Backwoods Brewing Company: Learning to Tolerate Ambiguity

Abstract

Backwoods Brewing Company is an experiential exercise that provides a challenging, reality based business situation, requiring students to create a conclusion based on limited information. It is designed primarily for upper-division management students. A tolerance for ambiguity scale is administered; the debriefing of the exercise helps students develop a better understanding of their tolerance for ambiguity and teaches them some concrete tools to be used when dealing with ambiguity.

Keywords:

• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Experiential exercise
• Creativity

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth A Cooper

Elizabeth A. Cooper, Ph.D. is Professor of Management at the University of Rhode Island. She has recently served as Chair of the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division of the Academy of Management. Her research has focused on issues in Human Resources with publications in Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Human Relations. More recently her research and teaching interests focus on the experiential components of the classroom. Email: [email protected]

Elizabeth McCrea

Elizabeth A. McCrea, Ph.D., is an Instructor at the Pennsylvania State University Great Valley Graduate School of Professional Studies. She received her Ph.D. degree in Organization Management from Rutgers University in October 2004. Dr. McCrea is a Certified New Product Development Professional, an accreditation of the Product Development Management Association. Her research interests involve corporate entrepreneurship, product development, business strategy, and experiential learning. Her professional background includes operations and finance positions at Nabisco, Inc. Email: [email protected]

Kristin Backhaus

Kristin Backhaus, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Management at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She teaches courses in human resources and organization theory. Her research interests include employee recruitment and selection, employer branding, and learning styles. Prior to her work as a professor, Dr. Backhaus worked in the human resources field. She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Eastern Academy of Management. Email: [email protected]