Purpose It is believed that the core aim of Islamic institution is idiosyncratic from conventional business entities. Considering this presumption, this study aims to reveal the understandings of various stakeholders about objectives of Islamic banks. Design/methodology/approach The research endeavor is based on the findings of two distinctive studies, where Study 1 was aimed at investigating the communication of objectives through mission statements of Islamic banks and conventional banks with window operations. Here, mission statements were analyzed using content analysis and readability and understandability tests. Study 2, on the other hand, was aimed at investigating the understandings of various stakeholders, both internal (employees) and external (Muslim and non-Muslim customers of both Islamic and conventional banks, employees and management of conventional banks and business students). In total, 370 responses were received and analyzed in this study. Findings The findings (Study 1) unveil, the fact, that the mission statements of Islamic banks working in Pakistan are not good at communicating the corporate goals clearly. Out of ten banks investigated for Study 1, it is evident that only one bank (HBL, with window operations) was at par with readability threshold standards. Thus, it was imperative to share that mission statements of Islamic banks are difficult to read and comprehend. Study 2 adds further by revealing that most of the stakeholders are not clear about the objectives of these banks, while customers of conventional banks do not value the distinctive objectives of Islamic banks. Research limitations/implications This study leaves a valuable message for the policy makers and top management of Islamic banks by focusing on the unattended part on their end, i.e. quality of mission statements and stakeholders’ perception about the objectives of their organization, thus highlighting the needs of greater emphasis on the communication flow to stakeholders, as the clarity of business purpose may change the way customers react toward the business and opt for banking – customer relation in future. Originality/value This study covers a multi-dimensional investigation of the understanding and communication of objectives of Islamic banks. There is dearth of literature focusing on the aspects of content analysis, mission statement readability and understandability and investigation of stakeholders’ perception in tandem.

Ethical leadership in the field of organizational behavior and management has emerged as a significant area of interest in the recent leadership literature. There are, however, few studies that empirically examine the impact of ethical leadership through mediation processes on organizational engagement and citizenship actions. We have built a conceptual model to check whether ethical leadership effects the organizational citizenship behaviour and commitment of organizational citizenship through the mediation of intrinsic motivation. For data collection, sample size of 340 was determined through item response theory. Data was collected through self-administrated questionnaire from different commercial banks located in geographical premises of Lahore, Pakistan. SPSS and AMOS software were used to carry out the analysis, structural equation modeling technique was applied to test the direct and indirect relationships. The results indicated that ethical leadership has a positive effect on the association of organizational commitment and citizenship behaviour within organizations. In fact, intrinsic motivation mediates between the relationship of ethical leadership and the conduct of organizational citizenship. Nevertheless, results also show that in the banking sector there is no mediating effect of intrinsic motivation between ethical leadership and organizational citizenship behaviour. Limitations have been discussed, as have future guidelines.

Purpose- This study was aimed to throw light on the appraisal and reward system, and its effects on job satisfaction and employee performance in the banking sector of Pakistan.  Design/Methodology-  The research was based on primary data collected from the two major cities of Pakistan, Lahore and Kasur. A total of 250 structured questionnaires were rotated to Islamic and conventional banks in different parts of both cities. Out of these 222 questionnaires were returned and were in usable form. The data so collected was analyzed with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). statistical techniques such as regression analysis, correlation analysis, descriptive analysis and t-test were used.  Findings- The results of the study revealed that appraisal was negatively correlated while the reward system was positively correlated to employee performance.  Practical implications- This research will help banks in reviewing their policies to make optimum use of their employees to meet certain goals of the bank. This research reveals that the appraisal system of the bank is affecting negatively on employees performance. This study will help in developing criteria which will help managers to appraise the employees in an effective way.

Purpose- Life satisfaction is a level in which feelings of people are affected positively or negatively about their lives. Employees whose lives are more satisfied are generally more committed with their works, reveal low absenteeism and more efficient in doing duties. This study aims to investigate what factors affect life satisfaction of employees in the banking sector specifically in the Pakistani context.  Design/Methodology- The target population of this study was non-managerial employees of banks in Lahore.  Total 340 questionnaires were distributed among employees in which 60 were filled incomplete and 30 were lost. The data were collected through self-administered questionnaires distributed to 250 respondents.  Findings- The findings of structural equation modeling showed that economic hardship, prospective anxiety, and work stress has a negative impact on life satisfaction. Results also show that economic hardship and prospective anxiety has a positive impact on the financial threat. The financial threat is negatively related to life satisfaction.  Practical Implications- It can also help managers to understand the insight of employee adverse financial decision making. Managers also make guidelines which may minimize all the consequences of psychological distress. It also helps in identifying methods to reduce anxiety, stress and economic hardship.