Now that I am finished the answers to the four questions, I think my papers will be acceptable. I have double-triple-quadruple proofread and checked formatting until I am cross-eyed. I had planned to have the paper finished by this weekend because I am planning a trip to Nashville with the children next weekend (Labor Day). I surely don’t want to be thinking about schoolwork next weekend!

I worked on the four Comps questions as individual papers so that I could use StyleEase software for references. Tomorrow I will review all four Comps answers and consolidate them into one paper.

I just looked at the time…and it’s actually tomorrow already (12:16 AM). So I will take a nap and then get up in the morning and pull the paper together. My goal is to turn in my Comps paper tomorrow!

I have one more comps question to work on; this last one is about ethics. It involves perceptions about the fair and ethical treatment of employees. The question mentions the “concept of the fairness heuristic” as it is used as a “gauge of the potential success or failure of a corporate ethics program”…something I know absolutely nothing about! So it looks like most of this week will involve work to ground myself on the topic.

We actually went on a mini-date today. There is a new winery just down the road and we went for a tasting. Of course the wine was good but the best part was talking to the owners about their winery and the wines. For supper we enjoyed the homemade fresh tomato spaghetti sauce I made yesterday.

I have a busy week this week and so it’s pretty unlikely that I can devote a lot of time to writing. My plan is to work on collecting research so that I can complete the final comps question next weekend. Wish me luck!

I usually write a skeleton intro and then work on the paper, then come back and re-do the intro and conclusion. I find that this pulls my paper together. If I write a heavy intro first, I find that my papers are stiff and narrow. It also takes me forever to get going on the meat of the paper!

My brain is tired tonight from working hour after hour on these papers. I feel pretty good about my time schedule right now. It’s day 8 of 49 and I have one question finished and another almost complete. My plan is to finish Q3 within a few days (after work) and then start research on question 2. I will start writing Q2 (which is about quantitative and qualitative research) beginning next weekend.

Some colleagues have told me that their mentors allow them to turn in their comp exam question by question, but my mentor says to turn in the complete paper (all four answers). I have 49 days to turn in the whole assignment and this is day 6, and the second of two vacation days dedicated to comps.

I am very happy that I have 25% of my comps exam completed!! YIPPEE!! I just celebrated by watching about 10 minutes of TV…yes, my friends, those of us in grad school can’t find time for TV. The final scenes of Max Payne starting Mark Wahlberg were on. I love the dark photography and stunts in that movie which is based on a graphic novel.

I am filing all the documents/journal articles I printed to answer the first question. I plan to work on question 3 next in which I am to assume the role of a quality management consultant and recommend a QM program to a heavy equipment company. I will start looking for journal articles and reading them today, and hopefully, begin writing tomorrow.

Questions focus on a specific area:

- Theoretical and conceptual knowledge.
- Research methods and critique.
- Professional application.
- Ethical considerations.

The questions are supposed to related to my content area, management. However, I am only familiar with one of the four subjects addressed - the question about quantitative and qualitative research methods. There is a definite theme of information technology (IT) in two of the other questions, and the remaining question is about quality management (note: I have never had a course on QM). The first question imagines me as a CEO of a chip manufacturer, the third question assumes I am a quality management professional, and the fourth question dealing with ethics involves an IT department.

Each question has a reference included, and the most recent reference is dated 2005! That is 5 YEARS ago! I hope I can find more recent information regarding these topics…So it looks like I will be doing quite a bit of research to answer the questions. I had hoped (and had been led to believe) that the comps questions would be related to my coursework, but that is not the case!

Each question is to be addressed with an essay of 10-15 pages not including cover, question, or reference pages. I have to receive at least an evaluation of 80% on each of the questions. If I do not receive the minimum, I am allowed a rewrite. I will be graded on how well I address the topic, synthesize the research, and use it to support my ideas and interpretation of the answers. I have 49 days to complete all four essays. Yikes!

Today I began work on the first question that puts me as a decision maker for a chip manufacturer who must develop a new product. It involves understanding a particular theory that I have never heard of - so I am digging in the library for information.

I dialed into the NCU Comp Conference Call hosted by Dr. Mary Doran on Tuesday. Each question should be answered in 10-15 pages, and the idea is to synthesize and perform a thorough analysis. The grade will be an S or a U…which means that I have to get at least 80% to pass. If I get less thn 80%, I have to re-enroll and get new questions and a new mentor. So double the work! I sure hope that I can pass Comps. If I do, I will be ABD, “all but dissertation.”

I believe the paper is stronger and clearer now. It feels kind of odd to have someone making edit suggestions because I have been working in sort of a “student vacuum” with little interaction with mentors. I wonder what these three learned folks really think about my paper. Did they read it and think it worthwhile? Or did they read it and think, oh man, she is never going to get through University review with this thing?

For all you quant lovers, here are some stats from my CP:

- 85 pages long, including NCU title page, APA title page, and TOC.
- Introduction is exactly 2 pages long.
- Statement of the Problem is 197 words.
- Purpose of the Study is 341 words.
- 6 research questions.
- 17 key terms described.
- Lit review is 10 pages.
- 60 references.
- Annotated Bibliography is 36 pages.

So now we are playing the waiting game again. I don’t know if Dr. T will send the paper back for revisions, or send it on to the next step. I have just 7 days left in this class and still don’t know if I will pass on to the next class (Comps) or remain in RSH9104B. I keep reminding myself to be patient!

Well, actually, none of the above.

Dr. B commented on some formatting and Dr. L made suggestions regarding supporting some statements with references and moving a few things around. She also commented on some duplications of my purpose and problem statements, but they are in there because those sections were assignments and it was required to duplicate. Dr. B’s comments about formatting puzzled me because his recommendations do not follow the CP template. I sent a note to Dr. T to find out if I should make those changes or follow the template, which is NCU-mandated.

So I will make these modifications to my CP and return the paper back to Dr. T. It is already 10:30 PM on Thursday and I have to get to bed to be able to get up at 5AM tomorrow for work. So I will probably turn my CP back to Dr. T on Saturday. It will probably take me about 2-3 hours to review, plan, and make the modifications. I will also use a change matrix to keep track of the modifications and show that I addressed each recommendation.

To tell the truth, I am kind of excited to be working on the returned CP, even with the changes I have to make - I do not like the waiting-for-returned-work feeling. I wish this process could go faster! If I did not have to work all day tomorrow, I would stay up tonight and make the changes!

Then I turned the revised paper back in just now as #9. So the breath-holding and finger-crossing begins again.

I expected more comments on #8, so I am still not sure if I will pass through this course by July 24. I wish I knew because I plan to take some vacation days to work on comps and need to get those days on my work schedule. Should I plan for comps in August or September? I wish I knew!! My life in business and academia are often juxtaposed because those in academia are on their own timeline and not prone to scheduling as we are in business. That is a pet peeve of mine because I have to schedule tightly to get in work at the corporate building downtown, work as an adjunct, work as a student, and family and personal time. Oh and I can’t forget the two hours of commuting I do every workday.

Anyhow, I am off to pour an adult beverage and sit by the pool and read a girlfriend’s new novel - all to celebrate turning in #9, which felt so far away a month or so ago.