James V. Parkin

This book introduces engineers to the principles and procedures necessary for infrastructure planning in rapidly developing regions. It covers the technical methods required in planning for infrastructure provision from base-line studies and problem definition through to the sepcification for a set of projects. The book also discusses the political factors that affect the decision-making process and demonstrates, through case studies, how the technical and political perspectives come together in the finished plan.

Decision making is at the heart of managing. It is the retraceable expression of the process of organizing. Good decisions produce good outcomes for both the organization and the manager, and careers may be made or broken by a single decision. This book is a guide, designed for engineering managers, to the theory and practice of how good decisions are made and why poor decisions occur. Management Decisions for Engineers is the result of many years of teaching and consultancy in organizational and social decision making. It draws on the author's 30 years of civil engineering practice and provides, in a short and accessible form, some of the most important concepts in managerial decision theory and makes suggestions as to how they can be used to help the engineering manager.