Psychological Research - Essay Example

Case analysis

Rokeach, in psychological research, developed a set of values and categorized them into two, terminal, and instrumental values. Terminal values are those that are expected at the end of a subject’s existence and are factors of both personality and an individual’s environment. Instrumental values are however behavioral values of an individual. This paper seeks to analyze Sam Walton’s top terminal and instrumental. Walton is the founder of Walmart. The report reviews his perceived outstanding instrumental and terminal values.

A review of Walton’s legacy

Sam’s life and his interaction with people, especially in the business environment, form a basis for understanding his values. His legacy as a leader illustrates how he used his values in different circumstances. Walton always empowered people and ensured that he maximized people’s potential besides inspiring people around him. He was also innovative, and creative, and acknowledged people’s initiatives. Similarly, he closely related with his juniors with whom he was involved in his personal interest such as offering them a stake in his business. Walton also understood leadership’s impact as a long-term initiative and made long-term investments such as training people (Robinson, p. 1).

Terminal values

This identifies “freedom,” “equality,” and “an exciting life” as his most important terminal values (Mio, p. 1). Freedom was his fundamental value as he demonstrated through hard work to self-liberalization and economic stability. After achieving his personal freedom in the corporate world, Walton offered an environment that promoted other people’s freedom in his work environment. He achieved this through his concept of creativity and innovation that allowed employees the freedom to apply their potential, independently, toward developing required solutions. His value for equality was also demonstrated through his leadership style which lacked a strict organizational structure but involved all members in innovative problem-solving processes. His interaction with junior employees which included offering them a stake in his organization as well as relating well with them also demonstrated his value for equality among people regardless of their positions. An exciting life that is active and enriching is another evident value in Sam’s life and was demonstrated by his hard work that established his enterprise. He also empowered people around him and particularly promoted innovation and creativity among the people with whom he worked. His long-term value for training was another illustration of his goal to empower and stimulate people (Mio, p. 1; Robinson, p. 1).

Instrumental values

His top instrumental values were being “ambitious,” “Courageous,” and “imaginative” (Mio, p. 1). Walton demonstrated his ambition at different points in his life, as obstacles did not distract him from his set goals. He for example withstood economic depression to maintain his entrepreneurial objective. His risk-taking potential however illustrated his courage in managing business affairs and relations with stakeholders. The risk-taking involved empowering employees and trusting them with generating solutions to his organization’s problems. He also risked long-term investment in employees with the hope that they will be loyal to remain in the organization. His success as a leader and his developed innovative and creative culture however demonstrated his imaginative value that developed strategies for exploring solutions (Mio, p. 1; Robinson, p. 1).   

Conclusion

Sam Walton’s life therefore demonstrated both terminal and instrumental aspects of Rokeach’s values.