Why is workforce diversity both a challenge as well as opportunity to Nepali organizations? Support your answers with suitable evidences (in your own experiences, if possible).

Workplace diversity is a reality. Every organization deals with diversity across age groups, skillset, gender, race and nationality. Depending on where you are in the world, you may see more or less of one or the other. The reality that organizations face is how to create environments, encourage managers and individuals to work together effectively with awareness and respect of each other's backgrounds. Workplace diversity isn't an opportunity or a challenge, it is the reality of the world we live in. Organizations that recognize this and develop understanding and supportive environments where diversity isn't a buzzword will thrive as people work effectively together. Organizations that don't will suffer as they try to understand how to solve the challenges of workplace diversity. I'll get down from my philosophical soap box now. Workforce diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. Diversity incorporates race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits.

                                   

Individuals from diverse backgrounds can offer a selection of different talents, skills and experiences that may be of benefit to the organization and their work performance. Though some crossover of skills can be beneficial when it comes to assisting each other, it’s important to hire people with the appropriate skills to fit each of the roles within the organization. A variety of skills and experiences among the team also means that employees can learn from each other. By working along with people of different backgrounds, experiences and working styles, creative concepts can be born whereas one person may be great at generating new ideas, out of the box ideas, another individual may have the necessary experience to execute it; so it is essential to play on each individual’s strengths and collaborate with others in the team.

An organization who holds diversity will attract a wider range of employees. A diversified group of employees consists higher chance of an exceptional candidate. It can also help with employee retention, as people want to work in an environment who are accepting of all backgrounds and promote equality. Employees are more likely to feel comfortable and happy in an environment where inclusivity is a priority. Equality in the workplace is important for encouraging employees from all backgrounds to feel confident in their ability and achieve their best. The higher the team morale, the more productive employees are.

Nepal is a highly diverse country with over 125 different caste and ethnic groups the last national census which recognized separate social groups within the population of 26.6 million people; that is wealth of human diversity. Yet step into any government office or large private company in Kathmandu, and the chances are high that the person sitting behind the desk is a man originating from the hills and belonging to one of three groups: Brahmin, Chhetri, or Newar – the “privileged group”. If there are any staff in the building who belong to the so-called low caste Dalits, they will probably be employed in the most menial positions – especially if they are women. The social structure of the typical office reflects deeply entrenched hierarchies that, though shaken by Nepal’s 11 year civil conflict, are still alive today. Promoting a workforce that is representative of Nepal’s social diversity is seen by many as an essential part of breaking down social inequalities. It is not difficult to see the moral and democratic argument for this. The counter-argument runs that men of the “privileged group” are invariably the most talented and experienced individuals, so why not employ the best? It is added that it will take years of education and training to bring others – including women – to a similar level. There is some truth in this, given the biased opportunities that have prevailed. Yet as any human resource management specialist will point out, there is plenty of evidence to show that a diverse workforce is more innovative, creative and productive than a broadly homogeneous one.

The state bureaucracy comprising civil service and security organs is arguably the single largest employer, offering permanent and secure jobs to over 279,00028 individuals. Women make up now around 20 per cent of the total civil service workforce of about 83,000 employees. The security organs of the state  Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepal Army – have 5.7 per cent, 4.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent women in their workforces respectively. Being employed in the bureaucracy means a lot, and more so in the context of Nepal where the private sector is small. Relative to private sectors, employment in the bureaucracy is highly secure and offers more than jobs and salaries. Non-materials benefits are not less significant. Government jobs have long been considered prestigious, and those holding such jobs exercise a great deal of decision-making power in mobilizing state resources and opportunities. More women being responsible for policy making and budget can facilitate more gender sensitive allocations of resources. They being responsible for decision making level can also support for women’s needs and concerns to be addressed within inclusive growth framework of a country. More women at the policy making level is critical for motivating women professionals to enter and work in the bureaucracy. Given this, to promote inclusive policy processes and gender-inclusive state services, women’s representation in the bureaucracy, the state’s permanent institution, is crucial.

Various development partners have institutional mandates to promote gender equality, social inclusion and workforce diversity. They have committed to workforce diversity and inclusion by agreeing on the Basic Operating Guidelines (BOGs). Some agencies (e.g. UN WOMEN, SDC, and USAID) have a specific written policy reflecting affirmative action in the recruitment processes. For instance, through the workforce diversity policy, SDC and its projects recruit people from diverse social backgrounds. It considers gender, caste, ethnicity and region as important criteria in the recruitment process and accords high priority for women from marginalized groups. SDC Nepal follows a targeting approach both in workforce and programmes /projects beneficiaries stating that at least 50 per cent of total beneficiaries should be women. Results are impressive – women make up over 47 per cent workforce of SDC in 2016. Dalits, marginalized ethnic groups and advantaged caste/ethnic groups make up 12, 33 and 56 per cent of the SDC workforce respectively.

