Stella Erebor, Doctor of Business Administration

Doctorate in Business AdministrationDepartment of the School of Business and EconomicsMy studies at AIU have helped me better understand myself and my potential to positively influence my organization, community, and world. All the courses I undertook at AIU were current, relevant, and applicable to my contribution to work, home, and community. The relevance and applicability of the courses acted as a strong motivation for my dedication to the studies. It was a win on all sides situation for me.At AIU, my first subject of study was an elective on Self Esteem and Human relationship. I chose this course because I needed to deepen my knowledge of the topic. An in-depth understanding of the concept of self-esteem is also necessary for my pursuit to promote Child Online Protection (COP). My studies at AIU on self-esteem have deepened my understanding of Child online behavior. Many studies suggest the relationship between self-esteem online behavior. Bergagna and Tartaglia, 2018 suggest individuals with lower self-esteem spend more time on social media and have a higher tendency of social comparison. Some studies suggest the effects of personality traits and self-esteem on online behavior (Skues et al., 2012), and other studies show impact of cyberbullying on self-esteem (Palermiti, Servidio, Bartolo, & Costabile, 2017) (Brewer & Kerslake, 2015). During my study at AIU, I continued to actively participate in promoting Child Online Protection in Nigeria, Africa, and at the International level. I am a member of my organization’s Internal Working Group on Child online protection (IWG-COP) at the country level. The role of the IWG-COP is to work with stakeholders from the Private sector, Government, and various Non-Government Organizations to promote COP initiative within the country. Some IWG- COP activities include liaison with the ministry of education to ensure COP becomes part of the school’s ICT curriculum. We organize outreach to promote awareness of COP in schools. Attending events organized by other stakeholders to learn and share ideas; for example, I have participated actively in the Digital literacy Forums organized Meta in Nigeria 2021. At the regional and international level, I participate actively at the African Telecommunication Union (ATU) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). I am currently the Vice-Chair Council working group on COP of ITU representing the African Region (https://www.itu.int/en/council/SiteAssets/Pages/Chairs-Vice-Chairs-2019-2022/cwg_cop_vc_Stella%20Erebor_Nigeria.pdf). The lessons learned at AIU equip me to carry out my work on COP better. Furthermore, the knowledge I acquired from the course on densifying the best and worst business was very relevant to my family and me. The study highlighted the fact that most entrepreneurs do not give serious thought to success and failure factors when embarking on a new venture. The lessons learned in the study have made me appreciate that I should not just set up a side business simply because it looks or feels good. I have also learned what factors to consider when setting up a family business to improve my family income. Further the lessons I learned on the courses Personnel Management, Strategic Planning and Administration, and Management skills were relevant and applicable to my work as a manager in my organization. Further the insights gained carrying out these course works especially the in-depth knowledge on modern Human resource practices acquired from these studies, were also valuable input to my thesis topic. Of particular interest to me was that my organization nominated me to represent my country on the ITU Council Working Group on Strategic and financial plan on 29 -30 September 2021. Consequently, I studied a course on strategic planning at AIU and applied lessons learned practically to my work within the same period. The Council Working Group on Strategic and financial plan will continue work 13- 14 January and I will be participating actively. It has been a great opportunity and privilege. My Final thesis topic is on Organizational leadership and Covid-19 Adaptation mechanisms. A case study of the Nigerian Communications Commission focused on the influence of the organization’s leadership on the organization’s adaptive capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic. This topic is relevant to the present situation faced by my organization. An essential recommendation of the thesis includes setting up a post-Covid-19 crisis management team to ensure the organization realizes and benefits from the lessons learned during the pandemic. My end of the year report and recommendation to the Management of my organization will also include relevant recommendations from the study. I am hopeful that my research would benefit my organization if implemented.During my studies at AIU, I have gained a greater understanding of my strengths and potentials. I have also improved my leadership and administrative skills and research, writing, and presentation skills. Moving forward, I intend to Influence policymaking in my country and other countries in my region. I also plan to focus more on promoting good governance accountability and transparency. Finally, completing a Doctorate in Business Administration at AIU is a dream come true for me. It has boosted my confidence and increased my ability to develop my life and career further. AIU has made me a better me.Sincerely, Stella Erebor