ORGANIZING AN OUTWARD BOUND FIELD TRIP Development In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 18, 1991 144 ORGANIZING AN OUTWARD BOUND FIELD TRIP Douglas W. Naffziger, Ball State University W. Calvin Fields, Western Illinois University Joseph J. Dobson, Western Illinois University ABSTRACT This article describes the development of an experiential learning course designed to build confidence and leadership skills in business students. A course was tailor made through a contract with the Outward Bound organization. Ten undergraduate students and 1 Department of Management faculty member experienced a 5-day expedition in the Boundary Waters Canoeing area of upper Minnesota in August, ~99O. Students responded extremely well and plans are being made for a second trip in 1991. INTRODUCTION A program has been cooperatively developed by the Management Department in the College of Business and the Minnesota-based Voyager Outward Bound School to further develop our business students. Some issues are reported below which arose during the course of the programs’ development at WIU. Administrative Issues--WIU and Outward Bound Questions emerged concerning items such as overnight lodging on the road, course credit, trip costs, moving into residence halls early, storing student belongings, insurance, grading, transportation, and travel dates. In dealing with these issues, we learned that you have to appreciate different perspectives. You have to be aware of the political system in which you operate and work carefully with your contacts. It is also important to allow ample time to get ready and solve problems. It takes considerable time for a group to gel. We also learned that it can be difficult to raise money to enable more students to participate. The money problem proved to be the most difficult one to resolve. Curricular and Pedagogical Issues Students were curious about: What we were going to ask them to do; could this credit be used for elective purposes in their major fields of study? The Chair of each department in the College of Business was consulted about whether MGT 498 would work in their departments’ majors? A set of readings was assigned prior to the student’s departure to give them some idea of what to expect. They were asked to write a paper before leaving which described their expectations for the trip. During their expedition, they were asked to keep a journal of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The intent of the journal was to serve as the basis for a post- expedition paper to be written upon their return. The purpose of the paper was to help students organize and assimilate their thoughts, feelings, and experiences about the expedition. Students were also given a battery of standard psychological instruments prior to their departure and upon their return. Self-control was measured with Rotter’s (1966) Locus of Control instrument. Leadership was measured with Fleishman’s (1953) Leadership Opinion Questionnaire. The self-concept was measured with Berger’s (1952) Self- Acceptance Scale and with Ghiselli’s (1971) Self- Descriptive Index. Earlier research has suggested that these are relevant dimensions (Marsh & Richards, 1986; Priest, 1984; Marsh, Richards, & Barnes, 1986). We reasoned that the dimensions of tolerance for ambiguity and machiavellianism would also be relevant. Tolerance for ambiguity was measured with Budner’s (1962) Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale. Machiavellianism was measured with Christie’s (1973) Machiavellianism Scale. Student Preparation By late Spring/early Summer, most of the earlier issues had been pretty much resolved. At this point, we found ourselves monitoring to see that activities were proceeding. For example, students had to register for class and Outward Bound, make a down payment, undergo a physical, get into good physical condition, and make sure they had the right types of clothing. The readings were to be read, questionnaires were to be filled out, and the pre-expedition paper was to be written. This final preparation phase went smoothly. REFERENCES Berger, Emanuel (1952), “The Relations Between Expressed Acceptance of Self and Expressed Acceptance of Others”, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 47, (No. 3), 778-782. Budner, Stanley (1962), “Intolerance of Ambiguity as a Personality Variable”, Journal of Personality, 30, (No. 1), 29-50. Christie, R. (1973), “Machiavellianism Scale in Unpublished Manuscript”, In John P. Robinson & Phillip R. Shaver (Eds.) Measures of Social Psychological Attitudes (pp. 590-594), Ann Arbor, MI; Institute for Social Research. Fleishman, Edwin A. (1953), “The Measurement of Leadership Attitudes in Industry”, Journal of Applied Psychology, 37, (No. 3), 153-158. Ghiselli, Edwin E. 1971), Explorations in Managerial Talent, Santa Monica, CA; Goodyear Publishing Company Marsh, Herbert W. & Richards, Carry E. (1986), “The Rotter Locus of Control Scale: The Comparison of Alternative Response Formats and Implications for Reliability, Validity, and Dimensionality”, Journal of Research in Personality, 