| Course | WMBA 6201 Individual and Organizational Performance Management |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 9 |
| Paper type | Development plan |
| Length | About 1,020 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration (MBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for WMBA 6201 Week 9
Two Gaps From the Appraisal, Four Activities and Evidence Someone Else Can See: A Development Plan for a Service Advisor Tied Line by Line to His Half-Year Evaluation
Student Name
Walden University
WMBA 6201: Individual and Organizational Performance Management
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Two Gaps From the Appraisal, Four Activities and Evidence Someone Else Can See: A Development Plan for a Service Advisor Tied Line by Line to His Half-Year Evaluation
Starting From the Record, Not the Catalog
The half-year evaluation completed in Week 6 for M. T., an advisor in the invented Cascade Ridge service drive, found a strong, dependable advisor with two narrow gaps. On working knowledge he rated 3: he explains findings correctly, but on April 22 he misdescribed a hybrid battery warranty term, and he had completed only one of two required manufacturer modules. On customer focus he rated 4: the evaluation found no instance of the behavior the 5 anchor describes, splitting each estimate into work needed now and work that can wait, so a customer approves what matters within a budget.
Development plans often begin with the training catalog and work backward to the employee. This one begins with those two documented gaps. Every activity below traces to one of them, and every activity ends in evidence that someone other than M. T. can see.
The Plan
Table 1
Development Plan for July Through December
| Gap from the appraisal | Activity | Evidence someone else can see | Owner | Due | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid and electric warranty and systems | Complete the second manufacturer module on electrified powertrains | Completion record in the manufacturer's training system | M. T. | August 31 | |
| Hybrid and electric warranty and systems | Shadow the warranty administrator for two half-days processing hybrid and electric claims | Administrator's signed checklist of claim types reviewed | Warranty administrator | September 30 | |
| Offering deferral choices | Use a two-column estimate, "needed now" and "can wait," on every repair order with more than $500 of recommended work | Digital inspection records showing the two-column format; monthly count | M. T., checked by service manager | Start August 1; reviewed monthly | |
| Offering deferral choices | Observe the advisor at the sister dealership whose customers most often rate pricing explanations highly, for one morning | Written list of three practices to adopt, discussed with the service manager | Service manager | September 15 | |
Activities, owners and dates are proposals for a composite employee.
Why These Activities
The first gap is knowledge, and knowledge gaps respond to structured learning followed by practice. The manufacturer's module supplies the structure, and the time with the warranty administrator supplies practice on the claims where M. T. made his error. Salas et al. (2012), reviewing research on training in organizations, emphasized that what happens before and after training, including practice on the job and support from supervisors, strongly shapes whether learning transfers to work. The shadowing is that practice.
The second gap is a habit, not a knowledge gap. M. T. knows how to explain findings; he does not routinely offer customers a choice. Habits change through repetition with feedback, so the activity is a change in how every large estimate is written, made visible in the digital inspection tool and reviewed monthly. The morning at the sister dealership gives him a model to copy.
The Manager's Part
A development plan that leaves all the work to the employee rarely succeeds. The service manager commits to three things: scheduling M. T.'s time for the manufacturer module during a slow week in August, arranging the two half-days with the warranty administrator and reviewing the two-column estimates with him each month. The manager will also add an entry to the weekly notes whenever M. T. uses the deferral option with a customer, so that the year-end evaluation has dated incidents rather than an impression.
Cost and Time
The plan costs little in money and a moderate amount in time. The manufacturer module is free to dealership employees but takes about six hours away from the service drive. The warranty shadowing takes two half-days. The visit to the sister dealership takes one morning. In total, M. T. spends about three working days on the plan over six months, and the manager spends perhaps four hours on scheduling and review. For an advisor who rated well overall, that is a proportionate investment aimed at the two specific gaps the evaluation found.
If the Plan Slips
If the manufacturer module is not completed by August 31, the service manager and M. T. will agree a new date in writing and record the reason, such as a busy month on the drive. If the two-column estimates fall below half of eligible repair orders for two consecutive months, the manager will sit with M. T. on the service drive for a morning to see what is getting in the way. Slippage is recorded, not hidden, because the year-end evaluation will read the plan's record as evidence.
Activities Deliberately Excluded
The plan does not include a sales course, though the dealership offers one, because the appraisal found no gap in selling; M. T. sells at the department's middle rate and his repairs come back less often than most. It does not include general customer service training, because his customer focus rating was 4, with the gap confined to one behavior. Adding activities without a documented gap would spend his time and signal that the appraisal's findings did not matter.
