Homework for March 25, 2014

My research paper is important to me because it allows me to get a good grade in English 250, and a good grade in English 250 means a better GPA. A better GPA means getting a better job, and getting a better job means more money. Honestly, it seems like it is just another hoop to jump through. I may learn more about how communication is important within engineering, and this might give me a one up on my competition, but it also could have no effect on me. Who knows maybe I’ll discover the key to successful engineering by means of communication, and the whole world will be affected by my unique ideas and insight. I would say it is important to the world whether or not it is a successful piece or not do to one thing. It is someone’s idea that will be a contribution to history. I may spark the interest for a researcher later on, and they may use my ideas to create something great. Maybe someday my ideas will become famous but right now the idea seems pretty unrealistic. I guess anything is possible though.

            The hardest part for me about writing my research paper is I find it extremely boring. I have no motivation to sit down, and write it. I’m struggling to find the time, and the focus to organize my ideas and try to put them into a masterpiece of writing. I think if I didn’t have other classes to worry about I could bear through the pain and just get it done, but as of right now I feel like I have so much more important stuff to worry about. Physics is definitely at the top of my priorities right now, and that seems to be taking up every waking second. I think if I can just find a good chunk of time to sit down and work on it I’ll be good to go. 

Proposal

Michael Wuestenberg

Mrs. Mallory

English 250

11 March 2014

Proposal

I.                   Introduction

a.       Start with a broad statement of Communication and Engineering

b.      Address my research question

c.       Give supportive topics

II.                Engineering Communication in General

a.       Communication is actually a crucial part to the engineering process

b.      Stats from “Communication Patters of Engineers”

III.             Professors Opinion

a.       Idea of feedback within communication.

IV.             Communication Ideas in Engineering

a.       Support from “Patterns of Communication among marketing, Engineering, and Manufacturing: A comparison between Two New product teams.”

b.      Support from “Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process.”

c.       Support from “Quantifying Producer and Consumer-based Eco-efficiencies for the Identification of Key Ecodesign Issues.”

V.                Current Day Engineering

a.       Visual Communication

                                                              i.      Support from “Mike Rowe - Ford F-150 C-123 Braking Demo.”

                                                            ii.      Support from “Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split Feat. Van Damme (Live Test 6).”

b.      Textual Communication

                                                              i.      Support from “John Deere Announces 2014 Gator™ Product Updates.”

                                                            ii.      Support from “New Crane Cab Creates a Safer Job Site.”

VI.             Conclusion

a.       Restate research question.

b.      Review the details of support.

c.       End with an overall broad statement.

I am a very visual learner, so I decided making an outline of my research paper would be best. With an outline I am able to organize all of my ideas, and then put the organization and structure together from there. A research paper over the effectiveness of communication between consumer and producer is something that doesn’t have an argument, but it does provide opportunity to research the methods of current day engineers. My research paper would start off with a very broad introduction that narrows down into my specific research question. After that I would go in to the body which would be my topics, and the research support within each topic. There is where I would use most of my evidence that I have found on the communication of producers to consumers within engineering. As you can see in the outline I have specific topics in mind for each portion. The conclusion would be the reverse of my introduction starting with a restated version of my research question, and then I would end with a broad statement that sums up the entire article. 

Annotated Bibliography

Michael Wuestenberg

Mrs. Mallory

English 250

11 March 2014

Annotated Bibliography

1.

Griffin, Abbie, and John R. Hauser. Patterns of Communication among Marketing, Engineering, and Manufacturing: A Comparison between Two New Product Teams. 3rd ed. 38 vols. Cambridge, MA: Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990. Management Science. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.iastate.edu/stable/2632480?seq=2>.

            This article was rather interesting from the fact that it gave a diagram of success rate and percent of company sales from new products. Within this diagram it plotted marketing and technology integrated as the highest success rate, and percent of company sales from new products. The other points consisted of technology driven, focused but weak technology, and high budget, and low budget. None of these compared to the effectiveness of the combination between marketing and technology integrated.

2.

