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.