We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
THE PROFESSIONS AND GOVERNMENT: ENGINEERING AS A CASE IN POINT.
- Authors
Schott, Richard L.
- Abstract
Engineering, among the largest of the professions, has had a substantial impact on American government at nearly all levels. In this article the author provides a brief introduction to the engineering profession, examine some characteristics of engineering which influence its impact on government, and raise several issues which surround the role of engineers in the public service. Engineering is predominantly a profession of white males from lower-middle and lower class backgrounds. During the twentieth century, there has been a tendency for engineering to recruit from increasingly lower socio-economic strata, and the percentage of students coming from blue-collar families has steadily increased. The professional model of the independent practitioner does not apply to engineers. This seemingly symbiotic relationship between the engineering profession and the organizational environment in which it moves may help explain a phenomenon of particular interest to us-the tendency of engineers to move into management and administration.
- Subjects
UNITED States; ENGINEERS; ENGINEERS in government; CIVIL service; PUBLIC administration; UNITED States politics &; government; PROFESSIONS; ORGANIZATIONAL behavior; MANAGEMENT controls
- Publication
Public Administration Review, 1978, Vol 38, Issue 2, p126
- ISSN
0033-3352
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/976286