NBK Insider August 2010 Issue 26

“In Ramadan, we delve deeper into the essence of humanity…”

Dear NBK team,

It is with great pleasure and humility that we welcome the holy month of discipline, good behavior,

self control and charity, Ramadan.

In Ramadan we are expected to reap the benefits of Fasting, namely piety and consciousness of Al-

lah Almighty. To that effect, we must observe this month's ethics and rulings. Every Muslim should

receive the blessed month of Ramadan with repentance, sincerity, resoluteness and earnestness.

He/she should make the intention to perform extra acts of devotion and worship therein.

This is achieved by having a clear understanding of this month in one's mind, and greeting Ramadan

with love and yearning. Also, one should have the determination and intention to perform good

deeds and worship, and one should lay down a program to accomplish this in the days of the

blessed month.

Additionally, we should spread help and support to everyone in need and join hands with fellow

members of our society, irrespective of their backgrounds and cultures and faiths, in order to allevi-

ate the pains and worries of the less privileged.

It is truly a time where one can delve deeper into the essence of humanity.

I wish everyone a very blessed month ahead!

Nawaf Nasser Bin Khaled Al-Thani

Chairman & CEO

WORDS FOR THOUGHT

the holy month of philanthropy and brotherhood, Ramadan, we are expected to go the extra

mile to extend a supporting hand to our fellow citizens within our communities.

A selfless act is very rewarding. It is not a monetary reward that I'm talking about; it is the intrinsic

value and this feeling of immense happiness, contentment and satisfaction that you feel once you

brighten up someone's day without expecting anything in return.

So what can we possibly do to put a smile on somebody's face?

1. You see someone who is tired or struggling; go up and see what they need done. Sometimes, people are too tired to go about their daily chores. Even walking might become a tiresome activity. Help them as often as possible. 2. Donate food or money to charity 3. Leave an anonymous gift for someone. You don't need a thank you to know you did a good deed. Visit your relatives and distribute gifts; this will strengthen kinship bonds and affinities. 4. Cook a meal for a neighbor in need and send it to their house. Or invite your neighbors to Iftar or Ramadan dinner (in Qatari culture it is referred to as Ghabga). 5. Organize a small and simply charity event. It doesn't have to be fancy. Donate proceeds to the closest charity home to you. Your acts shouldn't necessarily be time consuming that it becomes a burden. It should rather stem from the bottom of your soul and you should enjoy every minute of it. Ramadan is particularly characterized by being surrounded by people all the time and doing almost everything to-gether so why don't you take this opportunity to show your kindness and your commitment to your role to help others. It is always the little things that matter the most!

Khalid Al-Thani

Project Manager

Oil & Gas

Doing the good deeds!

In

We’re back again with the 21st season of our long-standing NBK Ramadan Tennis Tournament. The tennis Tournament its organ-ized every year at the beginning of Ramadan featuring Men’s Sin-gles and Doubles, Veterans’ sin-gles and Doubles competitions and for the third year in a row; Boys and Girls, Singles and Dou-bles. The initiative to include the junior categories comes as a part of a strategy of NBK to support the players of the Qatar National Team. The event will be held at the courts of the Sheraton Hotel and the Khalifa International Ten-nis and Squash Complex.

NBK IN THE NEWS

21st NBK RAMADAN T O U R N A M E N T STARTS ON MONDAY AT THE SHERATON HOTEL

NBK sponsored the GCC Karate Championship event which was held on July 16 and 17. It is the 12

th GCC –

karate championship and the first time for NBK to sponsor such event.

NBK ‘S RAMADAN GOODWILL GESTURE OF COMMUNITY-SERVING DONATION WITH QATAR CHARITY TO HELP 1200 PEOPLE IN NEED IN DOHA

The annual NBK Ramadan Goodwill Drive was launched with a generous donation to Qatar Charity with whom NBK have been a regular partner for many years. This year’s donation will help to support at least 1200 people during the holy month of Ramadan. Thus NBK continues its tradi-tion to promote and support local initiatives aiming at strengthening and infusing healthy moral, religious and societal values amongst Qatar’s generations during Ramadan. The 2010 NBK Ramadan Goodwill Drive will mean that each member of families in need will be free of worries during the whole month of Ramadan as NBK’s donation will ensure that they will be able to buy groceries or Iftar all month with their to-kens.

