CABT cheat sheet

Informed consent for organizational work must disclose who the client is (sponsor, organization, or individual), data access, and reporting boundaries before assessment begins.

Multiple-role conflicts arise when the consultant also serves individuals being assessed; the primary ethical obligation runs to the contracted client unless harm to individuals overrides it.

Confidentiality limits in workplace consulting include legal compulsion, imminent risk of harm, and pre-agreed sponsor reporting; each limit must be stated in writing at engagement start.

Competence boundaries require consultants to decline or refer work outside training; organizational development, clinical treatment, and financial auditing are distinct scopes.

Dual reporting structures (e.g., HR sponsor plus executive sponsor) create role confusion; ethics codes require clarifying decision authority in the contract.

Mandatory reporting and duty-to-warn obligations vary by jurisdiction and typically attach to identifiable individuals, not aggregate organizational data.

Ethical decision models (e.g., principle-based, utilitarian, virtue-based) should be applied and documented when stakeholder interests conflict.

Record retention and data-minimization rules: collect only data needed for the stated purpose, and specify retention periods and destruction methods in the engagement agreement.

Levels-of-analysis framework: diagnose at individual, team, and organizational levels; interventions at one level often require alignment at the others.

Common diagnostic models include McKinsey 7S (strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff, skills) and the Burke-Litwin causal model distinguishing transformational from transactional factors.

Open-systems diagnosis examines inputs, throughputs, outputs, and feedback across the organization-environment boundary; misalignment at any boundary element signals dysfunction.

Data-collection triangulation combines interviews, surveys, focus groups, and archival records; convergence across methods increases diagnostic confidence.

Survey validity threats in organizational diagnosis include low response rate (nonresponse bias), social desirability, and common-method variance.

Culture diagnosis distinguishes espoused values from enacted values; gaps between them predict resistance and cynicism during change.

Structural diagnosis reviews span of control, centralization, formalization, and coordination mechanisms against strategy and environment uncertainty.

Diagnostic feedback should be reported in aggregate and validated with stakeholders (member-checking) before intervention design begins.

Gross margin = (revenue − cost of goods sold) ÷ revenue; for service firms, direct labor is typically the dominant cost of goods sold.

Break-even volume = fixed costs ÷ (price per unit − variable cost per unit); for hourly services, substitute billable rate minus variable cost per hour.

Utilization rate = billable hours ÷ available hours; realization rate = collected revenue ÷ billed revenue; both drive consulting profitability.

Cash flow differs from profit: revenue is recognized when earned, but liquidity depends on collection timing; track days sales outstanding (DSO).

Direct vs. indirect costs: direct costs trace to a specific engagement; indirect (overhead) costs must be allocated, often by labor hours or revenue.

Standard financial statements are the balance sheet (assets = liabilities + equity), income statement (revenue − expenses = profit), and cash flow statement.

Pricing models for consulting include hourly, fixed-fee, retainer, and value-based; each shifts risk between consultant and client differently.

Key ratios: current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities (liquidity); debt-to-equity measures leverage; both inform organizational health diagnosis.

Transformational leadership comprises idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.

Situational leadership matches style (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating) to follower readiness or development level.

Tuckman's stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning; conflict peaks in storming.

Group process observation attends to task behaviors (initiating, information seeking) and maintenance behaviors (harmonizing, gatekeeping).

Psychological safety, defined as shared belief that interpersonal risk-taking is safe, predicts team learning and voice; it is distinct from trust or cohesion.

Groupthink symptoms include illusion of invulnerability, self-censorship, and pressure on dissenters; countermeasures include devil's advocacy and anonymous input.

Social loafing increases with group size and decreases when individual contributions are identifiable and task meaningfulness is high.

Team effectiveness models (e.g., GRPI: goals, roles, processes, interpersonal) diagnose breakdowns by checking each layer in sequence.

Lewin's model: unfreezing (creating readiness), moving (implementing change), refreezing (stabilizing new norms).

Kotter's eight steps begin with creating urgency and end with anchoring change in culture; skipping early steps predicts failure.

