| Course | PSYC 651 Personnel and Performance Management (PSYC651) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 5 |
| Assignment | Weekly Reading Summary 5 |
| Paper type | Weekly reading summary in APA style with subheadings |
| Length | about 469 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: per the course guide, a 1.5 to 2 page summary in current APA format with subheadings, a cover page and a reference page, containing an introduction that summarizes the module's reading, 3 to 5 paragraphs each on a major theme and a conclusion that summarizes the themes and applies them to a business setting |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 25 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 5 in Liberty's published PSYC 651 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PSYC 651 Week 5
Weekly Reading Summary 5: Personal Development Plans, the Supervisor's Role and What Makes 360-Degree Feedback Work
[Student Name]
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
PSYC 651: Personnel and Performance Management
Weekly Reading Summary 5
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The writer and the workplace example are composites; the textbook and the journal articles are real and described from their published sources; the requirements follow Liberty's public course guide for PSYC 651.
Weekly Reading Summary 5: Personal Development Plans, the Supervisor's Role and What Makes 360-Degree Feedback Work
Introduction
Chapter 8 of Aguinis (2013) turns from evaluating past performance to improving future performance. It argues that development is central to performance management, not an optional extra, because a system that only judges employees misses the chance to help them grow. This summary covers four themes: personal development plans, the supervisor's role, 360-degree feedback systems and the features that make such systems effective.
Personal Development Plans
A personal development plan specifies what an employee will do to improve and grow. Aguinis (2013) describes plans that state development objectives, explain how they will be reached and identify resources and timelines. Development activities can include on-the-job training, courses, self-guided reading, mentoring, attending conferences, job rotation, temporary assignments and membership in professional organizations. Plans work best when the employee helps create them, because ownership of the goals makes follow-through more likely. A plan should also connect to the organization's needs, so that the skills an employee builds are ones the organization will use.
The Supervisor's Part
Supervisors make development plans real. Aguinis (2013) describes their responsibilities as explaining what is acceptable performance, referring employees to useful resources, offering feedback on progress, providing resources such as time and funding and reinforcing improvement. A plan filed and forgotten after the review meeting produces little. The supervisor's follow-through signals whether development is a real priority or only a box on the appraisal form.
The Promise of 360-Degree Feedback
A 360-degree system gathers views of one employee from several directions at once: the boss, coworkers, direct reports, sometimes customers and the employee's own self-rating. Aguinis (2013) lists potential advantages, including reduced bias, greater awareness of expectations and stronger commitment to improve. Smither et al. (2005), however, found in a meta-analysis that improvement after multisource feedback was generally small and depended on recipients believing change was needed, reacting constructively, setting goals and acting on them.
Designing a System That Helps
The chapter identifies features of effective systems: anonymity for raters, raters who have actually observed the employee, avoidance of survey fatigue, an emphasis on behaviors, written comments that go beyond numbers, trained raters and use for development rather than administrative decisions. Atwater et al. (2007), drawing lessons from research and practice, add that feedback should be followed by coaching and action planning, since a report alone rarely changes behavior. They also caution that recipients often react defensively to negative feedback from peers, which makes skilled facilitation especially important the first time a system is used.
Conclusion
The chapter presents development as an essential part of performance management, carried out through personal development plans, active supervisor support and well-designed 360-degree feedback. An engineering firm preparing project engineers to become project managers could apply these ideas by giving each engineer a 360-degree assessment focused on leadership behaviors, using the results to build a personal development plan with a temporary assignment leading a small project and holding quarterly progress conversations with a senior manager acting as coach.
References
Aguinis, H. (2013). Performance management (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Atwater, L. E., Brett, J. F., & Charles, A. C. (2007). Multisource feedback: Lessons learned and implications for practice. Human Resource Management, 46(2), 285-307. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20161
Smither, J. W., London, M., & Reilly, R. R. (2005). Does performance improve following multisource feedback? A theoretical model, meta-analysis, and review of empirical findings. Personnel Psychology, 58(1), 33-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.514_1.x
What the PSYC 651 Week 5 instructions ask
In Module/Week 5 of PSYC 651, Weekly Reading Summary 5 earns 25 points and travels with the module's presentation or response posts, the fifth case study and the fifth article review, after Aguinis's chapter 8 and one presentation. The required shape does not change: an APA paper between 1.5 and 2 pages, broken up by subheadings, with the title sheet and references left out of the count. Students open with a paragraph that sums up the chapter, develop three to five major themes in separate paragraphs and close with a paragraph that pulls the themes together and shows how they would work in a business. This chapter's practical bent makes the applied conclusion especially important.
How this PSYC 651 Week 5 example is built
The introduction frames development as the forward-looking half of performance management and previews four themes. The first describes personal development plans, their objectives and the activities they can include, from courses and mentoring to job rotation and temporary assignments. The second explains the supervisor's responsibilities in development. The third presents 360-degree feedback and its potential benefits, adding Smither and colleagues' finding about when improvement follows. The fourth lists the features of a well-run system, with Atwater and colleagues' practical lessons. The conclusion applies the themes to an engineering firm preparing project engineers to become project managers, with a coach for each.
PSYC 651 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
Graders look for a summary that represents chapter 8 accurately, follows the introduction, themes and applied conclusion structure, uses informative subheadings and meets APA and length requirements. Good summaries explain why development belongs in performance management rather than treating it as a separate training topic. When 360-degree feedback is discussed, strong papers include both its benefits and its risks, as the chapter does. The conclusion should show a concrete plan in a specific organization, naming the role, the feedback source and at least one development activity with a time frame. Research on multisource feedback, if used, must be reported precisely, including the finding that average effects are modest and depend on what recipients do next.
PSYC 651 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points
Students sometimes present 360-degree feedback as a cure-all. The chapter is more careful, and so is the research: feedback helps when it is anonymous, used for development, followed by goal setting and supported by a manager or coach. Include those conditions. For personal development plans, give one or two example activities rather than the full list. Keep the supervisor's role specific, such as reviewing progress quarterly. In the conclusion, name a role and a development goal so the application feels real. Watch the page limit, since this chapter's lists invite padding that crowds out explanation. A short table is not needed; three well-chosen examples say more than ten listed items. Ask whether each sentence explains or merely lists before keeping it.
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- PSYC 651 Week 6: Summary 6: Coaching and Feedback
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PSYC 651 Week 5 questions, answered
What does PSYC 651 Weekly Reading Summary 5 cover?
The Aguinis chapter linking performance management to employee development: personal development plans, what supervisors contribute and how 360-degree feedback systems should be designed and used.
Where can I find a free PSYC 651 Week 5 sample paper?
This page has the full PSYC 651 Week 5 reading summary on personal development plans, the supervisor's role and what makes 360-degree feedback work.
What is a personal development plan?
A plan, agreed between employee and supervisor, that sets development objectives and identifies activities such as courses, mentoring, job rotation or temporary assignments to reach them.
Does 360-degree feedback improve performance?
Smither and colleagues found that average improvement after multisource feedback was small, with larger gains when recipients believed change was needed, set goals and took action.
What else is due in PSYC 651 Module/Week 5?
The week's narrated presentation or discussion responses, Case Study 5 and Research Article Review 5, each drawing on the employee development chapter.
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