With its humanitarian aspect, the NBK Ramadan Goodwill Drive is a key pillar of the NBK CSR principles and comprises numerous community-serving initiatives poised to spread the philanthropic outreach of the organization to the less privi-leged during the holy month. It also aims to engage the public from various walks of life in magnanimous and entertaining activities with the objective to instill feelings of solidarity, al-truism and high morals across generations.

NBK DEMONSTARTES ONCE MORE ITS COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT SPORTS TALENT IN QATAR

NBK IN THE NEWS

Continuing with their long held tradition of automobile excel-lence, Qatar Automobiles Company (QAC) has an-nounced its latest innovative Ramadan promotion in coop-eration with Doha Bank. QAC, the exclusive dealer of Mitsubi-shi Motors and FUSO in Qatar, introduced the ground-breaking promotion according to which the company’s cus-tomers can expect wide rang-ing benefits, including free reg-istration and first year insur-ance, as well as three years free roadside assistance and easy finance solutions with Doha Bank.

In another innovative move designed to generate the most appealing Ramadan promotion of the year with the luxurious Mercedes brand, NBKA has announced the launch of its offer of 2 years and 60.000 km Service package included, that qualifies each purchase for a chance to win a sparkling new Mercedes-Benz CLS. The promotion runs throughout the holly month of Ramadan and continues a strong legacy

NBKA Announces spectacular Mercedes Ramadan promotion

of customer-based incen-tives on the part of NBKA. The free service package as well as the opportunity to win the latest Mer-cedes CLS model puts the company at the fore-front of automobile offer-ings this Ramadan, and is also valid on Mercedes-Benz Proven Exclusivity (used) vehicles.

QAC teams up with Doha Bank for top Ramadan promotion

Both existing and future Mit-subishi customers can benefit from the innovative offer developed by QAC in cooperation with Doha Bank, with free service packages and a 3.89 % in-terest rate amongst the other incentives for those with a minimum of QR 5,000 salary. Furthermore, all those taking up the offer en-ter with a chance to win a luxurious free trip to Dubai.

In The Spotlight

Born on 1968 of Egyptian origins, a father of 2boys, ages 6 and 2 ½, Khaled is our immigra-tion guru! Turning up with visas, exit permits and all sorts of Government paperwork designed to make our lives easier, Khaled spent most of his career as Expeditor or handling Immigration.

Tell us a bit about yourself? I’m very quiet by nature which has helped me become a strong decision-maker. The nature of my job necessitates a lot of patience and a lot of interpersonal skills. How long do you stay in Qatar? It’s been a decade and a half for me in Qatar! I know it’s a long time and I love it. I love the country, I love its traditions and its culture and I feel very much at home. It’s cozy, calm yet de-veloping at a pace that is dazzling the world while maintaining a strong grasp of its rich heri-tage. How did you start your career at NBK? Prior to joining NBK in 2005, I held the position of Immigration Supervisor at K-Span company. So when I moved to NBK, it was not really much

difficult for me. Although I was handling all immi-gration related work and processes. I was solely leading a one-man show at the job until more colleagues came on board growing the team to include 8 Immigration executives. Working there has helped boost my skills, experience and ex-pertise and build a strong network of connec-tions wherever I go! How do you deal with gov’t? It’s important to build relationships, connections and acquaintances and key ones which will help pave the way for faster transactions. Typical day at work? I usually leave home earlier at around 6.30 am and head directly to the Immigration offices or the Ministry of Labor depending on the job to be accomplished. I later go back to the NBK office to sort out all pending paperwork on time. What’s that one thing that your colleagues don’t know about you? I’m a great secret keeper! Any last message to the team? Always be patient!

NBK Insider talks to Khaled Dahab, NBK’s Immigration Supervisor, during a small chat with him for less than 10minutes!

I need a

VISA!

Up close and Personal with

KHALED DAHAB

NBK Environment

INFORMATION

SYSTEM

DEPARTMENT

Under the keen eye of Houssam Hindawi, Acting IS Manager, our IS department has thrived to become a leading operation within the NBK business. IS' track record most illustrious mile-stones is the introduction of the SAP systems. In 2006, NBK IS department introduced the SAP systems as a premium management solution for finance and HR. In 2007, Dealer Business Management (DBM) was first implemented for Harley-Davidson followed by Kawasaki, Heavy Equipment, Mitsubishi, Bosch, Zeibart and Smart Repairs. SAP’s outreach stretched to include all of the NBK subsidiaries with softwares that cater to the various needs and requirements of every department. For instance, Orion is used at Michelin and NIC, SAP is effective at NBK HQ and subsidiaries, RMS takes care of NBK Fashion, Maitre D reigns at Prime Food and Autoline boosts Mercedes-Benz operations. In 2009, Doha Petrol Station implemented the Gilbarco systems.

