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Actual for You - Islam in the Workplace
For years conventional wisdom suggested that people do not leave companies, but rather they leave because of bad business management also known as bad managers. Poor business management practices are more related to the problem of poor business ethics or values than to the common symptoms such as poor delegation or poor communication.Every organization, no matter size, should have a written business values statement of non-negotiable behaviors that will be demonstrated by everyone. Each employee from top down needs to consistently demonstrate the same values and ethics. Inconsistent values from managers can dramatically affect employee motivation and ultimately employee performance.A recently released survey from Florida State University of 700 employees within numerous industries and employment levels provides an insight into the lack of ethics by many mangers. Failure to keep their (managers) word – 39%
Friday Prayers
Most Muslim men attend the mosque on Friday afternoons for obligatory congregational prayers. Let your staff know you understand their requirements and agree on an extended lunch break and/or allocate their Friday lunch breaks to convenient times. Most mosques conduct prayers at 1.30 p.m. so try to aim for an hour between 1 – 2p.m.
Fasting
Fasting takes places during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan does not correspond neatly to any Gregorian months due to its method of calculation. It changes from year to year by ab
The use of paper business documents can significantly reduce productivity and increase costs in a wide range of business processes. Perhaps the best example of these inefficiencies occurs in the accounting department. Types of business documentsJust what do we mean by business documents? Generally speaking, they are the communications vehicles by which business is executed and recorded. Invoices, for example, are business documents that convey the need to pay for a purchased product or service. Purchase orders notify vendors that a customer wants to buy something. Purchase order requisitions initiate product or service acquisition requests, traverse the approval cycle, and end up with a purchasing agent for fulfillment. And let's not forget checks, which are orders to a bank to pay this amount to that person, and remittance advice, which informs payees how much and for what they are being paid.
Muslims now form one of the largest religious groups in the UK. At a time when great misunderstandings and stereotypes circulate the media and society regarding the religion, it is crucial for an effort to be made at all levels to go beyond archetypal images and to begin to understand Islam and Muslims.
With a population of approximately 1.5 million Muslims and growing, UK based companies are employing more and more young Muslim men and women. With this increase comes a greater need for HR practitioners to be aware of the respective cultural sensitivities.
As with individuals from any background, if they do not feel comfortable and understood in their office or company, it is likely that they will eventually seek employment elsewhere. In order to maximise retention of young Muslims, it is ever more important therefore, that their sensitivities are kept in mind.
The following information contains basic tips and guidelines for HR staff and others to bear in mind. Please note that these are very generic guidelines. Muslims differ from generation to generation, culture to culture, some are more devout than others and interpretations and practices of the faith are numerous. It may also be the case that the individual is Muslim by name only and chooses not to practice their religion.
Prayer
A Muslim, both male and female, is expected to pray five times a day. This prayer involves facing Makkah (in Saudi Arabia), usually on a prayer mat or clean surface and reciting prayers which follow a procedure of bowing and prostrating. This typically takes between 5 – 15 minutes depending on the individual. Prayer times are calculated according to the movement of the sun and take place at dawn, midday, late afternoon, dusk and at night.
For Muslims in your company it is a good idea to allocate a neutral space for them to use for their prayers. This can be a dedicated prayer room or simply access to a seldom used office or medical room. Such a space will make your Muslim staff feel at comfort knowing they have somewhere private and clean to say their prayers.
If staff are required to be committed to a desk space at certain times it may be a good idea to agree on allocated times in which they can read their prayers. This may involve the use of break times.
Friday Prayers
Most Muslim men attend the mosque on Friday afternoons for obligatory congregational prayers. Let your staff know you understand their requirements and agree on an extended lunch break and/or allocate their Friday lunch breaks to convenient times. Most mosques conduct prayers at 1.30 p.m. so try to aim for an hour between 1 – 2p.m.
