Engineering in Society (1985)

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EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN ENGINEERING 33 educational, and economic institutions view engineering activity as a threat to their interests or values?) • Existence of a market structure that will facilitate the spread of engineering products and the demand for them (i.e., is there a market— whether civilian or government—and a way to reach it?) Adaptability and Responsiveness In a market environment, adaptability to changing conditions and responsiveness to social and market needs are healthy characteristics, in general. However, there are certain senses in which these characteristics have negative implications for a profession. It should therefore be useful to examine the extent to which the engineering profession has been adaptable and responsive during its development, and to determine whether these characteristics have functioned as strengths or weaknesses. One characteristic of the profession, evident in early times as well as today, is that it tends to follow the market for goods and services it provides. It is highly responsive to perceived and expressed societal demand. "Supply-push" is also a significant factor, but this is usually serendipitous and rarely permits engineering to structure and direct demand autonomously. Moreover, once a market is established, a technology is devised, and production is going forward, the system tends to manage output so as to maximize profit. Where there is little new technology development involved, output is often maximized as long as demand continues. (The production of automobiles is a case in point.) This process is stopped only by the drying up of demand, either through saturation or through the obsolescence of the technology. Because demand depends on such factors as competition and economic cycles, it is not always possible to predict accurately what demand will be. Consequently, there is little in the way of an internal "brake" keyed to anticipated changes in demand. Given these conditions, engineering is forced to follow trends closely— this is true on both a microscopic (the practitioner) and a macroscopic level (engineering disciplines). It means that the educational system has difficulty keeping pace with current trends in demand and technology, and that the "output" (students) therefore always lags external conditions somewhat in skills and orientation. This was a noticeable problem for engineering schools even in the nineteenth century, and today it is part of the basis for a contemporary argument that engineering education should stress basics rather than the trend of the moment. A strong adaptability to business requirements is a necessary corol