Work place: Secretary of State chosen as boss of choice

George W. Bush might be president, but plenty of workers doubt they’d want him as a boss.

In a survey for National Boss Day, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. asked people visiting the company’s Web site to rank the following as the best bosses to have: Bush, Colin Powell, Bill Gates, Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey.

Powell won the question, with 37 percent of 497 people choosing him as the one they’d prefer as a boss. Gates came in second, with 25 percent.

Bush was third, (19 percent), slightly ahead of Winfrey (16 percent). Stewart, the home decor diva, finished last: 2 percent said they’d like to have her as a boss.

Lawrence: Microtech Computers topic of technology lunch

Mike Zheng, president of Microtech Computers Inc., and Bret Stouder, director of Atipa Technologies, will be guest speakers at the Lawrence Technology Assn. luncheon.

Microtech Computers, Lawrence, was founded in 1986 as a designer and integrator of personal computers. Atipa Technologies is Microtech Computer’s newest division, focusing on high-end parallel processor Linux supercomputer clusters. In 2002, Atipa Technologies built and installed a supercomputer for Louisiana State University that recently was certified as the 11th fastest computer worldwide and the second fastest computer in academia.

The luncheon will be at noon Nov. 13 at Hereford House, Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive. The cost is $20 for nonmembers and $15 for members. To make reservations, send an e-mail to Peggy Williams at pwilliams@ittc.ukans.edu. Reservations also can be made by fax at 864-7789 or voice mail at 864-7354.

Motley Fool: Name that company

In the 1800s, the son of a German immigrant sawmill owner founded me in Indiana to operate a general store, furniture companies, a bank, a newspaper and the Batesville Coffin Co. In 1929, my Hill-Rom subsidiary revolutionized the hospital furniture industry by replacing cold steel with wood. Today I’m a holding company for three wholly owned and autonomously managed companies: Hill-Rom, Funeral Services Group and Forethought Financial Services (which markets funeral planning financial products), all leaders in the markets they serve. I rake in about $2 billion per year, and have increased my dividend for 30 consecutive years. Who am I?