Fire extinguishers need to be appropriate to the type of fire.

Screenwriters know there is a magic formula called “structure” that must be adhered to when writing a successful script. A key element is what occurs at the nine-minute mark in a film. That’s when the hero’s life undergoes a change that forces them to take action and regain their footing, which catalyzes the triumphant conclusion.

You are the manager of a big company and you know your business. Each day, you make important decisions regarding money, policy and strategy. You’re in total control. Without warning, you are confronted with a major crisis: an earthquake, a fire or a reputational risk. Now you find yourself uncertain and unsure. You don’t know what to do and you realize that everybody is looking to you for guidance—and the decision you are about to make will directly affect the survival of your company.

When you walk into the lab, you can feel the tension building. Even though you enjoy your work, interacting with your boss is affecting your overall job satisfaction. You are facing a dilemma: start looking for another job or endure the conflict.

With headlines screaming about hacking, of the latest James Bond movie Skyfall most recently, of national and nuclear weapons laboratories not so long ago, and of businesses and individuals almost on a daily basis, it’s no surprise that worldwide information technology (IT) security spending is set to hit $77 billion in 2015—almost 8 percent more than this year’s $71 billion, according to IT researcher Gartner, Inc. 

“Trust me.” What sort of image do those words conjure up? Do you picture a parent teaching a child to ride a bike? A used car salesman talking with a customer? Or does your mind perhaps turn to the workplace, thinking of the promise for a future salary increase?

In the last issue of Lab Manager, we began to explore the ergonomic risk factors associated with the use of
computers. To recap briefly, three of the fundamental ergonomic risk factors are: position/posture, repetition/duration, and force. These can all be influenced by the work area setup and the activities being performed.

When looking at best practices for running a lab, things as seemingly diverse as staff development and retention, inventory management, procurement, and efficient use of training spends, need to be looked at together. After all, equipment is only as good as the staff who uses it and your staff is only as good as their training.

Federal research dollars are needlessly wasted as scientists spend more and more of their time trying to recoup operational costs.

The folks from M2 Scientifics share some tips, in no particular order, for maximizing your lab's budget.

Keeping middle managers happy with their supervisors is the key to retaining the lower-level workers they manage and avoiding expensive turnover costs, according to a Vanderbilt University study.

The Importance of Traditional Follow Up in a Non-Traditional Business World