MBA and ENGINEERING - DiVA portal

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MBA and ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT Management education for engineers in the Swedish industry sector.

MASTER THESIS WITHIN: General Management NUMBER OF CREDITS: 15 PROGRAM OF STUDY: Engineering Management AUTHORS: Robin Iversen and Tobias Andersson TUTOR: Tommaso Minola JONKOPING May 2020

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Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge the assistance of all people who made this thesis pos-sible.

Firstly, we would like to thank our tutor, Tommaso Minola for his guidance and ad-vises during this process. Tommaso has provided both criticism and praise which we believe has raised the quality of this thesis and strengthen our academic perspective.

Secondly, we would like to thank our peers within the seminar group. They have pro-vided beneficial and critical comments to our thesis, that in some cases opened up for additional improvement.

We would like to thank the six interviewees, as during difficult times due to the Co-rona virus, took their time to participate in our study. Without their contribution, this study would not have been possible.

Jonkoping, May 2020

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Master Thesis/Degree Project in General Manage-ment Title: MBA and ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

Management education for engineers in the Swedish industry sector.

Authors: Robin Iversen & Tobias Andersson

Tutor: Tommaso Minola

Date: May 2020

Key terms: MBA, Engineering Management, Leadership, Career, Additional education

Background:

Engineers is generally perceived as persons that lacks interpersonal skills. Education can be seen as the most efficient way to gain interpersonal skills and, thus, bridge the gap towards efficient management. Through a management education like Engineering Management or an MBA, theory has shown that the knowledge-gap can be fulfilled by an education.

Purpose:

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the perception of engineers that has cho-sen to enroll in an Engineering Management or an MBA program, by the eyes of re-cruiters and how it impacts the recruitment process. Furthermore, important individual characteristics is identified and how well these matches with the current curriculums.

Method:

The thesis has a qualitative approach and is conducted by both, interviews with open-ended questions and online archival research. Patterns has emerged by the use of con-tent analysis and incentivized argumentation for our conclusions.

Conclusion:

The findings from our study, regarding the two research questions shows that a MSc in management is perceived positive and increase the expectations of the engineer. It in-fluences the recruiter in different ways depending on two aspects, internal or external recruitment and the level of the managerial role. The individual learning associated from EM and MBA match the desired traits in a high extent, where traits and skills like communication, team player and structured are the most desired ones.

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Table of content Table of content ............................................................................. iv

1 Introduction ............................................................................... 6

1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................... 6

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM .......................................................................................... 7

1.3 RESEARCH PURPOSE .............................................................................................. 8

2 Literature review ......................................................................... 9

2.1 GENERAL MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................... 9

2.2 MBA RELATED MANAGEMENT ........................................................................... 10

2.3 MBA EDUCATIONAL STRENGTHS ....................................................................... 10

2.4 MBA ................................................................................................................... 12

2.4.1 EMBA .......................................................................................................... 14

2.4.2 Accreditation ................................................................................................ 14 2.4.3 Future direction of MBA .............................................................................. 15 2.4.4 MBA in Sweden ........................................................................................... 15

2.5 ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT .............................................................................. 16

2.5.1 Design, characteristics and curriculum ........................................................ 16 2.5.2 Accreditation / certification .......................................................................... 17 2.5.3 ABET – accreditation in EM programs ........................................................ 17

3 Methodology and method ......................................................... 19

3.1 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH .................................................................. 19

3.2 DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................. 21

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................. 21

3.4 SAMPLING ........................................................................................................... 22

3.5 INTERVIEW .......................................................................................................... 22

3.6 DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................. 23

3.7 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION .................................................................................. 23

3.8 TRUSTWORTHINESS ............................................................................................. 23

4 Empirical Findings ..................................................................... 25

4.1 PERCEPTION OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATED ENGINEERS ................................. 25

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4.2 CURRICULUM AND ASPECTS ................................................................................ 27

4.3 INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS ........................................................................... 32

5 Analysis ....................................................................................... 34

5.1 PERCEPTION OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATED ENGINEERS ....................................... 34



6. Discussion .................................................................................. 39

6.1 PERCEPTION OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATED ENGINEERS ....................................... 39



7 Conclusion .................................................................................. 42

7.1 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS .............................................................................. 42

7.2 LIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................... 43

7.3 FUTURE RESEARCH .............................................................................................. 43

8 Reference list ............................................................................. 44

Appendices .................................................................................... 47

INTERVIEW GUIDE ..................................................................................................... 47

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1 Introduction In this section we will first explain the background and history of Engineering Manage-ment and MBA. Following by the research problem within management and state our research purpose that lead us to our research questions, after identifying gaps in the current literature. _____________________________________________________________________

1.1 Background The education of EM - Engineering Management and the formal degree has its roots back in the mid 1940s, the combined engineering and management field has been taught long before that. As early as 1902 there was a program at Stevens institute of technology, that had pinpointed a need for engineers to become efficient managers (Kotnour & Farr, 2005). Thus, a demand for engineers who are knowledgeable and can effectively practice leadership has been known for a long time. Post-world war two, the number of Engineering Management educations started to grow and in the 1960s and 1970s, the increase was rapid. The trend of this growing segment has continued since then, and the demand as well. In the 2010s the number of both programs and graduates increases upwards, but from low numbers (Daughton, 2017). To more easily grasp and understand the meaning of the topic Engineering Management, there is a need to de-fine it (Cassandra , Elrod , Daughton, Flachsbart, & Flaschsbart, 2010). In the literature, it has not been defined that often but (Kotnour & Farr, 2005, p. 17) proposes a definition that describes the subject: "Engineering management is designing, operating, and con-tinuously improving purposeful systems of people, machines, money, time, information and energy, by integrating engineering and management knowledge, techniques, and skills to achieve desired goals in technological enterprises through concern for the en-vironment, quality, and ethics". (Omurtag, 2009) suggests that an MSc in Engineering Management leads to broader career options for a graduate, the salary is higher, and the career path is more efficient and effective compare to an engineer, who has chosen an-other technical supplementary education. The skillset from a management degree can be achieved through multiple types of educations, another example is the MBA - Master of Business Administration. The aim of Engineering Management is to bridge the gap from the science to the idealist philosophy, that management is found upon (Omurtag, 2009). Engineering management and the MBA can be seen as competitive in that way, but in the end they both fulfill the gap of a management education (Kotnour & Farr, 2005). World-wide, the title MBA has become one of the most popular academic qualifica-tions, designed to develop skills within business and management. It is considered to be the flagship within business education, and in the management profession as the most notable advanced qualification (Subhash & Stopford, 2011). MBA is a collective term, there are several different types such as: full, part time or Executive MBA and the curriculum could vary pending location and elective courses of interest by the partici-pant (Baruch, 2009). The core usually consists of finance, accounting, economics, mar-keting, organizational behavior, operations, management and business ethics (Baruch, 2009).

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The first MBA program was created in the USA at the beginning of the twentieth cen-tury, in the second half of that century it started to spread, and in the 1970s new business schools started to emerge in the UK. It continued to spread further within Eu-rope and reached Australia and in the 1990s it had reached Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan (Baruch, 2009). In Sweden the first MBA was offered in 1977 by the Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law. There are about 300.000 students each year enrolled into MBA programs worldwide, an MBA could cost up to 50.000 USD per year on the most prestigious business schools (Gupta & Bennett, 2013, p. 451). The tuition fee drops significantly when comprising the accreditations and reputation of the business school. The quality of a business school could be measured in accreditation, the most prestigious schools in the world withholds a triple accreditation: EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA, also called triple crown (Gupta & Bennett, 2013). In Sweden there is only one school with this accredi-tation, Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law (Guexed, 2020). Jonkoping International Business School is currently holding a double accredita-tion, EQUIS and AACSB (JU, 2020). As the MBA is on a global scale the views about the MBA´s nature and content are subject to criticism by well-known academic such as Mintzberg, Pfeffer and Porter with statement such as “MBA programs do not just fail to develop managers, but also un-dermines organizations and societies” and “Newly minted MBAs have been labeled as arrogant with poor interpersonal skills” (Singh Kang & Sharma, 2012, p. 78). (Hühn, 2013, p. 531) argues for the lack of ethics within the business profession as “MBA stu-dents are taught what to think, not how to think”. Their criticism could be fair as only about one quarter of the AACSB accredited business schools, have ethics as a mandatory course (Hühn, 2013).

1.2 Research problem A common saying is that when an experienced engineer strives for a managerial posi-tion and gets promoted, it is a loss for the organization and the company because they “loses their best engineer and gains the worst leader” (Jansen Perry, Hunter, Curall & Frauenheim, 2017, p. 99; Eschenbach, 2013; Daniels, 2009). This saying implies that there is a need for engineers to gain knowledge and experience about interpersonal skills to become efficient managers and lead the organization towards its vision (Pons, 2016). These attributes can be obtained either through education or by experi-ence, (Richter & Koza, 1988) suggests that the transition from a technical role to a man-agerial is hard to achieve only by experience. The crossing will be more efficient if the engineer is provided with an education. The education will advantageously contain in-terpersonal skills, people-relating skills, communication skills, marketing and finance (Richter & Koza, 1988; Chenea, 1981). This is supported in other research (Riley , Cudney, & Long , 2013) where communication (Nylen & Pears, 2013; Roeckel, Parra, Donoso, Mora, & Garcia , 2004) and trust are described as the main features for an efficient manager. As can be seen below in Figure 1 (Kotnour & Farr, 2005, p. 17) an education in Engi-neering Management could be one way to bridge the gap between engineering and man-agement disciplines. An additional way to enquire management skills is to enroll in an

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MBA program (Kotnour & Farr, 2005), it could also be considered the better choice for an engineer if one plans to leave the technical work environment entirely (Omurtag, 2009).

Figure 1 - Engineering Management as the bridge between engineering and manage-ment. To embark a managerial career, a university degree in management could be seen as a prerequisite as there is no legal professional qualification to be a manager. The MBA could be seen as the nearest option to withhold this qualification (Baruch, 2009). (Singh Kang & Sharma, 2012) suggest that an MBA is a globally recognized education and brand, compared to Engineering Management. We noticed that the course content and the overall objectives have similarities. Therefore, we find it important to investigate how Swedish faculties have formed their curriculum to best prepare engineers and bridge their knowledge gap in management. Limited research has been carried out in Sweden, and based on the literature review we have identified gaps that are stated be-low, as our research questions. We will look post education and investigate how the engineers are perceived, by recruiters for the Swedish industrial sector.