Force-field analysis weighs driving forces against restraining forces; reducing restraints is often more effective than adding pressure.

Readiness for change is predicted by discrepancy (perceived need), appropriateness, efficacy, principal support, and valence (cost-benefit).

The change curve (denial, resistance, exploration, commitment) informs timing of communication and support interventions.

Intervention types include human process, technostructural, human resource management, and strategic change; selection follows diagnosis, not preference.

Resistance is diagnostic data, not obstruction; sources include loss of competence, threatened status, and unclear rationale.

Sustaining change requires aligning rewards, structures, and metrics with the new behaviors; culture reverts when systems reinforce old patterns.

The demand-control-support model predicts strain is highest when demands are high and control and support are low.

Effort-reward imbalance occurs when high effort is met with low reward (pay, esteem, security, career opportunity), elevating stress risk.

Burnout comprises emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (cynicism), and reduced personal accomplishment; it is an occupational phenomenon, not a clinical diagnosis.

The JD-R model separates job demands from job resources; resources buffer demand effects and predict engagement.

Presenteeism (reduced productivity while at work) often exceeds absenteeism costs in total productivity loss.

Psychosocial hazard categories include work overload, low control, role ambiguity, poor interpersonal relationships, and organizational injustice.

Well-being interventions follow a primary (reduce hazards), secondary (build coping), tertiary (support recovery) prevention hierarchy.

Workplace accommodations for mental health conditions may include flexible scheduling, modified supervision, and reduced exposure to identified stressors.

Active listening components: attending, paraphrasing, reflecting feeling, summarizing, and asking open questions.

Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes are competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating; choice depends on stakes and relationship importance.

Positions are stated demands; interests are underlying needs. Interest-based negotiation (Fisher and Ury) focuses on interests, options, and objective criteria.

BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) sets the walk-away point; a strong BATNA increases negotiating leverage.

Integrative negotiation seeks joint gains (expanding the pie); distributive negotiation divides fixed resources (zero-sum).

Feedback models (e.g., situation-behavior-impact) describe observable behavior rather than attributing intent.

Nonviolent communication structure: observation, feeling, need, request; separating observation from evaluation reduces defensiveness.

Escalating conflict indicators include personal attacks, coalition formation, and issue proliferation; de-escalation requires structure and ground rules.

Engagement lifecycle: intake, contracting, diagnosis, feedback, intervention design, implementation, evaluation, and closure.

A written contracting document specifies scope, deliverables, roles, fees, confidentiality, termination conditions, and evaluation criteria.

Scope creep is controlled through change-order procedures that renegotiate time, cost, and deliverables for out-of-scope requests.

Entry and contracting (Block) requires clarifying presenting problems versus underlying problems and the client's readiness to act.

Stakeholder mapping identifies decision-makers, influencers, blockers, and affected parties; engagement strategy differs by role.

Project management fundamentals: work breakdown structure, milestones, resource plan, risk register, and status reporting cadence.

Evaluation of engagement success uses agreed-upon criteria set at contracting; retrospective review captures client outcomes and lessons learned.

Business development relies on referral networks, defined service lines, and documented outcomes; proposals should state assumptions and exclusions.

Validity types: internal (causal inference), external (generalizability), construct (measures the intended concept), and statistical conclusion validity.

Reliability refers to consistency; Cronbach's alpha is an internal-consistency index, with values of .70 or higher generally acceptable for research use.

Effect size measures include Cohen's d (mean difference in SD units) and correlation r; they quantify magnitude independent of sample size.

Statistical significance (p-value) indicates improbability under the null hypothesis, not the size or importance of an effect.

Sampling methods: probability (random, stratified, cluster) support generalizability; nonprobability (convenience, purposive) limit inference.

Evidence hierarchy ranks systematic reviews and meta-analyses above single randomized trials, which rank above observational and expert opinion.

Threats to internal validity include selection, history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, and regression to the mean.

Evidence-based practice integrates best available research, practitioner expertise, and client values and context; no single element suffices.

