Rev. Date 7/10/10 Notes on Writing a Concept Paper: From Dr. Adizes: "The thesis is not a field study.

It is definitely not a controlled experiment. It must be a thought piece supported by the literature you read. It must present a new theory, your theory on the subject. So please focus on change and integration." Overarching objectives of the oncept !aper " The goal of the program is to create unifying theories of change. #ou do not have to prove that your theory$method wor%s, this research should be all &ualitative, grounded in social research methods primarily via literature review 'other studies and theorists, across multiple disciplines(. )*S is not loo%ing for results shown as data " and in fact, we do not want this. )*S is not loo%ing to prove anything+ we are loo%ing for unifying theories of how change can be managed across disciplines and cultures. , Icha% )di-es, !h... T e C!NC"PT PAP"R #proposa$% s o&$d 'e ()10 pages ma*im&m. Pro+ect P$anning: Start putting your "goals or objectives" on paper " try to narrow it into /"0 sentences, and eventually just O12. Try to be sure that the development of this one sentence will re&uire only one area of exploration. 3emember, this is a dissertation , not your life4s wor%. The dissertation is just the first step in your life4s wor%5 hun% the project plan into the sections below. The oncept !aper can be 'roader than the final product... it only needs to be a few pages describing what you want to achieve " what problems need solving6 T e ,o$$o-ing o&t$ine is R"./0R"D ,or a Concept Paper. 7.8 Title$Sub"title /.8 !urpose of Study, research problem '7"0 paragraphs( 0.8 9ey Terms 'with cited definitions( :.8 ;anagement ontext '7"/ paragraphs( <.8 3esearch =uestion 'a primary &uestion relevant to your title, plus sub &uestions if needed( >.8 !roposed 3esearch ;ethod ?.8 !roposed 3esearch )ctivities 'include a literature review as primary activity( @.8 < .isciplines in which you will initially begin to read texts and loo% for research studies A.8 9ey Texts 'may help to divide into < disciplines( 78.8 3esearch studies that may be relevant to your wor% 77.8 Bustification of research problem 'relevance, originality( 7/.8 2xperts$.octoral ommittee 70.8 !roposed Timeline$.eliverables 'in the first term of supervision you usually submit the Cit 3eview and first drafts of any interviewing instruments, &uestionnaires, etc. In the second term, you will get final approval on those and you can begin any wor% with people " such as doing formal interviews. In the third term you submit your final draft, conclusions, examination of bias, and reflections on ways that the process might have been improved or might be improved in the future.( Detai$s ,or creating t e !&t$ine 1.0 Tit$e/1&')tit$e

'this is not the upbeat title of your next boo%, it must clearly describe what your dissertation is about(

2.0

P&rpose o, 1t&d3

'7"0 paragraphs that, in the end will become an Dabstract4 summari-ing your purpose, method and conclusions. Eor now, only the purpose is needed.( 4.0 5e3 Terms

#ou must define the %ey terms , these are words used in your original 3esearch =uestion, and in the body of your paper. 9ey terms could include words li%e FchangeG or anything you see% to manipulate or measure. He will help you with this. .efinitions are important because they anchor your research. Eind a definition that wor%s for you in a source and cite it properly in )!) style. It doesn4t matter if you use the Iible or a !sychology boo% or Hebsters .ictionary, as long as the definition suits your purpose, provides a common understanding, and anchors your research. One caution regarding Spiral .ynamicsJ #ou should not plan to teach Spiral .ynamics to your .octoral ommittee. #ou may not even want to describe how it wor%s. If you are wor%ing with a certain change context, li%e from blue to orange, then you don4t need to even tal% about the rest. )nd if you do tal% about S.i, do not use FcodeG language , li%e color codes ", use plain 2nglish to describe the phenomenon that you wish to discuss. 3ather than say orange thin%ing, one would say values based on strategic enterprise+ rather than blue systems, you could say order"driven value systems. Some more complex examplesJ " " you might say Fspiral dynamicsG characteri-es Ftransformation processes in human bio" psycho"social evolutionG, it identifies a series of Fvalue systemsG, and describes how expressions of value systems, such as clothing and ritual on the individual level, illness or emergency statistics in hospitals or crime statistics in a city, can both identify a surging crisis state and be analysed to facilitate wor%ing relationships and transformative initiatives. " in one context you might say that a nation with an Dempire driven4 value system such as 3ome in ancient times or 1a-i *ermany , whether healthy or unhealthy as a value system itself " will not respect one coming in with values based on Dsocial responsibility4. ommunication " language, education, respected authority structures, life conditions and human needs in those societies are very different. Eurther, the content of the messages that people are receiving have a specific noble purpose that is presently functional for their needs and the needs of those in power, which may not be relevant for other value systems. " in another context , rather than saying green is the carrot on the stic% for blue, one might say that for an unhealthy order"driven type value system to evolve, the next step is to become healthy and self actuali-ed, changing the internal content of messages that people are receiving so as to re"invent their noble purpose. Thereafter, developing an ability to thin% and act strategically just enough to facilitate the purpose of evolving towards a renewed social order as the end objective rather than maintaining what they had in the past.