1.3 Research purpose The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the perception of engineers that has cho-sen to enroll in an Engineering Management or an MBA program, by the eyes of re-cruiters. How does these supplementary educations affect the recruitment process for the individual engineer in managerial roles for the Swedish industrial sec-tor. What differs the programs and how well does it match with the expectations on managers in the Swedish industrial sector. We aim to identify important individual characteristics, that the market is currently requesting. To narrow the broad filed of en-gineering, this thesis will focus on engineers in the industry sector. We have se-lected this area as it covers a significant amount of industrial jobs in Sweden. This led to the following research questions: RQ 1: What influence has EM or MBA on recruiters, when recruiting engineers for managerial roles? RQ 2: Upon recruiters' perspective, which aspects of individuals' learning (skills, com-petence) are associated in the EM and MBA curriculums?

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2 Literature review In this chapter we have reviewed current literature about Engineering Management and MBA to gain more knowledge and get a deeper understanding of the topic. We will use the below theories and compare with our empirical findings to answer the above stated research questions. _____________________________________________________________________

2.1 General Management Within a technical organization, one of the most challenging things is the transition for an engineer to an advanced managerial role (Riley et al., 2013). While an engineer be-fore dealt with technical problems, where the characteristics of the problem is rigid, analytical, and technical language prevails (Solem , 1984). The focus has now moved towards problems relating to people with diverse non-technical backgrounds, that the engineer in the former education never gets exposed too (Baker , 2009). Studies indicate that in the USA, most of the engineers will in some form have a management role during the career (Richter & Koza, 1988; Kocauglo, 1984). Managerial problems are more diffuse and intangible, which could be seen uncomfortable because of an engineer's technical background. The manager related problems require more attention and need to be treated differently depending on the person (Richter & Koza, 1988). (Farr & Bra-zil, 2009, p. 4) suggests nine independent leaderships attributes that are broad, and frame efficient management.

Figure 2 - Nine leadership attributes. The work-related subjects are also moving into other fields and the attention needs to move to a more general view of the company. The task merges to handle and evaluate the overall economy of the company, the organization's position in the market, a goal to expand and generate a stable growth, and the problem gets more general as a man-ager. The engineer's more special technical focus sets aside, and he cannot fall back upon comfortable traits anymore (Richter & Koza, 1988). According to (Farr & Brazil, 2009; Hicks , Utley , & Westbrook, 1999) a globally com-petitive environment has contributed to competing on many more variables, and the competitiveness places higher demands on leadership skills. The global competitive

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gets clearly expressed when comparing wages worldwide, in an article by (Farr & Brazil, 2009) one engineer in the USA is compared with an engineer in India. The com-parison shows that one American wage equals eight wages in India. This put high de-mands of efficient leadership, importance of distributing work and the use resources more efficiently in the USA. To better meet those variables, leadership development is required, the management education and programs that are offered have been criti-cized for not developing efficient leaders (Mintzberg, 2004). The motivation to develop or to be an efficient leader needs to come from a personal driving force with the correct mindset (Farr & Brazil, 2009). A management role requires communication and high interpersonal skills, something that engineers are usually not educated in. For an engi-neer, a challenge and a key component to becoming an efficient leader are to challenge themselves. They will not improve their interpersonal skills if they do not expose them-selves into challenging environments (Farr & Brazil, 2009).

2.2 MBA related Management (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011, p. 476) suggests that management is open to everyone as it does not require any formal education, therefore management could be seen as “one of the last refugees for gifted amateurs”. According to (Gupta & Bennett, 2013, p. 454) “the primary objective of management education is to prepare people to be out-standing managers, leaders and professionals” and the main purpose for business schools are to turn management into a profession (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011). (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015, p. 218) suggest that “management education can result in significant tangible and intangible outcomes for graduates” and that management studies are a way to gain human capital. There is strong evidence that human capital enhances the undergraduates career objectives, this is supported by (Hühn, 2013), as MBA graduates gets influential positions faster that non-MBA graduates. To gain the most out of the program, it is of importance that the educational institution customizes the curriculum to the same level as the learner’s level of knowledge (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015). (Varela, Burke, & Michel, 2011) suggest that managerial skills are moldable, gained through experience over time and are in continuous development. Therefore (Varela et al., 2011, p. 435) “in effect, skills develop via acquisition of factual knowledge and understanding of how to interconnect and apply this knowledge”. De-pending on the nature of the skill, to develop expertise as a result of prolonged practices in an area takes between 100 hours up to ten years and “managerial skill development is an ongoing and, in some skill domains a life-long process” (Varela et al., 2011, p. 438).

2.3 MBA Educational strengths A corporation is never better than its employees, therefore according to (Baruch, 2009) they look for the best people and better ways to increase knowledge in their managerial inventory. Employees with the mindset to become efficient managers, strive to gain skill, competencies and qualifications. To accomplish this, both individuals and corpo-rations seek to make investments that give the best return. The aim of an MBA is to develop better managers (Baruch, 2009) and according to (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015; Gander, 2015; Mihail & Elefterie, 2006; Baruch & Lemming , 2001; Baruch &

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Peiperl, 2000; Ainsworth & Morley , 1995) a MBA is suggested to improve the under-graduate’s human capital and contribute to the success of the organization (Gupta & Bennett, 2013). The primary benefit of an MBA program is management development, skills in finance, accounting, innovation and strategic planning. There is a documented success of MBA graduates as entrepreneurs therefore (Baruch, 2009) suggest that it should be promoted as an education. Due to, new start-ups and ventures is a source for new jobs and could grow to be the futures large corporations. (Gupta & Bennett, 2013) suggests that MBA programs can be of interest to a state as MBA educations could gain the government in significant returns. The GMAC – Graduate Management Admissions Council is one of the leading institutions within gap studies in management (Van Auken, Chrysler, & Gricenko Wells, 2016). In Figure 3 (Van Auken et al., 2016, p. 33) attractive skills are listed that has been identified by using data collected from recruiters. Its displayed as attractiveness levels and strengthening needs and it could be used as a guide towards management programs as some variables are considered more attractive than others.

Figure 3 - Skills and abilities in terms of their attractiveness and need for strength-ening.

As suggested by (Baruch, 2009) an MBA could be a significant factor to reduce various forms of discrimination, as it is considered to be a professional qualification. The title MBA gives the perception of a professional manager and focuses less on gender or ethnic minority according to (Gander, 2015; Baruch, 2009). An MBA is suggested by (Gander, 2015; Branden, 1998; Bandura, 1997; Mithcell & Gist , 1992; Bandura 1977) to increase self-confidence, self-esteem, self-efficiency and these attributes are proven to enhance both work performance and career success (Gupta & Bennett, 2013; Baruch, 2009).

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2.4 MBA Worldwide there are over 3000 MBA programs to choose from (mba.com, 2020) and about 300.000 students are enrolled each year (Gupta & Bennett, 2013, p. 451). The MBA has become one of the most popular academic educations (Subhash & Stopford, 2011) and it is considered to be the most notable and prestigious management education (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015; Gander, 2015; Baruch, 2009). (Mazza et al., 2005, p. 472) states that “throughout the world, obtaining an MBA is seen as a main route to a senior executive position”. The content, concept and its actual contribution has been subjected to strong criticism and questioned if it is the best way to prepare mangers (Mintzberg, 2004; Fong & Pfeffer, 2002; Porter & McKibbin, 1989). The label MBA is not protected the content and program set-ups will vary around the world (Mazza et al., 2005). According to (Rebalancing MBA education towards "doing" and "being", 2013; Varela et al., 2011; Mazza et al., 2005) there are many prac-titioners that find MBA programs to lack soft skills, such as interpersonal skills, global outlook, cross cultural sensitivity and ethics. This is supported by (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011) as soft skills always have been a very important trait for successful managers and due to the increase of business with multiple shareholders worldwide, the importance of soft skills is likely to increase in the future. (Gray, 2011) suggests that management skills are learned through experience and re-flection over time. How managers should be prepared is a debated question that many researchers are seeking to determine. Should it concentrate on above mentioned soft skills or hard skills, such as analytical skills, project implementation and goal setting (Gupta & Bennett, 2013)? According to (Subhash & Stopford, 2011 p.347) a study con-ducted by AACSB found that MBA graduates considered communication to be one of the most important skills in their careers. Approximately 6% of the business schools were effective in teaching this skill as most of the programs solely focused on hard skills, such as analytical skills and delivering courses in finance, accounting and mar-keting. Despite the critics, a global survey conducted by GMAC concluded that students rated the overall value of an MBA as outstanding or excellent (Brewer & Brewer, 2012). An additional study also revealed that 99% of the employers was satisfied with the MBA employees, and the value they brought to their corporation (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011, p. 474). (Singh Kang & Sharma , 2012) suggest that employees with an MBA degree have better interpersonal skills and are better in decision making, handle respon-sibilities, leadership qualities, learning new things and easier adapts during change, if compared to non-MBA employees. The researchers also suggest that MBA graduates demand higher pay, change job more often and act of self-interest instead of what’s best for the organization. (Singh Kang & Sharma, 2012, p. 78) “the purpose of business schools was to teach students how to think, not how to get rich”. This points towards that MBA-employees are better, but not loyal and when a newly minted MBA is com-pared to MA or MSc, it is not more diligent or have any greater sectoral understanding. (Varela et al., 2011) suggests that the primary role of an MBA program is to equip learners with knowledge, structure’s and learning mechanism’s that emphasis a life-long skill development beyond the graduation.

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The business leader of the 21st century needs to be different and (Subhash & Stopford, 2011) has addressed three important drivers that suggests preparing the MBA students to maximize the benefit for all stakeholders.

• Environmental shift, such as political trends. • Professional skills for global contexts, such as managing relationships in cross cultural settings. • Sustainability concerns, such as poverty and global warming.

As a response to this, Figure 4 (Mazza, Sahlin-Andersson, & Strandgaard Pedersen, 2005, p. 350) is an attempt to present a suggested curriculum for MBA programs to tackle the above-mentioned issues and concerns. (Hallinger & Lu, 2013) supports the above-mentioned and suggest that a global cooperation is developed, as many of the of the world problems only can be solved through a world-wide cooperation.

