| Course | MAN-2100 Principles of Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Final project: personal management approach and development plan |
| Length | About 1,051 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Bachelor of Science in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MAN 2100 Module 8
From Branch Manager to System Leader: An Analysis of My Management Approach and a One-Year Development Plan
Student Name
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
MAN-2100: Principles of Management
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
From Branch Manager to System Leader: An Analysis of My Management Approach and a One-Year Development Plan
The final project for this course asks me to analyze my own approach to management and describe how I will integrate the best practices learned in the course, in a personal development plan that benefits both me and my organization in an ethical way. I manage one branch, with eleven staff, of the invented nine-branch county library system in central New Jersey that I have used throughout my assignments, and my goal is to move into a system-level role within five years. This paper reviews my approach to the four functions of management, draws together what the career assignments revealed, sets a one-year development plan, and explains how the plan serves the library and meets ethical standards.
My Approach Across the Functions of Management
Planning has been a relative strength. My branch's program attendance has grown about 40% over two years because I set clear annual goals and review them each quarter. The weighted SWOT analysis in Module 2 showed, however, that my planning stays at the branch level; I have little experience with system budgets or long-range plans.
Organizing is where my thinking changed most during the course. The structure analysis in Module 3 showed that the library's centralized design slows decisions and that branches duplicate work. I had accepted that structure as fixed; I now see that I can influence it, and the cross-branch program team I proposed has been approved.
Leading is mixed. The Module 4 self-assessment showed that I am conscientious and agreeable but less extraverted, which makes me reliable and trusted but slow to speak up for my branch and inclined to avoid conflict. Adapting my direction to each staff member works well; addressing performance problems early does not.
Controlling is the function I practiced least before this course. The Module 5 analysis of ending overdue fines taught me to build measures, standards and owners into a decision from the start rather than judging results by impression. Across the functions, my approach can be summarized as careful, relationship-centered and branch-focused, with gaps in strategic scope, directness and measurement.
Taken together, the earlier assignments also show a pattern in how I learn. I improve fastest when I take on a concrete project with a deadline and get honest feedback, as with the cross-branch team proposal, and slowest when development is left as a general intention. The plan below is built on that pattern.
What Research Says About Developing as a Leader
Day et al. (2014) reviewed twenty-five years of research on leader development and emphasized that it is a long-term process that happens largely through experience, especially challenging assignments, combined with feedback and reflection, rather than through training events alone. They also distinguished developing an individual leader from developing leadership capacity in a group. Both matter for my plan: I need stretch experiences beyond my branch, and I need to build leadership in my supervisors and the new cross-branch team.
Ethics must run through the plan. Brown et al. (2005) describe ethical leadership as a leader modeling right conduct in what they do and in how they treat people, then encouraging the same conduct in others through what they say, reward and decide. They found that employees' ratings of their leader's ethical leadership were related to the leader's consideration, honesty and fairness, and that higher ratings went with more satisfied, more committed employees who were also more ready to bring problems to their managers. For a public library, where trust is the institution's main asset, that last outcome is especially important.
My One-Year Development Plan
The plan has four goals, each tied to a gap and to a benefit for the library.
| Goal | Actions | Measure and date | Benefit to the library |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build strategic and budget skills | Co-prepare two branch budgets with the finance officer; attend budget hearings | Budgets approved without major revision, June | Branch requests better aligned with system priorities |
| Lead beyond my branch | Lead the cross-branch team's technology rollout | Rollout on schedule with documented results, December | System-wide project gains an accountable owner |
| Communicate more visibly and directly | Present quarterly results at managers' meetings; address performance concerns within five working days | Peer feedback after each presentation; staff survey at six months | Faster problem resolution; branch ideas reach system decisions |
| Lead inclusively and ethically | Quarterly community-led cultural sessions; shared interpretation duties; transparent criteria for assignments and schedules | Annual climate survey on fairness and voice | Staff and patrons trust decisions; work is shared fairly |
Business communication, the topic of Module 8, connects the goals. I will use a short weekly email to staff that covers decisions made, the reasons and what is coming, so that information reaches part-time and evening staff equally. For system leaders, I will write one-page briefs that state the request, the evidence and the cost before any meeting, a habit that also builds the strategic skills in the first goal. And I will ask for feedback in both directions: a short anonymous form for staff each quarter and a mid-year conversation with my deputy director.
