Examines the current trend of adventure education as a form of management and leadership training for corporate executives. Discusses the benefits of experiential education for executives and influential people. Considers potential problems related to ethics, safety, and quality control across programs. (SV)

All 120 managers and executives of a Canadian corporation participated in a 1-day experiential training in facilitation techniques, primarily debriefing strategies to help employees learn from workplace experiences. Five months later, a representative sample of participants identified successes, barriers, and potential improvements; most reported…

Illustrates how principle and virtue ethics can be applied to decision-making processes in experience-based training and development programs. Principle ethics is guided by predetermined rules and assumes that issues being examined are somewhat similar in context, whereas virtue ethics assumes that "correct behavior" is determined from…

In two studies, the Team Development Indicator was repeatedly administered to intact work groups participating in intensive 48-hour residential corporate adventure training (CAT) and various follow-up procedures. CAT significantly improved team behaviors in all training groups, but improvements were maintained or increased only in groups that…

Examination of problem-focused and solution-focused facilitation approaches used with functional and dysfunctional corporate groups found that both approaches were equally effective at increasing teamwork in functional corporate groups; that problem-focused facilitation was less effective with dysfunctional corporate groups; and that…

An intact work unit of 17 corporate managers participated in a 3-day adventure training program to develop teamwork and group unity. The unit improved significantly on 8 of 10 items of the Team Development Inventory, administered before and 2 months after training, relative to an intact control group. (SV)

Describes and compares the foci, methods, and outcomes of experiential-education and organizational-development models. Explores the synthesis of the two models in developing corporate adventure programs and services. Lists the contributions that each approach offers to corporate programs. (KS)

Metaphoric learning in corporate training should be "isomorphic" (paralleled experiences bearing strong resemblances to one another) for change to occur. In addition, the outcomes of the newly created metaphor must be different from the preexisting condition if change is to occur. (KS)

A study comparing the influence of the belayor on the development of trust between rock-climbing partners in a corporate adventure training program found that permitting clients to belay each other greatly enhanced the development of trust, as opposed to employing specialized technicians or facilitators for belaying. (LP)

To determine the role that physical aspects of corporate adventure training played in the acquisition of trust, 75 employees from a New Zealand computer company were assigned to one of two groups with varying levels of physical activity or to a control group. Trust was enhanced in the two experimental groups but more so in the more active group.…

Calls for further research evaluating corporate adventure training (CAT) programs. Reviews activities and benefits associated with CAT, summarizes studies conducted on the efficacy of CAT programs, describes appropriate research designs for investigating how and why CAT programs work, and addresses barriers to producing meaningful research. (LP)

This study determined whether program setting (camp versus hotel) and program duration (five one-day sessions or a single five-day session) had any impact on development of teamwork in a corporate adventure training program. Results showed program setting had no effect, but short programs appeared to provide slower but greater overall gains in…

Among the 156 employees of a Canadian corporation, group initiatives and ropes courses were equally effective at improving overall trust toward their organization. However, the ropes course diminished acceptance of others' ideas, while group initiatives built acceptance. The ropes course enhanced encouragement of others' efforts, while group…

Discusses the goals of team building, scope of team-building interventions, and specific contributions of both experiential (corporate adventure training) and nonexperiential (traditional) methods for increasing work-group effectiveness. A model for effectively combining the two approaches involves establishing goals, clarifying team members'…

For 72 new workers in a British automotive corporation, self-confidence was enhanced by participation in a ropes course. While general debriefing (addressing a wide variety of human behaviors) and specific debriefing (centered solely on self-confidence) contributed to these improvements, the benefits that accrued from specific debriefing were…