Figure 4 - Proposed MBA curriculum

Suggested by (Brewer & Brewer, 2012; Baruch, 2009), to study an MBA takes a sub-stantial investment and the cost versus benefits need to be considered. However, if the degree is not taken at a top business school the graduate should not expect financial compensation for the degree or even a return on the investment. As the typical MBA full-time program takes between one to two years to complete. If potential loss of in-come and investment made, are taken into the equation many programs do not deliver. On the other hand, suggested by (Gupta & Bennett, 2013) if the MBA is sponsored it shows a clear message that the corporation invests in its people and value the benefits of an MBA in the organization. It can also be a way to secure the availability of talented personnel for internal career promotions (Baruch, 2009). For the individual an MBA could help to improve income as an additional qualification, and that is not necessarily restricted to the top business schools (Gupta & Bennett, 2013). The expectations of an MBA versus a non-MBA employee are higher, they are expected to have a balanced set of skills, better strategic perspective and more sophisticated knowledge. An MBA graduate is in general a better manager and the organization will benefit from their competencies and perform better (Baruch, 2009). According to (Gupta & Bennett, 2013; Baruch, 2009) more than half of the CEOs of large companies in the USA has an MBA, it is an ideal way to acquire social capital, expand the current network and generating a web of personal contacts. Jack Welch former CEO of General

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Electrics also emphasized the importance networking with the words: “Just concentrate on networking, everything else you need to know you can learn on the job” (Mazza et al., 2005, p. 349). According to (Baruch, 2009) there are people who will find that an MBA may not be interesting or relevant in their profession, as it can be quite the effort due to other obli-gations, such as family. In accredited programs there is a dropout rate of about 10% for campus-based MBAs and as high as 40% for online-only MBAs (Gupta & Turek, 2015, p. 280). For a CEO or top executives, the MBA could be considered a waste of time because it does not enrich their managerial experience as it would with younger people or personnel in lower management positions.

2.4.1 EMBA For a CEO or senior executives there is a special program called EMBA – Executive Master of Business Administration, the EMBA program was first introduced in the 1940s in the USA. The main benefit of this program is that experience and ideas can be shared with people on the same level (Petit, 2011; Baruch, 2009). Worldwide there are around 400 EMBA programs to choose from (mba.com , 2020). The program has tra-ditionally been different compared to a regular MBA, as it is developed for the full-time working senior manager and it can be completed while remaining on the full-time job. Historically the program was fully sponsored by the employer, as sponsorship was a requirement for admission (Petit, 2011). As time changes the sponsorships has de-creased and in 2010, only 30% of the enrolled EMBA-students in the USA were fully sponsored by their employer. This forces business schools to rethink their premium price strategy to attract people and secure revenue. The EMBA-programs have also been criticized and called MBA light as a manager can complete the program within one and a half to two years, compared to a part-time MBA that can take up to five years (Petit, 2011, p.19).

2.4.2 Accreditation Accreditation could be seen as a quality mark; therefore, universities and business schools are always striving to improve their position in rank and accreditations (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015). (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011) suggest that institutions such as AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA and GMAC should take the increasing globalized context in consideration when setting the future roles of business schools. (Subhash & Stopford, 2011) suggests that MBA programs should strive to include more comprehensive global aspects. Because of time limits and financial resources not all MBA students are able to or will travel overseas to gather business experience and engage in experimental think-ing. This is supported by (Busing & Palocsay, 2016, p.77) as “most programs fail to cultivate a global view of business among their graduates”. To get an accreditation, the program needs to meet several prescribed criterions (Mazza et al., 2005). The accredi-tation institutions are briefly described below: AACSB - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business was founded in 1916 and aims “to foster continuous quality improvement in the three vital areas: en-gagement, innovation and impact” (Lagrosen, 2017, p. 470).

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EQUIS - European Quality Improvement System is managed by the European Founda-tion for Management Development and are a non-profit organization. The accreditation is given after a thorough “evaluation of all the activities, the resources and the learning infrastructure” (Lagrosen, 2017, p. 472). AMBA - Association of Master of Business Administration, established in 1967 was originally not an accreditation institution, but due to pressure from new MBA providers the organization developed an accreditation scheme. AMBA’s objective is “to advance management education at postgraduate level” (Lagrosen, 2017, p. 474)

2.4.3 Future direction of MBA (Baruch, 2009, p. 401) suggest that the future direction “for the MBA should be based on both stability and the overall recognition it gained so far, coupled with the constant need for renewal”. (Busing & Palocsay, 2016) suggest that MBA program are under pressure to increase efficiency and offer a revised curriculum that is error-free and in relevance of today’s marketplace. A need to lower the tuition fees, as more business schools loses government funding and the sponsorships by employers are decreasing. As there is an increase of one-year MBA programs the importance of the course content is of the outmost significance (Van Auken et al., 2016). According to (Gupta & Bennett, 2013; Hallinger & Lu, 2013; Rebalancing MBA education towards "doing" and "being", 2013; Mazza et al., 2005) there is a need for western business and management schools to adopt a global mindset and include non-western business perspectives, this his is also one of the focus areas for the AACSB accreditation. (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011) argue for that business schools fails to develop learning experiences of cross-cultural understanding due to the increasing globalization, as the world is differ-ent in social, ethical and ecological ways. There is an ongoing challenge for business schools to provide guidance, of how future managers should tackle the pressing is-sues. (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011) suggest that if students at business schools are exposed to complex decision problems, the students will exercise their managerial judgement and increase their professionalism.

2.4.4 MBA in Sweden In Sweden, the first MBA was offered in 1977 by the Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law (Baruch, 2009). According to (Mazza et al., 2005), Uppsala in Sweden started their executive program in 1980 and the target audience was engineers with a basic degree that worked in Swedish companies. The program was set-up by researchers who believed that their work could contribute to the business commu-nity and establish a better network of contacts. At the start the program was funded by the government, but in 1984 the funding was cut, so the participants employers had to start covering the tuition fee. The program had a focus on international business and as a tuition fee was added, the university felt a need for an English title and started to use the unprotected label MBA. As Uppsala university is state-regulated and the pro-gram fees are not covered by the Swedish government, the university set-up a standard of requirements for enrollment. The requirements were work experience,

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recommendation and sponsorship by employer. This was done to guarantee financ-ing and survival of the program.

2.5 Engineering management The purpose of the first education in Engineering Management was to educate manag-ers to be efficient in handling typical engineering problems, this purpose has been the base throughout the century (Omurtag, 2009; Kotnour & Farr, 2005). The EM educa-tion had a rapid growth between the 1960s and 1970s, the underlying cause consists of three main reasons that can be identified and divided into different levels (Kocauglo, 1984).

• National level – A rise of competitiveness in a global context and growth of new technologies has led to an increased demand to understand technological systems combined with the ability to lead people efficiently.

• The industry level - Old prejudices that managers are only a manager, or an engineer are only an engineer is being disproved and the benefits are becoming more and more visible from a combined knowledge in both fields.

• The individual-level – Has become more and more evident that an engineer can-not rely on his technical skills when it comes to management responsibility (Richter & Koza, 1988; Kocauglo, 1984).

2.5.1 Design, characteristics and curriculum The course content of an EM program can vary as there are no standard set and an in-ternational agreement of the program content is not developed, therefore the concept of EM is not well understood (Cassandra et al., 2010; Pilkington, 2008). The most frequent topics are; operations research, finance, engineering economics and manage-ment. The curriculum for an EM program should focus on the management side, which is qualitative oriented. However, in order to tie both disciplines together, some element of quantitative features is suggested (Kocauglo, 1984). Suggested by (Kocauglo, 1984), a part of the EM-program should be designed and guided from local enterprises demands. Local demand should control a part of the con-tent to match the company's expectations of a new graduate. Furthermore, the courses should have a distinctive feature of demonstration of oral and written communica-tion and should be put in relation to a global context. (Waters, 2010) argue for the im-portance of entrepreneurship as it forms the basis, for a large part of all new jobs created and to help maintaining a steady job growth, EM-programs should focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. (Kocauglo, 1984) states that a significant characteristic for an EM program that differs from other supplementary educations is the part/full-time option. This option enables people that works as an engineer at the same time, educate oneself in parallel with the employment. In the USA, most of the graduates have work experience when they start the program, and they see this program as an additional education based on prior

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knowledge from work. Outside the USA, programs are seen as an education that comes naturally after their bachelor's degree and is more academically embossed. A universal name has not been formed and established. The core of the program originates in the same area. To be considered as an Engineering Management type of program, the titles need to be extended. Other related names are Engineering Administration or Industrial Engineering. The broader view means that the content of the program considers the extent to be an Engineering Management type of program and not the title itself (Kotnour & Farr, 2005; Kocauglo, 1984).

2.5.2 Accreditation / certification The EM program has so far only guidelines about the course content, and each univer-sity can design the programs in the way that suits their needs. With an ill-defined con-tent structure combined with the high interest of the program, the ASEM - American society for Engineering Management saw a need to make a standard and therefore an accreditation to gain reputation and quality. The standard covers faculty, curriculum requirements, students and administrative support. The ASEM-certification introduced the accreditation in 2000, fifteen years later the certification had not to turn out as ex-pected and the number of certified programs was 5,4% (Daughton, 2017, p. 57). In EM a significant part of the program is management oriented. If the program is exe-cuted in a school that is ABET-accredited - Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the skillset is equated to an engineer from a classical discipline with an additional MBA. Therefore, the MBA and the EM could be equivalent and fulfil the same need (Omurtag, 2009; Kotnour & Farr, 2005). (Omurtag, 2009) believes that EM programs are starting a transition from being educated on the school of engineering to the school of business. More and more focus is now on the management part and to-gether with a business school that is accredited with an AACSB, the way to bridge the gap between engineering and management is predicted.