L-R : Nixon, Chona, Houssam Hindawi (Acting IS Manager), Anne and Mohammed

Those IS systems proved to effectively and efficiently support end-users with the software via emails and phone, helps implement new developments and pro-vides training programmes. The systems allowed for a more organized structure where all transactions are recorded and documented and paper work reduced. End-users were encouraged to continuously revert back to the SAP systems in order to increase their adequacy of using the software.

THE SOFTWARES SAP: Is a German software development and consulting corporation, which provides enterprise software applica-tions and support to businesses of all sizes globally. Four of SAP modules are adapted in NBK and they are: - Dealer Business Management (DBM): it supports the industry-specific sales and services processes of dealers and dealer organizations, as well as vehicle importers, authorized dealers, and OEM vendors - Finance and Controlling (FI/CO): used by the accounts department in performing and managing NBK's accounting and financing, as well as monitoring the operations of their business - Human Resources (HR): it optimize the HR processes to attract, develop and attain the right people in em-ployment history, payroll, and career management - Customer Relationship Management (CRM): used to identify and target the best customers, manage mar-keting campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team in an enterprise Kerridge Autoline Dealer Management System (DMS): It is a total, complete system designed for the automotive industry. It has got the ability to centralize stock management and invoicing in all areas, and it includes an accounting system along with detailed financial re-porting. It is a total and complete package for motor vehicle dealership franchises Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS): It offers small and mid-market retailers a complete point of sale (POS) solution that can be adapted to meet unique retail requirements. This powerful software package automates POS processes and store operations, provides centralized control for multi-store retailers Posera Maitre’D: It serves restaurant businesses with powerful, yet easy to use solutions that integrate POS, Back-Office, and Corporate functions into one flexible business system Gilbarco Veeder-Root (GVR): Is the leading provider of equipment, systems and services for c-store and commercial/fleet operators world-wide. It’s the industry’s only total solution provider with fuel and retail systems supported by the same service network

Our IS department has made significant strides in its efforts to improve IS management solutions. This year, IS had made the following moves: ♦ Hired new employee, Anne Yenko specialized for training in SAP ♦ Launched the SAP CRM model for Qatalum and heavy Equipment Rental business ♦ In process of launching the SAP Project System for Tools and Garage ♦ Move Biomedical from Orion To SAP

Aiming to unify software us-age through SAP across NBK, the IS is still planning to implement the SAP Busi-ness Object and SAP CRM for Marketing & Call Centres – and SAP Solution Man-ager which combines tools, content, and direct access to SAP to increase the reli-ability of solutions and lower total cost of ownership.

Fasting is complete abstinence from food and drink between dawn and dusk. All those ill or frail, pregnant and menstruating women, breast feeding mothers and travelers are exempted. They are re-quired to make the number of days missed at a later date or give a fixed sum in charity.

Health is the key to happiness and what we consume directly affects our health. Islam encourages Muslims to ensure that they are mindful of their health. The blessed Prophet said: “Take ad-vantage of the good health before illnesses afflict you”. He also en-courage Muslims to try their best to take up healthy living lifestyle that includes a balance diet, regu-lar mental and physical exercise and a balance between material and spiritual needs. The month of Ramadan is a great opportunity to focus on bringing back a balanced and healthy life-style in your life. Through fasting you begin to learn how to manage your eating habits, how to improve self-control and discipline. This month requires you to give the stomach a break and by doing so you are able to break down and expel the accumulated toxins from your body.

The Physiological Changes that Occur during a Fast For many people the key question regarding fasting is whether it is good or bad for your health. The answer to this requires a quick overview of what happens inside

the body during fasting: the physi-ology of fasting. The changes that occur in the body in response to fasting depend on the length of the continuous fast. Technically the body enters into a fasting state eight hours or so after the last meal, when the gut finishes ab-sorption of nutrients from the food. In the normal state, body glucose, which is stored in the liver and muscles, is the body’s main source of energy. During a fast, this store of glucose is used up first to provide energy. Later in the fast, once the stores of glu-cose ruin out, fat becomes the next store source of energy for the body. As the Ramadan fast only extends from dawn till dusk, there is ample

opportu-nity to re-plenish energy stores at pre-dawn and dusk meals. This pro-vides a progres-sive gen-