However, there are some challenges for women to gain employment in the civil service and nongovernment sector, including private sectors. As discussed earlier, women highly under-represent in public, development partners and INGOs workforce, despite the GoN’s reservation policy and some development partners’ and INGOs’ workforce diversity policy. First, despite the fact that some development partners and INGOs introduced various tools and guidelines for promoting gender equality and social inclusion in Nepal, many of them yet to embrace workforce diversity policy in the first place. And, the commitment to GESI of even those which are applying affirmative action policies is limited as many of them are yet to explicitly set targets for improving women’s representation in the workforce. In this regard, the GoN seems rather progressive which has recently proposed 50 per cent of the reservation seats in civil service jobs for women. An organization can be only diverse and inclusive when it formalizes and implements a policy that supports workforce diversity and women’s inclusion at all levels organizational hierarchy.  Second, men and people from already privileged social groups over-represent in the public and development agencies in general and in senior management level positions in particular. In such a situation, the political commitment in the leadership position is critical to develop and implement workforce diversity and affirmative action policy . Third, while there has been public awareness on the need to promote gender and social inclusion in programming and institutional arrangements, policy makers and decision makers still have concerns over the implications of affirmative action in the public, private and development agencies sectors. This is in part linked to a gap in knowledge and policy understandings about the implications of affirmative action policy on inclusive and sustainable development and policy making.

Workforce Diversity: As an opportunity for Nepal

Workplace diversity is the issue of people, focus on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization. We are live in an increasingly multicultural society. It is a melting pot or a stew. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the work place. Similar to globalization, diversity and social issues have had a dramatic effect on the study and application of management and organizational behavior. In the past, diversity was treated as a legal issue; that is for well over 45 years it has been directly against the law to discriminate against any one, on any basis. Now organizations are becoming to realize that diversity is not just something to deal with, but instead a reality to build onto make a stronger more competitive enterprise.

Workers with diverse cultural backgrounds bring unique experiences and perceptions to the table. Pooling this wealth of knowledge and skills can benefit organizations by allowing the organization to adapt quicker to changing market conditions. A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a larger pool of ideas and innovative solutions.

Job seekers are drawn to organizations with diverse workforces because it is evident that the companies do not practice employment discrimination. Potential employees want to know that employers treat their staff fairly. Not only are such firms able to attract new talent but they can also retain existing talent because of high employee morale resulting from workforce diversity.

A diverse collection of skills e.g. language and cultural understanding allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis.

Spending time with culturally diverse co-workers can slowly break down the subconscious barriers of ethnocentrism and xenophobia.

Workforce diversity strengthen cultural value within the organization, enhances corporate reputation, helps to attract/retain highly talented people, improves motivation and efficiency/creativity of existing employees and enhance consumer satisfactions.

Workforce diversity: As Challenge for Nepal

Effective communication can be a challenge between employees of diverse cultures, which can directly reduce productivity and the cohesiveness of small groups. Social integration at work can only be influenced to a small degree. The formation of cliques and exclusive social groups is a natural process that is impossible to control. There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The “we’ve always done it this way” mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress.

As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce becomes increasingly diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness will depend on the ability to manage diversity in the workplace effectively.

The last national census of Nepal recognized 125 separate social groups within the population of 26.6 million people; that is wealth of human diversity. Yet step into any government office or large private company in Kathmandu, and the chances are high that the person sitting behind the desk is a man originating from the hills and belonging to one of three groups: Brahmin, Chhetri, or Newar – the “privileged group”. If there are any staff in the building who belong to the so-called low caste Dalits, they will probably be employed in the most menial positions – especially if they are women.

The social structure of the typical office reflects deeply entrenched hierarchies that, though shaken by Nepal’s 10 year civil conflict, are still alive today. Promoting a workforce that is representative of Nepal’s social diversity is seen by many as an essential part of breaking down social inequalities. It is not difficult to see the moral and democratic argument for this. The counter-argument runs that men of the “privileged group” are invariably the most talented and experienced individuals, so why not employ the best? It is added that it will take years of education and training to bring others – including women – to a similar level. There is some truth in this, given the biased opportunities that have prevailed. Yet as any human resource management specialist will point out, there is plenty of evidence to show that a diverse workforce is more innovative, creative and productive than a broadly homogeneous one.

The senior leaders indicated that they would love to have many training programs for their employees but there is limited funding for training programs. In addition, the senior leaders pointed out that it is beneficial for employees to be culturally aware and knowledgeable in communicating sensitive information about co-workers or the youths served. In other words, appropriateness of communication and confidentiality is very important to this organization. For example, employees need to exercise confidentiality when dealing with specific communication about ongoing projects and the contents of e-mails. The senior leaders also acknowledged that they as leaders need to play a key role in making a workplace training program a success. The senior leaders said that leaders should be good.

How can OB help you in your organization as well as personal life? Current organizations have started posing human capital as a competitive advantage. Why should an organization give this a consideration?

