50fingersntoes Wrote:I have read some post on here about this test, but many of them say "easy" or "hard", but not exactly what is on the test? I did see one post that stated that there were scenerios on it. I have been studying for the past week and a half for this and feel that next week would be a great time to take it. I just haven't a clue if I am prepared well enough. I seem to really know the IC material, but am a bit worried that I am over looking something. Anyone help me out here?
THANK YOU!!
Hi 50,
Try not to get overly nervous about this exam. I like to think that I am very honest about which exams are more difficult than others. If this exam was amongst the harder exams, or if it required the use of additional resources to prepare adequately, I would ABSOLUTELY tell you so.
In the case of Principles of Supervision, I feel very confident in telling you that, if you have studied Instantcert for the past week and half, and you understand all the concepts it presents, you WILL pass this exam.
There will be some questions requiring you to know some basic terminology. For example:
Chain of Command
Span of Control
Line and Staff Organization
Matrix Organization
Centralized v. Decentralized
Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ)
On-the-Job Training
Vestibule Training
Autocratic Leaders
Democratic Leaders
Participative Leaders
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
Etc.
There will also be some mild 'scenario' type questions. They won't be lengthy or in-depth. For example:
John is a supervisor at a company that mass-produces gidgets. All the workers he supervises perform the same task (attaching a warning label to gidgets as they pass by on a conveyor belt). John is required to oversee the overall process, but doesn't often find himself having to communicate at length which each employee. In John's case, his span of control is more likely to be which of the following:
A) Wide
B) Narrow
C) Tall
D) Short
If you know that "Span of Control" refers to the number of employees under one supervisor, and you know that Span of Control can be either narrow (few employees) or wide (many employees), you should be able to eliminate answers C and D. Then, if you recognize that John's employees only require a limited amount of direct supervision from him, then you could assume that he could handle a lot of employees, and thus his span of control is more likely to be wide (A).
Also, you will find that a lot of the questions can be answered using nothing more than basic common sense.
I don't know if you already have the DSST Official Study Guide book. If not, it's well worth having. It contains multiple mock tests for a half a dozen or so DANTES exams, and a summary of the actual material you will need to know for each one. You can access it free of charge here:
http://www.petersons.com/pdf/free/DSST.pdf
I hope that helps.
You're going to do great,
Snazzlefrag
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