Research Paper on How Humanities Help to Prepare for Industrial Engineering

Introduction

Industrial engineering is an inter-disciplinary profession that concerns with the optimization of complex systems, processes and organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of knowledge, money, equipment, information, energy and materials. According to Strauss, Industrial engineering overlaps with systems engineering, operations research, production engineering and management science, manufacturing engineering, management engineering, ergonomics and safety engineering among others depending on others' viewpoints. I would, therefore, like to pursue a career in industrial engineering and utilize specialized knowledge and skills in business administration, mathematics, management, physical and social sciences and methods of engineering analysis to design, predict and evaluate the results obtained from systems and processes. To achieve this career goal, it's vital for me to learn humanities and understand its roles and contribution to industrial engineering.

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Engineers are thought to be experts in their fields of interest and that is where their expertise ends. However, they are on one hand good critical thinkers and the other hand lack proper communication and interpersonal skills (Khalid et al.). This lack of communication and interpersonal skills can be attributed to their failure to give priorities to this disciplines during their engineering course. Humanists claim that the state-of-the-art scientific knowledge and techniques that engineers learn during their studies have limited shelf life. However, the mastery of humanities provide tools that extend the shelf life. Among the most vital aspects of engineering is proper communication in both verbal and written forms (Khalid, Adeel et al.). Humanities, therefore, play a vital role in strengthening the ability of engineers to work and communicate with others. Some of the roles played by humanities in enhancing career development in industrial engineering among other engineering courses include the following.

Generation of Ideas and Broadening of Horizons

Various engineering students take humanities courses with the thoughts that they are wasting their time. However, humanities courses emphasize social skills and are rigorous in not only written but also oral communication (Bhallamudi & Isha). The courses provided in humanities prepare students to become better engineers. They help students in industrial engineering to fulfil their civic and cultural responsibilities. It enables students to be familiar with and apply creative ideas form minds outside their field of study which helps to come up with new ideas as well as broaden their horizons. Mastery of the basic communication skills provides tools that expand one's knowledge and application, which is fundamental in industrial engineering. Moreover, humanities lower the wall that exists among disciplines by integrating effective oral and writing skills that facilitate the transition (Evans). It enables the students to easily and more freely move across the various disciplines that pertain to industrial engineering.

Reinforces Cultural and Ethical Responsibilities and Values

Studying humanities helps to develop and enhance humanistic values that ensure all-round development of an engineering student. These values include intrinsic values, social values, cultural heritage, economic value, innovation, critical thinking and aesthetic appreciation among others (Holm et al.).

Social value: humanities help to establish tolerance and understanding among citizens, thereby resulting in social cohesion. This is vital for industrial engineers as they will interact with the society in their field of work, and cohesion would enhance their success. They also help in decision-making on complex ethical issues that affect society.

Cultural heritage: humanities enable industrial engineers to understand, integrate, preserve and even challenge their national heritage and culture while providing room for innovation.

Innovation: humanities deal with aspects of motivation, organization and taking action which form essential components of creativity in industrial engineering among other engineering fields.

These form part of the vital values that humanities would provide to the field of industrial engineering in a bit to develop an all-round personality that would enhance economical and societal growth.

Provides an Understanding of the World and its Inhabitants

According to Reiter, humanities, through literature, philosophy, poetry and history provide students with the information required to navigate the human experience. In this case, studies on humanities enable students to understand both the world and the minds of other individuals and focus on enquiry based methods of studying the world's culture. This is vital for industrial engineers as the go out to interact with the society. The skills learnt to facilitate innovation and engineers can focus on how their work will affect the world and its inhabitants. We live in a multicultural society that calls for knowledge of diverse peoples and cultures (Hynes & Swenson). Therefore, humanities provide windows into these various cultures and help industrial engineers to appreciate the societies as they reflect and enhance tolerance for cultural differences.

Helps to Handle Uncertainties

Engineering is all about certainties, hard facts and establishing finite solutions to problems (Kumar). It involves the processes of finding certainties to issues in the related field with the aim of finding an answer. However, humanities don't operate that way. O'Neil argues that a course in humanities teaches the engineering students that even with all the answers, there are still problems and issues that have no single final solution. It, therefore, helps them understand the uncertainties and even avoid them if possible.

Conclusion

Industrial engineers apply science, mathematics, and various engineering aspects to complex systems that integrate engineering operations (Ruprecht). These systems are large and complex, therefore requiring a need to heave knowledge and skills in a myriad of disciplines that would provide them with the ability to work well with other people and systems perspectives. Industrial engineers apply their knowledge and skills to improve systematic processes using statistical analysis, design and planning, operations management, quality controls, interpersonal communication and problem solving to work efficiently in their related fields.

Works Cited

Bhallamudi, Isha. "The Importance Of Humanities In Engineering Education - The Fifth Estate." The Fifth Estate. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Evans, Jeffrey. "The Role Of Humanities And Social Sciences In Engineering Education." Researchgate. N.p., 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Holm, Poul, Arne Jarrick, and Dominic Scott. "The Value Of The Humanities." Link.springer.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Hynes, Morgan, and Jessica Swenson. "The Humanistic Side Of Engineering: Considering Social Science And Humanities Dimensions Of Engineering In Education And Research." Docs.lib.purdue.edu. N.p., 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Khalid, Adeel et al. "Building A Better Engineer: The Importance Of Humanities In Engineering Curriculum." Asee.org. N.p., 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Kumar, Rajeev. "Lending Human Touch: The Role Of Humanities In Engineering Education." Iiste.org. N.p., 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

O'Neil, J. "The Humanities And Their Effect On Engineering Education - IEEE Journals & Magazine." Ieeexplore.ieee.org. N.p., 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Reiter, Christine. "21St Century Education: The Importance Of The Humanities In Primary Education In The Age Of STEM." Scholar.dominican.edu. N.p., 2017. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Ruprecht, Robert. "Humanities In Engineering Education." Tandfonline.com. N.p., 2007. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.

Strauss, Valerie. "Why We Still Need To Study The Humanities In A STEM World." The Washington Post. N.p., 2017. Web. 30 Nov. 2018.