The Frequency Spectrum Allocated By Malaysian Communication Computer Science Essay

The Frequency Spectrum Allocated By Malaysian Communication Computer Science Essay International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000), also known as 3G or 3rd Generation, is the generation standard for mobile phones and telecommunication services. This generation is to meet specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. Various applications exist, including wide-area wireless voice phone, video calls, mobile, mobile TV Internet access and others. The details spectrum for IMT-2000 shows like below: International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT2000) Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) Upper band: 2110 to 2200 MHz Lower band: 1920 to 2010 MHz Time Division Duplex (TDD) Frequency: 1915 to 1920MHz Frequency: 2010 to 2025MHz Figure 1.1: Frequency spectrum IMT-2000.[2] Global system for mobile communications (GSM) is a second generation cellular telecommunications system was first designed in the 1980 [12]. Compared with the first generation, GSM is more advanced enhancements such as in security, quality, capacity, and the ability to support integrated services. For examples GSM services is GSM-900 and GSM-1800 in which used in the world like Europe, the Middle East, parts of Asia and others country. The details spectrum for GSM900 and GSM1800 shows like below; Global System for Mobile (GSM) in the 900 MHz Band Upper band: 925 to 960 MHz Lower band: 880 to 915 MHz Global System for Mobile System in the 1800 MHz Band Upper band: 1805 to 1880 MHz Lower band: 1710 to 1785 MHz Figure 1.2: Frequency spectrum GSM900.[2] Figure 1.3: Frequency spectrum GSM1800.[2] Summary for Service Operators [ Maxis, Celcom, Digi and U-Mobile]; Service Operator System Standard Frequency Spectrum (MHz) Access Code Commercial Name Service Offered Lower Band Upper Band Maxis Mobile Sdn Bhd GSM 900 GSM 1800 IMT-2000: FDD TDD 880-886, 905-915 1710-1735 1935-1950 2015-2020 925-93, 950-960 1805-1830 2125-2140 012 017 Maxis Voice call, SMS, MMS, data plans service, International roaming, WAP Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad GSM 900 GSM 1800 IMT-2000: FDD TDD 888-905 1735-1760 1950-1965 2020-2025 933-950 1830-1855 2140-2155 013 019 Celcom Voice call, SMS, MMS, data plans service, International roaming, WAP Digi Telecommunication Sdn Bhd GSM 900 GSM 1800 IMT-2000: FDD TDD 886-888 1760-1785 1965-1980 2010-2015 931-933 1855-1880 2155-2170 010 016 Digi Voice call, SMS, MMS, data plans service, International roaming, WAP U-Mobile Sdn Bhd IMT-2000: FDD TDD 1920-1935 1915-1920 2110-2125 018 U-mobile Voice call, SMS, MMS, WAP Question 2 The Fourth Generation (4G) technology candidates is foreseen most likely to be between Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-Advanced) proposed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and Mobile WiMAX using 802.16m standardised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Distinguish the technical differences between these two technologies and give your opinion on the scenario and deployment of 4G in the near future. Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-Advanced) proposed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is new standard in networking technology tree move what was once realize GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA networking technologies. It is a project Generation Partnership Project third (3GPP), administered under one name trademark by one of associations in partnership, European Telecommunications Standards Institute. LTE Evolution Figure 2.1: Mobile Technologies Charging The first generation of cellular systems were based on analog standards and are introduced in 80s middle. This with quick to bring to one second generation digitals cellular standard that made use of digital modulation and signal processing. The second generation also led to a technology fragmentation. Once many standard contests exist, however what remains now are two main branches: referred to as GSM and CDMA branches or alternately referred as the 3GPP and 3GPP2 branches. These branches remained separate as they migrated to 3G systems focusing on more efficient voice transport as well providing data-services. LTE originated in the 3GPP standards organization, and a competing specification (EV-DO Rev C) started in the 3GPP2 body as the next evolutionary step. However, the support for EV-DO Rev C has waned and it has now become clear that the 3GPP2 radio interface evolution has effectively ceased, allowing a single cellular technology. Figure 2.2: LTE provides a smooth evolutionary path for operators deploying all 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies. Technology Summary of LTE FDMA on uplink Scale able OFDM on downlink, Single Carrier Variable Spectrum Width from 3 to 20 MHz Up to 64 QAM, MIMO, Spatial Multiplexing(SM), LTE- Advanced Will be an evolution of LTE. Therefore LTE-Advanced must be backward compatible with LTE Release 8. Requirements will meet or even exceed IMT-Advanced requirements following the ITU-R agenda. Should support significantly increased instantaneous peak data rates in order to reach ITU requirements. Primary focus should be on low mobility users. It is required a further improvement of cell edge data rates. Mobile WiMAX using 802.16m standardised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE 802.16 is a series of Wireless Broadband standards authored by the IEEE. The current version is IEEE 802.16-2009 amended by IEEE 802.16j-2009. IEEE 802.16 is written by a working group established by IEEE Standards Board in 1999 to develop