2.5.3 ABET – accreditation in EM programs In the early 1930s, an accreditation was created to ensure the quality of the engineering teaching programs. It has since then been the only accreditation agency according to the US Department of Education to accredit engineering programs in the USA. The accreditation will secure the quality of the program overall, but more specifically a val-idation of the curricula, program viability and the funding of the university are taken into consideration. The accreditation is called ABET and has gone through a renewal in terms of content and complexity. The new version is slimmer and compared to the older version, the number of words has been reduced significantly. The structure and content have changed as well, from very specific and detailed content with a rigid in-terpretation to a more customer-oriented approach. The content is then easier to grasp and the whole process is more facilitated, the new version is called ABET-2000 (Farr & Bowman, 1999, p. 9). There is a lack of accredited EM-programs at both undergraduate and graduate level. One of the main reasons is that the schools are only allowed to accredit one of the levels in the program. Many schools choose the undergraduate level to ensure the quality of

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the graduates. The extent of accreditation has not gone as expected, numbers of accred-ited schools are still low while the numbers of EM programs over the last 50 years gone from 20 to 102 in 2015 (Daughton, 2017, p. 56). The reason for the low level of ABET-accreditation in EM programs is according to a survey caused mainly from three com-mon opinions. The survey asked program managers their perception of the accredita-tion and it shows that the heaviest argument of not seeking accreditation is because it is not a goal for the institution. The second argument is the content of the curriculum, it needs to follow a certain content-guideline to fulfill the accreditation criteria. The criteria set requirements on a certain background of the students who are accepted are in a specific field of engineering. The third argument is concerning the payoff for the investment, an accreditation does not outweigh the benefits. Overall an accreditation does not provide the added value desired from the effort required to get it (Farr & Bowman, 1999).

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3 Methodology and method In this chapter we will present our research approach and design, starting with the re-search philosophy and epistemology that we have chosen. We will describe our meth-ods, why they were selected and suggest strengths and weaknesses. Research ethics and quality assurance has also been implemented through our research plan and will be dis-cussed in this section. _____________________________________________________________________

3.1 Qualitative Research Approach

Figure 5- Trunk of the tree Before conducting research, it is important to select the philosophical approach as it re-flects how the research will be executed. (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, Jackson, & Jasper-sen, 2018, p. 62) has explained this in a pedagogical way using the trunk of a tree, Fig-ure 5. The inner ring of the heartwood is the ontology, and that is the “philosophical assumptions about the nature of reality” - what is reality? (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 63). We have selected relativism as ontology, we believe that “there are many truths and facts depend on the viewpoint of the observer” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 67). The strengths of our choice could be flexibility, and the weakness could be large dif-ferences of viewpoints, as they depend on the observer. Epistemology is the second ring in the heartwood and could be explained as “a general set of assumptions about ways of inquiring into the nature of the world” - what is knowledge? (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 63). In our research we have se-lected the epistemology called social constructionism, as it “focuses on the ways that people make sense of the world – especially through sharing their experiences with oth-ers via the medium of language” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 70). We selected this epistemology as it will increase our understanding, as there could be many truths, we

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need to gather facts from different sources. The strengths in our choice of epistemology could be that “values of multiple data sources enable generalizations beyond present sample” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 75). The suggested weaknesses could be, “ac-cess can be difficult; cannot accommodate institutional and cultural differences” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 75). Methodology is the third ring and could be explained as “a combination of methods used to enquire into a specific situation” - what selection of methods can best answer our research question? (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 61). We have chosen a qualita-tive methodology, because we believe that our purpose and research questions are best answered with qualitative methods. A qualitative interview is done in a way where a conversation and interaction occur, the topic should be specified. The aim of the inter-view is to gain and develop an understanding of the respondent's perceptions and in-sights into the topic. The characteristics of the interviews could pend from a very rigid approach where the questions control the interview in a predetermined man-ner to the other side of the scale, where the extremity could resemble an everyday con-versation (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). An understanding and interpretations of the respondent’s perception need to be gained. This understanding will be gained by con-ducting semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. The strength of this choice could be that face to face interviews will provide us with information of higher quality. In comparison to a quantitative study where the information is gathered through surveys. With a qualitative approach we can interpret the interviewees non-verbal be-havior, such as body language and voice reflection, it could also open for additional questions that we did not consider beforehand. The weakness could be that generaliza-tion cannot be made as the number of interviews are low, in comparison to a quantita-tive study (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Due to the pandemic outbreak of the Corona virus, all of our six interviews were carried out via skype. This limited us to record the interviewees body language, instead we focused on their facial expressions and voice deflections. Method and techniques are the outer ring and could be explained as “the instruments and processes for gathering research data, analyzing it and drawing conclusions from it”- how should I collect, is this method appropriate and will it answer my research questions? (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 63). As discussed in the methodology part we have selected a qualitative approach and our data collection will consist of “mainly words with some numbers” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 72).

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3.2 Data Collection The literature that was collected for our literature review can be found in JU PRIMO using different sets of key words, filters and sorting after relevance as displayed in Ta-ble 1. To ensure that quality papers were used, only peer reviewed journals were se-lected. In some of the used articles, additional references were found interesting that lead to additional articles, all found in the reference list.

Table 1 – JU PRIMO search Search phrase Hits / relevant articles Filter

"engineering management" AND what 326 / 21

IEEE.engineering management, Me-chanical engineering, Engineer-ing.management journal, Eng-lish, Peer reviewed, Articles

"engineering management" AND education OR brand 245 / 11 English, Peer reviewed, Articles

"engineering management" AND education 70 /11

Engineering.management interna-tional, English, Peer reviewed, Arti-cles

"engineering management" AND education 74 / 2

European Journal of engineering edu-cation, English, Peer reviewed, Arti-cles

"engineering management" AND graduate 140 / 13 Engineering.management jour-

nal, English, Peer reviewed, Articles "MBA" AND what 1 / 1 Swedish, Peer reviewed, Articles

"MBA" AND management 781 / 12 2010-2020,.MBA,.MBA.and gradu-ates, English, Peer reviewed, Articles

"MBA" AND purpose 912 /13 MBA, MBA and graduates, English, Peer reviewed, Articles, Full text

We collected primary data through semi-structured interviews with open-ended ques-tions. Secondary data, such as information on different EM and MBA programs were collected through archival research online. To strengthen our data collection have ad-ditionally gathered information from online job listings. Comparisons or triangulation could help us to interpret the data in able due to draw conclusions. The strength in tri-angulation could be that it will provide us with a more complete understanding as we connect different elements. The weaknesses in our selected method and techniques could be that generalization cannot be made. Because the number of interviews is low in comparison to a triangulation in a quantitative or mix methods approach (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).

3.3 Research Design In the qualitative approach, there are several different ways to gather data, where all the ways have a specific characteristic that fulfils different needs. The need in this paper is

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to get an in-depth understanding of a specific phenomenon. A case study fulfils the need since the interviews conducted in this paper focus on a narrow subject. The goals are to communicate the representatives view, described as fairly and faithfully as possible, and the focus is to get a deep understanding. The purpose of a case study is not to verify a hypothesis. It is to find patterns and ex-planations in the specific case. In some limited extent, the conclusion of the study could be valid in similar situations, but a limitation of a case study is the low-level of gener-alization (Yin, 2018; Stake, 1995). The paper takes an inductive approach, since the outcome of the paper is compared and put in a relation with a framework where simi-larities and differences are highlighted, rather than creating a new theory to be general-ized (Ketokivi & Mantere, 2010).

3.4 Sampling Sampling strategy in research could be defined as: “sets out the criteria to be adopted by a researcher when selecting a subset or sample from a wider population of individ-uals, organizations, industries” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 104). To be able to gen-eralize the research findings the sample, explained as a "subset of the population from which inferences are drawn, based on evidence” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 404) should be accurately selected. The word student can be seen as a weakness and could give the following impression: “unskilled amateurish inquiry which may be a waste of time, although unthreatening” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 191). There-fore, to strengthen our research, we have selected the snowball sampling strat-egy, it could be described as “selected participants recruit or recommend other partici-pants from among their acquaintances; useful strategies in setting with limited/difficult access”. Through our social network, we have used online channels like LinkedIn and Facebook to get in contact with recruiters that could provide us with high quality infor-mation, that could possibly best answer our purpose and research questions in this the-sis.

3.5 Interview Our interview topics is based on a list of questions, constructed from our literature re-view and purpose. As we are conducting semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, we have a chance to use the laddering technique. Laddering-up could be done by asking why-question. It gives us the opportunity to “move upwards from statements of fact or descriptive accounts about the questions posed so as to begin to reveal the individuals value base” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 188). The why-ques-tion could open for new interesting subjects, as we apply the laddering - down tech-nique “which can elicit examples that evidence general statements, views or values ex-pressed in interview responses” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 188). By asking, could you please tell us a little bit more about that? The strength in our qualitative ap-proach, and the use of the laddering technique can in comparison to a quantitative method, where the data collection is conducted via surveys. Give us “significant in-sights into the topic under investigation” (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 188). A weak-ness could be that it is difficult to execute and time consuming to analyze.

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3.6 Data Analysis To frame our data, we used content analysis, it is an approach that is mostly used for textual data, such as interview transcripts, records and reports. (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 239) explains it as “an approach that aims to draw systematic in-ferences from qualitative data that have been structured by a set of ideas or con-cepts”. (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018, p. 240) suggest that the first step could be to “de-termine a number of criteria for the selection of relevant material based on the main research questions of the study”. The second step would be to analyze the collected data and investigate what emerging factors or concepts that could answer the research questions. The factors could be based on existing theory, stated research questions or identified and evolved during the analyzing process of the collected data. The strength in content analysis is the flexibility and the aim for clarity. A weakness could be the re-liability, based on the low number of interviews in a qualitative approach. Hence, gen-eralization could be difficult (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).

3.7 Ethical Consideration In our thesis, two dimensions of ethics are taken into consideration. In the first dimen-sion, the topic, considered from the society's point of view. The topic of the thesis, con-cerning how well the educational program of EM and MBA meets the requested need of recruiters in the Swedish industrial production sector. In this point of view, there could be a conflict of interest. The second dimension considers how the empirical data was collected. According to (Guba & Lincoln, 1985) a cornerstone in the ethical part is how well the respond-ent is informed, in beforehand about the topic and the purpose of the study. To ensure this part, the respondent will be informed and given a presentation of us, the topic and the purpose of the study. If there is any concern, the respondent could ask or select to reject the entire interview, or a question during the ongoing interview, hence the con-sents are maintained (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). Furthermore, one aspect of the ethical part is to protect the privacy and anonymity of the respondent and the organization. In the analysis part, the respondent will be coded so that the origin cannot be traced. The anonymity will be promised, kept and prevailed throughout the whole thesis. The respondent will be informed before the interview about these parts. This could result in openness without any worries to harm other per-sons or relations (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). The results and conclusion will be derived from interviews, the analysis is executed by a standard method called content analysis, which will ensure that no misleading findings derives. It will also help to maintain a low level of bias and increased transparency (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).

