Islam and Business Finance

Image courtesy of Apolonia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, today I will be writing about work-life balance. According to businessdictionary.com, work-life balance "is a comfortable state of equilibrium achieved between an employee's primary priorities of their employment position and their private lifestyle." All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, thus, you should find a balance between work and play. Here are some tips to help you achieve it. 1. Do not check your email (work) after working hours, this will help improve the quality of time you spend with your family and friends. Thus, you should not be distracted by work when spending time with your family and friends.  2. When you decide to improve the situation of your work life balance, take it one step at a time. For example if you do not get to spend time in the evenings with your family during the week days due to coming back late from work, you should decide to spend one day a week...

Asalam alaykum, I have prayers for all muslims. Hope you are good. Here they are Rabbana Aatina Fid Dunya Hasanatou Wa Fil Aakheerati Hasanatou Waqeena Aazaban Naar Oh Allah give us goodness in this life and goodness in the hereafter and save us from the punishment of the fire Waqeena Aazabul Qabr .... and save us from the punishment of the grave Waqeena Aazabul Hashr .... and save us from the punishment of the day of reckoning Waqeena Aazabul Faqr .... and save us from the punishment of poverty Waqeena Aazabul Meezaan .... and save us from the punishment of the scales Waqeena Aazabul Karz .... and save us from the punishment of debt Waqeena Aazabul Marz .... and save us from the punishment of sickness Waqeena Aazabul Aafaat .... and save us from the punishment of calamities Waqeena Aazabul Sakraat .... and save us from the punishment of the pangs of death Waqeena Aazabul Maut .... and save us from the p...

Hello readers, today I will be talking about marketing strategies to be used during a challenging period. In order to be able to cope successfully during a financial crisis in an economy your business operates in, you should do the following. - Find an opportunity in the market that other competitors have not explored and focus on attracting new customers. These new customers include the ones that have not been provided with your services as a result of not meeting their requirements. This will help you survive during the financial crisis. - Promote your products by sending emails to potential  customers. This will help you get more customers during the crisis. The title of your email must be catchy so that your emails will be read. - Build a good customer service relationship with existing and potential customers. That could serve as a competitive advantage. Thus, you can keep in touch with customers that are comfortable with it, this can help differentiate ...

Do have a great one!

Hello readers, I will be writing about the top 6 universities in Nigeria according to the National Universities Commission (NUC). Here they are 1. University of Ibadan It is the oldest university in Nigeria. It was established in 1948. It takes the number one position according to NUC. It is located in Ibadan, Oyo State. It has more than 33,000 students. It is the first university in Nigeria to be ranked within the top 1000 universities by Times Higher Education. 2. University of Lagos This beautiful university takes the number 2 position according to NUC. It was established in 1962. It is located in Akoka, Lagos State. It has more than 57,000 students. It is also known as Unilag. 3. University of Benin According to NUC, it takes the number 3 position in Nigeria. It was established in 1970. It has more than 49,000 students. It is located in Benin, Edo State. 4. Obafemi Awolowo University This nice university is located in Ile-Ife, Osun State. It was establi...

Hello readers, I will be writing about strategy formulation. Strategy formulation could be seen as a process whereby the best courses of actions are chosen so as to achieve the goals and objectives of your business. Thus, achieving the vision of your organisation. The first step to take when formulating your strategy is to define the long term goals and objectives of your business. You will then have to evaluate your business environment using the PESTEL analysis framework. You will also analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business using the SWOT analysis framework. The PESTEL analysis will help you understand your environment. Both frameworks will let you know the competitive position of your business, which will guide your strategy. The next step you will take is to turn some of your objectives into quantitative targets. This will help you know the value that might be added by various operating departments. These values must be identified, af...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about ways you can prevent competitors from imitating your products. “Imitation is the most direct form of competition; thus, for a competitive advantage to be sustained over time, barriers to imitation must exist”. ( Robert M. Grant ). Isolating mechanisms is used to describe the barriers that limit the threats of imitation. These are the ways below: • Obscuring superior performance: “A simple barrier to imitation is to obscure the firm’s superior profitability“. ( Robert M. Grant ). That is you should hide your firm’s profitability from the public. However, public limited companies are not able to do that • Diagnosing Competitive advantage: “If a firm is to imitate the competitive advantage of another, it must understand the basis of its rival’s success”. ( Robert M. Grant ). Thus, the way you achieve your competitive advantage should not be known to the public. • Acquiring Resources and Capabilities "An imitator can moun...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you what verse and chapters you should recite after every obligatory prayer and at bedtime. Here they are Surat Ikhlass (Chapter 112) Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Rahim Qul Hu-wallahu Ahad; Allaahus Samad; Lam yalid, wa lam yunlad; Walam yakul-la-Huu kufuwan ahad. Meaning in English The Unity In the name of Allah , the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him. Surat Falaq (Chapter 113) Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Rahim Qul a-uuzu bi Rabbil Falaq, Min-sharri maa khalaq: Wa min-sharri gaasiqin izza waqab, Wa min-sharrin-Naffaasaatil fil-uqad, Wa min-sharri haasidin izza hasad. Meaning in English The Daybreak In the name of Allah , the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak, From the evil of that which He created; From the evil...

