Comps Study Guide - Aug 2007

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August 28, 2007

Marshall Goldsmith School of Management Los Angeles

Fall 2007 Comprehensive Exam Review Sheets

Dear Students,

Appended you will find three review sheets (Theory, Interventions, & Research) designed

to aid you in studying for the Fall 2007 administration of the Doctoral ComprehensiveExam at MGSM-LA. We have designed these review sheets with the following goals in

mind:

1) To specify thegeneralcontent domains that the faculty believe represent required

Ph.D.-level knowledge in Industrial-Organizational Psychology.

2) To help students identify areas where more study and preparation are needed.

These review sheets are designed to reduce anxiety by providing a list of topics that

should be mastered as part of advancement to doctoral candidacy. They do not constitutea contract, real or implied, regarding the questions that will appear on the comprehensive

exam. Further, these lists of topics extend beyond what has been covered during your

formal coursework. The reason for this is that comprehensive exams are a test of your

current mastery of the field of organizational psychology, rather than a test of past coursematerial.

At times, studying these topics will require literature searches to learn additional concepts

beyond those presented in class. This is a deliberate feature of the design of

comprehensive exams, as this aspect is what distinguishes the comps as a learning

process, in addition to an evaluation of learning outcomes. This learning process will

likely be mirrored later in your career, when you will be asked to independently developexpertise in topics with which you are initially unfamiliar.

Please remember during your studies that you are not being asked to memorize entirebooks or articles, but rather to learn and understand the general principles from these

sources that can be summarized in a 2-5 page, written answer. Because the material that

must be covered is voluminous, you should not devote all of your studying time to anyone topic or narrow group of topics.

It is our hope that these review sheets will support and possibly even comfort you by

providing some structure to guide your studying. [We believe that any anxiety you might

experience while studying would be far greater if there were no review sheets at all.]

This process will be challenging, and we believe that your efforts will be well-spent. Arigorous comprehensive examination process will distinguish the AIU Ph.D. from

competitors degrees.

Sincerely,

MGSM-LA Faculty


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Comprehensive Examination Study Guide

Theory

Social Psychology in Organizations

1. Helping Behavior, Altruism

Social Exchange Theory

Empathy-altruism Theory

Prosocial transformations

Norm of social responsibility

o Diffusion of responsibility

o Feelings of uncertainty

o Evaluation apprehension

Mood and helping

o

Affect-priming Modelo Affect-as-information Model

Personality characteristics and helping

Factors affecting helping behavior

Factors affecting prosocial behaviors in organizations

2. Aggression

Organization-motivated aggression

Workplace aggression

Instinct Theory

Frustration-Aggression Theory Relative Deprivation

Social Learning approach to Aggression

Catharsis

Media Influences

3. Interpersonal relations

Affiliation, attraction and close relationships

Improving face-to-face relationships at the workplace

Friendship patterns and consequences at the workplace

Reward theory of attraction

Similarity and attraction

Proximity and attraction

Mere Exposure Effect

4. Attribution Theory

Actor-Observer Bias

Kelleys, Nisbetts and Weiners theory of attribution


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Jones and Davis Correspondence Bias

Self-serving Bias

False consensus effect

False uniqueness effect

Heiders balance theory

Fundemental Attribution Error Ultimate Attribution Error

Learned helplessness

Self-efficacy/collective efficacy

A causal attribution approach to work exhaustion consequences

5. Cognitive approaches to attitudes

Attitude-behavior relationship

Festingers Cognitive Dissonance Theory, cognitive consistency

Bems Self-perception theory

Self-presentation theory Cognitive consequences of forced compliance

Attitude change

Attitude assessment

Attitude accessibility as a moderator in the attitude-perception and attitude-

behavior relations

6. Persuasion

Petty and Cacioppos routes to persuasion

Elements of persuasion

One-sided versus two-sided appeals Primacy versus recency effects

Effects of fear-arousing communications

The effects of involvement on responses to argument quantity and quality

Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon

Door-on-the face Phenomenon

Law-ball technique

7. Social influence and conformity

Sherifs studies on norm formation

Aschs studies on group pressure

Milgrams obedience experiments

Zimbardos prison experiment

Factors influencing obedience

When do people conform?