Organizational behavior (OB) is defined as the systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organizations where they work, it refers to the study of individual, group performance, and activity within an organization, which specifically deals with how people and groups behave in organizations.

Organizational behavior shows the important key points as Regulatory, and Radical. Basically, Regulatory helps to draw what goes on in organizations, possibly to present minor changes that might improve them, but not to make any basic judgment about whether what happens is correct or incorrect. Radical tends to make judgments about the way that organizations ought to be and provide recommendations on how this could be accomplished. Traditional organization used to practice Regulatory while new modern organization tends to act Radical. To well organize in budget controlling, new modern organization in today doesn't willing to give a long time for bank credit card's salesperson to hit their sales target. New modern organizations urge to get the results from salesperson whereas the salesperson should hit their monthly sales on time and accurately, if the salesperson failed to hit the target continuously in few months, employers reserved the rights to terminate the employee. Conversely, traditional organizations used to act Regulatory whereas Hire and Fire policy will never be the options for a traditional organization to behave. Employers are patient enough and they're willing to spend times to educate, guide, and monitor an employee's performance.

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study of human behavior at organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself. Organizational Behavior researchers study the behavior of individuals primarily in their organizational roles. Organizational Behavior has included two terms in it. Therefore, these two terms should be detailed first before diving into the title in question.

Organization is a group of people who are collected to work for a common goal with collective efforts. Organization works through two concepts i.e coordination and delegation among its group members. Delegation is necessary to allocate group members with equal work according to their capability, and coordination is required to achieve organizational goal with precision.

Behavior  is a verbal or physical response shown by a person as a consequence of the impact of his/her surroundings. Individual Behavior varies in accordance with their mental reactivity to particular circumstances because of their deeply imbibed morals and value system.

Organizational Behavior is the observation of individual and/or group Behavior in response to the other individuals or group as a whole. It studies Behavior of people or group to know their attitude towards particular circumstances.

Based on (Taylor, 1911: Fayol, 1949), the orthodox view in organization theory has been based predominantly on the metaphors of machine and organism. The metaphor of a machine underwrites the work of the classical management theorists. According to Figure 1, it draws the three concepts for understanding the nature and organization of social science, which is Paradigms, Metaphors, and Puzzle Solving. Metaphor plays an important role in organization behavior. Metaphor is frequently regarded as no more than a literary and descriptive device for embellishment, but more fundamentally is a creative form which generates its effect though a crossing of images.

Origin of Organizational Behavior can trace its roots back to Max Weber and earlier organizational studies. The Industrial Revolution is the period from approximately 1760 when new technologies resulted in the adoption of new manufacturing techniques, including increased mechanization. The industrial revolution led to significant social and cultural change, including new forms of organization. Analyzing these new organizational forms, sociologist Max Weber described bureaucracy as an ideal type of organization that rested on rational-legal principles and maximized technical efficiency .In the 1890’s; with the arrival of scientific management and Taylorism, Organizational Behavior Studies was forming it as an academic discipline. Failure of scientific management gave birth to the human relations movement which is characterized by a heavy emphasis on employee cooperation and morale.

Human Relations Movement from 1930’s to 1950’s contributed in shaping the Organizational Behavior studies.

Works of scholars like Elton Mayo, Chester Barnard, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, Frederick Herzberg, Abraham Mas low, David Mc Cellan and Victor Vroom contributed to the growth of Organizational Behaviour as a discipline.

Works of scholars like Elton Mayo, Chester Barnard, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, Frederick Herzberg, Abraham Maslow, David Mc Cellan and Victor Vroom contributed to the growth of Organizational Behaviour as a discipline. Herbert Simon’s Administrative Behavior introduced a number of important concepts to the study of organizational behavior, most notably decision making. Simon along with Chester Barnard; argued that people make decisions differently in organizations than outside of them. Simon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on organizational decision making. In the 1960s and 1970s, the field became more quantitative and produced such ideas as the informal organization, and resource dependence. Contingency theory, institutional theory, and organizational ecology also enraged.

Starting in the 1980s, cultural explanations of organizations and organizational change became areas of study. Informed by anthropology, psychology, and sociology, qualitative research became more acceptable in OB.

The behavior of the customer helps the organization to decide what products and services to be offered. When an organization builds a strong connection with the customer, an organization will get an idea about the customer needs. With the help of OB we can understand the behavior of customers. OB helps employee as well as customer reviews on a regular basis to discuss the improvements. With the better knowledge of OB, managers can use various organizational behavioral skills to better perform their duties and responsibilities. OB helps to managers to maintain a professional dignity between his staff and himself.  

Time Management helps the managers to establish department goals and determine the objectives to reach those goals on deadline. OB helps the manager on effective time management. There should be a regular communication between the managers and employees. Managers should have the learning skills in order to see career progression with the organization. Organizations are mix of people in terms of age, gender and race etc. Managers have to deal with the groups and the employees belongs to the different cultures. They have to exercise control and channelize the behavior in every direction. OB helps in better management as it helps in improving the skills. OB helps the management ensure that employees do everything to satisfy the customer needs.