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Adizes met odo$og3 has more Dhuman readable4 concepts , such as the 'I(ntegrator, and ')(dministratorK the terms actually describe the function in common language so it is meaningful to the reader. )!I ' oalesced )uthority, !ower and Influence( is just an acronym. The same is true of 9en Hilbur4s four &uadrants, and the term Dintegral4, for example. They are self explanatory and in common language. #ou only need to provide a specific definition for your context. 6.0 7anagement Conte*t

0"< paragraphs describing the setting you hope to impact, including the population and$or sample population 'or industries, cultures( affected by your 3esearch =uestion. )pproved concepts have discussed managing educational initiatives in )rab countries from the anadian perspective+ managing cooperative ventures in communities in Lancouver, anada+ examining the justice

system in Israel+ managing and measuring levels of trust in organi-ational contexts in family owned wineries in alifornia+ developing a coaching model for personal transformation during career changes in the .utch population ,to be narrowed to a subset population+ etc. 8.0 Researc .&estions #inc$&de one primar3 9&estion re$evant to 3o&r tit$e: s&' 9&estions can ,&rt er de,ine t e Primar3 Researc .&estion '&t s o&$d not go o,, on netangents% Ielow is a lin% to a very simple exercise on figuring out if your 3esearch =uestion is Ddo able4. It may seem overly simplistic, but it is a perfect exercise for the oncept !aper. Eollowing additional steps provided in the tutorial they have thereafter would also be useful. httpJ$$www.esc.edu$esconline$acrossMesc$writerscomplex.nsf$8$f@?fd?7@/f8ff/7c@</<>Ac/88<a:? b? ;.0 Proposed Researc 7et od #&s&a$$3 <ro&nded T eor3%

3esearch ;ethods approved for use at )*SJ 2thnographic research )ction research or participatory action research Observations$interviewing as data collection methods 0nterpretive strategies 7.0 Proposed Researc Activities *rounded theory 2thnomethodology Ana$3tica$ strategies

Include a literature review first, and then anything else you want to do is secondary , li%e interviews, focus groups, observations, surveys. D! N!T begin pilot studies or interviews until after you have approval from your .octoral ommittee, )1. )ET23 you have done a significant part of the Citerature 3eview55 The PR07AR= investigation should be literature based, comparing methodologies via social, &ualitative research. This means that you will be reading the related wor% 'boo%s, articles, studies( of other theorists in multiple disciplines, loo%ing to extract %ey concepts that relate to your =uestion. #ou will interview experts in order to search out even more studies and literature that may also be related to your specific area of in&uiry. #ou will integrate the components of theories that add to the design of your model for managing change, and discard the rest , justifying the process. The Citerature 3eview will include boo%s and journal articles 'academically appropriate(, but you will also search for prior studies on the subject you have selected. #ou will start with about < disciplines li%e anthropology, management theory, biology, psychology, philosophy, sociology. The Cit 3eview can then expand further into other disciplines and cross"cultural studies. ) good portion of this should be done before the Eirst Term of supervision, and you can also submit drafts of any survey instruments or &uestionnaires, etcK for input, feedbac% or approval at that time. Often a Citerature 3eview is a circular process where, at some point, you find your experts and boo%s are referring you bac% to resources you4ve already studiedK at this point, you will be nearing the end of this part 'lit review( of the research cycle. (.0 8 discip$ines

Identify < disciplines in which to begin your initial research.

