Course for MBA UNICAF University

1. UNICAF UNIVERSITY
MBA-Master’s in Business Administration Programme
Name Enroment Number Module Module code
Abraham Ayom Ayom R1708D3331337 Induction Module UU-M-IND100
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL SELF ASSIGNMENT: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In our high-changing world, those who are most successful in their work are the people who are
committed to developing themselves by giving themselves goals or new levels of mastery to
reach for. Reviewing my past actions, defining my goals, prioritize, set a deadline, understand
strengthens, recognize opportunities and threats, develop new skills, take action, get support
and manage progress is the only the way I can develop myself and to become a successful
person in life. This essay will reflect on my own personal and professional life of Abraham Ayom,
a MBA student at the UNICAF University. This essay will also rate Abraham Ayom on a variety of
dimensions which includes professional dispositions, the five minds of the future and emotional
intelligence.
2.0 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
I am Abraham Ayom Ayom, South Sudan national. 32 years old. Born on 2nd
February 1985 in
Tonj State, South Sudan. I am a first-born child among my three brothers and two sisters of my
parent’s children. I am a Christian, Roman Catholic. I grew up in a volatile Country Sudan, part
of the southern Sudan, which is now South Sudan Nation. My life as an early childhood was
centered on the teachings from my parents. Every action and decision I have taken has been
inspired and guided by my parent & family wisdom. I believed that parents from the family are
the primary pillars and unit in my life to fulfil certain responsibilities. As the bible said, in the
book of proverbs 22:6, says, train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will
not depart from it. And in the book of Ephesians 6:1-4, it reads, children, obey your parents in
the lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment. I have
a lot of respect to my parents and my entire parents including family members regards me.
Study is one my favorite hobbies. I have been fortunate enough to attend my primary school
education and vocational training college. In 2008 after completing my college diploma in
Accounting and Finance from Cambridge International College-Britain UK, and also in 2009 after
finishing my second diploma in Business Administration from Institute of Management Studies,
in Juba South Sudan. I got admitted to Cavendish University Uganda and graduated with a
Bachelor Degree in Business Administration(BBA) 2nd
Class Upper Division. I started my first
career with Tearfund Organization as Finance Administrator in 2009. Workload and pressure to
meet deadline caught me when I was new to the job. As I am extravert person, I enjoy social
interaction not only in personal life but also at work place.

2. During my college days, my ambition was to become a professional Accountant. I always had a
keen interest in the economy, the business and finance world in general. I gathered experience
while studying and working with United Nations Office for Project Services and Tearfund, where
I found a social touch of mingling with new people and discovered my brilliant interpersonal and
communications skills, which trigger my intention of joining or working with international
agencies globally in other countries as an international staff, expert or consultant. I have no
regrets for my decision for choosing Accounting as my Career. My set goals are stated below:
Short Term Goals: To be a professional qualified Accountant within five years from now
Long Term Goals: To work with International Agencies globally as an international staff
rendering services to the people who are in need for 20 years.
Achieving the short-term goal is in progress while modalities are being put in place to ensure the
long-term goals are achieved. I need to be more social in order to achieve my long-term goals.
Being Social, I am referring to my enhancing leadership, interpersonal and communication skills,
values and ethics etc. My academic pursuit is till continues but the needs to develop and
enhance these skills are very important to my long-term goals.
3.0 PROFESSIONAL DISPOSTION
Professional dispositions are defined as the value, commitments, and professional ethics that
influence behaviors toward student, families, colleagues, and communities and affect student
learning, motivation, and development.
3.1 Social Justice and Equity: Social justice and equality is a significant issue in almost
all societies around the world. South Sudan is a complex and peculiar Country where
ethnicity and religion are treated with utmost respect and emotions. On a scale of 1-5, I
will rate myself 3. There are two major tribes in South Sudan namely; Dinka and Nuer.
There are two major religions, Christianity and Islam. One has to understand these
social systems so that one’s actions and decisions will not be seen to be biased. Having
clear understanding of these systems will help in dealing with the other 63 tribes. For
someone to be socially just and equitable, that person needs to be tolerant,
knowledgeable, patient, etc. I am yet to get it right though I am seriously working on it.
It has become more challenging at this point because I intend to be a global personality.
At the level of South Sudan, I am a Dinka and I understand the culture very well. I speak
Dinka, Arabic and English Fluently. I have been in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan.
Arabic is widely spoken, it is a unity language that bring all different tribes with their
different culture and with different religion together. I don’t have any problem with
Islam. I respect Islamic. The reason for the average rating is because of my aim of being
a global personality. I need to read and travel wide. I have been to Kenya, Uganda and
South Africa. My perception and view of other countries are based on what I have read
and seen in social media. This believe is not enough for me.
3.2 Collaboration/Inclusion: There is a saying that “if you want something to be
done well, do it yourself”. I think this saying doesn’t support teamwork. I used to
believe in this saying in my college days and early stages of my university. I used to
carry out most of the task myself meant for the team, though they yielded the results