When dealing with employees OB looks at the whole employee, their needs, financial compensation, skills, motivations, circumstances, training, home lives, quality of work-life balance, and so on. Likewise, when looking at an organization in a holistic manner OB will look at all aspects that may affect behavior within the organization.

The culture of an organization is essentially the collective personality of those who work there. The assumptions, values, norms, and practices will all cumulate to display a unified organizational character. Employees and organizations have come to realize that for people to be productive and effective on the job, they must have a balance between work life and personal life. More and more organizations have come to realize that workplace stress leads to low productivity. Numerous studies have been done which indicate that workplace stress leads to higher incidences of employee turnaround, mental and physical illness, high absenteeism, lack of creative thinking, low motivation, decreased job satisfaction, and even violence and substance abuse.

OB helps to recognize the negative effects of stress on the job. Some of these factors are directly related to personal issues that are unique to the employee; however, this is the exception rather than the rule. With the help of OB various programs and human resource interventions have been developed to help workers deal with stress before it becomes a serious issue. Organizational restructuring and rethinking management and culture styles has also given way for the improvement of stress on the job.

Some of the most talented and desirable employees will choose to work for an organization over another if the organization has taken into consideration the importance of family and personal lives of employees. These companies are more satisfying to work for as they tend to encourage whole person growth and job satisfaction. In fact many companies call these policies work-life balance programs as they can be applied to those with or without families.

With better understanding of OB, organization can achieve its goal in effective manner with the support of the human capital.

These days Human Capital is considered most important element of competitive advantage in organization. It is not just one of the organization’s intangible assets; it is basically all of the competencies of the people within an organization. These competencies are various skills, education, experience, potential and capacity. It is believed that if a company know how its human capital contributes to their success, it than can be measured and managed effectively.

The competitors of the firm always try to employ better peoples for the job, so firms should constantly evaluate the human factor. The ability to create unique team is the most cost effective way to create sustainable advantage. The strategic human resources management or the human capital is mean of gaining competitive advantage through one of the most important asset: its people.

These days Human Capital is considered most important element of competitive advantage in most of the organizations. In is just one of the organization's intangible assets; it is basically all of the competencies of the people within an organization. These competencies are various skills, education, and experience, potential and capacity. It is believed that if a company know how its human capital contributes to their success, it than can be measured and managed effectively. Developing human capital in the organization is the major challenge for the leaders for formulating future competitive strategies. “Dynamic and complex competitive landscape has created considerable uncertainty for firms, however conditions of uncertainty also present opportunities” (Hittet al 1998). “The competitors of the firm always try to employ better peoples for the job, so firms should constantly evaluate the human factor. (Eric D. brown 2007) he also concluded that the ability to create unique team is the most cost effective ways to create sustainable advantage”. The way in which the organizations manage its peoples can influence its performance (Peter & Watermann 1982). “The employee participation empowerment and job design, including team based production system, extensive employee training and performance contingent incentive are widely believed to improve the performance of organization” (Pfeffer 1994). “The strategic human resources management or the human capital is mean of gaining competitive advantage through one of the most important asset: its people” (Richard.W 2001). “The other sources of competitive advantage, like technology and physical resources are comparatively easier to emulate and transfer.

Therefore, the crucial differentiating factor between companies can be how human resources are developed and nurtured in particular organization” (Yazdani 2008).The human capital can become key source of competitive advantage, if it has worth, continue to be hard to emulate and is exceptional. “Human capital has long been argued as a critical resource in most companies and recent research suggest that human capital attributes like education, experience and skills and the effect of leadership affect the firms performance” (Hittet al 2001) “The human element has grown in importance because knowledge has become a critical ingredient to gain  competitive advantage, particularly in the new economy landscape” (Grant, 1996).

Survey after survey has found that executives believe finding and developing the right talent should be one of their top priorities, and that their company’s human capital is one of their most important assets. Yet few corporations are designed to operate in ways that recognize the importance of human capital. Most companies understand how to leverage financial capital, machinery and equipment, but when it comes to human capital, it is a very different story. Jobs are designed to follow a simplified, standardized approach to the execution of work processes, and individuals are controlled through well-defined hierarchical reporting relationships, budgets and close supervision. Rather than encouraging people to be important contributors, most of the systems in organizations are designed to control their behavior. If we really took human capital seriously, we’d run companies in a very different way. Yes, we would treat people well and say they are important, but we would do much more. We would design organizations so that people are a source of competitive advantage. Hiring some highly talented individuals won’t do it! Training programs won’t do it, either! Even being a best place to work won’t do it. Making human capital a source of competitive advantage requires much more than making some quick fixes to a control-focused organization. It requires attracting and retaining the right people as well as organizing and managing them effectively. Attracting and retaining the right people is not easy, but most organizations can get it done if they devote enough resources to it. Actually developing and employing organizational structures and operating systems that lead to an organization’s human capital being a source or the source of competitive advantage is another story. It requires the right managerial behaviors as well as the right design of most of an organization’s major operating systems in order to create a Human Capital centric (HC-centric) organization. What does a company that’s truly built to leverage its human capital look like? First, it has corporate board members armed with sufficient expertise and information to advise on human capital and organizational effectiveness issues. In fact, the board would regularly receive the kind of detailed information about the condition of the organization’s human capital as it does about its financial situation. Second, it would develop executives who practice shared leadership and are committed to developing leaders throughout their organization. Third, it would consider the human resources (HR) function its most important staff group. HR’s ranks would be filled with individuals who understand the business as well as know the intricacies of human capital management systems. Finally, it would have information systems that report accurately on the strategically important competencies and capabilities of the organization and of each employee.

