Aspects of Islamic banking

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There are aspects of Islamic banking that appeal to wider audience, once the basic tenets are understood.  Islamic banking and conventional banking are different in some major aspects:

1.      Islamic financial institutions work on a philosophy of prohibiting transactions involving riba, immoral activity and promoting greater social justice by sharing risk and rewards.

2.      Islamic banking is a system governed by syariah law.

3.      Considers social implications which is very much in line with Islamic values and principles.

4.      it’s mandatory for financial transactions to be based on its primary sources and most of the financial transactions are on real economic activity.

5.      Making money with no actual assets or value as the underlying is strictly prohibited.  Money is simply a medium of exchanges.

6.      Islamic banking use the concept of value creation on exchange of real assets or goods and service as the basis for earning profits.

7.      Islamic banking prohibits transactions from investments in industries such as tobacco, alcohol and gambling.

Islamic banking also depends on depositor’s money as a major source of funds.  From profit-sharing to partnership and leasing, the Islamic banking system offers a wide range of services founded on the concept of social health and mutually beneficial contracts.

Islamic Banking Service

Mudharabah (profit-sharing)	- a contract between 2 or more parties (capital owner and an investment manager) - profit is distributed between the 2 parties in accordance with the ratio agreed upon - financial loss is borne by the capital owner   -provided there is no negligence/wrong doing on the investment manager’s part
Mushakarah (partnership)	- a contract between 2 or more parties - both participate in the management and provision of capital - share in the profit and loss - Profit is distributed based on pre-agreed ratios - losses are distributed proportional to the share of each in the total capital
Murabaha	- sale of a commodity/asset for cash or deferred price - purchase of commodity by a seller, sold on a cost-plus-profit basis to the buyer - seller discloses its cost and profit margin to the buyer
Wadiah	- bank is deemed as a keeper and trustee of funds - guarantees refund of the entire deposits made by depositor, or any part, when the depositor demands it - Depositor maybe rewarded with Hibah (gift) as a form of appreciation for the use of funds by the bank
Ijarah (Leasing)	- basically a lease (equipment, car, etc.) - bank holds and maintains its title to the assets - debtor only owes periodic payments
Ijarah Thumma Al-Bai	- is a lease that include the option to buy back - legal little of the leased asset will be passed to the end of the lease period pursuant to the buy-back transaction

Yahya Ibrahim

My Investment: The Islamic Option

Malaysian Business: March 16, 2011

360-degree feedback is at times a means of ‘getting-back’ at superior

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A collective feedback can be used to measure an individual’s overall performance including for promotion, strengths and areas for further development.  It can be seen as a critical tool to help with an individual’s personal and professional development.

Discussions on what went well and not so well were open and inquiring.  Agreed areas for further development were documented along with goals and objectives for the individual’s action.  The manager in turn was evaluated on objectives, overall performance, and their interest in ensuring the team’s well-being and development.

The greatest way to develop the individual is via feedback.  Through feedback we learn.  Through learning, we have the potential to change our behavior and actions.  It also helps us strengthen, better understand and utilize diversity.

Here, culture seems to impact the feedback process considerably.  In Asia, receiving and giving feedback is sometimes seen as a chore and something that usually finds its way to the bottom of a manager’s to-do-list.  Managers here usually take the middle road and evaluate team members favorably or equally without much discussion.  Unfortunately, this is a disservice to the individuals concerned, the other team members, and the development of future leaders.

Feedback is also usually top-down as the Asian culture is hierarchical.  Respect for elders, which is ingrained since young, often follow us through adulthood.  Questioning a superior or remarking on a situation can sometimes cost on their job or future in the organization.  Hence, a 360-degree feedback is at times a means of ‘getting-back’ at superior.

Organizations are ultimately about a group of individuals who need to work together towards a common goal.  Engagement is a two-way street.  We need to start having more two-way open, real (non-judgmental) and regular conversations with teams.  At the heart of it is the sense of belonging that human beings seek and feedback is the best method to affirm this.

Yoga Nesadurai

Management: Adopting via Feedback

Malaysian Business March 16, 2011

Teamwork produces power

Team Work

Pays High Dividends

Strengthens Human Relationships

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The Science of Success Management System strongly emphasizes the importance and need to maintain harmony within yourself; and also fostering, building and enhancing cooperative relationships.  Many people recognize the potential value of teamwork where it is also known that the concept of teamwork is a vital principle to success.

Humans are not made to live alone.  To achieve personal success, there is a need for all of us to understand that there is strength in numbers and integrity through unity.  The focus is upon the cooperative spirit.  Present and future depends on the ability of a person to join hands with others.

