ART - BASED LEARNING: CATA LYST FOR CHANGE IN CORPORATE CULTURE

The present paper describes a participatory observation c onducted over a period of three months regarding the impact of using improvisational theatre form ats in an organization seeking to change its corporate culture. The relatively new concept of “ art - based learning” (Jackson, 2007; Needlands, 2004; Nicholson, 2006) is a management training technique in which various issues are “acted out” in theatrical fa shion. Since theatre creates a type of “meta - language” that allows and/or reinforces the generation of dialogue (Asikainen, 2003) by “making thought visible” (Boal, 1995, p.137) , it can trigger in the participants a sense of ownership and interest in the targeted organis ational structure, management, or customer oriented culture change and can be used as a catalyst for transformation. Six non homogeneous groups , containing a maximum of twelve participants each, were observed in a theatre - based learning se tting using three experiential and transformative theatrical arts - based processes/techniques . A formal evaluation of the programme‘s efficiency showed that the number of proposals of innovative practices / tools generated by th e “newly empowe red” employees was substantial. I n more than eighty percent of the cases, the participants’ capacity to reflect and gain new insights into non - traditional solutions and possibilities had increased, thus resulting in more innovative behaviour and practice.