Abstract:

This exploratory study investigates student perceptions of an Outdoor Management Development (OMD) event through the lens of socio cultural theory (SCT). Application of SCT concepts such as transformation, boundary crossing, boundary brokers and boundary artefacts assist better understanding of the student experience, and also highlight differences between perceptions of Anglo-Saxon and Non-Anglo-Saxon students. There were key differences in prior experience of teamwork and leadership and differing levels of understanding and application of theoretical models, which may be linked to cultural backgrounds. Findings also indicate that students describe the event positively and recognise its efficacy as an induction event and the study also found that whilst students were not aware of the theory or lexis of SCT, some did establish links and connections between their OMD experience and SCT concepts of transformation, boundaries, boundary crossing, boundary brokers and boundary artefacts, articulating that the event would prove beneficial for future employability prospects. Analysis of the interviews revealed that the OMD event functioned as a boundary space and that the subsequent group portfolio assessment, individual essay and DVD of photographs may be interpreted as boundary artefacts with tutors acting as boundary brokers in the process.

Keywords:

Organisational Management development, Management education, Multicultural teams.