3.8 Trustworthiness This thesis has a qualitative approach, which by its nature means that we are mainly dealing with interceptions of the studied phenomena. This can be described as soft val-ues and are in opposition to absolute numbers, where the outcome sets in relation to a defined scale. The qualitative approach is more flexible and provides room for

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interpretation. Therefore, it is essential to address how and why the thesis was con-ducted in this particular way. Trustworthiness is a composition of several subheadings that creates an overall impression of the paper and evaluate the data collection of how reliable the results are. The subheadings are described as a criterion to get trustworthi-ness. The criterion is credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability. To ex-amine the level of trustworthiness, each of these criteria needs to be considered and evaluated separately (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). The credibility is the level of truth of the findings of the empirical data. The empirical findings are influenced to some extent by the chosen method. The level of credibility can be affected from the beginning of a study by choosing a suitable method and then strengthen with another additional method, called triangulation. The results are then compared and validated (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). In our thesis, the primary data col-lection consists of interviews with independent respondents. Secondary data trough websites for EM and MBA programs and job listings from managerial roles in the in-dustry sector. Referring our findings in the literature review is an additional way to strengthening the credibility. The transferability is depending on how well a study could apply to another context, which means how well the study could be generalized, this depends on the chosen method. A qualitative approach has in general, a low generalization (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). This paper considers the educational programs of EM and MBA. The range of these programs in Sweden is limited, and there are only a few in total. Therefore, the respondents could be, according to the limited range of programs considered to be rep-resentative of the whole field. Dependability capture the level of reproducibility provided that the same conditions and assumptions prevail. If the study gets reproduced, how consistently do the findings from the study goes in line with the new one. The ability to reproduce the study are further depending on how well the way of the collected data is described and how the next step of the analysis is performed (Guba & Lincoln, 1985). The collection of em-pirical data will be collected in multiple ways. In the literature review, the specific key-words, filters, and the numbers of hits are shown in Table 1. The analysis part is exe-cuted by a method called content analysis, the conclusions are derived and clearly shown step by step. Document studies will be collected online, due too easy access. According to (Guba & Lincoln, 1985), confirmability capture the level of how well the findings are independent of the specific situation or is the outcome influenced by the situation and cannot be universal. The confirmability is then a measure of how well the findings are derived from the participants one narratives rather than an indication of the authors own opinions. To reduce this the interviews will be recorded and transcribed to identify patterns and combine the interview and the outcome in a more faithful way.

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4 Empirical Findings In this chapter we will present the empirical findings from the primary and secondary data collection, identify codes and categorize the findings into themes. The exploded view of execution can be seen in the figure below:

_____________________________________________________________________

4.1 Perception of management educated engineers After contacting fifteen HR-recruiters via telephone and email, that we got in contact with via Snowball sampling, six HR-recruiters were willing to participate in our study. The interview table below displays independent HR-recruiters from different compa-nies as P – person. All recruiters that participated were recruiting engineers for the in-dustrial sector, all international to some extent. The interview guide is attached in ap-pendices.

Interview table

Interview Years of experience Sector Duration of interview

P1 4 Construction 1 h P2 10 Supply chain 1 h P3 22 Independent recruiter 1 h P4 11 Manufacturing 1 h P5 4 Energy 1 h P6 17 Classification 1 h

The common assumption of an engineer is that they want to create and build, not man-age people (P1; P5; P6). Engineers have a good presumption to be managers due to their technical competence, due lack of natural interest in humans a management edu-cation can be used to develop additional interpersonal skills (P1; P3). According to (P3), recent engineer graduates has a better set of soft skills compared to engineers that grad-uated twenty years ago.

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Engineering management is one way to show the HR-department that the engineer has a drive and wants to develop and grow into a managerial position (P3). According to (P4; P6) an Engineering Management education shows that the engineer has learned to understand complex leadership theories, that could be used in practice from an aca-demic point of view. According to (P2; P4) a MSc in management could strengthen the individual's ability to use academic research when presenting facts or crating reports for top management and stakeholders. Their communication and leadership skills are usually better, and their human capital is more developed (P3; P6). Management educated engineers, are perceived as highly valuable according to (P1-P6) especially if the engineer has a couple of years of work experience. If the engineer is newly minted, a management education can be seen as valuable (P1; P3; P6) and a drive for career development (P1). According to (P1; P5; P6) when recruiting externally, a management education makes the CV to stand out and shows that the engineer has an interest towards managerial roles. According to (P1; P2; P4; P5) during internal managerial recruitments, a management education has limited effect and more focus is put on the engineer's achievements and current people skills. The recruiters don’t want to force someone towards a new posi-tion; therefore, weaknesses are identified and proper training is planned for the engi-neers to be comfortable in the new position. This is most applicable for larger corpora-tions with established internal training programs. According to (P2), when recruitment for top level management, the CEO takes part in the interviews during the recruitment process. The CEO at this company values a MSc in management as an achievement and as a minimum requirement for a managerial position. A high-level management position require strength in pedagogy, organization and structure, to achieve efficiency (P3; P4). According to (P3; P4) an MBA education is highly valuable and desired for top level management. If the MBA is carried out early in the engineer's career, it gives an incredible push towards strategic thinking (P4) and a “fast track” in career development (P4; P6). The MBAs importance depends on the size and internationalization of the company (P3; P5). According to (P3; P4; P5; P6) if the wrong person is recruited for a managerial role it can be very costly and time consuming for the organization. A Swedish MSc or MBA could be one way to reduce one of many recruitment errors as the engineer already has been through managerial training. (P1-P6) focus about 40-60 % on education and 40-60 % on the previous experience when recruiting engineers for managerial roles. Ac-cording to (P4; P6) organizations is now moving towards focusing on people skills in-stead of technical skills when recruiting engineers for managerial positions. (P4) sug-gests that when applying for a managerial role, a management education could give the perception of a certain set of skills. When recruiting, the competing variables gets more obvious and it is easier to not unconsciously discriminate in any form.

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4.2 Curriculum and aspects According to (P2; P5) the content of a management education is not as important as the accomplishment of the actual graduate certificate. According to (P3; P4) it is not important in Sweden, on what institution the education is accomplished. The accredita-tion is of little value, as most schools in Sweden has high standards. (P1; P2; P4; P6) expects that the program enhances the engineer's interpersonal skills and confidence to build and engage others, towards efficient teamwork. Mostly because engineers are seen as “square” and has difficulties to engage others (P1; P5). (P1; P2; P4) as our organizations is international, we highly value the understanding of a global context, ethical consideration and multi-cultural understanding. Subjects like sustainability, environmental consequences and to see the organization as whole is im-portant. The understanding of budgets and supply chain management in our organiza-tion is a must. Additionally, according to (P4), strategic thinking and organizational development is a key role for managers in order develop growth in the business field. To understand the business to business concepts on a global scale and manage and de-velop business relationships is highly valuable. (P3) Suggests that a managerial program needs to focus on team building and make the engineer more confident in interactions, as “communication is key to success”. There-fore, a management program should focus on communication skills, business acumen, problem solving and leadership. (P3; P5; P6) If an experienced manager is recruited for a top-level management position, the program needs to be formed for that purpose, oth-erwise it could be a waste of time and investment. MBA According to (Universityadmissions, 2020) there are two options for MBA programs in Sweden. Option one, BTH- Blekinge Institute of Technology that offers an online 60 credits MBA at 50% pace, hence it takes two years to complete. The idea that the pro-gram can be carried out at the same time the participant is working. This MBA focus on engineers and the requirements prior to the application is that the student has a bach-elor's degree within a technical subject, two years working experience and minimum five credits in business administration. Table 2 shows the course content:

Blekinge Institute of Technology MBA program Courses Credits Principles of Leadership and Management 7.5 Corporate Finance 7.5 Managerial Economics 7.5 Strategy and Control 7.5 Management Science 7.5 Research Methods in Industrial Economics 7.5 Master Thesis 15 Degree = Master of Science in Industrial Economics and Management 60

Table 2 – course content Blekinge Institute of Technology MBA program. The core of the program is designed to increase analytical and managerial skills. The course given in corporate finance is described as; learning how to optimize the company

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and maximize financial returns. In the management science course, quantitative models are used to educate the participant into solving organizational issues. The course in principles of leadership and management deals with different types of leadership styles of how it impacts the organization and how it could enhance a subordinate’s motivation. The program is international and taught in English (BTH, 2020). Option two, by the University of Gavle. The criteria to apply to the MBA programs require a bachelor's degree, with a major in business administration. Therefore, this option is not applicable for this study (Hig, 2020). EMBA The EMBAs in Sweden is not government funded, a candidate can only be enrolled into the program by having a sponsorship by the corporation, where the candidate is em-ployed. The most well-known programs are discussed below. In Uppsala, the program is only given as a commissioned education and the criteria's to be enrolled is a bachelor's degree in business administration and three years of working experience within the field. Alternatively, any bachelor's degree and five years working experience within business administration. The program focuses on strategic thinking in a global context (UU, 2020). The EMBA program at the School of Business, Economics and Law by the University of Gothenburg is triple accredited. The program is international and runs part-time over twenty-one months, it contains overseas courses in China and India. The program has an Asian-Nordic focus and is directed towards business leaders or executives with min-imum three years managerial experience. Enrollment requires a full sponsorship from the employer and the current fee is 485.000 SEK excluding VAT. Additional require-ments are a bachelor's degree or extensive experience that is equivalent to a bachelor's degree. It is not necessary to have a background within business administration; hence the program is suitable for career focused engineers and on average there are 30% women in the program (Guexed, 2020). The courses in the program is divided into dif-ferent modules displayed in Table 3.