This is a story about a lonely man who lives in this earth.
he was drinking beer with his seniors at the beaches of Bali and suddenly a beautiful snake pass by, his inner passion was to catch the snake and play with it and with a courage and he catch the snake. This beautiful snake was feeling restless and he lift the snake to the ground, It felt helpless and could not crawl because he put it in the sand. That time my friend he helped the Snake to reach to the water level.
Suddenly, he realize was that man catch the snake or a fish
another Arabian man came round and ask him are U a god ?
He feels like he is a god

While returning back from Bali he was at economy flight with a very pleasant Business Lounge dinner and grab some beer from the lounge .
On his next seat a beautiful Australian lady with her cute baby was traveling and he was trying to talk to be familiar and he started to tell his story  about snake catching.
She showed some old pic from her iPhone saying she had catch many venomous snakes in Australia before, she take it as minor thing

1. What kinds of certification shall a router device get before it is put into market in your country?

In our country,  Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) approves equipment based on a test reports and certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturers by NTA-approved international standardization bodies or regulatory inspection or certifying bodies. A router device needs to get type approved from  NTA, the authority will further verify the Suppliers’ Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) and related standards test reports. Local representative in Nepal will apply on behalf of the manufacturer to NTA requesting Type Approval on its products. If manufacturer is in Nepal then it does not have to have local representative to carry out type approval process. Only Type Approved equipment are allowed to be imported for those, which are specified. NTA or Authorized organization/lab can verify certifications anytime it wishes. NTA has provisions to get type approval of following devises: Low Power Devices (LPDs) or Short Range Devices (SRDs) WLAN - WiFi, Bluetooth, and other 802.11x standard devices having 4W (max. EIRP) & 1 Wi-Max. transmitter output power, Freq: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Bands.

2. Please introduce one certification system you familiar with. Also, introduce its advantages, operation mechanism and its effect.

In Nepal all the handset needs to get type approved before it gets to the market as per the provision of Clause (f) of Section 13 and Section 14 of the Telecommunications Act 2016 the Nepal telecommunications Authority determines and/or approves the standard and quality standard of the plant and equipment relating to the telecommunications and the telecommunications service. prior to import and/or sale of any types of radio telecommunication CPEs in Nepal., the concerned manufacturers/authorized agents/representatives have to get type approval certificate under the provision of type approval procedure defined by the Authority  Local representative in Nepal shall apply on behalf of the manufacturer requesting Type Approval on its. A manufacturer can directly apply to the Authority for Type Approval if it is a Nepali Company .Only Type Approved equipment are allowed to be imported for those, which are specified, mentioned  in section 7 under Equipment Identified for Type Approval. It is also noted that the Type Approval Certificate is not an import license and the separate Import/Usage license may be required to import/use the product as per rules of Government of Nepal, wherever applicable. The Authority or a person/s designated by the Authority shall have the right to verify certifications anytime.

To ensure that a mobile phone meets its required standards it has to undergo a variety of types of test. These are often categorized into different areas. In order to undertake these tests different test house may be required, the Type approval of Handsets consists of :.

§  Basic safety testing     This is a form of test that every piece of equipment, whether mobile phone or otherwise has to undergo to ensure that it is intrinsically safe to use and no injury will be inflicted for example from sharp edges, etc.

§  AR, Specific Absorption Rate     This test involves measuring the amount of radio frequency power that a human head will absorb when the cell phone is transmitting. The test uses an anatomically correct model of the human head. Inside the model temperature sensors are set up to measure the temperature rises to ensure that the heating effects caused by the cell phone fall below acceptable limits.

• Protocol testing     One of the major areas of cellular conformance testing is the protocol testing of the cell phone. With the complicated protocols used in mobile phones this is a critical area. If the phone protocol software operates incorrectly then it could result not only in problems experienced by the phone, but also on the network. In view of the complexity of the protocols that are used this testing can be very involved. Specialised network simulators are used. These testers emulate a variety of network entities, i.e. base stations or Node B's (in the case of UMTS), RNCs (Radio Network Controller and the like. In this way a host of scenarios from registration to handover, and in fact any situation that can be encountered can be simulated.