Hello readers, today I will like to tell you about 6 top universities. The aim of this article is to keep you informed. I hope your week has been good so far. Here they are California Institute of Technology This university has been ranked first by timeshighereducation.com, fifth by topuniversities.com and seventh by bestschools.org. This institution was founded in 1891. It has 2,240 students while undergraduates students are 979 in all. Post graduate students are 1,261 in all. It is located in Pasadena, California, USA. Harvard University This university has been ranked sixth by timeshighereducation.com, third by topuniversities.com and first by bestschools.org. This institution was founded in 1636. It has 21,200 students while undergraduates students are 6,700 in all. Post graduate students are 14,500 in all. It  is located in  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Massachusetts Institute of Technology This university has been ranked fifth by timeshighereducation...

Hello readers, hope you are all good. Today, I will be writing about products that you should remove from your product portfolio in order to increase profitability especially in situations whereby your cost exceeds those of your peers. Here they are Break-even When a product continues to fall below the break-even point after the predicted number of years it will take to break-even, since its contribution to profit does not cover the fixed cost then the product should be removed from your product portfolio . Removing the product will help boost your profit. Stagnant growth When you introduce a new product to your business market and realise that the product is stuck in the introduction stage of the product life cycle you should remove such products from your portfolio as such products are more likely to be making losses. Products that are making losses You should identify products that are bringing you losses and stop producing them. Since your aim is to increase ...

Hello readers, today I am going to let you know why you should have a positive attitude at work. According to dictionary.cambridge.org, an attitude "is a feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that is caused by this." An individual with a positive attitude will be behave in a positive way. The benefit of having a positive attitude includes Getting along with co-workers An individual that has a positive attitude at work gets along with other co-workers. This reduces the stress level at work which is good for your psychological well being. Stress can cause some damages to your health, so its best to have a positive attitude at work. Job satisfaction A positive attitude at work will help you keep your job. It will make you a candidate for a leadership position. Top managers will notice your warm and pleasant attitude and it will motivate them to promote you or increase your salary as long as you are also productive. Making decision...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about the ways a leader can manage a team effectively. Building rapport A leader must build a good rapport with his/her team mates. He/she should learn to listen to what his/her subordinates have to say. Having a good rapport will help deal with difficult situations and difficult personalities easily. It will also empower them which in turn will help the team achieve its goals. Delegation A good team leader must learn to delegate duties to subordinate and not make every decision by himself/herself. This will give them a sense of belonging, which is one of the basic needs of man. It will make them feel like they are contributing to the success of the company. This will help them achieve the goals of the team. Supporting them to achieve success When a team leader supports his/her subordinates to achieve success in business, it creates a feeling of trust which will in turn help the team as a whole. When subordinates believ...

Hello readers, hope you are doing good. Yesterday, I told you I was going to write about the support activities in another article. You should read part 1 first before reading this article. Support activities include the firm's infrastructure, human resource management, technology development and procurement. These activities will be discussed below. Firm's infrastructure These are the systems that support the daily activities of your company. It supports the capabilities of your company. Information system can  be used to enhance the budget of the company, manage finances efficiently and effectively so as to gain a competitive advantage. Human resource management This has to do with employing the right individuals, giving them the best training to enhance your services, motivating them appropriately and any other activities that will help secure the loyalty of your staff as well as get them to provide excellent services All of this will help create a competitive...

Hello readers, hope your weekend was good. Porter's value chain will be used to let you know the advantages an information system can provide you with. Hope you will gain a thing or two   According to investopedia.com, "value chain is a high level model developed by Michael Porter used to describe the process by which businesses receive raw materials, add value to the raw materials through various processes to create a finished good and then sell that end product to customers". Porter  divided the value chain into two different activities which a re the primary and support activities. The primary activities will be discussed in this article while the support activities will be discussed in the part 2 of this article. Here are the primary activities. Inbound logistics This has to do with buying, storing and the distribution of stocks. Information system can help control your stocks, ensuring that the right quantity  of stocks are ordered for at the right time. I...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about go-kart tracks that you could visit. I have carried out a researh for you. Here they are: Dubai Autodrome It is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its kartdrome offers indoor and outdoor forms of go-karting. The kartdrome is designed to ensure high safety for individuals aged 7 and above Kart Kountry It is located in Kentucky, USA. Kart kountry offers product for ages starting from 5. They have different karts that suit different ages and level of experience. The thunderbolt is the biggest and fastest one they have, you must be 16 or above and you must have a valid driver's license or permit to drive it. It has other karts that does not require a valid driver's license to drive them. Kiddies kart which is the one for children aged 5 to 7  has special tracks. Orlando Kart Center It has an outdoor kart track, they have karts for individuals that are 5 feet tall and above. You do not need a license to drive the k...