Why do people conform?

Who conforms?


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8. Group decision-making

Social facilitation

o Evaluation apprehension

o Distraction

o Mere presence

Social loafing

Deindividuation

o Group size

o Anonymity

o Distraction

o Self-awareness

Group polarization

o Informational and normative influence

Groupthink

o Symptoms of groupthink

o Preventing groupthink

Trust and decision-making

9. Intergroup relations and prejudice

Social categorization

Stereotyping

Prejudice and discrimination

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Origins of prejudice

o Realistic Conflict Theory

o Social Identity Theory

o Social Learning Theory

o Scapegoat Theory

o Authoritarian Personality

o Belief Congruency Theory

o Accentuation Theory

o Illusory Correlation Theory

Modern racism

Obedience to authority as explanations for employment discrimination

Minimal group paradigm

10. Social psychology in cross-cultural perspective

Hofstedes cultural dimensions

Intercultural communication

Kluckhorn and Strodbecks work

Implications of cross-cultural differences for I/O psychology and HRM


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Cultural Diversity in Organizations

1. Introduction to the cultural diversity, definitions, issues

Definitions

Importance of diversity competency

Advantages of well-managed diversity Potential problems of diversity

2. Identity

Self-identity

Group-identity

o Types of group identities

Social Identity Theory

Cultural-identity

o Identity strength

o Subjective belief structures

3. Stereotyping

Impact of stereotyping in organizations

Relationship between stereotyping and prejudice

o Information-processing approach

o Consistency Theory

4. Prejudice & Discrimination

Modern prejudice

Different Approaches to Prejudice

o Psychodynamic approach

o The frustration-aggression hypothesiso The authoritarian personality

o Relative deprivation

o Realistic goal conflict

o Minimal group paradigm

o Social identity theory

Impact of Prejudice in Organizations

Subgroup differentiation and subgroup bias

Positive distinctiveness

5. Racism in organizations

Different types of racism

o Symbolic racism

o Everyday racism

o Aversive racism

o Modern racism

o Traditional racism

o Others.


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Racial categorization

Racial identity development

6. Sexism in organizations

Gender stereotyping and discrimination

Fiske & Stevens approach to gender differences

Barriers to retaining and advancing women

The ambivalent sexism

Stopping sexual harassment at the workplace

7. Sexual orientation and other stigmatized groups

Sexual orientation

Age

Disability

Weight. Religion, and other stigmatized groups

How to create a change at the workplace to include homosexuals, elderly, disabledpeople, and other stigmatized group members

8. Culture

Cross-cultural aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication

Organizational reward systems and culture

Cross-cultural training across the individualism-collectivism divide

Negotiating across cultural boundaries

Cross-cultural differences in leadership styles

Acculturation

o Types of acculturationo Strategies for improving acculturation

9. Strategies for successful diversity management

Implementation of consulting assessments

Models for reducing discrimination

o Personalization Model

o Common-group Identity Model

o Categorization Model

o Crossed categorization Model

Organizational changeo Individual Change

o Systemic Change

o What can consultant do to promote organizational change?

o Activities contributing to effective change management (Cummings and

Worley's five-factor model or John Kotter's Eight Steps)

Strategies for consultants to international organizations

o Intercultural Communication


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o Intercultural sensitivity

o Acculturation

Leaders role in creating successful diversity in organizations

o Developing leaders for global roles.

o Changing management mindset

10. Diversity consultation skills

Designing intercultural training

Multicultural organizational development

Diversity workshops and training

Organizational Behavior

1. Perception and attribution

Selective perception

Personal and external influences on attention

Social perception

o Characteristics of perceiver, target and the situation which could influence

perception

o Role of social perception in job interviews, performance appraisal, and

organizational conflict

o Biases and problems in person perception (primacy effects, contrast

effects, halo effects, similar-to-me effects, harshness, leniency and average

tendency biases, knowledge of predictor bias)