• RF testing     Conformance testing also includes testing of the RF signal. Many measurements of the transmitter and receiver performance are undertaken in a variety of areas such as the out of band emissions. Measurements of the Radio Resource Management (RRM) are undertaken to ensure that the control capability of the phone is operating correctly. There are for instance very tight limits on the control of the transmitter output power to ensure that the cell phone radiates only as much as is needed under any given conditions and noise in the phone bands is reduced to the minimum level. To achieve this testing a protocol tester is often used to control the phone and set up the relevant scenarios. In addition to this an RF measurement and generation equipment is required. This is often in the form of additional signal generators, power meters, analysers, noise generators, etc. To check operation of the phone with multi-path and fading, special fading simulators are required.
• SIM card testing     Another very important area of cellular conformance or interoperability testing is the operation of the SIM card, or in the case of UMTS the USIM. As SIMs are interchangeable between phones it is necessary to rigorously check the interface. It is also vital to check the security aspects of the operation of the SIM, as lapses in security could compromise elements of the network security. To undertake this testing a SIM simulator (or USIM simulator) is required. This simulator emulates the operation of the SIM, and tests on the phone can then be run using a protocol tester to set up the variety of scenarios that are needed.
• Audio tests     Finally audio checks of the cell phone are undertaken. These check the correct operation of the audio aspects of the cellular phone, both in terms of the microphone and the earphone. Checks of audio levels, quality and much more are measured using a variety of audio equipment to ensure they conform to the requirements laid down.

3. Please summarize the major key technologies developed by LTE and LTE-Advanced.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) will ensure the competitiveness of UMTS for the next ten years and beyond by providing a high-data rate, low-latency and packet-optimized system. Also known as E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access), LTE is part of 3GPP Release 8 specifications. LTE can be operated in either frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD) mode, also referred to as LTE FDD and TD-LTE. The main key technology aspects of LTE are:

• New, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) based multiple access schemes for both LTE FDD and TD-LTE
• Scalable bandwidth up to 20 MHz
• Support for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology
• New data and control channels
• New network and protocol architecture (two node, IP based)

LTE (3GPP Release 8) supports theoretical peak data rates of 300Mbps in downlink and 75Mbps in uplink direction. The first commercial network was launched in Sweden in December 2009 whereas meanwhile LTE has become the fastest growing mobile communication technology ever. Commercially available end user devices support max. 100Mbps (DL) / 50Mbps(UL). Please note that achievable data rates in real life networks varies depending on e.g. network load and propagation conditions and is generally significantly lower than the maximum rates achieved in test lab environment.

LTE-Advanced- In order to make LTE a true 4th generation (4G) technology, it was enhanced to meet the IMT-Advanced requirements issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The necessary improvements are specified in 3GPP Release 10 and also known as LTE-Advanced. IMT-conformant systems will be candidates for future spectrum bands that are still to be identified, which is another major reason for aligning LTE-Advanced with the call for IMT-Advanced technologies. This ensures that today’s deployed LTE mobile networks provide an evolutionary path towards many years of commercial operation. LTE-Advanced further increases peak data rates towards 1 Gbit/s in the downlink and 500 Mbit/s in the uplink.

The technology components of LTE-Advanced are:

• Carrier aggregation
• MIMO extension (up to DL: 8x8; up to UL: 4x4)
• Uplink access enhancements (clustered SC-FDMA and simultaneous data and control information (PUSCH and PUCCH) transmission
• Improving cell edge performance (enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC), relaying)

4. In the course several indoor distribution method are introduced. For each distribution method, what do you think the most suitable circumstance is? And state the reason.

LTE has been defined to accommodate both paired spectrum for Frequency Division Duplex, FDD and unpaired spectrum for Time Division Duplex, TDD operation. It is anticipated that both LTE TDD and LTE FDD will be widely deployed as each form of the LTE standard has its own advantages and disadvantages and decisions can be made about which format to adopt dependent upon the particular application.

LTE FDD using the paired spectrum is anticipated to form the migration path for the current 3G services being used around the globe, most of which use FDD paired spectrum. However there has been an additional emphasis on including TDD LTE using unpaired spectrum. TDD LTE which is also known as TD-LTE is seen as providing the evolution or upgrade path for TD-SCDMA.

In view of the increased level of importance being placed upon LTE TDD or TD-LTE, it is planned that user equipments will be designed to accommodate both FDD and TDD modes. With TDD having an increased level of importance placed upon it, it means that TDD operations will be able to benefit from the economies of scale that were previously only open to FDD operations.

Duplex schemes

It is essential that any cellular communications system must be able to transmit in both directions simultaneously. This enables conversations to be made, with either end being able to talk and listen as required. Additionally when exchanging data it is necessary to be able to undertake virtually simultaneous or completely simultaneous communications in both directions.