How Progress Will Be Judged
At the year-end evaluation, the service manager will check four things: the completed module, the administrator's checklist, the share of large estimates using the two-column format and whether any hybrid or electric warranty errors appear in the second half. If the two-column format appears on most large estimates and customers' approval of urgent work holds steady, the customer focus anchor for 5 will have evidence behind it for the first time.
Why the Evidence Must Be Visible to Others
A plan judged by M. T.'s own report of what he learned would be judged on impression, the same weakness the Week 4 critique found in the old rating form. DeNisi and Murphy (2017) argued that appraisal is most useful when it feeds development rather than only producing ratings, and that link holds only when the development can be verified. Greenberg (1986) found that employees view evaluations as fairer when they rest on consistent standards; tying the year-end rating to evidence named in July gives M. T. those standards in advance.
References
DeNisi, A. S., & Murphy, K. R. (2017). Performance appraisal and performance management: 100 years of progress? Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 421-433. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000085
Greenberg, J. (1986). Determinants of perceived fairness of performance evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(2), 340-342. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.2.340
Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S. I., Kraiger, K., & Smith-Jentsch, K. A. (2012). The science of training and development in organizations: What matters in practice. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 13(2), 74-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612436661
The Walden WMBA 6201 Week 9 instructions
The development week calls for a plan built from a documented gap in a previous appraisal rather than from a list of available courses. Prompts require every activity to trace back to something the evaluation recorded and to end in evidence that someone other than the employee can see. Instructors also expect owners and dates. Explaining why each activity suits its gap, for example structured learning for a knowledge gap and repeated practice with feedback for a habit, shows understanding of how people develop. Naming the courses deliberately skipped proves the appraisal drove the plan.
How the WMBA 6201 Week 9 example is put together
The plan opens with the two gaps, quoted from the appraisal with dates. A table lists four activities with the gap each addresses, the visible evidence, an owner and a due date. A section explains the choice of activities: a manufacturer module and time with the warranty administrator for the knowledge gap, citing Salas and colleagues on what happens around training, and a changed estimate format plus a morning observing a peer for the habit. A section explains why a sales course and general customer service training are excluded. A section describes the four checks the year-end evaluation will make. A closing section argues that evidence must be visible to others, citing DeNisi and Murphy on appraisal feeding development and Greenberg on consistent standards. Margin comments flag the opening gaps and the exclusions.
Where the marks sit in the WMBA 6201 Week 9 rubric
Graders reward a plan in which every activity traces to a documented gap and ends in evidence someone else can verify. Matching the type of activity to the type of gap, knowledge versus habit, shows understanding of development. Owners and dates make the plan accountable. Excluding activities that address no documented gap demonstrates discipline and respect for the appraisal. Explaining how the next evaluation will judge progress connects development back to appraisal. Training research strengthens the case, and the plan must match what the June evaluation recorded. Owners and due dates must appear for every activity. Activities that end in records a supervisor can open, such as a completion certificate or a signed checklist, score better than activities the employee simply reports finishing.
WMBA 6201 Week 9 help from the desk
Start with the gaps your appraisal actually documented, quoted with dates. For each gap, ask whether it is a gap in knowledge, skill or habit, and choose activities that fit. Write down what evidence each activity will produce and who besides the employee will see it. Assign an owner and a date. Students often lose marks by listing courses from a catalog without connecting them to gaps, by naming evidence only the employee can report or by adding activities for strengths. Say what you left out and why. Describe how the next evaluation will check progress. Keep the plan short. If you need a custom sample development plan tied to an appraisal you completed, send us the appraisal with names removed.
Get a WMBA 6201 Week 9 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 9 instructions and rubric, along with the appraisal or gaps your section supplies, and a complete development plan arrives in 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. Where a template with fixed columns is issued, the sample is populated inside it. Nothing from a personnel file is reproduced here, so gaps arrive as you describe them or as clearly labeled stand-ins.
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WMBA 6201 Week 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free WMBA 6201 Week 9 sample paper?
You can read the full advisor development plan, tied to his appraisal, on this page.
Which gaps does the plan address?
Hybrid and electric warranty knowledge, and offering customers a choice between urgent and deferrable work.
What evidence will show progress?
A completion record, a signed checklist, two-column estimates in the inspection tool and a list of adopted practices.
Why is there no sales course?
The appraisal found no gap in selling.
How will the year-end evaluation use the plan?
It will check the four pieces of evidence and look for any new warranty errors.