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EMBA program at the School of Business, Economics and Law by the University of Gothenburg Term 1: Term 2: Strategic Management Accounting Management Accounting Marketing Organizational Behavior and Leadership Digitalisation and IT Governance Organizational Structure and Culture Human Resource Management Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Corporate Finance Change Management Residency in China - Supply Chain Management - - Term 3: Term 4: Innovation Management Residency in India (on site) Commercial Law Creative Leadership (on site in India) Financial Markets International Business International Development Prior to Thesis work, one elective course: Intellectual Property Global Leadership Corporate Social Responsibility Organizational Change Applied Economics Managing Processes Degree = Master of Business Administration 60 credits

Table 3 – Learning modules in EMBA program, Gothenburg. Stockholm School of Economics offers a part time EMBA program over eighteen months. The program is international and the requirements for enrollment are a bache-lor's degree or higher, minimum five years relevant experience and sponsorship by the employer. The current fee is 495.000 SEK excluding VAT and the program is suitable for career focused engineers (hhs, 2020). Some modules of the program will take place in Latvia and filed trips to Hong Kong and China are incorporated. According to their webpage (hhs, 2020) the average salary increase for an alumnus after the program is 46%. Benefits for employers are suggested to be, a more complete busi-ness leader with a more holistic view of the business and increased traits, such as in-creased confidence and human capital. The program also suggests an increased network and multi-cultural experience and on average there are 40% women in the program. The courses in the program is divided into different modules displayed in Table 4.

EMBA program at Stockholm School of Economics Module one Preparation and foundation Module two The business context: Sustainability Management, Economics

and Business Law Module three Accounting and finance Module four Value creation: Strategy, Marketing, Operations, Organiza-

tion and Change Module five Elective between Financial management or innovation and en-

trepreneurship Module six The global context Module seven Capstone: Set various modules in context

Table 4 - Learning modules in EMBA program, Stockholm.

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Master’s Program in Engineering Management, Jonkoping Engineering management is a one-year MSc program offered at Jonkoping Interna-tional business school. The program is international and have a global context that pre-pare the graduate for a position where an understanding of technical knowledge is vital, combined with a position where a broad perspective of management needs to be han-dled. The program information states that they see an increasing demand for graduates with this combination of the technical understanding that engineers’ posses with an understanding of management in the industrial sector. The courses cover a broad spec-trum of management topics that is considered relevant for engineers in various mana-gerial roles, see Table 5. The purpose of the selected courses that is included in the one-year program is to give the student an overview and insight into the following areas:

• Responsible leadership • Strategic renewal • Internationalization • (Open) innovation • Methods for business analysis • Training in writing and presenting business reports

Jonkoping International Business School Courses Credits Accounting & Finance for Managers 7.5 Research Methods in Management 7.5 Strategic Entrepreneurship and Innovation 15 Leading with People 7.5 Industrial Marketing and Supply Chain Management 7.5 Master Thesis in General Management 15

Table 5 – Courses in Engineering management, Jonkoping. The skills and the abilities that the graduates should possess, is to become effective communicators, analyze and deal with complex problems, demonstrate the ability to speak and writing reports. There are no requirements of prior work experience to enroll in the program, additionally applicants that have employment can choose to enroll in the program at a 50% pace over two years. The program is taught at the Jonkoping International Business School that possesses both EQUIS and AACSB accreditation. The final degree is a MSc with a major in general management. The curriculum is stated in Table 5. Master's Program in Industrial Engineering and Management, Linkoping. The MSc program in industrial engineering and management taught at Linköping Uni-versity is a 2-year program, the final degree is a Master of Science in Industrial Eco-nomics. The prerequisites of the program that the graduate needs to withhold are a bachelor's degree with a major in mechanical engineering, energy engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or equivalent. According to (liu.se), the purpose and the outcome of the program is to connect technology,

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mathematics and economics to lead innovative activities and processes in technology use, product development, project management and entrepreneurship. A goal of the program is that the graduate should be able to possess a leading role in a dynamic industrial environment and be able to formulate and investigate complex prob-lems, in a systematic, qualitative and quantitative way. The program page (Liu, 2020) highlights that the interpersonal skillset for collaboration and communication is of ut-most importance. Furthermore, the graduate should also be able to communicate effi-ciently in both written and in an oral context. The program offers several orientations, one of them is the innovation management. Compare to the characteristics of an Engi-neering Management program, there are similarities. The base of the program and the courses in innovation management curriculum are highlighted below. An excerpt from the curriculum shows that the program focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship, project management and organization in an industrial context.

• Project management and organization • Leadership and organizational change • Innovative entrepreneurship • Corporate social responsibility • Project based organization and management • Innovation and entrepreneurship – project course • Management systems and sustainability

The program has a lot of common elements and characteristics of an Engineering Man-agement program, it does not offer a part-time option and it does not mention anything about work experience, it seems to have a more industrial focus. Master’s Program in Management, Lund. Lund University and the faculty of schools of economics and management offer a one-year program in management. The degree is a Master of Science with a major in man-agement. The program targets non-business graduates, which by fact, not only accepts engineers. According to (Lusem.lu, 2020) the description and the content of the pro-gram, could consider to be competitive and equivalent to an engineering management program. The key areas of this program are marketing, strategic management, business consul-tancy, and organizational development. The areas are built and focus on communica-tion, teamwork and to refine the skills in problem-solving. The program focuses on real-life management challenges and has a learning approach based on hands-on learning, workshops, team projects and business simulation. In the course curriculum displayed in Table 6 a broad management perspective is shown.

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Lund University Courses ECTS CREDITS Leading individuals and groups 5 Functions of management 13 Learning, innovation and change (6+3) Global challenges 8 Understanding management, part 1 6 Understanding management, part 2 4 Degree project in management challenges 15

Table 6 Courses in Master’s program in Management, Lund

4.3 Individual characteristics According to (P1; P2; P4) social skills that contribute to teambuilding skills is a very desired skill in today's job market. When an engineer is promoted into a managerial role, he or she will be responsible for a team. To be able to meet deadlines, the team must work as a one and the managers role is to influence and direct the team members in the right direction (P2; P4). According to (P3) the engineer already has the technical background to gain trust in the team, but without interpersonal skills, efficiency will be lost. Therefore (P1-P6) argues for that oral and written communication, and presenta-tion skills are vital characteristics for managerial positions. (P2; P3; P6) suggests that humility as an important trait as the manager's job is usually carried out through others. When the team knows about your weaknesses they could possibly give a better support in those fields. Diversity and respect are seen as valuable traits in international organizations (P1; P2; P4). According to (P3; P4; P6) there has to be a drive from the engineer's side in regards to start in a managerial role, the engineers must be willing to challenge themselves and be self-conscious and honest about their limitations, to be able to improve in these areas. (P3) mentions that his perception of an engineers that has enrolled in a MSc program in management, sometimes has an arro-gant attitude. According to (P1-P6) it is important to be structured and adaptive as a manager to be able to multitask in today's hectic environment. (P1; P2; P4) suggests that the manager needs to see the big picture and take decisions quickly, when necessary. According to (P3; P4) interpersonal skills are more important than gender, when the selection of can-didates takes place. Most organizations aim for gender diversity, but males are overrepresented in the industry sector. As the organizations will not compromise on their required traits that is suitable for managerial roles, doors are now opening up for international female applicants (P3; P6). As a result, the importance of language skills is increasing in today's business environment (P1; P2; P3; P4). Based on 45 manager job listing that has been collected on (ams, 2020) traits have been identified and displayed as most desirable. The numbers displayed in Table 7, list how many times the trait was listed as a preferred requirement.

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Traits Appearance Communication 27 Team player 21 Structured 19 Language skills 16 Decision maker 13 Ethics and multi-cultural sensitivity 12 Leading in change 12 Engaged 10 Analytical 9 Fair 7 Flexible 7 Influence others 6 Result oriented 6 Solution oriented 4 Responsible 3 Global context 3 Resolve conflicts 1

Table 7 – Traits highlighted in job postings

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5 Analysis In this part we will present, discuss and summarize the outcome of the empirical data in comparison with existing theory. The exploded view of execution can be seen in the figure below:

_____________________________________________________________________

5.1 Perception of management educated engineers

According to (P1; P3) engineers has a useful and relevant background to understand the tech-nical problem that prevails in an industry. However, to be an efficient leader, sufficient inter-personal skill is required. Good interpersonal skills are something that the engineers usually are missing. (Pons, 2016) supports this, and suggests that engineers need to gain knowledge about interpersonal skills to become efficient managers.

According to (P1), a management trained engineer manages the crossing from a technical role to a management role more efficient, and this is supported by (Richter & Koza, 1988; Chenea, 1981). (Richter & Koza, 1988) further suggests that interpersonal skills are hard to achieve only by experience, the transition will be facilitated with an education. According to (P1), an engi-neer that has enhanced a MSc in management has better prerequisites for a faster career devel-opment. This statement is supported by (Omurtag, 2009) that explains it by declaring it as more choices given, which will promote the engineer’s career. A MSc in management is the fastest way to achieve this and thus, boost the career development (Gupta & Bennett, 2013; Hühn, 2013).

According to (P3; P4; P5; P6) recruiting for a managerial position is both time consuming and costly. Therefore, the recruiter tries to eliminate as many sources of error as possible, and a MSc in management can be seen as one variable that can eliminate. This is supported by (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015) who states that a management trained engineer is better prepared for a managerial role, and have a positive influence on the career.

Another aspect that regards the perception of a management educated engineer is the level of the managerial position. According to (P3), a supplementary education in management gives the recruiter a sign that the applicant for the managerial role has an interest in leadership and an understanding of what it requires to be an efficient leader. This is supported by (Baruch, 2009) that states a graduate with a management education have and understanding for manage-rial issues and could have increased human capital.

This is more applicable to entry-level management where the respondents answer indicates that the actual degree is more important than then specific course content (P2; P5). In a more high-

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level management position, a management education sees as a minimum requirement and is highly valuable. The focus has moved from a high focus on the soft skills to a more strategic and organization structure related field (P3; P4). Therefore, could a MSc in management that focus on the soft skills be seen as a waste of time for high-level management, as suggested by (Gupta & Turek, 2015; Petit, 2011).

