1
Running head: Case Study 1
Case Study 2: It Never Rains like This!
Meaghan-Winnifred Souter, Joshua Gardow-Turner, Rebecca Zylstra, Eric Latimer
November 13th, 2013
Outdoor Adventure Leadership
Jeff Jackson
2
Running head: Case Study 1
Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Issues ........................................................................................................................1
Cause ........................................................................................................................2
Problem Definition...................................................................................................3
Options .....................................................................................................................3
Plan...........................................................................................................................
3
Running head: Case Study 1
Issues
The first step in coming up with a solution is identifying the issues. These can fit into two
categories, immediate and underlying.
Immediate
1) Jessica may be sick
2) Unprofessionalism (Alan & Dave)
3) Students are hungry
4) Weather (flood risk)
Underlying
1) Lack of provisions (stove)(tent)
2) Allison not fully trained
3) Leadership style
4) Poor group development
After reviewing the text 'It never rains like this!'. It was determined that the most
important of the immediate issues was the possibility of Jessica being sick. Assessing the
cause of Jessica's conditions is important so they can be addressed accordingly. It is
possible that the same thing is causing other participants to feel ill and they too haven't
said anything. If Jessica's condition worsens it could lead to having to evacuate her. If this
is required there would be a higher level of risk in the execution as only one of the leaders
is experienced in first aid. If an evacuation is needed there are obstacles that could arise
such as the stream flooding, the road that is decommissioned and an undetermined preplanned evacuation protocol.
The second issue is expedition behavior, trainee TL Alan, who shows a high level of
unprofessionalism during this multi-day trip. Alan's poor expedition behavior is leading
to negativity among the group; as a person in a leadership role he should be setting an
overall example for the behavior of the individuals participating in the expedition. In the
AMC Guide To Outdoor Leadership author Alex Kosseff describes the term 'regression' when a person behaves immaturely. Alan is acting immature for example "Alan huffed
and stomped away, Janet heard him approach Dave and Paul " Move over losers, our
lame-o trip leader forgot my tent and told me to bunk with you" (It never rains like this!,
Pg.2). Alan's attitude is showing he has an immature attitude and is also trying to place
blame on the Janet because he forgot his tent. Dave is also showing poor expedition
behavior, he took multiple items from the aboriginal summer hunting camp when there
were clear directions a to not disturb the area. He often "jokes" that bears are around,
which may scare students who may already be frighten. The fact that Dave disturbed the
historic site aroused a high level of anger with the other participants, causing the group to
erupt into a verbal dispute.
The third immediate issue pertains to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the basic
foundation of physiological needs must be met first. This includes each participants
access and use of shelter, food, water, and sleep. Currently on this expedition, food and
sleeping needs are not adequately being met. This is stated clearly in the text, "Janet and
Allison suspected some students didn't eat that night and went straight to bed to get out of
the rain." The fact that the basic needs of the participants are not being successfully
sustained pose an inherent risk to the expedition. Participants who are fatigued, or
effected by lack of nutrition have a higher chance of endangering the entire group or
forcing an emergency evacuation to take place. Food also plays an important role in
4
Running head: Case Study 1
boosting the overall morale of any group situation, a warm, tasty meal will increase the
mood of the students on the expedition. Lack of sleep effects a person's mental and
physical skills, a fatigued participant is not prepared to actively, safety and effectively
participate on a multi-day expedition. (Kosseff, A. pg.192, AMC Guide to Outdoor
Leadership. 2010) The immediate issue of least concern is the worsening weather
conditions, this is chosen as least important because weather can be changed. The weather
has added to the overall low morale of the group, increasing the negativity between the
participants.
Looking past the immediate concerns we realize that the trip has been poorly
planned. Starting with Janet's choice on an ATL. It seems that Janet did not take into
account Allison's qualifications . It turns out that Allison is not first aid trained - "Allison
looked startled, and stammered "Uh, I don't really have first aid training."(It never rains
like this, p.4).Janet should of looked into Allison's qualifications knowing she was a
rookie or tried to contact other potential ATL's. Proper gear needed for the trip has also
been looked passed. Janet finds out that the students do not have stoves or pots to cook
with; "upon investigation, no one had brought a stove or pots for themselves"(It never
rains like this, p.3). Janet should of had the students take out their gear before the start of
the trip to see that they are properly prepared. The third underlying issue is Janet's
leadership style. From the beginning of the trip she seemed very passive, and her lack of
authority along their hike didn't help. When Dave shouted "Help! A bear!"(It never rains
like this, p.3), Janet should have asserted herself, and reviewed safety concerns with
bears. According to the AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership, author A. Kosseff states
"Coercive power may be used to deal with clear violations of established standards of
behavior." Perhaps if Janet had used coercive power in this situation, they would have
been more inclined to show her respect. Last but not least, there was very poor group
development. In 1972, Bruce Tuckman and Mary Ann Jensen determined the 'group life
cycle', consistent of five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
In this case, the forming stage was skipped, forcing participants directly into storming.
