Internship Program at Qatar Islamic Bank - Example

Report on Internship Program at Qatar Islamic Bank Table of Contents Introduction to the Company…………………………………………………….………3 a. Current Status……………………………………………………………………3 b. Company’s Statistical Information………………………………………………3 c. Vision…………………………………………………………………………….4 d. Mission Statement……………………………………………………………….4 2. Company’s Objectives and Services……………………………………………………..4 3. Internship Position……………………………………………………………………….4 a. Roles & Responsibilities…………………………………………………………4 4. Trainings…………………………………………………………………………………5 a. Week 1…………………………………………………………………………..5 b. Week 2…………………………………………………………………………..6 c. Week 3…………………………………………………………………………..6 d. Week 4…………………………………………………………………………..7 5. Contribution to Organization……………………………………………………………7 6. Comparison of Academic Training and Organization Expectation…………………….8 7. Usefulness of Internee Training Program……………………………………………….9 8. Organization’s work environment………………………………………………………9 9. Suggested recommendations for improvement……………………………………….…9 10. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….10 Report on Internship Program at Qatar Islamic Bank Introduction to the Organization Qatar Islamic Bank is considered as one of the pioneers in promoting Islamic Banking. The company was established in the year 1982 and instantly gained recognition in local and regional markets. They play a leading role in introducing the concept of Shariah in financial products and have developed innovatively to stay competitive in their banking field (Qatar Islamic Bank: A brief Introduction). In the beginning, in 1982 Qatar Islamic Bank started its operations with its paid-up capital of QR 25m which increased to QT 200m in 1996 and then it has expanded to over 30 branches across the country. The bank built its network in a short span of time. In 1989, the company saw the formation of Al Jazeera Finance and owned the company up to 30%. Moreover, Qatar Islamic Bank’s network constitutes of QInvest that was formed in 2007. In 2003, Arab Finance House was inaugurated in Beirut Lebanon. Asian Finance Bank was established in 2007 in Malaysia. QIB in UK was inaugurated in 2008(Qatar Islamic Bank: A brief Introduction). Current Status Presently, the bank is operating globally using comprehensive Islamic banking services. In this regard, the company is seen setting up benchmarks to serve to its clients giving different financial services. One of the current programs launched by them was Alkhash.kma program that provides financial answers to small and medium size enterprises as per the Shariah (Qatar Islamic Bank). Company Statistics As indicated by the company, at the end of the year 2013, the company contained market share of 35% capital of about 2.36 billion Qatari. These constitute 32 branches in all that covered all the important places in Qatar. The total numbers of employees were coming about 1000. It is important to state that the bank is also operating as one of the prevalent banks in Middle East and few regions in North Africa. Moreover, its global presence is felt in UK, Lebanon, Malaysia and Sudan (Qatar Islamic Bank). Vision The vision of the bank is to execute financial operations through implementation of Sharia’s law and ethical principles and playing an important part in building and sustaining socio-economic growth in the banking industry(Qatar Islamic Bank: Vision, Mission and Values). Mission Statement The mission statement of the company is to provide financial solutions of the highest quality pertaining to Shariah laws, maximizing returns of shareholders and to nurture and create a good working environment for qualified workforce and latest technology(Qatar Islamic Bank: Vision, Mission and Values). Company’s Objectives and Services Qatar Islamic Bank provides answers to commercial and real estate investments and developments. The company’s key objectives are to facilitate income growth through diversification cross-selling and development of new products and services. In this regard, the main services of the company include financing solutions through plans for business growth, borrowing options. There are many corporate lending products available, car finance options, real estate finance and project finance (Qatar Islamic Bank: Annual Report). Internship Position My internship at Qatar Islamic was a learning experience. Initially, I was appointed in the Accounts section, then in Customer Services Department, and the end was supposed to market Takaful products to clients. The job title as an “Internee” and with the passage of time my roles and responsibilities became diversified. The major responsibilities include; • Correspondence with customers regarding any query relating to opening a new account or solving their issues and providing information. • To ensure that while opening the account, the customer is meeting all the legal requirements, the documents are valid. • Getting the documents and forms signed by customers and updating their information through a copy of identity card. • Re-opening accounts of customers. • Troubles shoot problems and use Phoenix system. As an internee I was subjected to a series of job rotation