Attribution theory

o Internal and external attributiono Attributional biases

2. Learning and Creativity

Theories of learning

o Classical conditioning

o Operant conditioning

o Observational learning; Social Cognitive Theory (vicarious learning, self-

control, self-efficacy, etc.)

o Experiential learning

Rewards and punishment in organizationso Schedules of reinforcement

Training programs and techniques; Organizational Behavior Modification

Continuous learning through creativity

o Creative process

o Factors that contribute to creativity (employee characteristics,

organizational and situational characteristics)

o The learning organization (Senge)


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Implications of theories about learning for communication and training

3. Motivation

Components of motivation

Need theories

o Maslows need hierarchy theory

o Alderfers ERG theory

o Murrays, McClellands theory

Equity theory

Expectancy theory

Motivating employees: job design

o Job enrichment

o Job enlargement

Job characteristics model

Classical conditioning

Skinnerian conditioning, Reinforcement theory at work

Achievement Motivation

Intrinsic motivation (e.g., Deci, self-determination theory, cognitive evaluation

theory)

Goal motivation (e.g., Locke)

4. Values, Attitudes, Moods and Emotions

Values (work and ethical values; intrinsic and extrinsic work values)

o Intrinsic and extrinsic work values

o Utilitarian, moral and justice values

o

Work Attitudes

o Job satisfaction

o Organizational commitment

o

o Moods and EmotionsMoods versus emotions

o Emotional labor (display rules, emotional dissonance)

Job satisfaction

o Measuring job satisfaction

o Theories of job satisfaction

Herzbergs two factor theory

Lockes value theory

o Determinants of job satisfaction

Organizational

Personal

o Effects of job satisfaction in organizations

Organizational commitment


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o Types of organizational commitment

o Factors influencing organizational commitment

o Effects of organizational commitment

5. Individual differences Personality and organizational behavior

Big-five personality characteristics

Type A and Type B personality

Machiavellianism

Locus of control

Self-monitoring

Self-efficacy

Self-esteem

Positive and negative affectivity

Methods for measuring personality

6. Stress

Causes of stress

o Work-related causes of stress

o Personal causes of stress

Effects of stress in organizations

Causes and effects of job burnout

Individual differences in resistance to stress

o Optimism

o Hardiness

o Type A personality

Coping styles

Stress management

o Physiological techniques

o Cognitive techniques

o Behavioral techniques

o Organization-based strategies

7. Group Dynamics

Group formation

Group development

Creating effective work teams

Group structure

Role differentiation in groups

Role conflict in groups

Group norms


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o Norm development

o Conformity versus deviance

o Socialization and role orientation; socialization tactics

Status

Group cohesiveness

o Causes or factors contributing to cohesivenesso Consequences

Group productivity, group performance (including process losses/gains)Types of

interdepence in groups (pooled, sequential, reciprocal)

Social facilitation

Social loafing

8. Organizational culture

The origins of organizational culture

o How is organizational culture transmitted to members?

o Factors shaping organizational cultureo Org culture and national culture (Hofstede)

o Creating an ethical culture

The effects of organizational culture

How does organizational culture change?

Careers

o Career changes

o Career development

o Career issues

9. Cooperation and conflict in organizations

Prosocial behavior

Organizational citizenship behavior

Cooperation

o Causes

o Effects

o Factors influencing cooperation

Conflict

o Causes

o Effects

o Factors influencing conflicto Pondys model of organizational conflict

o Conflict management/resolving conflict

10. Influence and power in organizations

Social influence

o Tactics of social influence


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Individual power

o Bases of individual power

Group power

o The resource-dependency model

o Empowerment

o The strategic contingencies model Organizational politics

o Political tactics

o Coping with political tactics

o Ethical implications of political behavior

11. Leadership and Power

Leadership traits

o The trait approach

Leadership motivation

Leadership styleso Participative versus autocratic leaders

o Person-oriented versus production-oriented leaders

o Transformational versus transactional leaders; charismatic leadership

Gender differences in leadership

Leader-follower relationship

Leadership theories

o The contingency model

o Normative theory

o Path-goal theory

o Charismatic leadershipo The vertical dyad linkage model; Leader-member exchange theory

