Using a Values Lens to Examine Engineers' Workplace Experiences

Samantha Ruth Brunhaver; Benjamin David Lutz; Nathan E. Canney

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Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Professional Formation and Career Experiences
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--37984
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/37984
Download Count: 346

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Paper Authors

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Samantha Ruth Brunhaver Arizona State University

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Samantha Brunhaver is an Assistant Professor of Engineering in the Fulton Schools of Engineering Polytechnic School. Dr. Brunhaver recently joined Arizona State after completing her M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. She also has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University. Dr. Brunhaver's research examines the career decision-making and professional identity formation of engineering students, alumni, and practicing engineers. She also conducts studies of new engineering pedagogy that help to improve student engagement and understanding.

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Benjamin David Lutz California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo orcid.org/0000-0003-2637-0942

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Ben D. Lutz is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is the leader of the Critical Research in Engineering and Technology Education (CREATE) group at Cal Poly. His research interests include critical pedagogies; efforts for diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering, engineering design theory and practice; conceptual change and understanding; and school-to-work transitions for new engineers. His current work explores a range of engineering education design contexts, including the role of power in brainstorming activities, epistemological and conceptual development of undergraduate learning assistants, as well as the experiences of recent engineering graduates as they navigate new organizational cultures.

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Nathan E. Canney Taylor Devices, Inc.

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Dr. Canney conducts research focused on engineering education, specifically the development of social responsibility in engineering students. Other areas of interest include ethics, service learning, and sustainability education. Dr. Canney received bachelors degrees in Civil Engineering and Mathematics from Seattle University, a masters in Civil Engineering from Stanford University with an emphasis on structural engineering, and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Canney currently works as a Senior Project Manager for Taylor Devices, Inc.

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Abstract

The development of a skilled and robust U.S. engineering workforce is more crucial than ever as social, environmental, and health crises unravel on a national and global stage. Yet, productivity and retention remain prominent concerns for the engineering profession. Some reports have addressed these issues by focusing on the persistence of “skills and knowledge gaps,” noting how engineers’ preparation falls short on central aspects of professional practice such as teamwork, communication, and information-seeking. While these studies suggest that enhancing engineers’ technical and professional competencies can increase their self-reliance, thereby increasing their job performance and satisfaction, accounts of under-preparedness nevertheless continue to surface.

Emerging research by the current author team and others suggests that gaps in what engineers know and can do are not the sole sources of confusion as they transition from students to professionals, and person-organizational value congruence is likely just as important in shaping engineers’ experiences within their organizations. Recent prominent examples of value incongruence between corporate leadership and employees in engineering have occurred at Amazon over warehouse safety, Facebook over its relationship with free speech, and Google over sexual harassment claims. Employees voluntarily walked out, resigned, or unionized in these cases. Yet, literature suggests that both major and minor instances of value incongruence play out in the engineering workplace often, in myriad ways. Furthermore, literature from organizational psychology demonstrates that value incongruence can be detrimental to both organizations and individuals, resulting in losses in productivity, innovation, engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

This position paper considers the values constructed and reified within engineering education and compares them to those encountered in the engineering workforce. Specifically, we critically revisit the findings from three of our own, previously published studies about practicing engineers, applying the lens of “values gaps” to explore their professional experiences and the tensions that occur in new light. Our central thesis is that interventions to improve engineers’ preparation for the workforce will be sufficient only when scholars also consider the differences in values between individuals and their employers. Whereas it might not be possible or practical to completely eliminate the gaps in engineers’ skills noted by the literature, a focus on values could better position engineers to successfully transition from school to work, authentically find their own path within engineering, and meaningfully contribute to engineering organizations and society. Illustrations and implications of this phenomenon will be discussed in the full paper.

Citation
Format

Brunhaver, S. R., & Lutz, B. D., & Canney, N. E. (2021, July), Using a Values Lens to Examine Engineers' Workplace Experiences Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--37984

TY - CPAPER
AB - The development of a skilled and robust U.S. engineering workforce is more crucial than ever as social, environmental, and health crises unravel on a national and global stage. Yet, productivity and retention remain prominent concerns for the engineering profession. Some reports have addressed these issues by focusing on the persistence of “skills and knowledge gaps,” noting how engineers’ preparation falls short on central aspects of professional practice such as teamwork, communication, and information-seeking. While these studies suggest that enhancing engineers’ technical and professional competencies can increase their self-reliance, thereby increasing their job performance and satisfaction, accounts of under-preparedness nevertheless continue to surface.

Emerging research by the current author team and others suggests that gaps in what engineers know and can do are not the sole sources of confusion as they transition from students to professionals, and person-organizational value congruence is likely just as important in shaping engineers’ experiences within their organizations. Recent prominent examples of value incongruence between corporate leadership and employees in engineering have occurred at Amazon over warehouse safety, Facebook over its relationship with free speech, and Google over sexual harassment claims. Employees voluntarily walked out, resigned, or unionized in these cases. Yet, literature suggests that both major and minor instances of value incongruence play out in the engineering workplace often, in myriad ways. Furthermore, literature from organizational psychology demonstrates that value incongruence can be detrimental to both organizations and individuals, resulting in losses in productivity, innovation, engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

This position paper considers the values constructed and reified within engineering education and compares them to those encountered in the engineering workforce. Specifically, we critically revisit the findings from three of our own, previously published studies about practicing engineers, applying the lens of “values gaps” to explore their professional experiences and the tensions that occur in new light. Our central thesis is that interventions to improve engineers’ preparation for the workforce will be sufficient only when scholars also consider the differences in values between individuals and their employers. Whereas it might not be possible or practical to completely eliminate the gaps in engineers’ skills noted by the literature, a focus on values could better position engineers to successfully transition from school to work, authentically find their own path within engineering, and meaningfully contribute to engineering organizations and society. Illustrations and implications of this phenomenon will be discussed in the full paper.
AU - Samantha Ruth Brunhaver
AU - Benjamin David Lutz
AU - Nathan E. Canney
CY - Virtual Conference
DA - 2021/07/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Using a Values Lens to Examine Engineers' Workplace Experiences
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/37984
DO - 10.18260/1-2--37984
ER -