Final answer:
Using an instrumental approach to stakeholder claims entails focusing on how stakeholder relationships can strategically benefit the program, aiming for improved outcomes and objectives through engagement that highlights mutual benefits.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you were to use an instrumental approach to stakeholder claims, your most likely rationale for this method would be to focus on the strategic benefits that stakeholders bring to the program. In an instrumental approach, the primary goal is to leverage stakeholder relationships to enhance the program's outcomes and effectively meet its objectives. For instance, in the Mini-Case Study Four, if the substance abuse prevention program had taken an instrumental approach, they would have aimed to engage stakeholders such as religious leaders, politicians, and educators in a way that emphasizes the mutual benefits of the program, as well as articulate how their involvement could serve their own interests. This could have potentially resulted in a higher degree of participation and more valuable feedback, leading to better program implementation. It’s important to understand that in an instrumental approach, stakeholders are seen as means to an end, where their involvement is sought for the benefit it brings to the program rather than for ethical or normative reasons.