I'm having a hard time believing how much I'm actually enjoying the case studies. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I'm more of an analytical thinker. Well, that's what I do in my job everyday as a scientist, and I think I enjoy it because it's like troubleshooting an instrument that isn't working correctly. You have to find out what IS working correctly, and then slowly chip away at things methodically until you find the problem. Only then can you address it.
When troubleshooting an instrument or developing analytical methods, you change only one variable at a time. This allows you to pinpoint problems without creating new ones. I used to work with a fellow who would change 3 to 4 different instrument settings at a time when trying to figure out what was wrong with it. I used to try to tell him that the way he was going about things was only causing him him more headaches, but he never listened to me. He always refused help, and it always took him weeks to figure out issues with methods when it should have only taken a day or two. He was guilty of one of the deadly sins...Pride.
I don't have any real management experience, unless you count the job I had during college in a phonebook factory. I was temporarily promoted to Lead Loader a few times and I would have to lead a team of people to run the signature loaders for binding phonebooks. Well, that and I was a Residence Advisor during college. I was in charge of a full wing which encompassed about 60 students, mostly freshman and sophomores. The reason I bring this up is that I'm not sure management is as easy as troubleshooting methods and instrumentation. There are a lot more variables, some that you can't always control, and you also don't have the luxury of being able to change one at a time and see how things are affected. I think this is going to be the most challenging part of it for me, and one that I'm going to have to adapt to. That being said, I'm really looking forward to evolving...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Possible Research Topic
This weekend I went on my annual fishing trip to the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY. I get together every year with a group of friends, which consists of three former work colleagues, we get a cabin at Selkirk Shores State Park and spend at least two solid days on the river. Here are some pictures of our excursion:
This is Mike with a very small steelhead. We've never caught any this small before.
Here's Larry with a nice king (chinook) salmon.
Me with a coho fresh out of Lake Ontario.
Me later in the day with another coho.
A shot of the river just upstream from the estuary with Dave on the middle left, and Mike on the right.
And one more of me on the second day with another coho.
I'm not sure if anyone cares about salmon fishing or not, but fishing is my #1 hobby (besides working out, if you can consider that a hobby) so I thought I'd share. There's something to be said about being on the river with a great group of friends . It's the simple things like this that make life truly great.
Anyway, back to the purpose of today's blog. While I was up there, I decided I should take along my text book and the practice case study so I could do the assigned readings and do some work on it in my spare time. While laying on the riverbank with my textbook in hand, I read the article on toxic management. All I can say is WOW, did that piece really hit home...
In the industry I work in (biotech and pharmaceuticals), you run into a LOT of toxic management. I am pretty sure most of it stems from the fact that most managers in this industry are not trained in management. When hiring for high level positions such as directors, associate directors, and laboratory managers, it is usually company policy to require a PhD. I never understood how a PhD in protein science or a PhD in organic chemistry can be a prerequisite for running a laboratory. If your main focus in your job is going to be managing a laboratory, which includes everything from managing staff to budgeting costs to resolving conflicts between employees, wouldn't you think that it would be wise to have some sort of management degree as a prerequisite? Whether it be an MBA or some other type of business certificate, I personally think that this should be the case. You need to bear in mind also that a lot of people who have a PhD in one of the science fields, are not exactly the most socially proficient. In fact, quite a few I've met appear to be quite narcissistic which was the first toxic management personality type covered in the reading!
I would really like be able to do my research paper on toxic management in the pharmaceutical industry. This is an issue I have experienced first hand and I feel that it is a main contributor to a lot of the conflicts that occur in the industry as a whole. I have to do some research and find out how much information is available out there on this topic.
This is Mike with a very small steelhead. We've never caught any this small before.
Here's Larry with a nice king (chinook) salmon.
Me with a coho fresh out of Lake Ontario.
Me later in the day with another coho.
A shot of the river just upstream from the estuary with Dave on the middle left, and Mike on the right.
And one more of me on the second day with another coho.
I'm not sure if anyone cares about salmon fishing or not, but fishing is my #1 hobby (besides working out, if you can consider that a hobby) so I thought I'd share. There's something to be said about being on the river with a great group of friends . It's the simple things like this that make life truly great.
Anyway, back to the purpose of today's blog. While I was up there, I decided I should take along my text book and the practice case study so I could do the assigned readings and do some work on it in my spare time. While laying on the riverbank with my textbook in hand, I read the article on toxic management. All I can say is WOW, did that piece really hit home...
