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MANAGEMENT

PIONEER Kess ler Chemica l C o m ­p a n y , since 1921, has pioneered in the develop­ment and production of i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i c e s t e r s .

Today, Kessler products cover a wide r a n g e of physical p rope r t i e s and molecularweights. Among these you should find the one with the exact prop­erties you require. I f n o t , a s k us a b o u t m a k i n g a n e s t e r t o y o u r s p e c i f i c a t i o n s ·

Thirty-seven years of ex­perience in this field is a priceless background. W h y not take advantage of it ?

Call or write our Technical Service Laboratory, outlining your problem

KESSLER CHEMICAL CO., Inc. State Road a7id Cottman Avenue

PHILADELPHIA 35, PENNA.

'KESSLER

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Definitions like this one in the "Dictionary of Occupational Titles** are being improved as one means of increasing cliemical technician survey reliability

Technician Survey Urged Executive director of Presi­dent's Committee offers pro­gram to ease shortage

A. siioiuwci: OF TIKHNK ι \ N S prevents industry from making full use of pro­fessional scientists and engineers.

Eugene D. YinogradofF, executive director of the President's Committee on Scientists and Engineers, offers a three-pronged program aimed at pin­pointing how many technicians are needed. . .id then making such positions attractive enough to draw greater num­bers of qualified people.

But lack of a good definition of "tech­nician" is a big stumbling block in the path of finding out how main such people» there are, so plans can be made to attract more qualified people, says Bernard Michael of the Bureau of La­bor Statistics. Michael contends this lack fogs survexs of shortages, makes them less useful.

• The Plan. There is enough evi­dence, says YinogradofF, "to justify the conclusion that a shortage of many types of support personnel afilicts main

industries, including the chemical in­dustry.** To correct this situation and make better xise of scientists, Yino­gradofF says, we have to know where the shortages are. His suggestion: Set up an industry-wide committee to co­operate with a government agency ex­perienced in conducting surveys—prob­ably the Labor Departments Bureau of Labor Statistics or Bureau of Em­ployment Security—to find out exactly what and where the shortages are.

As a starter toward corrective action. YinogradofF suggests that industry:

• Support two- and three-year tech­nical schools in the same way that it supports colleges and universities.

• Encourage more qualified people to join the ranks of scientific support personnel hy upgrading technicians* jobs and by giving more recognition and higher pay to technical secretaries.

YinogradofF supports his call for recognition of two- and three-year tech­nical schools with figures turned up shortly after the President's Committee was formed in 1956.

"We looked into almost every civil­ized nation," YinogradofF says, "and we found three technicians for each en-

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«liuecr or scientist. Then v\«.· looked at tbe L\ S. situation and found our schools turning out three scientists or engineers for every technician. This showed whv scientists and engineers in most other countries are able to devote îïcarlv full time to creative work, tree from paper work anil routine laboratory procedure that take so much time from American professionals.

Tbe President's Committee has en­couraged five ot the M \ regional ac­crediting associations to recogni/e schools for technicians, or begin the process leading to recognition.

Above all, Yinogradoif sa \s . man­agement must upgrade technicians to the highest capacities in which thev can work well. This step, he feels, is the surest way to clear routine matters from the path of the scientist or engineer-

Good technicallv trained secretaries, as complements to good technicians, can help take a load from the shoulders of many scientists and engineers, adds Yinogradoif. He described a sel îool that turns out technical secretaries who have had a 90 semester-hour course which includes 10 hours of science, us­ing two chemistry texts especialh written for the course; five hours ot mathematics; five hours of drafting; 2(> hours of science terminology.

t W h a t Is a Technician? Getting: accurate figures on how m a m techni­cians are needed w o n t be easy. Luhor Depar tment surveys of technician em­ployment have been hampered by semantics. Discussions with employers show that "technician** is applied t o persons ranging from new B.S. gradu­ates to high school graduates and col­lege drop-outs who have been exposed to a laboratory, sav s Labor's Michael

"In short, when an industrialist s.i\ s he employs 25 chemical technicians, h e n.ay be talking about 25 people who wash bottles or 25 beginning researcli scientists. Definitions now used in our surveys a t tempt to climii.atc these ex­tremes, bu t are still necessarily broad."

Michael praises cooperation be tween the President's Committee. National Science Foundation, and Bureau of Employment Security. These groups are working toward usable definitions of the broad fields of work in w hicli technicians are employed and detailed descriptions of the jobs included i n their fields. These eventually will ap ­pear in supplements to the "Dictionary of Occupational Titles." Michael feels that better definitions will help iic?t more specific figures from future sur­veys of technician employment.

Bosses Can Be Blind I

The boss m a y not understand your problems—or a g r e e with you on your duties

U o v o c . as a young executive, feel that the boss doesn't understand ν our ! problems? Well, chances AW. vouVe right, according to the results of a sur­vey bv three I'niversitv ot Michigan psychologists. As a matter of tact, survev results indicate that not only docs the "higher** executive not nuclei -stantl his subordinate's problems —he has little conception ot them.

Furthermore*, although the picture is a hit brighter on this score, he can't qui te sav what the subordinate's job entails. Λ typical example. \ superior thought costs and budget were his sub­ordinate's big problems; the subor­dinate pegged getting action from his superior as his chief headache.

Lack of effective communication be­tween bosses and workers below the· so-called executive level is almost tra­ditional, and has been the subject ot many probes. Now, the Foundation for Research on Human Behavior, an independent firm in Ann Arbor, Mich., is putt ing SS000 into a two-year study — completion date is expected to be September 1919— to ferret out condi­tions at levels closer to management.

Results so far are based on inter­views with 35 subordinate executive's ami 3"> higher executives. Here are some preliminary findings:

• Only 6' ' of higher executives agree highly on their views of a subordinate's problems: 7 Γ « had low agreement.

• On the matter of duties. 4(V ' had close» agreement vv ith their subordi­nates, while 2 1 ' ' had low agreement.

• Opinions on future changes in a subordinate's job varied widely. Sub­ordinates in some cases visualized sweeping changes not planned by man­agement, and vice versa. One lower level executive saw the future bringing nothing new to his job. while manage­ment was planning to add automation.

Coming next is research into causes of these problems. There are hints that fears about advancement lead sub­ordinates to agree continually with the boss, play up achievements rather than problems. Result—a poorly informed supervisor with little chance to learn of tbe problems besetting his men.

You get ACCURATE METERING at low flow rates

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Tahv a look at Milton Roy's chro­matographic miniPump. With this pump's accurate, reliable metering of reagents a t extremely low flow rates, analyses of amino acids are now possible in one day — instead of the ten days formerly needed. It provides accurate metering of clear liquids from 3 to 3940 ml hr (milli­liters per hour), against pressures to 1,000 psi «pounds per square inch).

The chromatographic miniPump is specially designed and factory tested to meet the exacting needs of this type of analysis . . . it permits a con­s tant flow ra te to produce sharp elution fronts. Unaffected by in­creased pressure across chromato-graphcolumns during a test run, the volumetric efficiency of this pump will continue the desired flow rate of eluent throughout the run. Available with plunger sizes of 1 16", 1 s" and \ 4" diameters . . . manual or

automatic 0-100'; capacity adjust­ment. Take a ^ood look a t the Milton Roy approach to your metering and pumping problems . . . write for Bulletin 1 257-1 to Milton Roy Com­pany, 1300 East Mermaid Lane, Philadelphia IS, Pa.

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NOV. 10. 1 9 5 8 C & EN 3 7