THE USE OF EXPERIENTIAL TECHNIQUES IN CORPORATE TRAINING Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 20, 1993 151 THE USE OF EXPERIENTIAL TECHNIQUES IN CORPORATE TRAINING Dennis Fahey, Greenlee Textron Virginia Hayes, TeamPerfect Susan Mamet, Travelers Insurance Russ Millholland, Saint-Gobain/Norton Company Ed Quinn, InnerWork Technologies, Inc. Chris Roland, Roland/Diamond Associates, Inc. Richard Wagner, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Robert Weigand, St. Luke’s Hospital The focus of this presentation will be on the use of experiential techniques in corporate training, a rapidly growing phenomenon in during the last five years. With this growth has come a great deal of controversy about the value and design of these programs. Many of the early proponents of these programs have come from the field of activity-based programming (therapy and recreation), and have relied on anecdotal evidence to validate the impact of these programs on corporate clients. At the same time, a number of well--known people in the field of management development (including Peter Drucker) raised concerns as to the value of these programs for working with corporate clients. Starting in 1989 a major effort to evaluate the value of these programs and to begin development of a theoretical model for the use of experiential programs in management development was undertaken. This effort has grown to be international in scope, and has involved all of the people on this program, as well as many others. This symposium will focus on a discussion of the findings of this four-year effort. By combining the viewpoints of the consultant (program providers), the corporate training director, and the academic researcher we hope to be able to offer some unique insights into this type of training. BIOGRAPHIES Dennis Fahey is Manager of Communication and Training for Greenlee Textron, a Rockford, Illinois based manufacturer of equipment for the electrical industry. Dennis has attended a number of outdoor-based training programs, and has designed and implemented a number of these programs for Greenlee. Virginia Hayes is a Consultant with TeamPerfect, a Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania based provider of experiential team building programs for industry. As a consultant to many organizations TeamPerfect and Virginia have a strong overview of these programs. Susan Mamet is Vice President of OD with Travelers Insurance in Hartford, Connecticut. She had been responsible for guiding Travelers through an unprecedented period of change, and has been a leader in the use of experiential training to facilitate this change process within Travelers. Russ Millholland is Training Director for Saint- Gobain/Norton Company in Northboro, Massachusetts. He was an early proponent of corporate experiential training, and has used experiential programs in training managers for over 17 years. Ed Quinn is a Consultant with InnerWork Technologies, Inc. of Philadelphia. As a provider of experientially based training, both Ed and InnerWork are leaders in the development of programs to facilitate organizational change. Chris Roland has been a leading developer and researcher in the field of experiential education since his graduate school day in the late 1970s. Roland/Diamond Associates, Inc. is a provider of unique, custom developed programs for many leading companies, and is known for its innovative approach to the field of experiential training. Richard Wagner of the University Of Wisconsin-Whitewater is a former Corporate Training Director who has combined his academic and work background to become a key researcher in the field of experiential training & development. Robert Weigand is the Manager of Training & Development for St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Bob has developed a large-scale experiential training program for the managers at St. Luke’s and has been active in developing programs to evaluate this type of training. PROGRAM Session #1: presents an overview of corporate experiential training, including the history of these programs and a discussion of the various models currently used. Session #2: discusses the use of these programs, including: why corporations select adventure based programs; what types of programs they use; and how these programs are designed to achieve corporate training goals? Session #3 discusses the facilitation of corporate culture change using experiential training. Session #4: discusses current research and model development issues. Table of Contents Volume 20, 1993 Dominant Personality Types and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Shelf Wars: A Grocery Channel Simulation Shared Cultural Perspectives: An Experiential Exercise Utilizing International Students to Globalize the Classroom An Instrument for Investigating the Effectiveness of Teaching Methods in the Business Policy and Strategy Formulation Course Providing Better Trained Graduates for Accounting Employers The Ambition Gradient Approach to Evaluation of Computer Simulation Game Team Performance Alphatec: A Negotiation Exercise with Logrolling