Herr Ingenieur or the Grease-Monkey? How the Managerial Prospects of Engineers are Perceived

The work roles considered appropriate to an occupational group are determined by its status in the organisation. Status depends on how group members are perceived. the article shows that perceptions of engineers as managers derive from the way the company defines the profession by qualifications required and the boundary established between it and other technical employees. the test of engineers’ power is ability to survive a decline in the strategic importance of engineering in the company. Survival is assured by the engineer's development of generalist abilities rather than specialist ones.