comps study guide - aug 2007
TRANSCRIPT
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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.