(LMX)

o The attribution approach

o Situational leadership theory

o Fleishman, Fiedler, Blake & Mouton, House, Mitchell, Vroom & Yetton,

Graen- Types of power (e.g., French and Raven and successors)

12. Communication in organizations

Forms of communication

o Verbal

o Nonverbal

Influences on organizational communication

o Organizational structure

o Communication networks

o Informal communication networks

o Work environment


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Organizational strategies for improving communication

Theories of communication

Communication patterns

Communication & problem solving

13. Judgment and Decision making in organizations

The traditional, analytical model of decision making

Intuitive approach to decision making

o Image theory

Varieties of organizational decisions

Individual decision making

o The rational-economic model

o Administrative model

Cognitive biases in decision making

Biases & heuristics in judgment (Tversky & Kahnemans work)

Yates on Judgment & Decision-making

Group decision making

o Advances/disadvantages of group decision-making

o Group polarization

o Groupthink

o Improving effectiveness of group decisions

o Group decision-making techniques (e.g., brainstorming, nominal group

technical, Delphi technique, techniques in TQM)

14. Organizational Design and Structure Designing organizational structure

Organic and mechanistic structures

Types of structures (e.g., functional, divisional, matrix)

New types of organizational structure (horizontal, network, virtual, etc.)

Allocating authority (e.g., hierarchy, span of control, centralization versus

decentralization)

Mutual adjustment and integrating mechanisms

15. Organizational Change and Development Forces for and resistance to organizational change

Lewins force-field theory of change

Evolutionary versus revolutionary change

Action research and change management

Basic OD techniques for dealing with resistance and promoting change


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Work Motivation and Productivity

Review all basic motivation concepts and theories outlined in Organizational Behavior,

Section 3 Motivation (above), plus the following:

1. Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Efficacy2. Positive Organizational Behavior (POB)

Self-efficacy

Optimism

Subjective Well-being / Happiness

Hope

Emotional Intelligence

Role of Affect in Motivation

3. Role of Social Influences in Motivation

Effect of Groups on Motivation

Organizational Misbehavior Groupthink, Collective efficacy

4. Role of Individual Differences in Motivation (e.g., self-esteem, social identity, IQ vs.

motivation on managerial success)

5. Rewards

Designing effective reward systems

Merit pay

Ownership as a motivator

6. Punishment

Pros and cons of punishment

Rewards and punishment on social loafing

Managerial perspectives on punishment

7. Motivating Creativity and Innovation

Amabiles Componential Theory of Creativity

Enhancing creativity: role of employee characteristics (e.g., creative personality,

problem-solving style) and context (supervisory control, stimulating co-workers,

job complexity)

Organization Theory

1. Bureaucracy (Weber, etc.)

2. March and Simon3. Linking Pin (Likert)

4. Open Systems Theory (Katz & Kahn)

5. Agency Theory6. Resource Dependency Theory

7. Centralization

8. Size9. Shape (height, width)

10. Different type of Organization Structures:


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Functional structure

Divisional structure

Matrix structure

Horizontal Structure

Modular structure11. Advantages and Disadvantages of each structure.

12. Organic and Mechanistic Organization Forms

Best fit with different environments

Behavioral and people implications of each form.