According to (P1-P6) the overall impression is that the prerequisites for being able to perform efficient leadership are better if the engineer obtains a MSc in management. The applicants have acquired this knowledge through relevant leadership theories during the education. (Baruch, 2009) support this and argues for that an applicant that has a MSc in management has a broader and more customized skillset for a managerial position and is by the fact more suita-ble. To further develop this, the recruiter’s expectations on a management educated engineer is higher and this is something that (Baruch, 2009) highlights and supports as well. The utility and advantages of a management educated engineer get expressed more clearer when recruiting externally compared to internally. According to (P1; P2; P4; P5) an engineer often gets promoted to a managerial role because of the people skills and their human capital. If the applicant is promoted internally, the recruiters are familiar with the personal characteristics and therefore education and resume is of less importance. Via external recruitment, the applicant’s people skills are not known. In these situations, an education in management could give an advantage, that the applicant has understood the meaning and importance of people skills. These two different aspects were highlighted several times during the interviews, which highlights that the perception and the utility of an education in management differ depending on an internal or external point of views. (P4) suggests that a management education can be seen as a receipt of an obtained skillset and therefore when an engineer is applying for managerial role, the education leads to a fairer com-petition and thus, less discrimination. This is supported by (Gander, 2015; Baruch, 2009) that argues for, that an MBA could reduce discrimination of gender and ethnic minority, as the education is perceived to be a professional qualification.

5.2 Curriculum and aspects

(P2; P5) suggests that the content of a management education is not as important as the accomplishment and according to (P3; P4), the accreditations or the reputation of the university is not important, because the quality on educations in Sweden are perceived as high. (Singh Kang & Sharma , 2012) suggest that a newly minted MBA graduate compared to MA or MSc, is not more diligent. (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015) suggests that accreditation could be seen as a quality mark. (Brewer & Brewer, 2012; Baruch, 2009) argues for that an MBA needs to be achieved at a top business school if the un-dergraduate should expect financial returns on the investment. Accreditation for EM programs is not often a goal for the institution, and some schools does not want to fol-low certain guidelines when creating the curriculum. The investment of an accredited EM program does not outweigh the benefit (Farr & Bowman, 1999).

(P1; P2; P4; P6) suggests that a management programs needs to improve an engineer’s interpersonal skills to become efficient managers, as suggested by (P1; P5) most engi-neers have difficulties of engaging and influencing others. The importance of soft skills is also supported by (Schlegelmilch & Howard, 2011) as it is an important trait for successful managers as multiple shareholders worldwide is increasing, so are the im-portance of soft skills. How managers should be prepared is a highly debated question

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(Gray, 2011). (P3) suggest the program needs to focus on communication, teambuild-ing, problem solving, business acumen and to build confidence prior to interactions. An MBA is suggested by (Gander, 2015; Branden, 1998; Bandura, 1997; Mitchell & Gist, 1992; Bandura, 1977) to increase the individual’s self-confidence. (Subhash & Stopford, 2011) states that a survey made by AACSB, found communication as the most important skill in their career and according to (Subhash & Stopford, 2011 p.347) 6% of business schools were effective in teaching this skill, as most program focuses on hard skills. (Kocauglo, 1984) suggests that EM programs should focus on manage-ment and qualitative skills, this is the focus of the management program in Lund found in Table 6. In Table 2 and Table 5 for the curriculums in the Swedish EM and MBA programs, communication courses are part of the content. At Linkoping University in-terpersonal skills and communication is highlighted as key learning objectives. (Varela et al., 2011; Mazza et al., 2005) suggests that MBA programs lacks global out-look, cross cultural sensitivity and ethics. All mentioned by (P1; P2; P4) as important, due their recruitment in international organizations. These subjects are supported in Figure 4 Proposed MBA curriculum as important. (P3; P5) argues that the importance of an MBA increases, pending on the internationalization of the company. (Mazza et al., 2005) suggests that an essential outcome of an MBA program is a global mindset and that is one of the focus areas for AACSB accreditation. In our study all the programs for EM and MBA programs are international and a global context is incorporated. (Baruch & Lavi-Steiner, 2015) suggests enrolling in a management education is one way to gain human capital and according to (Gander, 2015; Mihail & Elefterie, 2006; Baruch & Lemming , 2001; Baruch & Peiperl, 2000; Ainsworth & Morley , 1995) an MBA could improve an undergraduate’s human capital. (Singh Kang & Sharma , 2012) suggest that employees with an MBA degree have better interpersonal skills than non-MBA employees. The Swedish EM and MBA programs all incorporates these subjects, while the EMBA programs for senior executives focus on organization and strategies, as can be seen in Table 3 and Table 4. According to (Waters, 2010) EM programs should focus on innovation and entrepre-neurship, this is supported by (Baruch, 2009) when it comes to MBA programs as there is a documented success of MBA graduates as entrepreneurs, and it could gain the gov-ernment in significant returns. The course curriculums in the Swedish EM programs all incorporates these subjects. For the MBA programs, only Table 4 - Learning modules in EMBA program, Stockholm incorporates this subject. During the interviews, entre-preneurship was not mentioned or even brought up by the recruiters. In Figure 4 Pro-posed MBA Curriculum entrepreneurship is stated to be desired by employers. (P1; P2; P4) argue for that a manger needs to look at the whole organization and under-stand the importance of sustainability, finance and supply chain management. (P4) further argue for that strategic thinking, organizational development, understand-ing of business to business and relationship management is highly valuable for manag-ers. (Baruch, 2009) suggest that an MBA could develop skills in finance, accounting, innovation and strategic planning. In the course curriculums for EM and MBA pro-grams these subjects are incorporated. In Table 3 – Learning modules in EMBA pro-gram, Gothenburg subjects are divided into small modules that clearly covers the de-sired subjects in both theory and our empirical data. The EMBA programs in Sweden

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requires a sponsor and previous work experience and the education is directed to exec-utive positions only. The need to management-educate engineers is supported by (Pons, 2016; Eschenbach, 2013; Daniels, 2009). In general, the recruiters don’t want to force someone towards a managerial position; therefore, weaknesses are identified, and proper training is sug-gested for the engineer to be self-confident in the new position as a manager. This set-up is most applicable for larger corporations with established internal training programs (P1; P2; P4; P5).

5.3 Individual characteristics (P1; P2; P4; P6) suggests that an engineer’s needs better interpersonal skills to become efficient managers. (P1-P6) suggest that oral and written communication and presenta-tion skills are vital characteristics for managerial positions in today’s business environ-ment. This is supported by (Van Auken et al., 2016) in Figure 3 as these both subjects are in the high attractiveness and high need for strengthening quadrant. (P1; P2; P3; P4) argues for the importance of language skills as they recruit for international organiza-tions. In Table 7 – Traits highlighted in job postings, it is clear that communication and language skills are highly desired amongst recruiters. (P3; P4) suggest that a candidate’s interpersonal skills are more important than gender and most of the Swedish organizations aims towards gender diversity. In the industry sector males are overrepresented and the organizations are not willing to compromise on their criteria for managerial roles. Therefore, doors are opening up for international female applicants (P3; P6). In Table 7 – Traits highlighted in job postings, ethics and multi-cultural sensitivity is listed as desired. According to (Van Auken et al., 2016) in Figure 3 ethics is listed in the low attractiveness and low need for strengthening quad-rant, while cultural sensitivity is listed in the low attractiveness and high need for strengthening quadrant. Ethical and courageous is suggested by (Farr & Brazil, 2009) in Figure 2 as one of the nine important leadership attributes. Big thinker and deci-sionmaker or two attributes that are recognized by (P1; P2; P4) as important for efficient managers. According to (P2; P4) a MSc in management could strengthen the individual's ability to use academic research when presenting facts or creating reports for top management and stakeholders. According to Figure 2 – Nine leadership attributes by (Farr & Brazil, 2009), interpersonal skills such as communication, team building, and decision making are essential attributes for efficient management. In Table 7 – traits highlighted in job postings; these attributes are in the top four desired traits. A desired skill according to (P1; P2; P4) is teambuilding skills, if the manager is good teambuilder they have the ability to empower people. Empowering is further defined to the ability to motivate, inspire and influence others. If a manager obtains these traits, the recruiters can see a strong connection between these traits and an esteemed leader whom leadership that works in the long run. Empower people is key and a cornerstone to obtain high proportion of teambuilding characteristics. This finding is supported in Figure 2 Nine leadership attributes by (Farr & Brazil, 2009) where teambuilding is one of the nine most important traits for a manager. Teambuilding is in the top of the most

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mentioned trait in Table 7 – Traits highlighted in job postings together with influence others, that a good teambuilder possess. (P3; P4) suggests that an engineer in the early career could gain a significant push to-wards strategic thinking, if the engineers enrolls in a management program. Strategic thinking is a repetitive element in the Swedish MBA programs (Table 2; Table 3; Table 4). Among the EM programs, strategies are incorporated only in Table 5. Strategic thinking is identified in Figure 3 by (Van Auken et al., 2016) as the most desired skill of attractiveness among recruiters. An enrollment in an MBA program could enhance strategic thinking and is suggested by (Mazza et al., 2005) in Figure 4 -Proposed MBA curriculum as important. According to all of the recruiters a structured approach is an appreciated trait for a man-ager, the recruiters could also see a connection between a high structured approach and the ability to be flexible and adaptive that is required in today’s business environment. The highly requested trait of structured is strengthening by Table 7 – Traits highlighted in job postings where structured places among the most desired trait. (P2; P3; P6) mention humility as a desired trait, according to (Singh Kang & Sharma , 2012) a graduate in management have in general a more arrogant attitude. Arrogance could averse the ability to perform efficient leadership, this finding is emphasized by (P3). According to (P3; P4; P6) there has to be a drive from the engineer's side in regards to start in a managerial role. The engineers must be willing to challenge themselves and be self-conscious and honest about their limitations, to be able to improve in these areas.