How the Plan Serves the Organization Ethically
A personal development plan can become self-promotion at the organization's expense. Three commitments guard against that. First, every goal produces something the library needs, such as a better budget process or a completed project, so my growth is a byproduct of useful work. Second, I will develop others alongside myself: my two senior librarians will co-lead parts of the rollout and present with me, which builds leadership capacity beyond one person, consistent with the distinction Day et al. (2014) draw. Third, I will apply the transparency that Brown et al. (2005) associate with ethical leadership to my own ambitions: my deputy director knows my career goal, and I will not use the cross-branch team or budget access to advantage my branch over others.
Conclusion
The course reading on management functions (Lumen Learning, n.d.) gave me a vocabulary for what I was already doing and showed me what I was not doing. My approach is careful and relationship-centered; my gaps are strategic scope, directness and measurement. A one-year plan built on challenging experience, feedback, visible communication and ethical commitments turns those gaps into goals that benefit both my development and the library's ability to serve its community.
References
Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.004
Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Principles of management. Open Educational Resources. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-principlesofmanagement/
What the MAN 2100 Module 8 instructions ask for
The MAN-2100 final project, worth 25% of the course grade, asks you to analyze your own approach to management and describe how you will integrate the best practices learned in the course, creating a personal development plan that benefits you and your organization in an ethical manner. The Final Project document in the course gives full requirements, so follow its headings and length. The two written assignments and three career development assignments are designed to prepare for it, so draw on what they revealed. Support your analysis with the Lumen Learning text and scholarly sources, and make every goal specific, measurable and connected to your organization. Keep copies of your earlier assignments open while you write so you can cite your own findings.
How the MAN 2100 Module 8 example is put together
The project opens by restating the assignment and the writer's career aim, which frames everything that follows. The analysis section reviews each management function in turn, using evidence from earlier assignments, and ends with a one-sentence summary of the writer's approach and gaps. A research section draws on reviews of leader development and ethical leadership and turns each into implications for the plan. The plan appears as a table of four goals with actions, measures, dates and benefits to the organization, followed by a paragraph on communication practices tied to the final module. A section on ethics names three safeguards, and the conclusion returns to the approach and gaps. Each of the four goals answers one of the gaps the analysis identified.
MAN 2100 Module 8 rubric: what earns full marks
As the largest single assignment in MAN-2100, the final project is graded on the depth and honesty of the self-analysis, integration of course concepts across modules, the quality and specificity of the development plan, and attention to ethics and to benefits for the organization. Strong projects use evidence from earlier work, cite research to justify development choices and set measurable goals with dates. Mentors also read for professional writing and clear organization. Treating ethics as part of the plan's design, rather than a closing paragraph, demonstrates the integration the assignment asks for. Correct APA citations complete the evaluation. Plans that develop other people, not only the writer, show a mature view of leadership.
Common MAN 2100 Module 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Final projects in this course sometimes read like a résumé, listing strengths and accomplishments. The assignment asks for analysis, so name your gaps and explain how you found them. Another common weakness is a plan with goals but no actions, measures or dates. Students also forget the organization; each goal should benefit your workplace as well as your career. Address ethics specifically, for example how you will avoid using a development opportunity unfairly. Reuse what your earlier assignments revealed rather than starting fresh. If you would like a final project drafted from your own earlier work, our writers can prepare one to the Final Project directions. Finally, check that each goal names a date and a measure.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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MAN 2100 Module 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MAN 2100 Module 8 sample paper?
The MAN-2100 final project appears here from first heading to last reference: an analysis of the four management functions, research on leader development and ethics, a four-goal plan table, ethical safeguards, references and margin notes.
What does the MAN-2100 final project ask for?
The syllabus describes analyzing your own approach to management and creating a personal development plan, integrating best practices from the course, that benefits you and your organization ethically.
How much is the MAN-2100 final project worth?
It is worth 25% of the final grade, the same weight as the seven discussion forums combined.
How do leaders develop, according to research?
A review of 25 years of research describes leader development as a long-term process driven mainly by challenging experience, feedback and reflection.
What is ethical leadership?
Leading through personally appropriate conduct and promoting such conduct to others through communication, reinforcement and decisions. Research ties it to more satisfied staff who are more willing to raise problems.