Fasting
Fasting takes places during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan does not correspond neatly to any Gregorian months due to its method of calculation. It changes from year to year by ab
Have you ever known someone who seemed to, just be lucky in life? They seem to have it all and things just seem to come to them with no real effort on their part. Life appears easy for them and we wish we could have their luck. The good news is you can - everyone can.I'll never forget the definition of luck I heard many years ago. A friend of mine said "Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity." This has never been more, true of good fortune, than in the world of investing. When you are prepared you will recognize opportunities others do not; thereby making you appear lucky.Taking the time to learn about the many ways in which you might invest is a perfect example of preparing yourself for an opportunity. The more familiar you are with a concept, the easier it is to recognize opportunities when they present themselves. Often times the most profitable situations appear to be unsolvable issues on the surface. It is the
As with individuals from any background, if they do not feel comfortable and understood in their office or company, it is likely that they will eventually seek employment elsewhere. In order to maximise retention of young Muslims, it is ever more important therefore, that their sensitivities are kept in mind.
The following information contains basic tips and guidelines for HR staff and others to bear in mind. Please note that these are very generic guidelines. Muslims differ from generation to generation, culture to culture, some are more devout than others and interpretations and practices of the faith are numerous. It may also be the case that the individual is Muslim by name only and chooses not to practice their religion.
Prayer
A Muslim, both male and female, is expected to pray five times a day. This prayer involves facing Makkah (in Saudi Arabia), usually on a prayer mat or clean surface and reciting prayers which follow a procedure of bowing and prostrating. This typically takes between 5 – 15 minutes depending on the individual. Prayer times are calculated according to the movement of the sun and take place at dawn, midday, late afternoon, dusk and at night.
For Muslims in your company it is a good idea to allocate a neutral space for them to use for their prayers. This can be a dedicated prayer room or simply access to a seldom used office or medical room. Such a space will make your Muslim staff feel at comfort knowing they have somewhere private and clean to say their prayers.
If staff are required to be committed to a desk space at certain times it may be a good idea to agree on allocated times in which they can read their prayers. This may involve the use of break times.
Friday Prayers
Most Muslim men attend the mosque on Friday afternoons for obligatory congregational prayers. Let your staff know you understand their requirements and agree on an extended lunch break and/or allocate their Friday lunch breaks to convenient times. Most mosques conduct prayers at 1.30 p.m. so try to aim for an hour between 1 – 2p.m.
Fasting
Fasting takes places during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan does not correspond neatly to any Gregorian months due to its method of calculation. It changes from year to year by ab
So, we're heading for tough times! Why? Because if we are told something often enough (by opposition politicians, bankers, debt collection agencies, economists, your next door neighbor, taxi drivers, stock market analysts and journalists) we are going to believe it - it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.Well, whatever the economic outlook - real or imagined - over the next year, perhaps it is time to assess how you are currently gaining business, what you will need to do to keep it and continue growing even when all around you are crying 'tough times' and are discounting madly, dropping services, slashing costs and 'downsizing' (one of my personally most hated words straight out of the 80's).Never mind what the market is doing, what are you doing?Look closely at how you use your telephone.There are three key areas that senior people in any organization simply must consider when analyzing the awesome power of the telep
Prayer
A Muslim, both male and female, is expected to pray five times a day. This prayer involves facing Makkah (in Saudi Arabia), usually on a prayer mat or clean surface and reciting prayers which follow a procedure of bowing and prostrating. This typically takes between 5 – 15 minutes depending on the individual. Prayer times are calculated according to the movement of the sun and take place at dawn, midday, late afternoon, dusk and at night.
For Muslims in your company it is a good idea to allocate a neutral space for them to use for their prayers. This can be a dedicated prayer room or simply access to a seldom used office or medical room. Such a space will make your Muslim staff feel at comfort knowing they have somewhere private and clean to say their prayers.
If staff are required to be committed to a desk space at certain times it may be a good idea to agree on allocated times in which they can read their prayers. This may involve the use of break times.
Friday Prayers
Most Muslim men attend the mosque on Friday afternoons for obligatory congregational prayers. Let your staff know you understand their requirements and agree on an extended lunch break and/or allocate their Friday lunch breaks to convenient times. Most mosques conduct prayers at 1.30 p.m. so try to aim for an hour between 1 – 2p.m.