tle transition from using glucose to fat as the main source of energy and prevents the breakdown of muscle for protein. The use of fat

for energy aids weight loss, pre-serving the muscles and in the long run reduces your cholesterol levels. In addition weight loss re-sults in better control of diabetes and reduces blood pressure. A detoxification process also seems to occur, as any toxins stored in the body’s fat are dissolved and removed from the body. After a few days of the fast, higher levels of certain hormones appear in the blood (endorphins), resulting in a better level of alertness and an overall feeling of general mental well-being. Balanced food and fluid intake is important between fasts. The kidney is very efficient at maintaining the body’s water and salts, such as sodium and po-tassium. However, these can be lost through sweating, to prevent muscle break down, meals must contain adequate levels of “energy food” such as carbohydrates and some fat. Hence, a balanced diet with adequate quantities of nutri-ents, salts and water is vital.

Special Report

AMADAN

Spirituality and Food Food has a great significance in Islam. It is associ-ated with one’s relationship with God. The physical body is a gift from God; it is given to humans as an amanah (trust) to take care of for fixed period. How much food is consumed and the choice of food has a direct impact on the physical and spiritual well-being of the person. The food that you consume affects your behavior and personality. Wholesome, natural and healthy food assists the development of a good personality. Over-eating has been frowned upon in Islam as it is thought to increase worldly appetites and cause sluggishness, thereby “dulling” the soul, hampering spiritual growth and increase physical ail-ments. Islam sees health and “well-being” as much more than just bodily health: well-being or tranquility re-quires a strong relationship with one’s spirituality , good physical health, mental happiness, a sense of purpose and good character and relationships. Is-lam makes a strong connection between food and worship and teaches that all forms of worship have a deeper purpose and impact and contribute in some-way to individual and social well-being.

What could you gain from fasting? Fasting is not only physical but also a spiritual exercise that has many lasting benefits: 1. Heightened consciousness of God Fasting helps you to become less preoccupied with bodily appetites , and enables the heart and mind to become free to reflect over deeper spiritual matters such as your relationship with God and with fellow human beings. It enables a person to develop sustained consciousness of God – “Taqwa”. 2. Healthy living lifestyle A fasting person learns to restrain and only responds to hunger and thirst in the heightened level of consciousness and discipline. Through fasting a person begins to appreciate the value of food. 3. Compassion and Charity When fasting, you should think of those in need who may be fasting but have no food at the start or the end of their fast. 4. Community Spirit Community spirit is promoted as people start fasting at the same time and break their fast at the same time, the yreflect together through longer prayer and deeper devotions. It is greatly encour-aged that families invite each other to break their fast together. 5. Fast without the spirit is empty of blessing Abstentaion for long hours can be very hard physically and spiritually. However, by the end of the long month you should feel cleansed and with a renewed spirit. Ramadan is an ideal time to break habits, to reflect on personality and to improve your character.

NBK STREET

How do you spend your time during Ramadan?

MAY Sheqem, NBN Holding

Cooking!

MOHAMED Al-Kerdi, NBK Auto

As a Mercedes-Benz Sales consultant, my working hours are not as soft and lenient as others. I wake up in the morning at 8, get ready and move to work which starts at 9 till 12. After that, I depart from work back home to relax little bit and have a small nap. I wake mainly at 5 and start preparing for Eftar. I don’t eat from outside in Ramadan; in other words, I cook my own food. I have my Eftar , sit little bit and after that have to go back to work at 8 till 12 at midnight. Really impressive huh… You can’t ask for a better day to spend.

FAZEEM Mohamed, Projects

Promotion

As a Muslim I refrain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset, which is intended to teach about pa-tience, humility, and spirituality. Observing Ramadan fasting for the

first time out of my country, it is a fulfilling experi-ence for me this year in Doha. On the first day of Ramadan I was surprised to see a complete different picture of Doha. The streets de-serted, departmental shops and malls which always remain full with activities were closed during the day, commercial activities were held in irregular hours. But after dusk, all of a sudden the country hustles and bustles with activities. I was surprised of this as my experience back in Sri Lanka is different. One of the most remarkable occasion at this year’s Ramadan was attending a lecture by Dr Zakir Naik, a Muslim public speaker, apologist and writer on the subject of Islam and other comparative religion.