20, (No. 4), 509-528 Marsh, Herbert W., Richards, Garry F., & Barnes, Jennifer G986), “Multidimensional Self-Concepts: The Effect of Participation in an Outward Bound Program”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, (No. 1), 195- 204. Priest, Simon (1984), “Effective Outdoor Leadership: A Survey’, Journal of Experiential Education, 7, (No. 3), 34-36. Rotter, Julian 0966), “Generalized Expectancies for Internal vs. External Locus of Control of Reinforcement”, Psychological Monographs, 80, (No. 609), 1-28. Table of Contents Volume 18, 1991 Personality Types and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Using DIS 'n DAT as a Decision Support System for a Marketing Simulation Game Theoretical Derivation of a Market Demand Function for Business Simulators The Ethnographic Case Study: An Experiential Approach to Teaching Retail Management Electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBS): Support Software for Computer Simulations The New Budget Game Negame: A Cross-Cultural Role-Play to Introduce Students to the Familiarization Stage of Negotiations Modeling Short-Run Cost and Production Functions Using Sheppard's Lemma in Computerized Business Simulations Increasing Simulation Realism through the Modeling of Step Costs Predicting Simulation Performance: Differences Between Groups and Individuals A Facility Location Case to Stimulate Classroom Interaction Educational Effectiveness of Business Simulation Gaming: A Comparative Study of Students and Practitioner Perspective Ethical Dilemmas in Experiential Learning: Issues and Strategies A Critical Review and Assessment of ABSEL's Award-Winning Procedures and Protocols Political Risk: A Simulation for Business Practitioners Upside Down: A Cross-Cultural Game in Experiential Learning Gorby's Dilemma: From Communism to Free Enterprise in Two Hours Strategic Market: Planning with the COMPLETE Product Portfolio Analysis Package: A Marketing Decision Support System Career Concepts and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Experiential Learning in Human Resources: A Performance Appraisal Application Managerial Motivation and Realism Among MBA Student as Viewed through The Looking Glass, Inc. Simulation An Experiential Approach to Teaching Data Analysis Using MYSTAT: Rationale, Procedures and Results Practicing What Was Preached: A Sequential Learning Model put to the Test Student Attitudes about Policy Course Simulations An Investigation of the Relationship Between Simulation Play, Performance Level and Recency of Play on Exam Scores The Effect of Leadership and Cognitive Processing Styles upon Peer Performance Evaluation: Implication for the Utilization of Simulations in Business Pedagogy On the Transfer of Market Oriented Business Games to Socialist Cultures An Application of Financial Analysis of the Business Firm in a Simulated Competitive Environment Collective Bargaining Simulation: An Exercise based on a Familiar Theme Making Business Policy a Strategic Management Experience A Student Exercise for Intergrating the Concepts of Power and Motivation The Boundaries Extended: An Experiment Comparing Dialectical Inquiry, Devil's Advocacy and Consensus Using the Executive Game Using a Simulation Package to Develop a Simulation Exercise in Cost Accounting Success Factors in Experiential Training for Creative Problem-Solving Teams An Experiential Approach for teaching Quality management Critical Success Ratios: A Comparison of Two Business Simulations in a Multi-Year Environment Stocklogs: A Classroom Exercise for Teaching the Logistical Relationship of Location and Inventory The Organizational Leadership Program Simulating Business Decision-Making: Using Statistical Cases for Classroom Exercises Scripting for the Classroom Upgrading the Business Strategy and Policy Game Developing Student Team-Building and Leadership Skills Using Computer-Aided Experiential learning Strategies Organizing and Outward Bound Field Trip An Architecture for Extensible Simulation Games Performance in the Capstone Business Course: What is the effect of Pedagogy, Learning Styles, and Student Motivation? Operational Strategy with Participant-Modifiable Parameters An Example of a Personal Selling Case Transformed into a Role Play Scenario Instructional Software: It's Evolution and Current State of the Art in the Business Curriculum Ascertaining Performance Variables for use in Determining Student's Grades in Courses Employing a Business Simulation Designing Management Seminars Using Business Simulations The Accounting Information Systems Course: Bridging the Gap between the Classroom and the Real World The Good Cooks Guide to Training Excellence: Working with Passion A Demonstration on Multiple Data Collection Methods: Seeing Strategic Issues Through the Looking Glass Simulation Systems Analysis and Design: Why Undergraduate Education gets a Failing Grade Accommodating Organizational Culture: An Evaluation of Management Development Delivery Modes in Varying Organizational Cultures Modeling Total Quality into Business Simulations The Political Futures Game Meeting Meeting Objectives