Personal change: An evaluation of the Pacific Institute's Investment in Excellence Program

This study examines the relationship between one's ability or one's willingness to embrace personal change in light of such internal factors as the individual's locus of control, self-talk and self-image. This study also examines the relationship between one's willingness or one's ability to embrace personal change in light of the individual's ability to goal set and to accept goal accomplishment. This study was conducted at the PEMCO Financial Center in Seattle, Washington. Confidential data were gathered using The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and a questionnaire in which employees examined their locus of control and level of satisfaction with their degree of personal happiness and professional position. On that same questionnaire, respondents also examined their degree of satisfaction with the "Investment in Excellence" program. The total number of 80 respondents represented employees from a variety of departments throughout the PEMCO Financial Center. All respondents participated in at least one weekend self-improvement seminar, which was conducted by one of The Pacific Institute's trained facilitators. These weekend seminars occurred between April, 1986 and December, 1987. Locus of control was analyzed by age, gender, and ethnic group. An individual's ability to set and accept goal accomplishment as well as the individual's self-talk and self-image was analyzed by age, gender, and ethnic group.; Analysis of the data showed that one's locus of control was impacted to varying degrees by one's age, gender, and ethnic group. The individual's locus of control in turn affected the individual's self-talk and, subsequently, the individual's self-image, which in the final analysis appeared to affect the individual's ability or willingness to embrace personal change. One might conclude then that one's willingness to embrace change might impact one's receptiveness to the concepts introduced in the "Investment in Excellence" material.; Respondents reported varying degrees of satisfaction with The Pacific Institute's "Investment in Excellence" program. However, all respondents reported satisfaction with the facilitator of their individual weekend seminar.