MOHAMMAD Zahrei, IS Department

There is no other month I love the most than this holy peaceful month, Ramadan has its own theme that you can feel and experience around you when you are walking down the street, meeting friends after breaking fast, or while watching TV. The shorten working hours give me a chance to do more. Right after work, running errands is something

essential to prepare a delightful evening meal where my family and I get to share over a rounded dining table around 6:15 PM. The joy of breaking fast, exchanging daily stories and jokes is something I look for everyday. A chill out time is in order to digest before hitting the gym and stretch my muscles. My night ends hanging out with friends at the old souq, walking around, having coffee or grabbing a bite. Spending most of the time with my family and friends is something I value and get to do more often during this month. Wish every month of the year is Ramadan

NBK SENIOR EXECUTIVES RECOGNIZED REGIONALLY

Mr. Rod Thomason, Group Used Car Manager, was appointed offi-cially by DMEL - the Used Car Appraisal Trainer across the Middle East. He has already trained successfully the DMEL Management in Abu Dhabi, as well as the Sales Team in Bahrain“Al Hadad Motors”. DMEL management expressed their gratitude for the appraisal train-ing workshop done by Mr. Thomason, and sent a thank you letter to NBKA management.

EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

Nancy Moussa Rana Aref

Efren Villaber Koyez Azirrudin

Mahmoud Al-Chorbaji Mutaz Dwedari

**Hisham Hanna, FUSO Sales Manager and Yann Lassade, QAC’s General Manager

**

Get Inspired

Life is filled with lots of fun. It comes with it s share of struggles as well. Problems are an integral par t of our lives. Problems are not bad always. Problems reshuffle our usual thought patterns and revamp our approach by getting us to think creatively so that we get to some resourceful results. Problems come in many forms: career, habits, destructive thought patterns etc., and not in a few cases they take the form of humans. You can meet such kinds of people anywhere... in our workplace, family, in traffic, the shopping mall or any other place of our interaction. And this one aspect, small as it seems to be, constitutes a noteworthy part of problems that we face. Now, if we happen to be in association with such people, we have to take up a responsible role - 'Solution Suppli-ers'. Are we ready for the role, tough as it is or seems to be? We should not cringe and back away but take a resolute stance in dealing with them and provide amicable solutions.

When a problem creator brings up an insignificant issue there are many ways of tackling it (each way is unique and

Are You A Solution Supplier? suiting certain kinds of problems, so prudence has to be exercised in choosing the way that will suit one's problem). A few of them are: 1. Laughing it off. Make constructive fun out of the situa-tion, laugh out loud and avoid the ill effects. Somebody said wittily - "Laugh at your problems; everybody else does". It, sure works!

2. Zipping our mouth.We have to be very careful in using our words in such situations. We can't afford to pour gaso-line over the already burning, unneeded problems by wrong words. At times even silence does reward you.

3.Taking a brisk walk.Taking a brisk walk would help us

handle many issues better as walking helps to drain the blood away from the emotional centers in the brain thus aiding us to think without becoming panicky.

4. A friend in need.A call to an old friend would for some time take us away into a world of good-old memories and fun, thus getting us rejuvenated and pragmatic.

5.Get creative.Take a book and retire (may be scriptural, novel, anything that touches the soul and heart). Maybe it's time you tune your guitar again or start your strokes on the canvas or do anything you are creative at.

6.Self analysis.If we analyze and find ourselves to be among the Problem creators, we need not sit and whine. We need not feel inferior either. We just need to develop patience (meditation, music and exercise help).

7.Self affirmation.This helps people in both the groups. Talking positively to ourselves will increase our self esteem and confidence thereby resulting in a total change of our approach and personality.

8.Never nurture the nemesis.Another suggestion that has been passed on for centuries. Never crumble down before problem creators, for in doing so we essentially give their activities power over us, which encourages them. We have to make it known to them at every point in polite and ac-ceptable ways that it is time they stop their activities and that we are not going to be affected by them anymore. 9. Giving up is not an option.Solutions come to those who keep working on their problems. We must also remem-ber that solutions don't just come in a day or two. Maybe it can take weeks, months or even longer. Let us remember what Albert Einstein said "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer".

Life In Motion

“Just one of those days ….when we stop counting and start dreaming”- Accounts Team

Congratulations to our Winners!

Mr. Abed Mawass, Acting PR Manager, handing the gift check to Mr. John Jacob for winning in the July Trivia Question.

All photos are taken by Abdulrahman Hassanein of Human Resources Department

Accounts team bagged the prize of Qr500 gift check voucher from SILVER CAFÉ in last month’s theme of Life in Motion