13. Organization Size, Life Cycle & Decline

Entrepreneurial

Collectivity

Formalization

Elaboration

Performance

1. Theories of work performance (e.g., Fleishman; Campbell; Naylor, Pritchard, &

Ilgen)2. Situational constraints

3. Performance assessment (appropriate content, alternative models)

4. Performance management

5. Evaluation and the exercise of authority (Dornbusch & Scott)

Selection & Assessment

1. Theories of selection

2. Artifact theory (Schmidt & Hunter) and rebuttals

3. Approaches to validation4. Synthetic validity

5. Utility analysis

Compensation

1. Theories of equity

2. Procedural vs. distributive justice

3. Alternative job evaluation approaches4. Internal and external consistency

5. Performance-contingent pay

Program Evaluation

1. Models of Evaluation (Kirkpatrick)

2. Criterion development

3. Internal and external outcomes


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4. The politics of evaluation

Legal Theory

1. Concepts of fairness2. Stages of litigation in discrimination cases

3. Adverse impact determination

4. Disparate treatment vs. disparate impact5. SIOP Principles (2003) and uniform Guidelines (1978)

6. Performance Evaluation/Performance Appraisal

7. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

8. Harassment/Discrimination/Retaliation

Business Strategy

1. Porters competitive strategies2. Miles & Snow

3. Effects of matching HR systems to business strategy.


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Test-retest, Alternate forms, Split-half, Cronbachs alpha

Relationship of Cronbachs alpha to number of test items and item inter-correlations

Spearman-Brown prophecy formula

Relation between reliability and criterion-related validity

Correction for attenuation

Correction for range restriction

Role of norms in psychological measurement

Role of standardization in psychological measurement

Modern Models

Modern test theory (advantages over classical theory); applications of modern test

theory (item banking, test equating, item bias, and computer adaptive testing)

Generalizability theory (advantages over classical reliability model; fixed vs. randomeffects; variance components; percentage of variance accounted for by components;

intraclass correlation)

Mediators & Moderators

Define, diagram, and give examples

Know how to test for them (consider problems of statistical power, method variance)

Sample and Population Notation (standard deviation, variance, mean, correlation, etc.)

Scales of Measurement

Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio

Relation to mathematical operations (addition, multiplication)

Scale invariance under substitution, monotonic transformation, linear transformation,

& multiplication by a constant

Descriptive Statistics

Frequency distributions (Draw & Label: Normal, Bimodal, Skewed, Platykurtic &Leptokurtic)

Central tendency (Mean, Median, Mode: calculate by hand; put in order from small to

large under skewed distributions; compare in terms of sufficiency, unbiasedness,efficiency, resistance

Describe how mean is affected by linear transformations (adding & multiplying a

constant)Variability (Variance, Standard Dev., Range, Semi-interquartile range: calculate by

hand, relationship between variance and standard deviation, how they compare in

terms of sufficiency, unbiasedness, efficiency, & resistance; how the SD is affected by

linear transformations)

Standardized Distributions: Z-scores

How to calculate z-scores


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How to determine percentiles of z-scores

How to determine % of areas under bell curve

Uses of standard scores

Advantages of unit-weighting (standardizing predictors) as compared to multiple

regression/correlation

Sampling Distribution

(What is it?; Draw & Label; Standard Error; Central Limit Theorem)

Test Statistics: Z-tests, t-Tests

Writing null hypotheses (Ho: = 0; one-tailed vs. two-tailed)

Test statistic = Estimate / Standard Error

Calculating standard errors and t-values by hand for one-sample, independent

samples, and paired t-tests. Understand s

2pooled

and the effects of unequal Ns onindependent samples t-test.

Interpreting 95% Confidence Intervals

What does the p-value mean? [p(data |Ho is true), notp(Ho is true | data)]

Type I and Type II Error ( and levels, relation to N)

Relations among statistical power, sample size, -level, and effect size (d or r)

Using one-tailed or two-tailed statistical tests and its effect on power, Type I error,

Type II error

Calculating power for one-sample and independent samples t-tests

Impact of dichotomizing variables on statistical tests/power

Capitalizing on chance, a priori vs. post hoc tests (Bonferroni, Tukey, Scheffe, etc.)