Fasting
Fasting takes places during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan does not correspond neatly to any Gregorian months due to its method of calculation. It changes from year to year by ab
The Small Business Administration predicts nearly 95% of all businesses will close or fail within five years of their opening.In my opinion, this statistic needlessly scares budding entrepreneurs. Sure, it is important that you know the odds against you, and that you conduct due diligence before signing your name onto the dotted line of a huge loan. However, one way to reduce the cost of entering into a business, improve the chances of your financial success, and minimize the downside potential of failure, is to start a home-based business.According to a U.S. Census Bureau survey of over 16 million small business owners, 64% of businesses with receipts of less than $5,000 were home-based, compared to only 5.8% of firms with receipts of $1,000,000 or more. Additionally, 29% of all respondent firms with 1 to 4 employees operated as home-based firms in 2002, with roughly 41% of all home-based businesses not hiring employees.Whil
For Muslims in your company it is a good idea to allocate a neutral space for them to use for their prayers. This can be a dedicated prayer room or simply access to a seldom used office or medical room. Such a space will make your Muslim staff feel at comfort knowing they have somewhere private and clean to say their prayers.
If staff are required to be committed to a desk space at certain times it may be a good idea to agree on allocated times in which they can read their prayers. This may involve the use of break times.
Friday Prayers
Most Muslim men attend the mosque on Friday afternoons for obligatory congregational prayers. Let your staff know you understand their requirements and agree on an extended lunch break and/or allocate their Friday lunch breaks to convenient times. Most mosques conduct prayers at 1.30 p.m. so try to aim for an hour between 1 – 2p.m.
Fasting
Fasting takes places during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan does not correspond neatly to any Gregorian months due to its method of calculation. It changes from year to year by ab
The Butterfly EffectHave you figured-out the secrets of speed reading?When you consciously-practice moving your eyes ‘left-middle-right’, it simultaneously causes your brain to shift-attention from the beginning, center and final-section of the sentence - instead of reading-across at one-word-at-a-time.Peripheral-vision (lateral-left and lateral-right), - causes a habit to be installed inyour brain that changes your reading-speed from ‘one-word-at-a-time’, to triple that, three-words-at-a time.Dr. Maurizio Corbetta, Washington University School of Medicine, is the researcher who used fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery), to show that “the same parts of the brain move both our eyes - and shift our focus of attention.”This means the same parts of our brain that control eye-movements simultaneously control what we pay attention to. Control your eye-movements and you govern your attention-and-concent
Friday Prayers
Most Muslim men attend the mosque on Friday afternoons for obligatory congregational prayers. Let your staff know you understand their requirements and agree on an extended lunch break and/or allocate their Friday lunch breaks to convenient times. Most mosques conduct prayers at 1.30 p.m. so try to aim for an hour between 1 – 2p.m.
Fasting
Fasting takes places during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan does not correspond neatly to any Gregorian months due to its method of calculation. It changes from year to year by about ten days. The more devout Muslims may also fast on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the year.
Fasting involves abstinence from food, drink, chewing and smoking from dawn till dusk. At dusk, Muslims traditionally break their fast with dates and water before proceeding to eat a meal.
In the workplace it is best to be aware of staff who are fasting as this avoids potential offence if the staff member declines an invite to lunch or to some other function involving food.
Dress
Most Muslim men will be wearing a shirt and tie like their colleagues and very few would challenge a dress code. This is simply because dress is not an area where strict guidelines exist in Islam.
One area Muslim men may clash with company policy is in their wearing of beards. If you have strict guidelines regarding facial hair or follow certain health and hygiene procedures, then it is wise to ensure that potential male Muslim employees are made aware of these procedures. You should also be willing to either compromise on religious grounds or ensure that beard covers are made available.
Muslim women are required to cover their hair (hijab) and to dress modestly. Many do neither but it is best to be aware of the needs of those who do. If your company has a uniform or a certain dress code be sure it permits the wearing of hijabs. Many companies have now taken the step to provide hijabs which match the company uniform.
Holidays
Generally Muslims in the UK take holidays as and when they need to. There are however a few dates of significance that should be noted.
Eid al-Fitr – this holiday celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan and fasting. It is traditionally a time when extended families congregate and presents given to children.
Although this holiday extends over a three day period, many Muslims typically take a single day holiday.
Eid al-Adha – celebrates the end of the Hajj (pilgrimage) and commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son. In Muslim countries sheep, goats and camels and usually sacrificed and the meat distributed the family, neighbourhood and the poor. In the UK such meat is ordered through a butcher due to our laws.
As with Eid al-Fitr, Muslims typically take a single day holiday during this period.
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