standards for the global deployment of broadband Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks. The Workgroup is a unit of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee [3]. WiMAX Evolution WiMAX grow almost independently (and in parallel) for cellular standard mentioned earlier. In late 90s, IEEE started a workgroup create one air interface to show multipoint wireless standard broadband. Working group lever DOCSIS (data on interface specification cable service) standard heavily especially in definition MACs layers. Original standard modified into 802.16d in 2004 introduce OFDM as transmission scheme. This standard intended at fixed applications and is sometimes referred to as fixed WiMAX. In 2005, 802.16d further improving to for support for mobility and provide OFDM delivery system scalable. This standard known as 802.16e/ mobile WiMAX. (It should be noted that products based on 802.16d and 802.16e inhering market and both classified as WiMAXs products lead to a few ambiguity on specific standard which is supported-802.16d or 802.16e.) Hope, 802.16e standard expanding to 802.16m which focusing on addition to ventilate interface specifications. This evolution is shown in Figure 2.3. Figure 2.3: WiMAX Evolution Technology Summary of WiMAX Scale able OFDM on downlink and uplink Variable Spectrum Width from 1.25 to 10 MHz Up to 64 QAM, MIMO, Spatial Multiplexing, Beamforming Mobile WiMAX deployed since 2008 IEEE802.16m and Mobile WiMAX Release 2 Lower latency through faster MAC/signaling Higher spectrum efficiency through more advanced and higher order MIMO solutions, including multiuser MIMO as well as lower MAC and PHY overhead. Higher peak and user data rates using wide-band carriers (including 20 MHz) and multicarrier aggregation. Enhanced coverage in high interference environments with improved preamble and control channel. Support for higher mobility through a faster feedback mechanism and link adaption. Flexible spectrum deployments (both FDD and TDD support contiguous bands) The scenario and deployment of 4G in the near future 4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to 3G and 2G families of standards. The first was the move from 1981 analog (1G) to digital (2G) transmission in 1992. This was followed, in 2002, by 3G multi-media support, spread spectrum transmission and at least 200  kbit/s, soon expected to be followed by 4G, which refers to all-IP packet-switched networks, mobile ultra-broadband (gigabit speed) access and multi-carrier transmission. Pre-4G technologies such as mobile WiMAX and first-release 3G Long term evolution (LTE) have been available on the market since 2006 and 2009 respectively. According to the members of the 4G working group, the infrastructure and the terminals of 4G will have almost all the standards from 2G to 4G implemented. Although legacy systems are in place to adopt existing users, the infrastructure for 4G will be only packet-based (all-IP). Some proposals suggest having an open Internet platform. Technologies considered to be early 4G include: Flash-OFDM, the 802.16e mobile version of WiMax (also known as WiBro in South Korea), and HC-SDMA (see iBurst). Question 8 The public cellular service operator in Malaysia are subjected to mandatory standards for Quality of Service (QoS) or Grade of Service (GOS) by Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). List various parameters and schemes used for providing QoS/GOS in cellular network and discuss their advantages/disadvantages to the subscribers and operators. How can QoS provisioning be managed in the future 4G cellular network? There is two ways to measure the quality of voice services, Grade of Service (GoS) and the Quality of Service (QoS). GOS can be describe as a chances of a call in a circuit group being blocked or delayed for more than a specified interval and can be expressed as a vulgar fraction/decimal fraction. This is likely to happen to the busy hour when the traffic intensity is the greatest. Grade of service can viewed from the perspective of incoming versus outgoing calls, and is not necessarily equal in each direction or between different source-destination pairs. Quality of service (QOS) can also be called as voice grade or program grade which is a single circuit that is designed or conditioned to provide. Equalization for amplification over a specified band of frequency or for this case of digital data transported via analogue circuit can be one of the quality criteria for such circuit. One of the aspects for mobile quality of service in cellular telephone circuits is the probability of abnormal termination of the call. There is a lot of factor can affect the quality of service of the telecommunication network. From the customer`s point of view looking at this QoS can be describe as common phenomena and its judged by the user. However there is a standard metrics of QoS that can be used by the customer to measure the QoS. The coverage, accessibility and the audio quality is the indicator for this quality. For coverage, strength of the signal is measured using test equipment and this can be used to estimate the size of the cell. For accessibility its about determining the ability of the network to handle successful calls from mobile-fixed networks and from mobile-mobile networks. For audio quality it can be considers monitoring a successful for a period of time for the clarity of the communication channel. All these indicators are used by the telecommunications industry to judge the quality of service of the network. QoS provisioning be managed in the future 4G cellular network Nowadays, cellular network operators across the world have seen a rapid growth of mobile usage. Data usage per subscriber is increasing daily in particular and with the introduction of flat-rate tariffs and more advanced mobile devices. Services provider are moving from a single-service offering in the packet-switched domain to a multi-service offering by adding Value added services (VAS) that are also provided across the mobile broadband access. One of the examples of these Services is multimedia telephony and mobile-TV. These kind services have a different performance requirement in terms of the required bit rates and packet delays or any other examples. However solving these performance issues through over-provisioning typical is uneconomical due to the relatively high cost for transmission capacity in cellular access networks which includes radio spectrum and backhaul from the base stations. 