which meant that basically I was working in different departments, learning outcomes of each department was different. In this regard, I was supposed to install effective personal and professional training through the jobs assigned. In return, company expected me to understand their operations and made use of the training in an effective manner to manage accounts and to maintain good cordial relationships with the peers as well as with the clients. Trainings Week 1 As a trainee at Qatar Islamic Bank, I was given a few tasks to complete. I was helped by my coworkers for the completion of my training of tasks every week. In my first week as a trainee, I learnt about deposits of checks and cash and withdrawals of cash. I was also trained to balance the cash box at the end of the day and deal with remittances of cash board and to the other accounts. Moreover, in my first week I was trained to do all the above work along with keeping a view on account. There was a lot of pressure at work, but I managed to handle the work properly with the completion of my entire task. Week 2 In the second week I was at the customer service sector, I was given many tasks and had many diverse duties. My part of training consisted of dealing with customers and listening to their grievances, issues and providing a solution to their problems. I was trained to open current and saving accounts for the customers and check if the client have an existing account through Phoenix system or are blacklisted through the system. It was trained to ensure the validity of the documents and confirmed whether the documents are sufficient requirements for opening a new account. Furthermore, I was trained to edit customer’s data on their behalf and update information with their identity cards. In the second week, I also learned from the training, to close accounts of customers who have passed away or have nil balance in their accounts. Week 3 Major part of my training was conducted in my third week, as I was supposed to learn how to mobilize frozen account, especially the rigid accounts that were not movable. In this regard, my training included how withdrawal or deposits were carried out for specific periods, issuing proxy, cancelling proxy on bank accounts and issuing checkbooks. Moreover, I learnt how cancellations of proxy on bank accounts were carried out and the issuing checkbooks. My training taught me to troubleshoot my skills and ask the customer nicely to resign if the signature on the check book did not match through the SigneQ system. I was taught that maintaining a good relationship with clients was essential and to stay apologetic for any inconvenience caused due to the system. In this regard, I can say that my colleagues helped me during this training period, and I learnt that Qatar Islamic bank’s working environment was conducive for training and development. At the end of Week 3, I had learnt the basic requirement of banking and check issuance was taught time management, problem-solving tactics and also enhanced my communication skills. Week 4 The fourth week was my final learning period. Training and development carried out while this period was quiet as most of the staff at Qatar Islamic Bank were busy in completing they are to get leaves for upcoming Eid Vacation and due to this fact and less time, there was not much focus on my training. However, majority of the time, I received training on ensuring to maintain control over minor issues that could lead to bigger issues, for instance, forgetting to write the phone number of client on the back of the pay-check while depositing amount. Moreover, I also learnt that abiding by the companies policies was essential, and this training showed me the significance of the company’s vision and mission. Contribution to the Organization While undergoing this training and development period, I feel that my contribution towards the organization is worth mentioning. I deposited numerous clearing pay-checks by the help of my coworkers and ordered checks if they were rejected for some reasons and determined those reasons. I also contributed by helping put the customers phone numbers on the back of each pay-check and in case of invalidation in any regard I was also involved in being contact with the customers directly, solving their issues. Moreover, one of the major contributions was to introduce clients about the Takaful programs. In other words, I was involved in marketing where I promoted Islamic products and services of the bank by telling the customers about their benefit and their significance in terms of Islamic teachings. In my opinion, these contributions helped the organization increase their number of clients. While working in the bank, I felt that I contributed in building and sustained good relationships with peers that helped me solve few internal issues of the company. Though, my period in the bank was very less but my contributions made a mark on the company and the staff as they complimented on my strengths and were thankful for helping them out in accomplishing minor tasks like account and pay-check handling, providing information and being able to assist in other every other small