The cooperative spirit is a gift that can be offered to another human being.  It’s a torch that can be passed on, holding the light of hope, love, peace and harmony.  There are two (2) important concepts that are related to teamwork and the cooperative spirit:

                     i.        Consensus (to arrive at a point of agreement).

In today’s management decision-making system, much emphasis is placed on participatory management.  When group consensus is reached, the decisions made are consistently better and more appropriate than a unilateral decision by an individual or dictator.

ii.   Reciprocity (relates to each individual’s unique capacity to give and receive).

Reciprocity can be described as the ‘give and take’ process.  It characterizes the cooperative spirit of every number who is bound by common goals and interests.

Friendly cooperation always pays off.  It provides a positive mental attitude that does not recognize obstacles except to use them as stepping-stones to opportunity.  It is a mark of great wisdom when any person displays skill in winning the friendly cooperation of their associates.  Teamwork in a spirit of friendliness, costs little in time and effort, but pays huge dividends in money and in the finer things of life.

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12 RICHES OF LIFE         A positive mental attitude         Sound health         Harmony in human relationships         Freedom from fear         Hope of achievement         The capacity of faith         Willingness to share blessings         Labor of love         An open mind on all subjects         Self-discipline         The capacity to understand people         Economic security

                The potential value of teamwork may be appropriated by applying self-discipline, maintaining a positive mental attitude and being willing to go the extra mile.  Generosity, fair treatment, courtesy and willingness to serve are qualities that pay high dividends whenever relationships.  These are the factors that carry a business through to safety in times of emergency.

Benefits divined from teamwork:

i.            It inspire individual to contribute to success                 ii.            It develops self-reliance which will free individual from fear of failure               iii.            It encourages the development of the spirit of clean sportsmanship                iv.            It develops leadership with pleasing personality and a willingness to assume personal responsibility                  v.            It inspire teamwork between employees and management                vi.            It develops alertness of mind, keenness of imagination and creative vision              vii.            It provides an accurate outlet of the expression of individual ambition            viii.            It gives everyone a feeling of belongings               ix.            It inspires loyalty                 x.            It gives the team the fullest possible benefit of all talents, ingenuity and creative vision

Friendly teamwork is a fundamental principle of growth and power.  Willing teamwork leads to constructive ends.  Teamwork produces power.  Willing teamwork also leads to the attainment of the power to reach community held goals.  Harmonious teamwork is participation, cooperation, innovation, facilitation and sharing the credit.

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Christina Chia

Management:  Teamwork Boon

Malaysian Business:  March 1 2011

Creative vision

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Successful people have the tendency to do the impossible.  They are unafraid of criticism and possess the ‘dare-to-do spirit’.  This trait is known as ‘creative vision’.  ‘Creative vision’ is the capacity to envision new possibilities, dream new dreams, and tap into the vast powers of the universe that permit you to build a new tomorrow.  Locked deep within us in a vast reservoir of creative ability and intuitive insights waiting to be released.

Creative vision deals with ideas that can help you tap your inner resources.  The imagination component of our mind is described as the ‘workshop of the soul’ where all plans for individual achievement is shaped.

Imagination is the soil in which creative effort blooms.  Imagination is also the key to all individuals’ achievements, the mainspring of all human behavior, and the door leading to the inner-self.  All achievements begin as a thought idea which later must be translated into its physical equivalent

Creative vision is inspired by a defined major purpose and a host of other success principles.  It is a quality of mind belonging to people who follow the habit of going the extra mile, where monetary compensation is not its highest aim.

Creative vision may be an inborn quality of the mind, or it may be an acquired quality.  There are two (2) types of imagination:

1.    Synthetic imagination consists of a combination of already existing recognized ideas, concepts, plan or facts arranged in a new order or put to a new use.

2.    Creative imagination has its base in the subconscious section of the mind          and serves as a medium by which new facts or ideas are revealed through the faculty of the sixth sense.

Although imagination is the forerunner of creative vision, it is important to realize that the application of other success principles remains vital.  These include:

1.                Need to have a definite major purpose

2.                Going the extra mile

3.                Applied faith

4.                Mastermind alliance

5.                Personal initiative

6.                Enthusiasm

7.                Persistence

Imagination inspires creation, the use of personal initiatives and creates enthusiasm.  It also gives you the will to try again.  It is as one of the ingredients of achievement.

HOW TO BE CREATIVE

1. Spend considerable time collecting ideas

2. Play; do not work at generating ideas

3. Write down good ideas

4. Do not strain for ideas

5. Take a walk, meditate, and take a nap

6. Involve mind in some other distraction

People with creative vision know that success only comes by helping others succeed.  It is not necessary for another person to fail so that they may succeed.  They are not afraid to make mistakes and to accept responsibility for them.  They never try to shift that responsibility to another.  Creative vision inspires the development of personal initiative which is a guiding force of great importance to personal achievements.