4G broadband wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.16e/m and Third Generation Partnershi p Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) have been designed with different QoS (Quality of Service) frameworks and means to enable delivery of the evolving Internet applications. QoS specifically for evolving Internet applications is a fundamental requirement to provide satisfactory service delivery to users and also to manage network resources. QoS refers to the probability or ability of the network to provide a desired level of service for selected traffic on the network. Service levels are defined in terms of throughput, latency (delay), jitter (delay variation) and packet errors or loss. Different service levels are defined for different types or streams of traffic. To supply QoS, the network identifies different types or streams of traffic and processes these traffic classes differently to achieve (or attempt to achieve) the desired service level for each traffic class. The efficiency of any QoS scheme can be measured based on its ability to achieve the desired service levels for a typical combination of traffic classes. 4G wireless communication systems feel the requirement of transparent and seamless user roaming with end-to-end connectivity. These systems also required higher data rate, higher mobility support and QoS guarantees due to rapid development of wireless and mobile networks. All this requirements is possible for the operators to increase their service portfolio and for the users to experience context-rich and personalized services. Advantages for Subscribers and Operators: Subscribers Know that when the call was busy Users may call for a long time without queuing Easier for users to choose the best mobile phone operator. So, they know which one the operators has the best coverage. Operators Will know when the time is busy and how to solve the problem faster. Always to take the opportunity to improve their network coverage. Disadvantages for Subscribers and Operators: Subscribers Cannot make a call especially during the emergency call. Operators Increase the cost in order to improve the network. Will increase the number of cell in order to handle the large amount of subscribers. SATELLITE COMMUNICATION QUESTION 10 The Very Small Aperture Terminal, VSAT service is becoming more popular in Malaysia. Obtain information on VSAT service operator in Malaysia including examples of application, network topology, user equipments, lease procedure and services offered and their data rate. How can a VSAT system accommodate subscriber that need higher data rate services. Introductions of VSAT A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3 meters (most VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m). VSAT data rates typically range from narrowband up to 4 Mbit/s. VSATs access satellites in geosynchronous orbit to relay data from small remote earth stations (terminals) to other terminals (in mesh configurations) or master earth station hubs (in star configurations). VSAT can be used for data, voice, video or internet applications [10]. It is used to communicate with to link together locations using satellite connectivity. Figure 3.1: A typical VSAT network depicting two way communications from remote terminals through a VSAT satellite to a central hub. MAXIS VSAT VSATs are an ideal means of communication in areas where terrestrial infrastructure is unavailable or unreliable. As such VSAT services are able to bring distant or remote business communities closer by eliminating geographical barriers and challenges that previously existed. This in turn transfers to an increase in productivity and overall cost efficiency for such communities. In addition to providing communication to remote areas, VSATs are also suitable in providing private networks in urban areas for organizations with many geographically dispersed branches that require connectivity to their Headquarters. VSAT services generally offer service reliability and availability that is equal to or higher than terrestrial services. Below are examples of type Maxis VSAT Services that can be used depends on the complexity of the network and the communications requirements; SCPC (Single Carrier Per Channel) Satellite bandwidth is dedicated to a single source. SCPC based design provides a point-to-point technology making it the VSAT equivalent. Supports voice, data, video communications. Advantages; Simple and reliable technologies. Low-cost equipment. Figure 3.2: SkyLine (SCPC) Service hub to remote configuration TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) Is a channel access method for shared medium network. Allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. In Figure 3 (d), all VSATs share satellite resource on a time-slot basis and the remote VSATs also use