Correlation

scatterplots for positive & negative correlations, (in)sensitivity to lineartransformations and outliers, linearity assumption

interpreting r2

significance testing (Ho: = 0;Ho: 1 = 2)

Fisher z transformation and basic meta-analysis

Special correlations (Spearman, phi, point-biserial, biserial, tetrachoric)

Impact of range restriction and attenuation; corrections for range restriction and

attenuation

Factor Analysis

Difference between Exploratory & Confirmatory factor analysis

Exploratory : Difference between PCA and FA; communality and uniqueness;eigenvalues; scree plots; reading & interpreting factor loadings from factor pattern

matrix, rotation & simple structure; Kaiser & Cattell criteria for factor retention,

parallel analysis; need for high ratio of variables to factors


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Confirmatory : Assumptions (e.g., errors uncorrelated, linearity, ML estimation

assumes multivariate normality); Goodness of Fit indexes (what they are, heuristiccutoffs); Nested models

Regression

b-values, residuals, Y-hat, least squares criterion, prediction equationMultipleR2, change inR2, partial and semi-partial correlation

Assumptions regarding outliers, linearity, independence, homoscedastictity, normalityof residuals (and how the plot of X vs. Residuals looks when assumptions are

violated)

Multicolinearity (what it is and what to do about it; how it is related toR2)

Relation between correlation r and regression b

Impact of adding additional predictors (question of unique variance accounted for;

concerns over loss of degrees of freedom, etc.)

Standardized vs. unstandardized regression weights

Suppressor variables

When to use polynomial regression and logistic regression

Shrinkage and correction for shrinkage

Use and Interpretation of Statistical Results

In the statistics & methods section of the comprehensive exams, students dont simply

write about statistics, but must read and interpret SPSS output reports. Questions requirethe examinee to read, interpret, and provide brief narrative summary for one or more of

the following statistical tests/procedures within SPSS:

Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, variance, minimum/maximum)

Visual examination of data (read and interpret scatterplots; identification of outliers,

etc.)

t-tests (independent and correlated or dependent t; degrees of freedom, test for equal

vs. unequal variances, read and interpret probability oft)

Correlation (value of r; p-value, degrees of freedom, meaning of r-values obtained)

Multiple regression (value of R; value of R-squared; degrees of freedom; probability

of R; R-squared change; value of adding additional predictors; meaning of R-valuesobtained)

Factor analysis (different factor models; eigen values, scree plots, and determining

number of factors to rotate; rotation methods; interpreting rotated factor loadings)

Reliablity analysis (perform Cronbachs alpha; alpha if item deleted; item-total

correlation; determining whether item is miskeyed or needs to be recoded, etc.)

ANOVA (oneway vs. two-way ANOVA; interpreting F-ratios; mean effects and

interaction effect


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Comprehensive Exam Study Guide for Interventions

August 2007

Key Design Principles for Comps Questions in Interventions

Require students to apply concepts and methods from Intervention classes to hypotheticalintervention situations. To a lesser extent, apply concepts and methods from Theory and

Research Methods classes to those situations.

Each Comps question will integrate concepts from multiple classes, with the main issue

stemming from one or more Interventions course.

Interventions courses include:

1. Organization Change and Development

2. Facilitation & Consultation Skills

3. Professional Communication Skills and to some extent, Leadership & Management

Behavior and Qualitative Analysis & Survey Methodology.

While content is important, clarity of writing is, too. Excellent responses read like good

business prose or clearly written academic opinion pieces. Excellent responses givecomplete explanations rather than mentioning ideas by name and expecting the reader to

know what the writer meant by the term.

Sample Interventions Comps Questions

Conflict ResolutionYou are the new Regional VP of Sales for a microbrewery based in Seattle. The

Executive Team created a cross-functional task force to determine whether to expand

distribution to the northeastern and southeastern USA. Unfortunately, the task force has

not been able to produce a report; and you heard that members are not getting along well.You know the members to be competent individuals from various cultural backgrounds.