Christina Chia

Management: Imagination Triggers Creativity

Malaysia Business, May 1 2001

Use your time to manage time

Every human being is given only 24 hours a day, no more no less.  Thus, we have to face the consequence of the decision on how we use our time.  Many of us do not realize and appreciate that time is a free, an abstract commodity that is truly precious.  One recognition of value of time is when time heals a broken heart.  We should also take note that time once gone can never be reversed.

Time is also preciously recognized to determine one’s success or failure in life.  Time, too, is equated with the creation of opportunity and wealth.  We cannot afford to waste time, because it is totally irreplaceable.

Time management is an important aspect in everyone’s life.  Make the most of the time in enjoying the desired success and happiness.  So, to attain success, you have to take a personal inventory of how you spend your time.  Take a simple audit of time spent, and you’ll be shocked to discover you may have wasted your share of time.

Lee Iacocca believes that the ability to use your time well is everything.  Through the quarterly review system developed while he’s with Ford in 1960, he found that the system:

1)   Allows people to be their own boss and set their own goals

2)   Makes them more productive and gets them motivated on their own

3)   Helps new idea bubble to the top

It is important that you use your time to manage time and achieve your goals:

1)   Must have a definite major purpose

2)   Must have a definite plan to attain that purpose

3)   Must be busily engaged in carrying out the plan

4)   Must learn to think on your own thoughts and assume full responsibility for them

5)   Must possess positive habits that are action oriented

6)   Must act in the pursuit of a definite major purpose

7)   Must follow the habit of going the extra mile in carrying out the goals

8)   Must move on your own personal initiative without pressure from others

9)   Must be able to control all personal habits of thoughts and action through self-discipline

10) Must maintain a positive mental attitude

11) Must have faith to support action

12) Must adopt the practice of a master mind alliance to gain the cooperation           of others whole knowledge and experience will help carry out your definite major purpose and goals

Recognize your weaknesses and find ways to bridge them.  It is important to note that success in the higher brackets of achievements is attained through friendly cooperation in association with people.

Harmony in human relationships leads to confidence, which later will lead to friendly cooperation.  Friction, conflict and misunderstanding interrupt friendly relationships and cause useless wastes of time in almost every wall of life.  Harmony is the only successful meeting ground on which people may coordinate their efforts for mutual benefits.

To attain success, you must schedule your time effectively.  Success full people must organize and budget their time so that they can switch their efforts and thoughts from one thing to another at will.

It is important that you use your time to manage time

and achieve goals,

for time is the one great asset

which you cannot buy

and cannot prolong

by the desire to live.

Christina Chia

Management: Time Is Precious

Malaysian Business, July 1, 2011

MORALE VERSUS EXECUTION

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Morale is the capacity of a group of people to hold a common spirit of loyalty and comradeship.  Execution, on the other hand, is the process of reaching an objective as the result of performance.  Morale and execution are the cornerstones of powerful organization.  The importance of morale is often being underrated due to it being difficult to be measured.  Morale is often confused with enthusiasm or situational motivation.  Morale is ingrained and tends to have a lasting quality.  While morale is important, the ability to execute cannot be discounted.  With the proper skills set, good teams should able to execute well.




Beware of poor morale as it is a deal-killer whenever it exists.  A team with outstanding execution ability but with poor morale will function below the normal standards of performance.  While a team with average to low execution skills but with outstanding morale will produce sales result consistently above average.


Execution can be taught to a willing group, but morale cannot.  Morale like reputation, takes time to develop and can be quickly lost.  People like to believe their futures are secure and actions by management that challenge that will degrade morale.  Most people want to work for leaders who care about them and who keep unnecessary changes to a minimum.  People also want to work for companies and managers who appreciate them.  When managers don’t care, they damage team morale.

Since morale is a state of wind, it difficult to measure.  But there are signposts that indicate the validity of them spirit in an organization:
1. 9 times out of 10 accomplish its objective ahead of schedule and with minimum resources
2. Arriving early at meetings and willing to stay late
3. Always be prepared in meetings
4. Always look and act sharp
5. Offering more positive suggestions then negative complaints
6. Quick to help others without requests of reward
7. They are ideal employees, that people can see and feel and people enjoy their company

Morale nudges out execution 9 times out of 10 as the single most important factor.  When we keep morale high, the work experience can be enjoyable.  High-morale teams are much more fun to be around.

John Treace
Management: Morale vs Execution 
Malaysian Business August 1, 2011