inroutes for communicating with the hub or TDMA channels. There could be several inroutes associated with one outroute. Several VSATs share one inroute, so it also sharing the bandwidth. Typical inroutes operate at 64 or 128 Kbit/s. Critical to all TDMA schemes is the function of clock synchronization what is performed by the TDMA hub or master earth station. The VSATs may also access the inroute on a fixed assigned TDMA mode, where in each VSAT is allocated a specific time slot or slots. Figure 3.3: Typical SkyNet (TDM/TDMA)-configuration supporting various interactive data applications. ; Summarization of Maxis VSAT Services [6]: Services Service Description Typical Users SkyWayTMVSAT Broadband data and Voice service. Corporations with many branches requiring Broadband Data and telephony. Corporations requiring Internet access. Corporations or communities in remotes areas without telephone connectivity, i.e. plantations, timber camps and remote villages. SkyLine VSAT Dedicated leased line for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connectivity. Corporations requiring dedicated links for communications between its HQ and branches. SkyLine-Plus VSAT Dedicated leased line with Frame Relay technology for mesh connectivity. Corporations requiring dedicated links for communications between sites within the VSAT network. Gyro-Stabilized VSAT Specialized VSAT service for maritime and offshore oil rigs. Upstream oil and gas corporations Shipping companies. The benefit of Maxis VSAT Services Uniform service quality All sites in the VSAT network receives the same high quality services, whether the location is urban or rural areas. Reach VSAT is a service that available anywhere no matter the place, whether in a remote area, forest or anywhere in the world. High relaibility availability VSAT networks offer high reliability as the points of failure are limited to two points means at any two locations in a communications link. This ensures minimal downtime while the service availability for VSAT networks. Question 11 Global Positioning System, GPS satellite is a navigation satellite that can offer services based on locations. Investigate among the service offered in Malaysia, user hardware and equipments, subscription (if any), and their limitation in term of accuracy. Identify similar service to complement GPS system particularly for mobile and handheld environment. The Global Positioning System (GPS), also known as Navstar, is a satellite based navigation system that can be used by anyone with appropriate receiver to pinpoint location on earth. The array of GPS satellites transmits highly accurate, time coded information that permits a receiver to calculate its exact location in terms of the latitude and longitude on earth as well as the altitude above the sea level [10]. GPS was developed by the U.S Air Force for the Department of Defense as a continuous global radio navigation system that all elements of the military services would use for precision navigation. GPS consists of three parts: the space segment, the control segment, and the user segment [10]. The space segment is composed of 24 to 32 satellites in medium Earth orbit and also includes the boosters required to launch them into orbit [10]. The space segment is the constellation of satellites orbiting above the earth. It contains transmitters which send highly accurate timing information to GPS receivers on earth. The receivers may be used on land, sea or air. Figure 4.1: GPS mapping aids are small enough to be mounted on a dashboard or stashed in a backpackers pack. They are popular with boaters too. Figure 4.2: The GPS space segment Figure 4.2 shows the fully implemented GPS consists of 24 main operational satellites plus 3 active space satellites. The satellites are arranged in six orbits, each orbit containing 3 or 4 satellites. User hardware and equipments GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the users exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the users position and display it on the units electronic map [13]. f A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more satellites in view, the receiver can determine the users 3D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Once the users position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more[13]. The GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Garmins 12 parallel channel receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain strong locks, even in dense foliage or urban settings with tall buildings. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin ® GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average [13]. Newer Garmin GPS receivers with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) capability can improve accuracy to less than three meters on average. No additional equipment or fees are required to take advantage of WAAS. Users can also get better accuracy with Differential GPS (DGPS), which corrects GPS signals to within an average of three to five meters. The U.S. Coast Guard operates the most common DGPS correction service. This system consists of a network of towers that receive GPS signals and transmit a corrected signal by beacon transmitters. In order to get the corrected signal, users must have a differential beacon receiver and beacon antenna in addition to their GPS [13]. GPS satellites transmit two low power radio signals, designated L1 and L2. Civilian GPS uses the L1 frequency of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. The signals travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through clouds, glass and plastic but will not go through most solid objects such as