Current and future managerial competency requirements for manufacturing, assembly, and/or material processing functions

Organizations that include a manufacturing, assembly and/or material processing (MAMP) component have become increasingly complex, competitive, and ever changing. Successful organizations that rely on MAW components are placing increased emphasis on recruiting, developing, and retaining management talent to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Changing demographics have resulted in a shrinking labor pool, mandating proper staffing, head count reductions and defined competencies in today's cost-conscious business environments. Undergraduate business curricula should reflect these changes to ensure that graduates have the appropriate knowledge, values, and skills to become successful managers of MAMP components within organizations.; The purpose of this study was to identify first-level manufacturing, assembly and/or material processing (MAW) management competencies perceived to be important by three critical stakeholder groups: (1) An expert panel made up of employers of graduates from Cal Poly; (2) Graduates of Cal Poly who are currently employed in one of the sample companies; (3) Selected expert faculty members.; The results will serve as a guide for developing, evaluating and restructuring the proposed MAMP management curriculum within a business college undergraduate curriculum. A secondary purpose was to assign each competency to a category or theme that would serve as a guide in developing direct instructional procedures and appropriate outcomes. A third purpose was to assess the present and future level of importance assigned to each competency, by business employers, business faculty and recent first-level Cal Poly State University business college graduate managers from a cross section of MAMP organizations. The level of importance would also indicate priority considerations in the restructuring of the MAMP management curriculum.; The results indicate that organizational leadership competencies have been identified as essential components having significant purpose throughout the proposed MAMP business curriculum. The importance of the interpersonal competencies required of managers to credibly communicate is significant. Competencies enabling managers to transform, motivate, negotiate and mentor others need to be provided in a business school curriculum. With consideration to the mission of a polytechnic university, the inclusion of leadership competencies at the expense of technical foundation competencies within the curriculum will cause considerable debate between practitioners and theorists.