Engineering Management and Industrial Engineering: Six One Way, a Half Dozen the Other

To some people engineering management (EM) is a specialty within Industrial Engineering (IE), to others EM is broader than IE. Comparing the histories of the two disciplines shows a clear distinction. Both disciplines have their roots in the work of engineering pioneers at the turn of the century. Work in motion and time study, along with other efficiency driven techniques, was the beginning of IE. Both IE and EM can trace their roots to the era of scientific management and the work of the early pioneers. A noted change for IE occurred after World War II when many programs shifted their focus towards operations research. For some this shifted marks the beginning of the distinction between the two disciplines