investigated further.
Table 2 – Environmental Manager Tasks and Scores
|
Task |
E/S or BM |
Fre-quency |
E/S sub-total |
BM sub-total |
|
Developing environmental strategies that ensure corporate sustainable development; |
BM |
1 |
|
1 |
|
Leading the implementation of environmental policies and practices |
BM |
5 |
|
5 |
|
Coordinating all aspects of resource use, pollution reduction, waste management, environmental health, risk assessment and employee involvement |
BM & E/S |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Ensuring compliance with environmental legislation |
E/S |
5 |
5 |
|
|
Developing pollution control, pollution prevention and recycling programs |
E/S |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Auditing and reporting on environmental performance to internal and external clients and regulatory bodies |
BM |
2.1 |
|
2.1 |
|
Identifying, assessing and reducing an organization’s environmental risks and financial costs |
BM & E/S |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Keeping abreast of environmental legislation and good practice |
BM & E/S |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Raising awareness, at all levels of an organization, of the impact of emerging environmental issues, whether legislative or best practice, on corporate, ethical and social responsibility |
BM |
5 |
|
5 |
|
Managing the development and implementation of an environmental management system |
BM |
5 |
|
5 |
|
Bidding for and managing the budget of an organization’s environmental strategy |
BM |
2 |
|
5 |
|
Coordinating public hearings and consultations on environmental matters |
BM |
3 |
|
5 |
|
Managing relations with the board of directors, senior management and internal staff |
BM |
5 |
|
5 |
|
Training staff at all levels in environmental issues and responsibilities |
BM & E/S |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Developing and implementing marketing and sales strategies for environmental goods and services |
BM |
2 |
|
2 |
|
Developing business opportunities |
BM |
5 |
|
5 |
|
Managing a diverse group of engineers, scientists and technologists |
BM |
5 |
|
5 |
|
Negotiating environmental service agreements and managing associated costs and revenues |
BM |
2 |
|
2 |
|
Writing environmental reports |
E/S |
2 |
2 |
|
|
Leading on corporate social responsibility issues and action |
BM |
2 |
|
2 |
|
Maintaining regular contact with regulatory bodies |
E/S |
4 |
4 |
|
|
Combining environmental management with other regulatory responsibilities, such as quality and safety |
BM |
2 |
|
2 |
|
SUBTOTAL: |
27 |
66.1 |
||
|
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL: |
29% |
71% |
||
Not including an “importance” rating for each task may have been a mistake (Note: Originally included, this rating was dropped early in the assessment when almost all the tasks were scored “%”). Consideration of the relative importance of each task is valuable to determining the balance of skills needed by an environmental manager. While most, if not all, the tasks may be considered a “5”, completion of this portion of the analysis is important.
It is proposed that this topic be continued and perhaps with an expanded audience. The first issue that needs to be resolved is the list of environmental manager responsibilities. This list of tasks needs to be complete and without bias towards either the engineer/scientist or business manager skill set. Prof. Lisa Greenwood has offered suggestions to the list.
Once the list is finalized, the analysis can be repeated. Then a second question, “What, at a minimum, is specifically needed on each side of this balance?” which has been, preliminarily addressed in Budapest, can be revisited with focused attention. A third question, “What should an undergraduate curriculum contain to prepare students for a career in environmental management?” will probably yield the most tangible results of this topic. Question #3 will be addressed after a firm understanding of the assessment of skill set balance is reached.
During my presentation of the session results, I mentioned that many of the skill sets attributed to the good business managers are innate, not learned. I noticed several people in the audience nodding in agreement. It’s true that engineer/scientists also bring some positive, innate skills to the table. However, these are often not soft skills of people management. So, I think that many of the engineer/scientist skills used or required of environmental managers are learned. Of course, I am speaking in generalities and there are exceptions and overlap.