In the industry I work in (biotech and pharmaceuticals), you run into a LOT of toxic management. I am pretty sure most of it stems from the fact that most managers in this industry are not trained in management. When hiring for high level positions such as directors, associate directors, and laboratory managers, it is usually company policy to require a PhD. I never understood how a PhD in protein science or a PhD in organic chemistry can be a prerequisite for running a laboratory. If your main focus in your job is going to be managing a laboratory, which includes everything from managing staff to budgeting costs to resolving conflicts between employees, wouldn't you think that it would be wise to have some sort of management degree as a prerequisite? Whether it be an MBA or some other type of business certificate, I personally think that this should be the case. You need to bear in mind also that a lot of people who have a PhD in one of the science fields, are not exactly the most socially proficient. In fact, quite a few I've met appear to be quite narcissistic which was the first toxic management personality type covered in the reading!
I would really like be able to do my research paper on toxic management in the pharmaceutical industry. This is an issue I have experienced first hand and I feel that it is a main contributor to a lot of the conflicts that occur in the industry as a whole. I have to do some research and find out how much information is available out there on this topic.
Friday, September 10, 2010
1st Blog, MGM580
Hi Everyone,
This is my first experience blogging, so I have a feeling the semester is going to be a true learning experience for me. I consider myself computer savvy, but I never got into blogging for some reason. I guess I'm a bit of a "private" person and I don't want too much information about me just floating around on the internet. Although I do have a Facebook page, so any privacy I had was probably history quite a while ago...
About me...well, I grew up in Sheppton, Pennsylvania. Sheppton's a small town just outside of Hazleton. I graduate from Hazleton Area High School in 1997 and earned my bachelor's degree in chemistry from Bloomsburg University in 2002. While I was in college, I spent a summer living with my brother in Seattle, WA. He own's a landscaping business and needed my help doing the work when he injured his back, so I drove cross country to help him out. It was a great experience and I'd do it again if I could.
Since graduation, I've bounced around a bit between a few pharmaceutical companies for the past 8+ years and I've lived in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and back to PA. I started out in small molecule pharmaceuticals and got into the biotechnology sector with my last company. After three years at that company, another large pharmaceutical company purchased us and I was part of a layoff. I managed to find a scientist position with another biotech company, and everything pretty much worked out for the best.
I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this semester. I've only taken one other graduate course, and I had to take three undergrad courses during the spring and summer due to deficiencies in certain areas like accounting, finance, and marketing. (You don't get to take too many of those classes when you're a chemistry major) I was nervous about the MBA program at first, and I was really worried that I wouldn't find business classes interesting or I wouldn't do well because the concepts weren't science based which is what I am used to. I have to say, so far, I've really enjoyed all of the classes I've taken for the MBA program and I find that I can apply a lot of the concepts to my everyday worklife, which reinforces the notion that I've made the right choice.
Jeff
This is my first experience blogging, so I have a feeling the semester is going to be a true learning experience for me. I consider myself computer savvy, but I never got into blogging for some reason. I guess I'm a bit of a "private" person and I don't want too much information about me just floating around on the internet. Although I do have a Facebook page, so any privacy I had was probably history quite a while ago...
About me...well, I grew up in Sheppton, Pennsylvania. Sheppton's a small town just outside of Hazleton. I graduate from Hazleton Area High School in 1997 and earned my bachelor's degree in chemistry from Bloomsburg University in 2002. While I was in college, I spent a summer living with my brother in Seattle, WA. He own's a landscaping business and needed my help doing the work when he injured his back, so I drove cross country to help him out. It was a great experience and I'd do it again if I could.
Since graduation, I've bounced around a bit between a few pharmaceutical companies for the past 8+ years and I've lived in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and back to PA. I started out in small molecule pharmaceuticals and got into the biotechnology sector with my last company. After three years at that company, another large pharmaceutical company purchased us and I was part of a layoff. I managed to find a scientist position with another biotech company, and everything pretty much worked out for the best.
I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this semester. I've only taken one other graduate course, and I had to take three undergrad courses during the spring and summer due to deficiencies in certain areas like accounting, finance, and marketing. (You don't get to take too many of those classes when you're a chemistry major) I was nervous about the MBA program at first, and I was really worried that I wouldn't find business classes interesting or I wouldn't do well because the concepts weren't science based which is what I am used to. I have to say, so far, I've really enjoyed all of the classes I've taken for the MBA program and I find that I can apply a lot of the concepts to my everyday worklife, which reinforces the notion that I've made the right choice.
Jeff
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