It is necessary to be able to specify the different direction of transmission so that it is possible to easily identify in which direction the transmission is being made. There are a variety of differences between the two links ranging from the amount of data carried to the transmission format, and the channels implemented. The two links are defined:

• Uplink:   the transmission from the UE or user equipment to the eNodeB or base station.
• Downlink   the transmission from the eNodeB or base station to the UE or user equipment.

In order to be able to be able to transmit in both directions, a user equipment or base station must have a duplex scheme. There are two forms of duplex that are commonly used, namely FDD, frequency division duplex and TDD time division duplex..

Note on TDD and FDD duplex schemes:

In order for radio communications systems to be able to communicate in both directions it is necessary to have what is termed a duplex scheme. A duplex scheme provides a way of organizing the transmitter and receiver so that they can transmit and receive. There are several methods that can be adopted. For applications including wireless and cellular telecommunications, where it is required that the transmitter and receiver are able to operate simultaneously, two schemes are in use. One known as FDD or frequency division duplex uses two channels, one for transmit and the other for receiver. Another scheme known as TDD, time division duplex uses one frequency, but allocates different time slots for transmission and reception.

Both FDD and TDD have their own advantages and disadvantages. Accordingly they may be used for different applications, or where the bias of the communications is different.

Advantages / disadvantages of LTE TDD and LTE FDD for cellular communications

There are a number of the advantages and disadvantages of TDD and FDD that are of particular interest to mobile or cellular telecommunications operators. These are naturally reflected into LTE.

Comparison of TDD LTE and FDD LTE Duplex Formats
Parameter	LTE-TDD	LTE-FDD
Paired spectrum	Does not require paired spectrum as both transmit and receive occur on the same channel	Requires paired spectrum with sufficient frequency separation to allow simultaneous transmission and reception
Hardware cost	Lower cost as no diplexer is needed to isolate the transmitter and receiver. As cost of the UEs is of major importance because of the vast numbers that are produced, this is a key aspect.	Diplexer is needed and cost is higher.
Channel reciprocity	Channel propagation is the same in both directions which enables transmit and receive to use on set of parameters	Channel characteristics different in both directions as a result of the use of different frequencies
UL / DL asymmetry	It is possible to dynamically change the UL and DL capacity ratio to match demand	UL / DL capacity determined by frequency allocation set out by the regulatory authorities. It is therefore not possible to make dynamic changes to match capacity. Regulatory changes would normally be required and capacity is normally allocated so that it is the same in either direction.
Guard period / guard band	Guard period required to ensure uplink and downlink transmissions do not clash. Large guard period will limit capacity. Larger guard period normally required if distances are increased to accommodate larger propagation times.	Guard band required to provide sufficient isolation between uplink and downlink. Large guard band does not impact capacity.
Discontinuous transmission	Discontinuous transmission is required to allow both uplink and downlink transmissions. This can degrade the performance of the RF power amplifier in the transmitter.	Continuous transmission is required.
Cross slot interference	Base stations need to be synchronised with respect to the uplink and downlink transmission times. If neighbouring base stations use different uplink and downlink assignments and share the same channel, then interference may occur between cells.	Not applicable

LTE TDD / TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA

Apart from the technical reasons and advantages for using LTE TDD / TD-LTE, there are market drivers as well. With TD-SCDMA now well established in China, there needs to be a 3.9G and later a 4G successor to the technology. With unpaired spectrum allocated for TD-SCDMA as well as UMTS TDD, it is natural to see many operators wanting an upgrade path for their technologies to benefit from the vastly increased speeds and improved facilities of LTE. Accordingly there is a considerable interest in the development of LTE TDD, which is also known in China as TD-LTE.

With the considerable interest from the supporters of TD-SCDMA, a number of features to make the mode of operation of TD-LTE more of an upgrade path for TD-SCDMA have been incorporated. One example of this is the subframe structure that has been adopted within LTE TDD / TD-LTE.

While both LTE TDD (TD-LTE) and LTE FDD will be widely used, it is anticipated that LTE FDD will be the more widespread, although LTE TDD has a number of significant advantages, especially in terms of higher spectrum efficiency that can be used by many operators. It is also anticipated that phones will be able to operate using either the LTE FDD or LTE-TDD (TD-LTE) modes. In this way the LTE UEs or user equipments will be dual standard phones, and able to operate in countries regardless of the flavour of LTE that is used - the main problem will then be the frequency bands that the phone can cover.

5. Conformance testing is most-likely to be adopted to ensure the terminal’s functionality and performance. Why do we need Conformance Testing

Conformance testing, also known as compliance testing, we need this methodology to be used in engineering to ensure that a product, process, computer program or system meets a defined set of standards. These standards are commonly defined by large, independent entities such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Thus we can say conformance testing is most-likely to be adopted to ensure the terminal's functionality and performance.

Conformance testing can be carried out by private companies that specialize in that service. In some instances the vendor maintains an in-house department for conducting conformance tests prior to the initial release of a product or upgrade. In the software industry, once the set of tests has been completed and a program has been found to comply with all the applicable standards, that program can be advertised as having been certified by the organization that defined the standards and the corporation or organization that conducted the tests.