3. we all wanted but it could have gotten better if there were inputs from everybody. I
changed after my lecturer counseled me that I can’t do everything alone and I won’t be
able to grow or expand if I continue in the line of that saying. Two good heads are far
better than one he concluded. Since then, I have improved. I have recorded a lot of
success with respect to my leadership positions. I will rate myself 4 out of 5 but it can
always get better.
3.3 Critical Thinking: I will rate myself 4 out of 5. When I am faced with an issue and I
need to make a decision, I critically analyses the issue by exploring the use of expert
judgment, facts, resources and looking at it from different perspectives. This has helped
me a lot to make informed decisions.
3.4 Professional Ethics: I will rate myself 3 out of 5. This is work in progress, it involves
a lot of training and experience which I am presently working on. Though I have the
basics, it has helped me function effectively and efficiently as an accountant.
3.5 Reflective Practice: This is similar to this reflective essay, I will rate myself 5 out 5.
This is something I do very well. I used a diary where I recorded my daily activities. I
don’t just record these activities, I go back to them at the end of the day or week to
measure my performances and also identify areas of my weakness which need
improvement. These has really helped and also earned me a lot of respects among my
colleagues because they see a lot of consistency and improvements at my job.
3.6 Lifelong learning: Learning is a continuous thing, it doesn’t stop. I am always
seeking out new ways of doing my job better. I am always on the internet asking
questions about a subject etc. Being an MBA student at the UNICAF University is within
the direction of my lifelong learning. I will rate myself 5 out of 5. My passion to seek
new knowledge can’t be measured, it is beyond reasonable double. The other four
professional dispositions have pushed me to continue to learn. Learning has also helped
me stay current on my profession.
4.0 FIVE MINDS FOR THE FUTURE
4.1 Disciplined Mind: I am still developing a disciplined mind. I am even yet to
achieve my goal of being a Professional Accountant. I will rate myself 2 out of 5.
Developing a disciplined mind entails experience set by Five Mind for Future. Professor
Gardner (2008). I have set out modalities to ensure I develop a disciplined mind. I have
identified several professional trainings/Certifications like CPA, ACCA or CIMA that I
need to undertake.
4.2 Synthesizing Mind: I could be very inquisitive, my quest to solve problems has
made me to ask questions and seek answers through researches etc. My research skills
are weak. I will rate myself 2 out of 5. Researching goes beyond asking questions, it
involves the use of quantitative and qualitative analysis which will help me make my
own informed opinion on a subject. Presently my researches are based on expert
judgments. The challenge I have is I don’t know how to apply the research techniques. I
don’t have a problem reading wide and gathering information on a subject. I really want

4. to develop my synthesizing mind. In addition of other skills which include analytical and
problem solving.
4.3 Creative Mind: I used to think being creative was just a good artist, it is in not only that.
Being creative means challenging the status quo for good, changing people’s attitude for
good, developing solutions to problems. A creative mind is someone who must
understand the business terrain he finds himself, thereby identify the challenges of the
terrain in other for him to proffer solutions. Some persons don’t even know problem
exist until a solution is proffered. Some people believes, the problem could be managed
and don’t bother looking for solutions to address the problem ones and for all. With
respect to my job, I will rate myself 4 out 5. I have not gotten to where I want to be but
I am seriously working on developing this mind. Mitchel Elegbe believes a man cannot
run out of ideas (Sola Fanawopo,2012). I believe there is a solution for every problem,
the solution might not come now but there must be a solution? My answer will be yes
and no. Yes, in the sense that a consultant is expected to proffer solutions to every
challenge encountered in his field, it is easier for a consultant to be creative because he
understands the business terrain and the psychology behind it. No, because you might
have the ideas and solutions but don’t know how to go about it. At this point you will
need to team up with a consultant or persons that understand what your solution
entails to actualize your dream. I have so much love for the creative mind.
4.4 Respectful Mind: Respect for nature, cultures and religions cannot be over
emphasized. I will rate myself 3 out of 5. According to the Wiktionary, Respect is
defined as an attitude of consideration or high regard. For anybody to succeed in life,
that person needs to develop a respectful mind. People’s opinions are formed based on
their discipline, cultural and religious background. In most cases, these decisions are
influenced by their cultural and religious background. In dealing with people, you need
to understand that other religions and cultures exist and hold them with high regard.
For me, my decisions are influenced by my upbringing as a Catholic-Christian. Respect
for God, Freewill of man etc. when I talk of Respectful mind, I refer to church leaders
that value and respect everyone in front of God irrespective of their religious and
cultural diversity. They are humans like us. Developing this mind takes a lot of sacrifice,
I will also need to be humble to understand my colleagues.
4.5 Ethical Mind: Respectful mind and Ethical mind can be linked together. Ethics refers
to a set of principles and values that guides a profession, society or group. With respect to my
profession as an accountant, there are codes of ethics I must absorb. With respect to my person
being a Dinka and a South Sudanese, there are also values I must also imbibe. What I have done
is to balance all these values to ensure they don’t conflict with each other. Conflicting values
could send a wrong signal to people showing the weakness of the groups enumerated. I try as
much as possible to be guided by the principles, values guiding my profession, culture and
religion and ensure no conflict arises. I am also responsible enough to understand what my
responsibilities are in the society without being told what to do. I will rate myself 5 out 5.

