Islamic banking is based on the principles of Islamic (Sharia) law that depends on Quran and Hadith rules. In view of CIMB Group Holdings, “Islamic finance is considered as the rapidly growing part of overall global financial system – sale of Islamic bonds increases about 24 percent worth of $25 billion in 2010.”

Islamic finance is not a new concept; it is a centuries-old practice that is by no means making its significance in Eastern but also in Western states. It is the process by which the financial institutes in the Muslim world inclusive of banks and other loaning bodies raise their capital in accordance with Islamic rules and regulations that are termed as the “Shari’ah”.

Islamic scholars has presented out following 3 basic principles of Islamic financing.

1. Mudaraba 2. Musharka 3. Murabaha

1. What is Mudaraba? This mode of financing is based on trust of both parties. It is form of partnership under which one party called rub-ul-amal provides finance for the business while other party utilizes his core expertise to run the business. Unless profit is determined separately, there is no need to create a company. Profit is determined according to an agreed ratio. Loss under Mudaraba is beard by finance provider, unless it is caused by other partner due to his misconduct.

2. What is Musharka? It is based on partnership agreement about financing. It is considered as old fashioned because it is fruitful only for small scale business.The only difference between Mudaraba and Musharka is that in Musharka both parties are involved in contributing finance. Profits are shared in accordance with agreed ratio among partners but losses are beard in strict proportion to their investment ratio.

3. What is Murabaha? It is the most populated form of Islamic Finance. Under this category bank make purchases of any asset for its client from a third party then it sells to its customer with a little bit amount of profit at once or against deferred payments. Some people considered it mark up finance technique but in reality it is quite different from that.

It is understood fact that prohibition of markup is becoming essential day by day, regulators of finance from all over the world especially in the United States of America; people have been doing their best to get rid of markup and other bad practices like fraud, coercion etc. It can be said that many elements of Shari’ah are common now and highly adopted.

How difficult can it be for an individual to overcome credit problems and improve one’s credit rating? If you have absolutely no idea what a credit score is and how your credit history is determined, then you will find it very difficult to approach the problem with confidence. However, if you have a simple solution that will help you overcome your problem in three steps, you certainly will be confident, right?

The first and the most important step is to check out to the various credit bureaus and get a copy of your credit report. The report will contain details of all the loans and the repayments that you have made up for a specified period. You should check the report and get a clear idea of where you stand and how will the report has been prepared.

You may be surprised but credit bureaus make fundamental and basic mistakes as far as the credit report of the individual is concerned. With your entire financial life dependent on it, one would expect credit bureaus to be a bit more careful. However, so much information is transmitted that it is next to impossible to avoid mistakes.

You have a specified period within which you should indicate that you want to remove the mistakes made in the credit report. If you successfully convince your credit bureau, you will see an improvement in your credit score after the removal of incorrect information. This is the first step that you should take.

The second step that you should take is to identify those loans that have been on your credit history for a very long time. You should check this information and you should take steps to get rid of it as quickly as possible. If that means settling your loans, so be it. Remember that a loan that has been on your credit report for a very long time will seriously affect your credit history.

Going in for a fifty percent reduction and bringing the loan transaction to an end very quickly will work if potential damage to your credit score is avoided. If you can borrow money from other sources to end these debts, you should go in for such a transaction.

Further, you should keep track of various other loans and make sure you are repaying it on time. If you are not in a position to repay your debts at all, then a settlement transaction to bring down your debts by a significant amount should also be considered.

There are some solutions that will give immediate relief. There are some solutions which will impact your score negatively but will provide huge benefits in the long run. You should make your choice according.

When consumers find themselves in debt they can turn to debt management organizations that not only help to improve the situation but also educate debtors on financial situations. These organizations have a highly qualified staff. All the specialists are certified financial counselors with experience in setting up budget plans for debtors. Debtors are helped to work out a plan to lower credit card interest, settle outstanding debts for 30%-50% of the balance, and reduce monthly payments. The results allow to reduce their financial obligations.

When a financial advisor works with a consumer he/she draws consumer’s attention to special areas such as charge offs, or credit cards in serious delinquency. The debtor and the advisor work together in order not to allow the creditors to destroy consumer’s credit. Debt management credit counseling service negotiates terms that suit both parties in order to close an account with a favorable standing.

In the case that some delinquent accounts have been closed, the plan shifts then to ensuring that current accounts do not become delinquent. The next task for a financial advisor is to work out another debt elimination plan and provide new methods and instructions for retaining a larger portion of a monthly income.

The thing is that many agencies of this kind that work with eliminating consumer financial obligations have business relationships with creditors that are most commonly used by debtors, so it is much easier for such agencies to settle a lower balanced debt.
The main goal of debt management agencies is to pay off obligations quicker than ever before, restore a precious credit report and teach consumers to manage their finances. So, many consumers have already realized that they’ve restored their financial freedom with the professional help of debt management organizations.

What one must remember is that he/she should investigate different types of loans before signing contracts and making any major financial decisions. It is rather useful to gather information, to compare benefits and make decisions based on a person’s individual needs.

Where can one find the information about debt management programs, debt consolidation facts or testimonials? The information about debt management organizations, companies and agencies can be easily found in the Internet or in the local telephone book. If a consumer has relatives, friends or just acquaintances who have already been enrolled in such service, he/she can receive much useful information from these people. Although it is said that business and friendship is better not mixed, it’s your turn to make choice.

Considered to be one of the most prestigious degrees around the world, Masters in Business Administration (MBA) is a post-graduate degree awarded to those who learn and master the skills of managing a business. As it is related to any business and not just a specific field, it attracts students from varied backgrounds.