Because you have a degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and have good

relations with all members of the task force, the CEO asked you to investigate and helpthe task force get back on track. A few minutes later, you received this voicemail:

This is Sam Lee {VP of Operations}. As you know, I chair the Expansion Task Force;

and its been a pain from Day One. The CEO just asked me to get you to run the Task

Force meeting tomorrow and tell us what to do to resolve our conflict and rebuild trust.Im going into a meeting for the rest of the day in 30 minutes, so call me back before then

and let me know whether you can lead our meeting tomorrow and get this resolved.


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Before returning the phone call, you need to decide whether to run the meeting tomorrow

or propose something different. Youll also have a few minutes to ask some diagnostic

questions to get at the causes of the conflict.

1. (25 points) What phase of the consulting process are you in? What are your goalsand key activities for this phase? What phases come after this one? List the

theorist whose model you used to answer this question.

2. (30 points) Will you promise to lead the meeting and resolve their conflict and

rebuild trust tomorrow? Why or why not? What are two alternative options youcould propose and what follow-up step(s) would you do after each? Briefly

describe the design of each (e.g., who meets with whom and with what goal).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option and of leading aconflict-resolution meeting tomorrow?

3. (35 points, 5 pts. per cause) List seven or more possible causes of the teams

conflict. (These do not have to be directly from the fields of trust or conflict

resolution. They could also be from any other relevant area of Psychology, such as

norms, communication, schema theory, cultural diversity, team development, orfactors in healthy team functioning.)

For each cause,

a. Briefly describe a principle, theory, or model related to that cause

b. Write one question that you could ask the task force chair or members toassess the situation. The questions should assess the current state of the

key variable(s) described in the theory or model. (NOTE: Write only one

question to assess each of the seven possible causes of conflict. However,

a follow-up question is allowable if you think it is important.)

c. List the name of the theorist(s) or practitioners(s) connected with thetheory, model, or principle.

4. (10 points) Explain the advantages and disadvantages of bringing in an outside

consultant for this process.

Comments on the conflict resolution question:This question draws upon concepts from Facilitation & Consultation Skills, and GroupDynamics, Team Design, or other courses that discussed norms, conflict resolution

rebuilding trust in teams.

Section #1 has a right answer, and students should be able to nail it after taking

Consultation Skills.

Section #2 requires the student to make a decision and give a good rationale. Whetheryou decide Yes or No isnt important. A good response uses principles from

Consultation Skills and facts presented in the case description. Specifically, the response

must talk about completing the contracting process for data gathering, feedback, andintervention. An excellent response shows wisdom, or at least deep common sense about

organizations.

Section #3 has many possible answers deriving from a wide variety of courses.


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Section #4 has a few possible answers and requires common sense.


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Topics to Study for Comps

Here, topics are listed by the classes in which they are taught.

Organization Change and Development & Consultation Skills

1. The general model of planned change

2. Entering and Contracting

a. Contracting Skills

b. Elements of a contract

c. Navigating the contracting meeting

d. Understanding resistance

e. Dealing with resistance

3. Diagnosis/Discovery

a. Comprehensive model for diagnosing organization systems-organizations, groups

b. and jobsc. The presenting problem

d. How the problem is managed

e. Data collection methods-interview, observation, questionnaire, unobtrusive data

f. Data collection interview

4. Feeding back diagnostic information

a. Preparing for the feedback meeting

b. Managing the feedback meeting

c. Preparing for and managing resistance to feedback

5. Designing and implementing change interventions

a. General principles

b. Designing effective interventions

6. Human Process Interventions

a. Interpersonal and group approaches

b. Organization processes

7. Techno-Structural Interventions

a. Restructuring organizations

b. Employee involvementc. Work design

8. Human Resources Management Interventions

a. Performance Management

b. Developing and Assisting Members


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9. Strategic Interventions

a. Organization and environment relationships

b. Organization transformation

10. Leading and managing change

a. Five change activities11. Evaluating and institutionalizing change interventions

a. Implementation vs. engagement

b. Strategies for engagement

12. Marketing consulting services

a. What marketing is about

b. Developing and implementing a marketing plan

Professional Communication Skills Study Topics1. Strategic communication planning.

a. Developing communication objectives from an action plan or organization change

plan.

b. Analyzing audiences

c. Message strategy

d. Channel choice strategy

e. Culture strategy

f. Designing organizational communication plans. (See Bb for examples.)