5. 5.0 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE CONCEPT MAP
Emotions is defined by Wiktionary as A person’s internal state of being and involuntary
physiological response to an object or situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory
data. Emotional intelligence describes how best to approach life, it describes behavioral
patterns, the need to perceive, reason, understand and manage our emotions which tells a lot
on our behaviors and approach towards life. A lot of people shy away from their emotions and
sentiments believing they have no or minimal impact on their life styles, decisions they make
etc. Only few persons understand emotions and the need to be intelligent about it. Emotional
intelligence for me is very important when it comes to managing a team, building relationships
with persons etc. The EI Concept map is examined below.
5.1 Know/Managing my Emotions: I have been at several Accounting and Finance
positions. I couldn’t have done well as an accountant if I didn’t understand or know my
emotions. My dispositions and attitude towards life has helped in knowing my emotions. I
believe, the downfall of a man is not the end of his life. A positive attitude will help in knowing
and managing my emotions properly. It will help me to motivate my team members. I have a
good disposition toward life, I have been able to separate my personal life from my work or
leadership positions, I wasn’t happy with the low performance of our project, but I was strong
enough to ensure it doesn’t demoralize me at the meeting. I was also at our weekly staff
meeting when I got a notification that my performance in my department were so wonderful. I
was strong enough to ensure that I don’t excited to disrupt the meeting. I will only be able to
manage other people’s emotions if I am able to manage my own. Managing my own emotions
vs other people’s emotions have helped me to build strong relationship, inspire and motivate
my team members. I will rate myself 4 out of 5 for the first quadrant which talks about knowing
your emotions and third quadrant which talks about managing your emotions.
5.2 Emoting in Social Situations: This refers to the second quadrant and talks about
empathy for other in social situations like classes, meetings, communities etc. What comes to
my mind first is to put myself in other people’s shoes, this gives me an understanding of how
they feel and what they are going through. It gives me an understanding of how best I can assist
and the proper way to go about it. It gives me reason to respect the state of mind of the
affected persons and how best way I can, knowing fully well that the circumstances they find
themselves could be as a result of their ignorance or deliberate actions. I have a very soft spot
for this quadrant probably because of my catholic background but there is a limit to which I can
go. I don’t like being over stretched when it comes to understanding people’s needs. I will rate
myself 5 out of 5.
5.3 Building and Maintaining Social Relationships: These refer to the fourth quadrant of
the EI Concept Map. Understanding and managing your emotions, emoting in social situations
are sure ways of building and managing social relationships. Being tolerant and patient which
helped me to listen attentively when dealing with people has helped me in relationships. Every
relationship should have a reason to stand; an objective and they should be defined properly.
Respecting other people’s opinions and ideologies and balancing them with mine has helped me
in building lasting relationships. Respect has been my major rallying point when it comes to
relationship. I will rate myself 5 out of 5.

6. CONCLUSION
This essay has given me the opportunity to examine myself. I have been able to identify the
areas of improvement in my own life. This essay has given me the opportunity to know where I
am and how I can achieve my set goals.
APPENDIX
Relationship on Variety of Dimension used for the Examination of Abraham Ayom
1. Professional Disposition Ratings
Abbreviations
SJ & E Social Justice & Equity
C/I Collaboration/Inclusion
CT Critical Thinking
PE Professional Ethics
RP Reflective Practice
LL Life-long Learning

7. 2. Five Minds of the Future Ratings
Abbreviations
DM Disciplined Mind
SM Synthesizing mind
CM Creative Mind
RM Respectful Mind
EM Ethical Mind

8. 3. Emotional Intelligence Concept Map Readings
Abbreviations
KE Knowing your Emotions
ME Managing your Emotions
ES Emoting in Social Situations
B & MSR Building and Maintaining Social Relationships

9. REFERENCE
Prof. Gardner, H. (2008) Five Minds for the Future. (Ecolint Meeting 2008, Geneva) 13 January
In Five Minds for the Future (Harvard Business School Press, 2007)
http://www.theeiinstitute.com/what-is-emotional-intelligence/4-mayer-and-salovey-model-of-
emotional-intelligence.html