Informed consent for organizational work must disclose who the client is (sponsor, organization, or individual), data access, and reporting boundaries before assessment begins.

Multiple-role conflicts arise when the consultant also serves individuals being assessed; the primary ethical obligation runs to the contracted client unless harm to individuals overrides it.

Confidentiality limits in workplace consulting include legal compulsion, imminent risk of harm, and pre-agreed sponsor reporting; each limit must be stated in writing at engagement start.

Competence boundaries require consultants to decline or refer work outside training; organizational development, clinical treatment, and financial auditing are distinct scopes.

Dual reporting structures (e.g., HR sponsor plus executive sponsor) create role confusion; ethics codes require clarifying decision authority in the contract.

Mandatory reporting and duty-to-warn obligations vary by jurisdiction and typically attach to identifiable individuals, not aggregate organizational data.

Ethical decision models (e.g., principle-based, utilitarian, virtue-based) should be applied and documented when stakeholder interests conflict.

Record retention and data-minimization rules: collect only data needed for the stated purpose, and specify retention periods and destruction methods in the engagement agreement.

Levels-of-analysis framework: diagnose at individual, team, and organizational levels; interventions at one level often require alignment at the others.

Common diagnostic models include McKinsey 7S (strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff, skills) and the Burke-Litwin causal model distinguishing transformational from transactional factors.

Open-systems diagnosis examines inputs, throughputs, outputs, and feedback across the organization-environment boundary; misalignment at any boundary element signals dysfunction.

Data-collection triangulation combines interviews, surveys, focus groups, and archival records; convergence across methods increases diagnostic confidence.

Survey validity threats in organizational diagnosis include low response rate (nonresponse bias), social desirability, and common-method variance.

Culture diagnosis distinguishes espoused values from enacted values; gaps between them predict resistance and cynicism during change.

Structural diagnosis reviews span of control, centralization, formalization, and coordination mechanisms against strategy and environment uncertainty.

Diagnostic feedback should be reported in aggregate and validated with stakeholders (member-checking) before intervention design begins.

Gross margin = (revenue − cost of goods sold) ÷ revenue; for service firms, direct labor is typically the dominant cost of goods sold.

Break-even volume = fixed costs ÷ (price per unit − variable cost per unit); for hourly services, substitute billable rate minus variable cost per hour.

Utilization rate = billable hours ÷ available hours; realization rate = collected revenue ÷ billed revenue; both drive consulting profitability.

Cash flow differs from profit: revenue is recognized when earned, but liquidity depends on collection timing; track days sales outstanding (DSO).

Direct vs. indirect costs: direct costs trace to a specific engagement; indirect (overhead) costs must be allocated, often by labor hours or revenue.

Standard financial statements are the balance sheet (assets = liabilities + equity), income statement (revenue − expenses = profit), and cash flow statement.

Pricing models for consulting include hourly, fixed-fee, retainer, and value-based; each shifts risk between consultant and client differently.

Key ratios: current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities (liquidity); debt-to-equity measures leverage; both inform organizational health diagnosis.

Transformational leadership comprises idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.

Situational leadership matches style (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating) to follower readiness or development level.

Tuckman's stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning; conflict peaks in storming.

Group process observation attends to task behaviors (initiating, information seeking) and maintenance behaviors (harmonizing, gatekeeping).

Psychological safety, defined as shared belief that interpersonal risk-taking is safe, predicts team learning and voice; it is distinct from trust or cohesion.

Groupthink symptoms include illusion of invulnerability, self-censorship, and pressure on dissenters; countermeasures include devil's advocacy and anonymous input.

Social loafing increases with group size and decreases when individual contributions are identifiable and task meaningfulness is high.

Team effectiveness models (e.g., GRPI: goals, roles, processes, interpersonal) diagnose breakdowns by checking each layer in sequence.

Lewin's model: unfreezing (creating readiness), moving (implementing change), refreezing (stabilizing new norms).

Kotter's eight steps begin with creating urgency and end with anchoring change in culture; skipping early steps predicts failure.