buildings and mountains. A GPS signal contains three different bits of information a pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data. The pseudorandom code is simply an I.D. code that identifies which satellite is transmitting information. You can view this number on your Garmin GPS units satellite page, as it identifies which satellites its receiving [13]. Ephemeris data, which is constantly transmitted by each satellite, contains important information about the status of the satellite (healthy or unhealthy), current date and time. This part of the signal is essential for determining a position. The almanac data tells the GPS receiver where each GPS satellite should be at any time throughout the day. Each satellite transmits almanac data showing the orbital information for that satellite and for every other satellite in the system [13]. The service offered in Malaysia /GPS Applications The primary application of the GPS is military and related navigation. GPS is used by all services for ships, aircraft of all sort, and group troops. Civilian uses have also increased dramatically because of the availability of many low-cost portable receivers. Most cavitations applications involve navigation, which is usually marine or aviation- related. Hikers and campers and other outdoors sports enthusiasts also use GPS. Commercial applications include surveying, mapmaking and construction. Vehicle location is a growing application for trucking and delivery companies, taxi, bus and train transportation. Police, fire, ambulance and forest services also use GPS. GPS based navigation systems are now widely available as accessories in cars to provide a continuous readout of current vehicle location. GPS is finding new applications every day. For instance, it is used to keep track of fleets of trunks. A GPS receiver in each trunk transmits its position data by way of a wireless connection, such as a wireless local- area network or cell phone. Many new cell phones contain a GPs receiver that automatically reports the location of the user people makes a 999 call. Most location based services will be used for 999 calls, eventually other location services may be developed for cell phones. Not all cell phones use GPS. Some use a unique triangulation method based on the cell phone being able to be in touch with at least three call sites. Finally, GPS receivers are so inexpensive an accurate that they have led to a new hobby called geocaching. In this sport, one team hides an item or treasure and then gives the other team coordinates to follow to find the treasure within a given time. Limitation in term of accuracy Factors that can degrade the GPS signal and thus affect accuracy include the following: Ionosphere and troposphere delays The satellite signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere. The GPS system uses a built-in model that calculates an average amount of delay to partially correct for this type of error. Signal multipath This occurs when the GPS signal is reflected off objects such as tall buildings or large rock surfaces before it reaches the receiver. This increases the travel time of the signal, thereby causing errors. Receiver clock errors A receivers built-in clock is not as accurate as the atomic clocks onboard the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have very slight timing errors. Orbital errors Also known as ephemeris errors, these are inaccuracies of the satellites reported location. Number of satellites visible The more satellites a GPS receiver can see, the better the accuracy. Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can block signal reception, causing position errors or possibly no position reading at all. GPS units typically will not work indoors, underwater or underground. Satellite geometry/shading This refers to the relative position of the satellites at any given time. Ideal satellite geometry exists when the satellites are located at wide angles relative to each other. Poor geometry results when the satellites are located in a line or in a tight grouping. Similar service to complement GPS system particularly for mobile and handheld environment. GPS-enabled Cell Phones Motorola and Blackberry were the first GPS-enable phones to proliferate the United States. Initially, MotorolaiDEN phones were commonly used for employee tracking on the business-oriented Nextel network. Then GPS enabled Blackberry phones, once used almost exclusively by corporate and government VIPs, began to penetrate the consumer market stimulated by the demand for phones with advanced messaging capability. Next came specialty devices produced under the names of Disney Mobile and Wherify Wireless targeting use by children and elderly. Now in 2009, a variety of GPS-enabled phones and tracking services are available, as you can see from the ads on this page. Locating People in an Emergency Stimulated by the events of 11 September 2001, the demand for enhanced 911 (e911) emergency calling capabilities pushed forward GPS tracking technology in cell phones. At the end of 2005, all cell phone carriers were required to provide the ability to trace cell phone calls to a location within 100 meters or less. Wireless Networks Your phone may have GPS and know exactly where it is, but it cant tell anyone else where you are unless you are connected to a wireless network. Here in the United States, the wireless networks used for GPS tracking are primarily those operated by cell phone carriers. It is not likely that you as an individual will negotiate network access with a carrier. It is more likely that you will select a solution including a cell phone provisioned to communicate in a certain way on a specific wireless network. List below are some carriers recommended for use with GPS cell phones and services. T-Mobile / Cingular / ATT The Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications as adopted by these carriers represents the network with the largest coverage footprint. Roaming agreements between these carriers provide end users with service throughout the country. GSM is also the prominent cellular network abroad. Sprint / Nextel, not so much because of coverage, but because of their emphasis on data. Nextel has created their own data formats and communication protocols for high bandwidth mobile electronics applications. This company, who gave new meaning to the term walkie-talkie, provides the most flexibility for the communication of GPS data between cell phones and location-based service pro

