Since there are many fewer managers than engineers out there and they generally get paid more than engineers I can only conclude that managers are worth more than and are rarer than engineers.
Justification? What is the basis for the conclusion?
In an ideal world, maybe. Or perhaps the adjective "good" is missing from that description in which case "hens teeth" is also missing.
If there are more management positions than there are ideal candidates, then some of those positions get filled with idiots. This is true with any profession and at any level.
Of course, the Management Rule Book is supposed to control their every action but it doesn't stop them being idiots.
Example:
I spent two-three years on a new product development, managing every aspect of it, frequently working a full week at the office and then flying out to the clients test site for 5 or 6 weekends on the trot as it went into the 18000 hr test phase.
At the final meeting with the client (you'll all know the name)who fielded both their Technical Managers and their Purchasing Manager(and the fact that purchasing was there is a favourable indicator) our "pointy haired" ones were present in battalion strength complete with the local agent through whom they routed the final proposal.
A global, single source deal and the Business Manager (who had to front this to the board for investment) and the Regional Sales Manager had no idea what price the local agent had put on the deal.
After I gave a technical summary, their technical guys said very simply, "We have approved this equipment for use on our machines."
The purchasing manager then said: "We are prepared to pay 6000 per unit."
Even an idiot ought to recognise that as two buying signals and a price objection... but apparently there are degrees of idiocy.
The pointy hairs got up and left in a huff and never looked back.
The project was based around the client saying "we'd be prepared to go to 6000" right at the start.
This meant we could accept the 6000 (and maybe cut the agents throat, as they should have done anyway, if they didn't want to share) and still make their xx% margin if they cared enough to negotiate.
It took me two years to get back in without the pointy haired ones and close the deal at a price comfortably higher than 6000, and about what I had originally projected.
I'd had to wait out two business managers: the one from the meeting got promoted and his replacement (corporate merger in between) retired.
Each years delay in getting to market represents losing around 30% of the lifetime profits (The Engineer).
This delay allowed the competition back in to the market when they should have gone under.
So these guys wasted four years of my life and two years time to market (we are talking millions lost and I don't mean Turkish lira).
Dilbert has it spot on.
JMW