Force-field analysis weighs driving forces against restraining forces; reducing restraints is often more effective than adding pressure.

Readiness for change is predicted by discrepancy (perceived need), appropriateness, efficacy, principal support, and valence (cost-benefit).

The change curve (denial, resistance, exploration, commitment) informs timing of communication and support interventions.

Intervention types include human process, technostructural, human resource management, and strategic change; selection follows diagnosis, not preference.

Resistance is diagnostic data, not obstruction; sources include loss of competence, threatened status, and unclear rationale.

Sustaining change requires aligning rewards, structures, and metrics with the new behaviors; culture reverts when systems reinforce old patterns.

The demand-control-support model predicts strain is highest when demands are high and control and support are low.

Effort-reward imbalance occurs when high effort is met with low reward (pay, esteem, security, career opportunity), elevating stress risk.

Burnout comprises emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (cynicism), and reduced personal accomplishment; it is an occupational phenomenon, not a clinical diagnosis.

The JD-R model separates job demands from job resources; resources buffer demand effects and predict engagement.

Presenteeism (reduced productivity while at work) often exceeds absenteeism costs in total productivity loss.

Psychosocial hazard categories include work overload, low control, role ambiguity, poor interpersonal relationships, and organizational injustice.

Well-being interventions follow a primary (reduce hazards), secondary (build coping), tertiary (support recovery) prevention hierarchy.

Workplace accommodations for mental health conditions may include flexible scheduling, modified supervision, and reduced exposure to identified stressors.

Active listening components: attending, paraphrasing, reflecting feeling, summarizing, and asking open questions.

Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes are competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating; choice depends on stakes and relationship importance.

Positions are stated demands; interests are underlying needs. Interest-based negotiation (Fisher and Ury) focuses on interests, options, and objective criteria.

BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) sets the walk-away point; a strong BATNA increases negotiating leverage.

Integrative negotiation seeks joint gains (expanding the pie); distributive negotiation divides fixed resources (zero-sum).

Feedback models (e.g., situation-behavior-impact) describe observable behavior rather than attributing intent.

Nonviolent communication structure: observation, feeling, need, request; separating observation from evaluation reduces defensiveness.

Escalating conflict indicators include personal attacks, coalition formation, and issue proliferation; de-escalation requires structure and ground rules.

Engagement lifecycle: intake, contracting, diagnosis, feedback, intervention design, implementation, evaluation, and closure.

A written contracting document specifies scope, deliverables, roles, fees, confidentiality, termination conditions, and evaluation criteria.

Scope creep is controlled through change-order procedures that renegotiate time, cost, and deliverables for out-of-scope requests.

Entry and contracting (Block) requires clarifying presenting problems versus underlying problems and the client's readiness to act.

Stakeholder mapping identifies decision-makers, influencers, blockers, and affected parties; engagement strategy differs by role.

Project management fundamentals: work breakdown structure, milestones, resource plan, risk register, and status reporting cadence.

Evaluation of engagement success uses agreed-upon criteria set at contracting; retrospective review captures client outcomes and lessons learned.

Business development relies on referral networks, defined service lines, and documented outcomes; proposals should state assumptions and exclusions.

Validity types: internal (causal inference), external (generalizability), construct (measures the intended concept), and statistical conclusion validity.

Reliability refers to consistency; Cronbach's alpha is an internal-consistency index, with values of .70 or higher generally acceptable for research use.

Effect size measures include Cohen's d (mean difference in SD units) and correlation r; they quantify magnitude independent of sample size.

Statistical significance (p-value) indicates improbability under the null hypothesis, not the size or importance of an effect.

Sampling methods: probability (random, stratified, cluster) support generalizability; nonprobability (convenience, purposive) limit inference.

Evidence hierarchy ranks systematic reviews and meta-analyses above single randomized trials, which rank above observational and expert opinion.

Threats to internal validity include selection, history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, and regression to the mean.

Evidence-based practice integrates best available research, practitioner expertise, and client values and context; no single element suffices.