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6. Discussion

In the final part we will incentivize and build argumentation for generalizations drawn upon our findings, to finally answer our research questions and fulfill the purpose of this thesis. The exploded view of execution can be seen in the figure below:

_____________________________________________________________________

6.1 Perception of management educated engineers The empirical data displays that a MSc in management is unanimously perceived posi-tively. The way it influences the engineer’s career is depending on several variables. Something that all the recruiters agreed upon is that it accelerated and enhanced the engineer’s career development. The recruiters motivate that the skillset from an educa-tion in management equips the engineer for a broader spectrum of career options, where the role not solely relate to technical professions. The empirical data shows that an en-gineer that has achieved a MSc in management has higher expectations, compared to a non-management trained engineer. The recruiters have highlighted several aspects of how a MSc in management influence. The influence and the level of impact differ and depends on different identified aspects. According to the level of work experience, the recruiter’s perception is for entry-level management, and the value of an education in management is more intangible and fo-cuses more on soft skills. It gives the recruiter a sign, and indicates that the engineers have understood the basics of leadership, and could strive for managerial roles. For a more high-level management position, the recruiter’s focus has moved towards hard-skills, and the perception is that the engineer has gained knowledge of more hard skills such as strategy and organizational structure. The perception is that the impact and the level of influence differ and depend on the aspects of an internal or external perspective. Refer to the internal perspective, the im-pact of an education plays a minor role compared to the external since the focus is on the interpersonal skills. It has been proven that engineers can obtain desired skills and traits by working, and not by external education. In contrast to the internal perspective, the perception of an education via external recruiting shows the recruiter, that the ap-plicant had understood and gained vital knowledge by leadership and how a leader should act according to the soft skills.

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6.2 Curriculum and aspects According to some of the recruiters in our study the accomplishment of a management education is more valued than the school’s reputation and number of accreditations. In the theory on an international perspective this is contradicting as (Brewer & Brewer, 2012; Baruch, 2009) suggest that an MBA needs to be achieved at a top business school to expect financial return on the investment. The recruiters suggested that interpersonal skill related courses should be incorporated in the curriculums when educating engineers, as they identified a clear need for strengthening. Due to lack of interpersonal skills, teambuilding is difficult, which can be reflected in an organization’s performance and efficiency. Confidence is important and can in most cases be achieved through education according to (Gander, 2015; Branden, 1998; Bandura, 1997; Mitchell & Gist, 1992; Bandura, 1977). In Sweden is most programs contain courses that will train the participant in interaction and presen-tations. (Subhash & Stopford, 2011) argues for that communication is the most im-portant skill, if we compare this to the information gathered during the interviews, the job listings in Table 7 and the EM and MBA curriculums it seems evident that interper-sonal skills are highly valued in Swedish industry sector. The recruiters suggested that ethics and cultural sensitivity are important and valued as Sweden is a country that in general aims for equal opportunity. The Swedish EM and MBA programs has a global context as the programs are international and the partici-pants will work in multicultural groups. This is contradicting towards (Varela et al., 2011; Mazza et al., 2005), that suggests that MBA programs lacks global outlook, cross cultural sensitivity and ethics. In general, most subjects that the recruiters desire is covered by the school’s curricu-lums. The importance of innovation and entrepreneurship is argued by (Waters, 2010; Baruch, 2009). Courses in innovation and entrepreneurship are incorporated in the EM programs. From the recruiter’s perspective these skills could be seen as low valued in Sweden as neither of the recruiters mentions these subjects during the interviews. The statement could be supported by Table 7, as neither innovation or entrepreneurship is listed as desired traits. The recruiters suggest that a manager needs to understand the whole organization, a management educated engineer has this advantage as the curriculums in general cover the main parts of an organization. Therefore, the errors of recruiting an engineer with a management education is reduced.

6.3 Individual characteristics The recruiters were strong in their belief of interpersonal skills and emphases the im-portance of communication skills, both oral and written. Some of the recruiters sug-gested that a MSc in management could strengthen these skills and the support of aca-demic research could enhance the quality of presentation and facts when creating pro-fessional reports. A manager needs to be self-confident and communicate profession-ally to be able to succeed in today’s business environment. This is supported in existing research and in Table 7 – Traits highlighted in job postings, it is evident that

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communication is the most important trait desired today. Interpersonal skills are acknowledged in Figure 2 by (Farr & Brazil, 2009) as an important leadership attribute. In Sweden most organizations aim for gender diversity and from the recruiter’s per-spective a person’s interpersonal skills is more important than gender. In the Swedish industry sector males are overrepresented, and the organizations does not want to change their desired criteria for managerial roles. Therefore, doors are opening up for international female applicants, ethics and multi-cultural sensitivity is desired in both job postings in Table 7 and from a recruiter’s perspective. This could be seen as con-tradicting on an international perspective as cross-cultural sensitivity is considered im-portant, but not highly desired. Other individual characteristics that the recruiters sug-gested to be important for efficient managers were, as discussed in the curriculum and aspects, to be confident, take decision and see and understand the whole organization. This can be supported in existing research by (Farr & Brazil, 2009) in Figure 2 as im-portant leadership attributes; big thinker and decisionmaker.

A significant part of a managers work devotes to handle and manage a team. The re-cruiter’s pinpoints, and can see a correlation between an esteemed leader, and to which extent the manger can empower people. To achieve a high level of empowerment, traits, and characteristics like the ability to motivate, influence, and inspire others are the base for achieving a high grade of empowerment and therefore to be a good teambuilder.

Another characteristic that contributes to efficient leadership is the fallacy to be struc-tured. According to the recruiters, a structured manager can handle a higher working pace and can to a greater extent multitask, which prevails in today’s working environ-ment. The characteristics of structured, gains the ability to be adaptive and flexible, which is a required in a leadership role.

According to the empirical data, the recruiters can see that the sub-ordinate appreciate a manager that has a humble approach. According to some of the recruiters, a manage-ment educated engineer is perceived to be more arrogant, which in turn can averse the ability to execute efficient leadership.

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7 Conclusion The purpose of this thesis has been to investigate the recruiter’s perception of manage-ment educated engineers, in the Swedish industrial sector. Among management education, this thesis has concentrated on Engineering Manage-ment and MBA. It has investigated how the course content matches the recruiter’s ex-pectations and the development of an engineer’s traits, post-graduation. Finally, to in-vestigate the most important individual characteristic that the markets is currently re-questing upon the recruiters' perspective. Based on the findings, this thesis aims to an-swer the following research questions: RQ 1: What influence has EM or MBA on recruiters, when recruiting engineers for managerial roles? The conclusions derived from the analysis shows consistency of a positive influence in the eyes of the recruiter. The education influences the recruiters in a way that the engi-neer has higher expectations, and is expected to adopt a broader range of managerial roles. The influence of a management education further depends upon two aspects; Aspect one: The first aspect refers to the level of the managerial role. The focus transi-tions from soft skills according to entry-level, and more towards hard skills for senior managerial roles. Aspect two: The second aspect refers to the internal or external perspectives. In the eyes of recruiters an education has a more influential impact in regards to external aspects, compared to internal. RQ 2: Upon recruiters' perspective, which aspects of individuals' learning (skills, competence) are associated in the EM and MBA curriculums? Based on the findings presented in this thesis, the recruiters suggest that a management education, such as EM or MBA enhances the individual’s interpersonal skills. The re-cruiters suggest that highly valued traits, such as good communicator, structural and ethical is important in the Swedish industry sector. These topics are at some point in-corporated into the program’s curriculums, investigated in this thesis. The most im-portant trait is communication, it incorporates written and oral communication, team-building and decision-making. Innovation and entrepreneurship are incorporated in sev-eral curriculums in our study, these topics was never mentioned by the recruiters.

7.1 Managerial Implications This thesis contributes to a more comprehensive mapping of the concept EM and MBA. The perception is that the two concepts, especially EM, have, by this point, not gained an established meaning amongst recruiters in the Swedish industry sector. Thus, the obtained knowledge from an education in Engineering Management is not universally acknowledged. This thesis could contribute to a fairer picture and strengthening the brand, which in turn will make it easier for the manager and recruiters to evaluate the

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importance of the education and match it with more appropriated roles. The conclusion from this thesis shows that the desired skills and traits form the Swedish industry sector mostly match the outcome of the programs. This, in turn, can show that an engineer that obtained a MSc in management has gained sufficient knowledge. That is appropriated for the industry, which can increase the credibility and make the concept more under-standable for the managers.

7.2 Limitations A limitation in this thesis is that generalization in Sweden cannot be made as the inter-views are too few in numbers. As the primary and secondary data is collected mainly from Swedish sources, this study cannot be representative in a global context. The num-ber of collected job listings can neither be generalized, as it represents 45 industrial managerial jobs. The interviews did provide us with insight and valuable information, and the answers were coherent amongst the selected sample. A limitation of progress has been the pan-demic outbreak of the Corona virus, nine of the persons in the selected sample that was contacted rejected the interview, even though they were linked in our social network of contacts. The planned face to face interviews had to be carried out on Skype as most people started to work from home or became restricted of whom they meet. This limited us to record the interviewees body language during the interview sessions, we had to focus on voice reflection and facial expressions.

7.3 Future research During the progress of this thesis, new interesting topics and subjects has emerged that increased our knowledge and affected our perspective of recruitment. We have identified that entrepreneurship and innovation is incorporated in most of the curricu-lums and proven that it is important with existing theory. During the interviews, nei-ther entrepreneurship or innovation were mentioned, and during the coding the of the job listings, entrepreneurial or innovative was not listed as a trait. Therefore, we sug-gest that future research could be carried out towards their relevance in the job Swe-dish job market. As the programs are international, are these traits more valued inter-nationally? Future research could incorporate a quantitative approach to increase generalization of traits and competences that recruiters are requesting. An additional study of how gender diversity affects the recruitment of managerial roles internationally, would both be interesting and important in an equality perspec-tive.

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Appendices

Interview guide

What gets your attention in the selection of a recruitment, except the basic require-ments for the position? (Why /tell me more about that)

Could you, as a recruiter explain how an engineer can transition into a managerial po-sition, via an education? (Why /tell me more about that) What are the differences in internal and external recruitment for managerial positions? (Why /tell me more about that) What leadership attributes do you see as the most important when recruiting engineers for managerial roles? (Why /tell me more about that) What kind of personal traits are most often requested for recruitment of engineers in managerial positions? (Why /tell me more about that) How much focus is on the personal traits? (Why /tell me more about that) What kind of knowledge do you as a recruiter think that a management educated engi-neer should have gained? (Why /tell me more about that) When you are recruiting for managerial roles, how much does an MBA, EMBA or MSc in management affect the process? (Why /tell me more about that)

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