Hello readers, I will be writing about electronic marketing. Electronic marketing also known as internet marketing is defined as a marketing process done via the internet. It provide companies with new opportunities that are not readily available using traditional marketing. The marketing mix will be used to discuss the opportunities it provides to a tuition centre. Product Electronic marketing will allow customers to see sample of the books the tuition centre  sells before they buy them. As such, the quality of the books can be assessed before they are bought. This will increase sales if the books it sells are of high quality. Webcast of previous classes could be made available on their websites. This will give potential students an idea of what their classes will be like. E-marketing can also enable the tuition centre to provide online classes. Price Electronic marketing will enable potential student to compare prices offered by the tuition centre with prices competi...

Hello readers, I will be writing about how to create a mission statement. A mission statement is just as important as your business plan. Your mission statement must portray your business strategy. It should let your stakeholders know what your business is all about. Your mission statement must let individuals that read it to know about what you do, how you do it, individuals you do it for and what value you will be adding by creating your products. When writing your mission statement you should set enough time. A day should be set aside to write your mission statement. You should get contributions from individuals working with you, this will help your mission statement come out better. An example of a good mission statement is as follows: Foodco is a company that is into the production of cereal. Its mission is to provide high quality, rightly priced cereal for any individual above 3 years which will keep them healthy and active. The cereal would be made available for sal...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about 4 management styles which include the autocratic,the consultative, persuasive and the democratic style of management. Autocratic style of management A manager that uses this style of management makes all the decision for the team without expecting any debate from the subordinates. He/She controls the actions of the team. This management style is good if the staff are lowly skilled or when the business requires minimal errors. However, when staff are highly skilled this style of management demotivates them as they will want their opinion to matter when decisions are being made Consultative style of management Managers that adopt this style of management make all the decision just like the way managers that use the autocratic management style do. However, they care about what their subordinate have to contribute. They also care about the effect their decision have on their subordinates. The manager may not take the advise of the s...

Hello readers, today I will writing about 4 affordable accommodations you can stay in whenever you travel to Dublin. Dublin is a beautiful city, here they are: Avoca Lodge The rooms in this accommodation are fully air conditioned and  they come with a flat screen TV. You can view a garden or the city from some rooms. The rooms are also ensuite. You can get rooms that are priced for as low as $53  per night in this accommodation. City Studio &Apartment This accommodation is a good one, it is a walking distance from Croke park. It has various studios and apartments. Some units have a seating and dinning area.. A kitchen fitted with microwave is also available in some units. You can get rooms that are priced for as low as $54 per night  in this accommodation. Clifden House This house is located in Dublin city centre. Breakfast is made available to customers every morning but you will have to pay for it. The rooms come with free wifi and a TV....

Hello readers, today I will be writing about strategic alliance. Strategic alliance is a situation whereby two or more companies share resources and activities in order to pursue agreed upon objectives. The alliance is formed to meet a short-term goal or a long-term goal or both. This will depend on the needs of the companies involved. The responsibility of each company must be clearly stated. A strategic alliance may be a formal or an informal agreement. Strategic alliance has its advantages, some of it will be discussed below. It enables a business to enter a new market without the high cost of acquiring a local company. It saves the business money. It also allows each company to remain independent. Each company is allowed to maintain its corporate culture. It also enables the company involved to take advantages of opportunities at a faster rate. Additional knowledge is gained by each company involved as they will both provide each other with knowledge.  Thank yo...

Hello readers, I will be talking about benchmarking in this article. Benchmarking can be defined as a situation where a company compares its processes and performances to the industry best or best practices of a company or with the best department. Benchmarking can be carried out in different number of ways. Best in class benchmarking This is a situation where a company compares the departments within their business with similar departments within the best external company. This will motivate managers to carry out actions that will help their company match the best-in-class performance. Competitive benchmarking This is a situation whereby a company collects information about direct competitors in order to compare their processes and results with theirs; with an aim to follow the steps of the best practice. Historical benchmarking This is a situation where a company compares its present performance with its past performance. This way of benchmarking can make a company...