2xamples would be management theory, psychology, ethnography, linguistics, anthropology, biology, organi-ational psychology, human behavior, systems theory, sociology, physics, mathematics, etcK It may be a good idea to chun% your texts into those five areas to start with. 1ote that all of .r. )di-es boo%s must be referenced in the dissertation. >.0 0denti,3 st&dies done on t is s&'+ect in t e past Coo% across the various disciplines for studies that other people have done that may relate to your research &uestion. Those studies will give you good leads on additional texts to read, and you might wish to contact some of these researchers for an interview in the course of your wor%. Ki.e. if you are studying cooperatives, you might loo% at food cooperatives, farmers mar%ets, housing cooperatives, economic cooperatives, cooperative development initiatives between and within other countries and cultures, educational cooperatives, %ibut-es and other social cooperatives, and biological cooperatives in the animal %ingdom li%e bees and ants, etc. etc. This is %ey to your literature review. 10.0 5e3 Te*ts #can 'e c &n?ed into t e vario&s discip$ines% 11.0 @&sti,ication: Re$evance and origina$it3 o, topic to improvement in ?e3 management area 'maximum of < paragraphs( 12.0 "*perts/Doctora$ Committee

.octoral ommittee , #ou will identify the hair of your committee and at least / other committee members from )*S faculty 'total 0 from )*S(, plus two more for a total of < committee members including at least one external evaluator. 2ach person must have a doctoral degree. If they do not, and you still want them involved, they can be advisers to your committee, but not on the committee formally. )dvisers are not paid. The .oc om members and hair are paid for approximately 78 hours wor% at a rate of N<8$hour for each committee session. Ie sure to select people who have the expertise within the setting or subject area expertise where you will apply your model. Hhen you submit the oncept !aper, be sure to identify the person that you would li%e to be the hair, and be sure you have discussed the role with this person. 2xternal 2valuator , Hhy choose a committee member outside of )*S6 The external evaluator may be from a university or corporate setting or any other setting that is appropriate to your research. #ou will benefit from professional validation outside of )*S. Identifying a mentor in your professional field will inform your initial concept as well as help you connect with %ey resources 'past and present(, guide your writing, and further the practical acceptance of your wor% in your own professional field and in the academic community at large. Hhat we need from prospective committee membersJ a L from them and a brief statement from you regarding why you selected this person and how they are appropriate to the subject area. #ou can tell your potential committee members that the tas% of participating on the .octoral ommittee generally includes two meetings , one to &ualify you for beginning a research project, and one to evaluate your final dissertation. In addition, they may be as%ed to participate in a term of supervised writing in the interim. The &ualifying meeting process includes " a( an individual review of your oncept !aper, b( exchanging notes between all committee members, c( joint review via conference call to review all concerns and establishing recommendations for the student, approving or delaying approval of the oncept !aper. #ou participate during part of this call to answer any &uestions.

14.0

Proposed Time$ine/De$ivera'$es

In the first term of supervision you usually submit the Cit 3eview and first drafts of any survey instruments, &uestionnaires, etc. In the second term, you will get final approval on those and you can begin any wor% with people " such as doing formal interviews. In the third term you submit your final draft, conclusions, examination of bias, and reflections on ways that the process might have been improved or might be improved in the future. Dr. Adizes: or t e Academic Dean: -i$$ provide pre$iminar3 approva$ o, t e Concept Paper and Doctora$ Committee. T e Committee -i$$ provide ,orma$ approva$ o, 3o&r paper so t at 3o& can 'egin t e researc pro+ect.

32SOO3 2SJ 1&ggestions ,rom an A<1 Doctora$ Committee: The student must attend to the following as s$he begins dissertation wor%J 7. identify a framewor% 'management context(. /. define specific aspects of change and management that you want to explore as they relate to this framewor%. Hhat commonality are you loo%ing for6 Simplify the definition of %ey terms. The concise definitions will anchor your thoughts and frame the research &uestion as you explore multiple disciplines. 0. Hrite a singular 3esearch =uestion. This will help the research to be more specific. 3efer to this 3esearch =uestion to extract relevant core arguments and assumptions from each person interviewed, and each research study reviewed. :. Iidentify certain disciplines 'li%e mathematics, psychology, sociology, economics, political science, psychiatry( and then branch out later " " do not be constrained at all as you explore across multiple disciplines, but start with authors referred by the .octoral ommittee and your own resources. Ie very thorough before moving on to another discipline. )void irrelevant minutiae and focus on core assumptions and arguments, see%ing commonalities. <. Once the literature review is done, you can start with field research " interviews with experts in the field, in the various disciplines, collecting perspectives as well as suggested resources for literature review. >. #ou need discipline and organi-ation. .evelop the outline provided as a road map for clarifying how you will proceed, while recogni-ing that the road map will evolve. The 3oad ;ap, or oncept !aper, should be extremely brief. ;anualsJ Ie sure to read the Thesis ;anual to inform yourself regarding the re&uirements of the project. The Thesis ;anual is on the F;anualsG page of our website " on every page of the website there is a lin% at the bottom to the F;anualsG page.