Evaluation of Team Development in a Corporate Adventure Training Program

Abstract

Numerous authors in the popular literature have described adventure training programs and the associ­ ated team development benefits which accrue for man­ agement (Krouwel, 1980; Long, 1984; Van Zwieten, 1984; Wagel, 1986 ; Galagan, 1987; Gall, 1987; and Malcomson, 1988) . Several well-known authorities have called for further investigation into these benefits, noting that a distinct lack of research exists, causing the field of corporate adventure training to have a cred­ ibility crisis (Bank, 1985; Hogg, 1988; Crawford, 1988; Darby, 1989). The intent of this study was to evaluate changes in stages of team development before and after involve­ ment with a corporate adventure training program. Specifically, an experimental group of corporate man­ agers were subjected to an adventure training program, while another control group from the same company did not receive the training. Before and after the train­ ing period, both groups were assessed for their level of change on ten items of team development. The control group was not expected to change, since they remained untreated, while the experimental group was expected to improve on all ten items, as a result of receiving the treatment. In their breakthrough theme for 1990-91 , the company studied in this research chose to emphasize improved responsiveness through and all divisions of the company were charged with imple­ menting strategic plans aligned with this teamwork t h e m e . Crea t ing a c o m p a n y w i d e C o n t i n u o u s Improvement Plan to address teamwork required major cultural change for many divisions throughout the company, required behavior changes from employ­ ees and management, and required a new approach to work tasks and i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . A paradigm shift away from traditional management