2. Writing effectively

a. Applying the elements of excellent writing.b. Writing proposals, reports, and business memos or letters.

3. Giving effective presentations.

a. Applying criteria for effective presentations.

b. Designing excellent visual aids.

4. Individual and organizational identity.

5. Listening effectively.

Qualitative Analysis & Survey Methodology Study TopicsThese topics are taught in other courses and/or during weeks prior to the ComprehensiveExam.

1. Planning research designs for interventions:

a. Determining when to use qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods.

b. Designing communication plans for data gathering (as for all portions of any kind

of intervention).

c. Giving feedback on results of data analysis.


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2. Selecting and using appropriate qualitative methods to gather and analyze information

for a specific situation. (These items also belong in Research Methods.)

a. Designing interview guides

b. Analyzing themes found in interviews

Facilitation Skills1. Nature of Facilitation

2. Facilitation Stages

3. Knowing the Participants

4. Creating Participation

5. Effective Decision Making

6. Facilitating Conflict

7. Meeting Management

8. Process Tools for Facilitators

Writing for the Comprehensive Exam

1) Writing an answer to a comps question involves the same communication principlesthat guide the design of PowerPoint slides and business memos.

a. The main ideas need to show up clearly and flow logically. There is nothing likehaving to wade through a messy paragraph with the main point somewhere near the end.Some comps writers may not even be certain which point in a given paragraph is mostimportant because they're writing ideas as they bubble up. The solution for this is to writean outline before writing the answer to each question. Toss out unimportant andtangential points; they only get in the way. Avoid word salad. That's when a sentence issimply a string of somewhat related jargon terms; when you reread it, you can't be sure ifanything is actually being said.

b. Use message headlines rather than topic headlines to telegraph the main points.

c. Design for "high skim value." Use headings, bullets, bolded text, and white space tomake main points stand out. Start by writing an outline and main points show up clearlyto you before you write the main text. White space makes comps answers easier to read

just as it makes a resume or memo easier to read.

d. In the Theory and Method sections, write in an academic style. In the Interventionsection, write in a style that appeals to both academic and business managementaudiences. For instance, when you write something that is informed by a theory or lineof research, refer to its name and the theorist most responsible for it; and use the proper


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jargon terms for that theory or line of research. If asked to write about a psychologicalneed, use the official name, not some pop psychology term. In the interventionsection, use academic terminology when referring to academic theories and concepts,but make sure to phrase your intervention in terms that a knowledgeable manager wouldfind credible.

e. Whenever a question in any section of the exam calls for explaining a theory orsuggesting an intervention that is informed by a theory, clearly indicate the author,theory, and date (if possible). (Do not refer to the professor who taught the theoryunless that professor published an article explaining or applying/testing the theory.)

2) "Comps" stands for comprehensive. Your answers should be just that. Writing an answerto a comps question requires reviewing each question for the entire set of elements that it callsfor you to write about.

a. For instance, when you are given an organizational change scenario and a question thatasks you to list all eight of John Kotter's steps for change and two activities related toeach step that are needed to make that change initiative successful, the answer must

contain all eight steps titled properly and sixteen activities that truly address all steps.Make sure that the activities that you propose would be complete enough to actualize thestep for which you wrote it. Especially when you are writing in the intervention section,make sure that the activities would also be credible to managers and workers in the clientorganization described in the scenario.

Documents

Comps Study Guide - Aug 2007