Miles, Raymond E., Charles C. Snow, Alan D. Meyer, and Henry J. Coleman, Jr. Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. N.p.: Academy of Management, 1978. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.iastate.edu/stable/257544>.

            The article talks about three main approaches to organization adaptation, with one of them being the engineering problem. The author talks about how as an engineer you choose the specific products to form new information, and then you must communicate this information. The communication example is of the Porter Pump, and how the company went from a purely mass producing company, to a small-batch technology company, and the communication involved in such a transition.

3.

Park, Pil-Ju, and Kiyotaka Tahara. "Quantifying Producer and Consumer-based Eco-efficiencies for the Identification of Key Ecodesign Issues." Journal of Cleaner Production 16.1 (2008): 95-104. Print.

            The article in general was not about communication in engineering as a whole, but rather focused on the emphasis of communicating using eco-efficiency. This allowed for me to analyze the structure of such communication and how it can relate to other forms. The main point when talking about eco-efficiency is using logos to capture the audiences logic and reasoning.

4. - 6.

Montazami, Reza. "Communication in Engineering." Interview by Michael T. Wuestenberg. 9 March 2014.

            This interview was rather short and sweet, but it allowed me to think about a piece of the communication process that I had not previously considered. Dr. Montazami explained that a huge piece in communicating effectively to the consumer is hearing their feedback. When communicating in general people communicate based on their audience, and the same applies with engineering. There may be a general audience, but each specific company or consumer is a different audience so you may need to communicate to them in different forms.

7.

Miceli, Marybeth. "Say What?: The Importance of Effective Communication in Engineering." 63.12 (2011): 25. JOM. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

            This article by Miceli offered some great insight into the general communication of Engineering. The main point of the piece talks about how in order to effectively communicate your ideas/product you must first understand it inside in out. Engineering is often complicated thereoms and mathematics, but in order to simplify such complexities to communicate to the audience one must know the complexities in detail.

8.

"New Crane Cab Creates a Safer Job Site." Altec. Altec Industries Inc, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

            This article by Altec combines visual and textual communication. The writing is such that it gets the point across in few words, but still allows the consumer to understand the ideas behind the improvements and enhancements to the Altec crane. Each description has a picture that goes along with it. This is perfect for reading the words, creating a visual in your own mind, and then comparing that to what the real product is.

9.

Tenopir, Carol, and Donald King. Communication Patterns of Enngineers. N.p.: Wiley-IEEE, 2004. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://site.ebrary.com.proxy.lib.iastate.edu/lib/iowastate/docDetail.action?docID=10114126>.

            Often in engineering there is a misconception that they don’t need to know how to communicate. This piece deals with this misconception from fact based evidence. A study by Hertzum and Pejtersen shows that engineers spend on average 40 to 66% of their time communicating. The numbers don’t lie, and this article is perfect form of logos support.

10.

"Volvo Trucks - The Epic Split Feat. Van Damme (Live Test 6)." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

            The visual communication is emphasized in this piece. There are hardly any words, but the scenes allow the consumer to almost feel the smooth ride, and the precision of steering from the two Volvo semi-trucks. It allows the audience to see the engineering at work, and not listen to the theories and math behind it without actually knowing what it does in real life.

11.

"Mike Rowe - Ford F-150 C-123 Braking Demo." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Oct. 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3U8u-c63E>.

Here is a perfect example of visual communication between the engineers and the consumers. This video is a short clip of an F-150 truck stopping a 30,000 pound C-123 aircraft. Nothing can emphasize the greatness of their brakes than using exaggeration to do so. In real life you would never have to stop such a machine with a truck, but it provides a perfect visual to the consumer using ethos. It allows the consumer to see the full potential of a specific product.

12.

Rubeling, Kyle. "News Releases." John Deere Announces 2014 Gator™ Product Updates. John Deere, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

            This article provides a great example of current day marketing, and communication to consumers. John Deere is a company that has seen success throughout the decades, and they continue to prosper. The way they communicate to their consumers must be working. In this specific piece the author talks about the new improvements to their utility vehicle line the Gator. The author goes through specific enhancements, as well as telling the audience that its adjustments come from the feedback of its audience the consumers.