and Bridging Potential Using the Ideafisher Idea Generation System as a Decision Support System in Marketing Strategy Courses A Dynamic Market Share Allocation Model For Computerized Business Simulations Multi-Cultural Adaptability Using Experiential Learning in a Graduate Course Development of Experiential Applications in HRM: Practicing What Preach and Preaching for Practice Linking Students and Business Leaders Through Portfolios Debriefing International Experiential Learning Exercises: Road Signs for Effectiveness Sales Manager: A Simulation Modeling Interactive Effects in Mathematical Functions for Business Simulations: A Critique of Goosen's Interpolation Reducing the Complexity of Interactive Variable Modeling in Business Simulations Through Interpolation Antecedent Biases of Experiential Learners: Trainee Occupation and Subgroup Diversity Pax in Terra Sancta: Simulating the Middle East Peace Negotiations A Multiple Regression Case In Experiential Learning Changes in Ethnocentric/Geocentric Orientation by Business Students after Exposure to a One Summer Course in International Marketing's A Systematic Approach to the Development and Evaluation of Experiential Exercises Entrepreneurs Evaluate Experiential Education A Linear Programming Approach to Open System Total Enterprise Simulations Reflecting Leader Behavior from the Looking Glass, Inc. Simulation Linking Cognitive Styles, Teaching Methods, Educational Objectives and Assessment: A Decision Tree Approach Restructuring Management Education in Post-Communist Countries: How Western Experts Can Help Managerial and Cultural Pre-Conditions for Superior Performance in a Global Setting: An Experimental Study with the Aid of Business Games Multiple Industries in Computerized Business Gaming Simulations Content or Process? - Content and Process! Some Observations and Reflections About Management Education in Central Europe Out-of-Class Experiences to Promote Volunteerism Enacting the Linguistic Consciousness of the Modern Managerial Mind: Post-Modernism and Experiential Learning Intergrating Experiential Exercises into the College Curriculum: The Case of Internationalizing the Business Curriculum Simulation Marketing Oversights Incorporating Advertising Creative Strategy into Computer-Based Business Simulations The Dynamics of a Partnership Between Business and Education Collaborative Education Done Globally Experiential Systems Analysis CADPLAN: A Simulation for Comparative Advertising A Doctoral Symposium: Preparing Students for Conference Behavior Comparing the Simulation with the Case Approach: Again! Total Quality Management: A Model for Continuous Quality Improvement The Quality Audit: An Experiential Exercise for Business Students Extending the Reach of Simulations: DECIDE Heads for the Inner City Lessons Learned from a Customized Management Development Simulation The Foreign Exchange Spot Trading Simulation Using Lotus 1-2-3 to complete a Triple Play in a Simulated Competition International Business Education: Is Enough Being Done? Matching of Student-Teacher Cognitive Style as a Factor in Student Success in an Introduction to Information Systems Course Breathing (More) Life into the Case Approach Lord of the Flies: A Live Case Approach to Leadership Cooperative Case Studies: Experiential Tools for Teaching Business Problem Solving Tools Strategy Simulations in Context: An Evaluation of Key Dimensions The Distribution Channel Game Evaluation of a Simulation Game as an Education Tool for Utility Professionals The Relationship Between Total Enterprise Simulation Performance and Learning Total Quality Management does not Happen by Magic, but it can be Taught Using a Pedagogical Methodology that Utilizes Magic Effectively Preparing Students for Careers in a Global Environment by Integrating Total Quality Management Thoughout the Business Curriculum An Empirical Investigation of Cognitive and Performance Consistency in a Marketing Simulation Game Environment Using MARSGAP with LAPTOP: (A Marketing Simulation Game Analysis Program) with LAPTOP: A Marketing Simulation Adapting TQM Implementation to Organizational Level An MBA Business Simulation: Executive Interaction Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Experiencing Cultural Diversity in the Classroom (and the Hotel Meeting Room) Closing the Gap between Corporate and National Culture The Dynamic Manufacturing Company The Use of Experiential Techniques in Corporate Training The State of Simulation Gaming in Easter European Countries- Principally Russia An Experiential Exercise in Cross-Cultural Training Valuing Differences: A Conceptual Framework Demonstration of an Experiential Exercise Effectively Using Experiential Learning to Impart TQM Concepts in a High Technology Environment The Older Worker Questionnaire: An Exercise Concerning Older Worker Stereotypes and Behaviors The Crime Fighting Task Force: An Exercise in Organizational Politics Welcome to the Party! An Expression of Vocational Preference Experiential Exercise for Imparting Cross-Cultural Appreciation Six Swift Simulations on Globalization Overview of BASF Delegate Program