In an MBA program, students study various applications of management principles, which are sure to be helpful in real life business situations. More than half of the MBA course concentrates on general management applicable to any business. The other part is a specialization in an area of one’s choice.

Primarily one can specialize in the following areas in MBA:

1. Marketing

2. Finance

3. Human Resources

4. Information Technology

5. Operations

Now, what?really?makes MBA special…

1. Money:?For many MBA aspirants, joining the course is nothing but an investment. They simply calculate the ROI before hand and then decide to join any college. In these cases, the main reason to join MBA is the pay package you are likely to get.

2. Education:?It’s not just a matter of money; you can also see a drastic change in your own personality. You can feel the difference once you complete your MBA. You will get to learn a lot. Of course it depends on how serious you are while you are doing your MBA and from where you are doing it.

3. Launch pad for a great career:?People say that there is no shortcut for success, but I think that MBA is a shortcut for your career. Simply put, a graduate with half decade of experience will hardly be given as much preference as a person with an MBA degree.

Now, let me list reasons why you really must opt for a course of this sort. But before I go on to list reasons of my own, here are a few I managed to accumulate from a sizable group of students who are pro-MBA. Some good, some not so good, here are they nevertheless:

I want to pursue MBA because my dad asked me to do so I want a very good salary and I am told that I will get one once I finish MBA Just because everyone is doing, I am also interested to join I think there is a huge demand for people with MBA in the market I have nothing to do so thought to finish my MBA For the sake of an additional degree. I am too young to go for a job so I want to do MBA and then look for a job The Return On Investment (ROI) which I will get on MBA is higher when compared to the other degrees There really will be many more reasons, but reasons such as these aren’t really enough. One should really understand what difference an MBA degree can make in one’s career path and personality.
What recruiters look in an MBA grad?

If you are applying for a job on your MBA degree, then you must understand what exactly companies expect from MBA grads. The main reason why companies recruit MBA grads is to maximize their profitability with minimum resource utilization. Be it any specialization, an MBA grad is expected to use his management skills which he/she has learned in college and fine tune the business.

The following are?some of the qualities?which recruiters look for in an MBA grad:

Fast Learner:?MBA grads are expected to be very fast learners. It is not necessary that one will get a job in the field of his choice. For most MBA grads, the role and industry they join as soon as they complete their degree is a complete new world. But the two years education behind them is sure to give them enough understanding about the general management in any business. The key lies in quickly understanding the business and industry to produce maximum output.

Resource Management:?Once you join an organization you are expected to utilize the resources effectively. The mantra is ‘minimum resources and maximum output’. One must have the ability to utilize the resources well. The subordinates are also resources of the company; one should also have the ability to manage people.

Business Development:?Be it any specialization (HR, Finance, Marketing) MBA grads are always expected to be working towards the growth of the company as a whole. If you are an MBA grad hired by a company and you are not contributing much for the growth of the company, then there will not be any difference between a normal graduate and an MBA. So your presence should always be felt in the organization.

Ready to Accept New Challenges:?Every organization prefers a person who readily accepts challenges. For a fresher, it is very much important to understand his role in the organization. As soon as the training period ends, the entire focus comes on performance. The more successfully you complete challenging tasks, the more you are valued in the organization.

These were some of the major things recruiters look for in an MBA grad, so if you are joining an MBA course make sure you concentrate on all these things and work on these lines to get an edge over others.

Sales Management includes features for creating the sales force; organizing sales force, sales forecasting and planning, identifying potential customers, maintaining client information, and creating and managing schedules.

Sales management’s key functions are contemplated around procuring a clear perception into the activities of direct reports as well as the sales activities of the enterprise.

Key functions maintained by sales management are managing organizational sales structure and territories–crucial enterprises turnover; sales reporting and forecasting; quota management–handing assignments to sales representatives, implementing changes, etc.; and incentive management–producing compensation plan.

An organization’s sales management is enhanced through their workforces’ active participation to internal and external programs like symposiums–meetings or conferences conducted to discuss an issue; trainings–coaching people to a mode of performance in introductory, learning and transitional periods; and seminars–a gathering where there occurs information exchange and discussions.

These customized activities indulge the personnel’s yearning to gain more knowledge on individual productivity, team work, streamlining the sales process, sales performance precision, hiring sales champions, motivation methods that work, mastering the art of sales and sales coaching and tools, tactics, strategies for improvement.

The role of the sales manager is to provide an atmosphere where their subordinates can perform. They play a critical role in analytically examining, questioning and settling the sales productivity problems by creating structure and conscientiousness in the sales process.

To be good in these aspects, a sales manager must equip himself with the methodologies for planning sales activities and the know-how in using sound key performance indicators for managing the selling process. To increase sales productivity, concentration must be allotted to the sales process rather than consuming full focus on business outcomes.

Another character in sales management is the sales people or sales representatives. These are the people designated to solicit business in behalf of the organization in a specific territory.

To build successful sales relationships, a sales representative has to identify and attend to two necessities. These are the prospect’s psychological needs–intellectual concerns as to what makes him happy; as well as the prospect’s objective or business needs–the products, materials, equipments that are related to his profession, way of life, or hobbies.

In sales management the things that are taken into consideration are: the sales process–right variety to suit the business’s market and value delivery to consumers; psychological assessment–revolves around understanding and researching on the business and consumer needs; pre-approach planning and prospecting–understanding maximum value prospects and generating referrals; opening–engineering business affinities, establishing plausibility and gaining interest; and strategies–development of long- and short-term sales cycles.

A profitable sales management requires the comprehension of the prospect’s needs and the source of customer value. Active listening and questioning techniques should be applied to collect information on ways to further service and product value. And there should also be continuous personnel information upgrade to equip sales people with the right strategies and methods to top-notch sales and sales management skills.

Copyright 2007 Ismael D. Tabije