task that was required by every department. Thus, it can be said that although I was supposed to undergo training but during the time I was able to utilize my best knowledge and skills to carry out the responsibilities bestowed on me (Sides and Mrvica 61). Comparison of Academic Training and Organization Expectation A person hired in an organization as an intern is required to undergo training and development, get exposure of the corporate world and polish his/her literary and interpersonal skills to produce good quality and challenging tasks that meet the market demands(Sweitzer and King 45-50). In this regard, I felt that the staff of Qatar Islamic Bank played an effective part in accepting fresh graduates as internees and being able to bridge the gap of the differences arising due to certain expectations and focusing on training of individuals. In my opinion, I was taught to enhance my communication and problem skills and academically made use of my good mathematics to understand the working of cash and pay-check deposits, balance the cash box, look after accounts, make new accounts and handle remittances of cash abroad or to any other account. As far as organization’s expectations are concerned, I felt they were relying on me on understanding their core functions and be cooperative with their staff while they conducted training at different levels, and they appreciated my contributions. Moreover, with the passage of time I realized that company expected me to be responsible for any errors or mistakes and to deal with clients at an independent level, so I felt this was a part of my learning process where I was required to deal with the difficult situations through time management and problem solving skills. Usefulness of Internee Training Program Internship Program at Qatar Islamic Bank was a memorable experience because it was my first experience to work at a corporate environment and felt I learnt a lot from the staff. Besides, academic learning, the training helped me develop patience with customers, to deal with the problems of clients. I learnt that for a company, customers and employees were valuable stakeholders who contributed towards the success of the organization. Internee Programs also prepared me to become a responsible employee committed to achieving the targets on time and be devoted part of the organizational set-up (Sides and Mrvica). Organization’s work environment The work environment of Qatar Islamic Bank was conducive. In my opinion, the staff and their respective heads were very communicative, helpful and sincere in their teachings. As I had the opportunity to work in different departments, I felt that the departmental heads were well coordinated, and they built and fostered good working relationships with their colleagues who made the work environment friendly and innovative as well. In this regard, it is essential to state that organizational work environment plays an important role in employee retention (Linn, Howard and Miller) and if I got an opportunity I would definitely seize it to work in Qatar Islamic Bank as I was satisfied with the trainings carried out in a good atmosphere, and it gave rise to a lifelong professional and personal learning. Suggested Recommendation for improvement of Training Program There are few shortfalls in every organization. As an internee, I recommend the following points; • The number of hours for Internship programs should exceed, for instance, up to 50 hours in order to have a complete understanding of the subject an intern is enrolled in. • It is important for interns to be prepared beforehand about the project description in order to have a good start at the company. • Before offering training programs, salary and benefits should be established and written down so that students are fairly compensated for their hard work (Cunningham and Sherman). Conclusions In the end, it can be concluded that my internship program at Qatar Islamic Bank was a learning experience. I felt like a responsible adult while I performed my duties and responsibilities. It taught me a variety of things relating to opening, maintaining a bank account, pay-check, handling customer affairs and promoting their products like Takaful Finance. These teachings helped me polish my cognitive abilities, and I would be able to apply confidently to larger enterprises for jobs. Works Cited Cunningham, W. G and W. H. Sherman. "The Educational Forum." Effective Internships: Building Bridges Between Theory and Practice 72 (2008): 308-318. Linn, Patricia L., Adam Howard and Eric Miller. Handbook for Research in Cooperative Education and Internships. London: Routlege, 2004. Print Qatar Islamic Bank. 2014. 10 August 2014. . Qatar Islamic Bank: A brief Introduction. 2014. 10 August 2014. . Qatar Islamic Bank: Annual Report. Doha: QIB, 2012. Qatar Islamic Bank: Vision, Mission and Values. 2014. 10 August 2014. . Sides, Charles H. and Ann Mrvica. Internships: Theory and Practice. New York: Fitchburg State College, 2007. Print Sweitzer, H. and Mary King. The Successful Internship: Personal, Professional, and Civic Development. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print Read More