8 New Jobs People Will Have In 2025

technologies will change the kinds of jobs people have in the coming years. Don't be surprised if one day you've taken on the position of microbial balancer, corporate disorganizer, or urban shepherd.

New technology will eradicate some jobs, change others, and create whole new categories of employment. Innovation causes a churn in the job market, and this time around the churn is particularly large--from cheap sensors (creating "an Internet of things") to 3-D printing (enabling more distributed manufacturing).

Sparks & Honey, a New York trend-spotting firm, has a wall in its office where staff can post imaginative next-generation jobs. Below are eight of them, with narration from CEOTerry Young (who previously appeared here talking about health care).

1: DIGITAL DEATH MANAGER

"Life-logging" will be a way of life, affecting how we record and remember what we do. Young sees a role for someone who can take the mass of life-logged material, and make stories out of it. That could be useful during our lives (for personal-brand purposes) but also in death. "Today, it happens only with important people. Andy Warhol has a foundation, and so on. We're imagining this is going to ladder down to other people who want to shape what their legacy means," Young says.

2: UN-SCHOOLING COUNSELOR

The concept of education as a four-year box-ticking exercise will be over. The future will be more diverse. People will plug in a year of education here and there, a month now and again, and un-schooling counselors will guide them the whole way. "We're seeing the evolution of the traditional counselor to someone who can hack your life together so it's unique," he says.

3: ARMCHAIR EXPLORER

Machines will be connected, producing tons of data about their performance and surroundings. Communications technology that has been expensive in the past (like satellites) will be widely accessible. This will create opportunities for "armchair explorers" who will travel the world, checking on systems, buildings, and hard-to-reach places. We'll need people to break through the fog, and give us a clear picture.

4: 3-D PRINTING HANDYMAN

Today when your handyman fixes something, he usually has to order a spare part from China. One day, he might print it right in your yard. Say you need to replace the pipe under your sink. Why wait for the whole thing to come in from out of the country, when it can be done there and then? We already have 3-D printed shower heads, after all.

5: MICROBIAL BALANCER

From the gut to your mouth, the microbial world is a big focus of current research. Young sees a job for a "microbial balancer" who can keep you aligned with your bacteria: "They will understand how to read your genome, your gut, and your mouth bacteria and get you better balanced at a house, school, or individual level. They're the equivalent of the Feng Shui person who sets up your apartment."

6: CORPORATE DISORGANIZER

Big companies want to be more like start ups, seeing innovation as vital to future profits. Young says they'll want "corporate disorganizers" who can introduce a little "organized chaos." Young says: "The disruptor will be tapping into the new systems of the collaborative economy, creating greater fragmentation and a more distributed ecosystem."

7: DIGITAL DETOX SPECIALIST

The digital "overload" will become even more overwhelming. That will open the way for people who can help lead less data-centric lives, or at least find a better balance. In some cases, they will even organize digital rehabs. It's going to get that bad (actually, it already is).

8: THE URBAN SHEPHERD

With cities getting greener, we'll need "urban shepherds" to look after the new infrastructure. "You need someone who is going to take care of the urban beehives, who's going to make sure your composting is set up correctly, and who is going to know how to curate all the vertical gardens," Young says.

30 Famous Quotes That Will Inspire Success In You

The definition of success is different for everyone, whether it’s personal or professional we are always looking at improving in some area of our life. We all need some inspiration from time to time and that is why we have compiled a list of famous inspirational quotes that will help contribute to your success.

 30 Famous Success Quotes

1. “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.”

Dhirubhai Ambani

2. “The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”

Mark Caine

3. “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Tony Robbins

4. “When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

Audre Lorde

5. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

Mark Twain

6. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

7. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Thomas A. Edison

8. “If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents. Value what you know & start charging for it.”

Kim Garst

9.  ”A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

David Brinkley

10. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Steve Jobs

11. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

12. “Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.”

Roger Babson

13. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Mahatma Gandhi

14. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”

H Jackson Brown Jr.

15. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

Vince Lombardi

16. “Success is about creating benefit for all and enjoying the process. If you focus on this & adopt this definition, success is yours.”

Kelly Kim

17. “I used to want the words ‘She tried’ on my tombstone. Now I want ‘She did it.’”

Katherine Dunham

18. “Really it comes down to your philosophy. Do you want to play it safe and be good or do you want to take a chance and be great?”

Jimmy J

19. “It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

J. K Rowling

20. “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

Albert Einstein

21. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

Harriet Tubman

22. “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”

Bruce Lee

23. “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

Swami Vivekananda

24. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”

Dale Carnegie

25. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

Jim Rohn

26. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”

Ayn Rand

27. “If you genuinely want something, don’t wait for it – teach yourself to be impatient.”

Gurbaksh Chahal

28. “Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.”

Robert Kiyosaki

29. “If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!”

T. Harv Eker

30. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

Steve Jobs