Hello readers, I will be telling you about  the advantages of e-commerce. E-commerce is the buying and selling of products via the internet. Here are the advantages: Attract new customers It will help you attract new customers as you can reach both the national and international market through the internet. Search engines can also make your website available to customers, even though the customer might never have heard of your business. It is easier to locate more customers when you are into e-commerce Reduces cost When you sell your goods online, you will save on the cost of having a retail outlet. The cost of setting  up a website to sell your goods is extremely low when compared to owning several retail outlets. It saves you cost. Getting to know your customers better It allows you to study the buying habits of your customers, since everything will be done via the internet so you can easily collect the data about your customers and convert them into infor...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you about promoting your staff. Your staff are valuable to your business, as you need them to execute the day to day activities of your business, so promoting them on a timely basis will make them feel appreciated and it will motivate them to put in their best. Promotion enhances motivation, so do promote your staff  when they are due for promotion. You need the loyalty of your staff. To ensure that your staff stays loyal to you, you should promote them when they are due for promotion. As not promoting them could make highly talented individuals stop being loyal to your company, thus making them look for another company to work for. You do not want to lose your highly talented staff to another company. It is cheaper to promote staff from within than to employ a new person to take up a position within your organisation. You have to pay the cost of advertising as well as the cost of training the staff. It also takes time in terms of ...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about the balance scorecard. The balance scorecard helps measure business performances. It looks at  4 different perspective of the business, they are the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the learning and growth perspective and the internal perspective. The financial perspective looks at financial data such as sales revenue, cost and income to understand the financial performance of the business. Customer perspective measures the degree of success in satisfying customers. The quality and price can be used to determine customer satisfaction; feedback are also gotten from customers to know if their needs are being met. Learning and growth perspective sees how business responds to changing circumstances. It looks at how employees are being trained, and how they use the knowledge obtained to create a competitive advantage for the company. The internal perspective looks at how efficient the business systems and procedures a...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you about the 5  richest states in USA. I have done my research for you. All the figures provided were gotten from a survey that used the data that were obtained at the end of 2015. Here are the richest states: Connecticut This state is located in the northeastern US. It is one of the richest states based on a survey carried out by the end of 2015. Its median household income is $71,346. The population of the state is 3,590,886. Its unemployment rate is 5.6%. New Jersey This state is located in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic parts of the United States. It is the 11th most populated area with 8,958,013 individuals living in the state. It has a median household income of $72,222. Its unemployment rate is also 5.6%.  Alaska This is a state that is located in the northwest of the Americas. It is the largest state in USA by area. There are 738,432 individuals living in the state. It is the 3rd least populous state. It has...

Hello readers, I hope your week has been good so far, today I will be telling you about the success factors for your restaurants. Here they are: Products Your menu and quality of food will go a long way in helping you achieve business success. When the menu of your food is unique and the quality of your food is good, you will get a lot of customers. A good chef and good quality ingredients will help make the quality of your food good. Price The quality of your food and services provided must be in alignment with the price of the food. You should provide value for money. Value for money will help you compete better. You will have to control your cost appropriately so as to be able to achieve this goal. People The customer service provided must be good. The way your staff members make customers feel will contribute to the success of your restaurant. Your staff members should be trained to be nice to customers. When customers feel good about your service then they wil...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about the division of labour. Division of labour is a situation where production processes are divided into parts and these parts are assigned to individuals. These individuals only assume parts that have been given to them to undertake. Benefits of making workers do only one tasks include efficiency. They are able to do their jobs faster.  Jobs are assigned to employees based on their skill and experience. As the employee repeats the task he or she becomes an expert at it. As a result of division of labour the quality of the work the individual does improves. It contributes to the success of your business. Division of labour encourages the production in large scale quantities which helps to reduce the cost of production which eventually adds to the success of the organisation. It also encourages workers to come up with better ways of carrying out their part, thus increases invention. However, some individuals believe that  d...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets are physical by nature. You can touch them. Example of tangible assets are Land, equipment, machinery and others. These assets are used by company to carry out daily activities. Tangible could become damaged as a result of an accident. Tangible assets depreciates in value. It is easier to sell them when compared with intangible assets There are two types of tangible assets which are the non-current assets and the current assets. Current assets are assets that are coverted into cash by the end of one year. Non-current asset are long term by nature.  They are not converted into cash within one year. However, they can be liquidated when the company needs money. The non current assets are normally not expected to be sold. Intangible assets on the other hand cannot be seen or touched. They are invisible. Example of intangible assets include copyright, patent, business logo and ot...