Custom «Barriers» Essay Paper Sample

What are the main problems that result if the mechanical engineers and the design engineers are not working together?

Mechanical engineers and design engineers are being faced with various problems that can be attributed to their lack of cooperation and proper communication. A major problem faced by the two engineers due to lack of proper communication is that they did not iteratively work together at the beginning and; therefore, the flaws that might have been detected rectified by either the groups are not noticed at an early stage. This can highly affect the final engineered product that reaches the consumers. Another problem that is related to lack of cooperation between engineers is that they are likely to use a lot of money since there are products that might have been wasted as a result of lack of communication, social ethics, and social responsibility on the part of both the engineers (Dym & Little, 2009).

What do you identify as the reasons why these engineers are not working together?

There are various reasons that may make these engineers not to work together. One of the reasons is that they lack better ways of communicating. Another reason why mechanical engineers and design engineers were not willing to work together in this case because mechanical engineering demands for extensive research prior to developing an acceptable design while design engineering is basically customer oriented basically on the end product. Another reason why they did not find it easy working together is that mechanical engineers are required to understand and apply basic concepts (Dym & Little, 2009).

What can you recommend that will improve the situation and will eliminate the barriers sighted this case?

In the mentioned case, I would recommend that since design engineering is based on customer requirements. It is important that these requirements must be communicated and continuously be discussed both verbally and in writing in order to ensure the success of the final project. They must both accept the truth that communication is also required in the development of interpersonal relationships, inspiring of team members, and handle conflicts, challenges within their career (Dym & Little, 2009). Given the fact that the design phase is extremely dynamic and is usually prone to misinterpretation which may not be noticed in good time and may as well lead to failure of the product; finally, it is important that design choices be negotiated by team members. Early communication between the sets of engineers is equally important since it help in the elimination of problems that may occur thereafter.

Why do seem people feel strong alliances to their functional organization or department over their company or organization?

Creating alliances within the departments are not helpful in engineering. However, most people prefer to build on alliances at the department rather than the organization at large because the company may demand extra functional obligations that are likely to affect their design in the end. This has seen various engineers opt for building alliances within the departments with the aim of improving the design of their work at an early stage.

Finally, it is vital for both sets of engineers to be well informed on functional areas such as design, manufacturing development, plant operation, testing, consulting, and other related services in general. They must also improve on the way in which they communicate so that they can avoid some of the problems not existing in the initial stages. Most engineering designs are classified as inventions-devises or human generated systems that did not exist before and; therefore, for the sets discussed in this case must therefore gather pertinent information and communicate will the relevant parties in the area.