This means that they didn't have the opportunity to form relationships with each other,
making it harder to find a common ground amongst them. Time at the beginning of the
trip could have been spared for introductions, potentially saving a lot of tension.
Cause
We determined that the cause of the identified issues comes down to the weather,
poor trip planning, and professionalism. The group had to cross water and as Janet noted,
"If this rain continued, this stream may be impassable due to high water."(It never rains
like this, p.2). With all of the rain over the trip, it is a potential concern that in the case of
an evacuation, that route may not be available. This also causes problem with their return
trip, making the certainty of their trip waiver. The Trip could have been more organized,
ensuring everyone had the proper gear. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, food,
water, shelter, and sleep are the four basic physiological needs of humans. The lack of
provisions has an immediate effect on the group, as well as a lingering sense of
uncertainty that there will be enough food and shelter for everyone. "Janet and Allison
suspected some students didn't eat that night and went straight to bed to get out of the
rain."(It never rains like this, p.3).
5
Running head: Case Study 1
Problem Definition
Poor trip planning on the part of the trip leader Janice, and low group morale has lead
to the possibility of a medical emergency with one particular student, Jessica.
Options
Decision criteria:
-
Sick student needs to be assessed
Resolve group conflicts
Correct unprofessional behavior of TL & ATL
Options:
1. Assess Jessica's medical situation, come together as group, remain on trip
2. Assess Jessica, evacuate group & end trip
3. Assess Jessica, continue on trip with ongoing conflicts
4. Assess Jessica, Dave returns artifacts, continue on trip
The first option is to assess Jessica's medical situation, repair the damage to the
group's dynamics, and continue on the trip as planned. The first priority is to ensure
Jessica's health. Assuming she is well enough to continue on the trip, the following
morning would be spent on team building, and repairing the damage caused by the
conflicts the night before. With a late start but potentially better group dynamics,
continuing on the trip is both feasible and improved. This would allow for the student to be
assessed, would resolve the group’s conflicts, and correct the unprofessional behavior. With a
late start but potentially better.
The second option is to have Janet assess Jessica's medical situation, assuming she is
not physically able to continue the trip, Janet is left to evacuate the group, and end the
trip. Essentially she will have to wake up the students the next morning and ask them to
pack all their gear. They would hike down and hopefully the river level is low for easy
crossing. As they get back to the parking lot the TL brings Jessica to nearest hospital,
implementing their assumed emergency evacuation plan. This would allow the sick
student to be assessed and the professionalism would be improved, however this
wouldn’t be beneficial to the group. Essentially she will have to wake up.
6
Running head: Case Study 1
The third option is have Janet assess Jessica's medical situation, and assuming she is
physically able continue on trip with ongoing conflicts. Again the priority here is to find
out if Jessica is really sick or not. If she isn't the students would continue trip stay the last
day. Students would continue trip stay the last day. This would ensure that Jessica’s
assessed, however the group dynamics remain impaired and the professionalism stays the
same.
The fourth option would be to assess Jessica’s medical situation and from there if
things are good have a meeting that night with the students, settle all disputes. Ask Dave
to return the artifact to its natural habitat. Stay on the trip while keeping a more direct
leadership style.
Plan
Our preferred alternative is solve this particular issue is based on the decision criteria
of assessing and accurately treating Jessica's medical situation, resolving group conflicts,
and addressing the unprofessional behavior of the trip leaders. We have made the
assumption that once Jessica receives a standard first aid examination preformed in the
field by Janet, it will be determined that she is in good physical health. Likely, Janet will
have to receive Jessica's consent to administer any sort of first aid procedures, since there
is a lack of medical history and medical waiver for the students on the expedition. We are
consciously aware that upon examination, there is the chance that Jessica is not in good
health. In this scenario, we have decided that Janet should then implement her emergency
evacuation plan. Assuming Janet does not have an emergency evacuation plan, we have
devised a plan involving Janet calling the group together and beginning the hike out of
the woods to her meeting spot. She should then seek medical help by either calling the
emergency contact number for her area, or taking Jessica immediately to the closest
hospital.
On the assumption that Jessica is in good health once Janet has treated her symptoms
to the best of her abilities, we determined that her efforts should then be concentrated on
bringing the rest of the group together to improve morale, work on overall team building,
and to resolve ongoing conflicts. Janet will need to implement techniques to support
healthy group development, she should start by breaking the ice between her group
members. The students on this expedition had a unique start to their trip, due to time
constraints and weather conditions, Janet neglected to formally introduce herself and the
group members to one another. This is a key stage in group development, the students on
this expedition did not engage in the forming stage of group development. Conflicts
began to rise within the group that did not get addressed or resolved, the students need to
form as a team, and Janet can encourage this through team building exercises and icebreaking activities. Janet should ask Dave to return the artifacts he moved, as they were a
cause for great concern amongst the group, she should then pull Allan aside and address
his unprofessional behavior thus far on the trip. After each group member has
successfully made peace with one another, Janet should be able to easily continue her
expedition with an increase in group morale.