B&Q Case Study

Contents Executive Summary3 1. TASK ONE4 1. 1 Introduction4 1. 2 Possession and practice4 3. 3 B&Q case5 3. TASK TWO8 3. 1 Introduction8 3. 2 Time distance9 3. 3 Technological distance10 3. 4 Social distance10 3. 5 Cultural distance11 4. Bibliography13 Executive Summary In a modernized and globalized world, knowledge creation and synergization of knowledge in an organization is truly crucial.As data and information are readily available, and information communication technology (ICT) has highly advanced, organizations such as B&Q need to understand how knowledge creation can assist to improve internal and external processes and also encourage innovation. In task one, the aim is to differentiate between possession of knowledge and practice of knowledge and examine which epistemology B&Q uses throughout their supply chain. B&Q uses possession knowledge whereby it provides all their vendors with a code of conduct guidelines which they need to follow through.However, in the face of risk and uncertainty in an economic crisis, B&Q should adopt practice of knowledge and enabling people to do differently and better. In task two, the statement by Stoneman (2010) means that trust and power are the main factors that drive product, process and organizational innovation. For B&Q, due to their power as the distributor, they are able to develop and lay down the process and procedures that all their vendors need to adhere to. However, in an economic crisis, its regimental practice may ot work as uncertainty disrupts the flow of the procedures. 1. TASK ONE 1. 1 Introduction The studies on knowledge and its characteristics have long been explored and discussed in the business and supply chain world. With the emergent of technology and innovation, the possession and practice of knowledge has become more essential in this â€Å"knowledge society† (Nonaka, 1994; Bell, 1973; Drucker, 1968; Toffler, 1990). But what is knowledge and how does an organization activate and generat e knowledge?Knowledge is defined as â€Å"awareness, consciousness, or familiarity gained by experience or learning† (knowledge, n. d) which are the ways people in a social situations would understand and make sense of where they are and what they are doing. When knowledge is conducted and embraced in an organization, it will result to a group of people who develop shared beliefs, behaviours and routines that shape organization capabilities. Experts such as Polanyi (1966), Nonaka (1994) and Cook and Brown (1999) divide knowledge into two categories called tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge.Tacit knowledge is associated with the skills or know-how that people developed through their own experience in specific contexts. Whereas explicit knowledge is something that has been codified, written down or spelled out and is communicable across context. 1. 2 Possession and practice From the word possession itself, one can understand that it is about the knowledge that people have i n their mind (Cook and Brown, 1999). Blackler (1995), and Cook and Brown (1999) refer possesion of knowledge as â€Å"knowledge† and practice of knowledge as â€Å"knowing†.Knowledge is a mental or cognitive capacity which is hierarchical in nature and comprises of data, information etc. moreover, possession of knowledge is a personal property where people render meaning from subjective experiences, perceptions and previous understanding. As human minds are individually unique, hence different people may perceive and intepret the same information or data differently. Meanwhile, practice of knowledge sees knowledge as something that it developed through social interaction such as project work, group assignment or group discussion.When people practice knowledge, they convert tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thus transferring knowledge from one person to another. This is done through sharing stories, experiences or creating norms to a group of people hence enablin g the experience of an individual to be related to a wider community. 3. 3 B&Q case B&Q plc works with many vendors such as Kingfisher Asia (KAL) who supply products to B&Q. Hence to manage their vendors and ensure processes and procedures are followed, B&Q come up with code of conduct (B&Q Operational Standards for Supply Chains) for all their vendors.The code of conduct is based on the international labour and envirnmental standards set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions which factories and worksites of all vendors throughout the world need to comply to. In summary, vendors need to let B&Q have full visibility of the enitre supply chain and fulfill and obey the code of conduct criteria at all facilities. Any failure to meet the nine Critical Failure Points (CFPs) will result in B&Q not buying or purchasing their products.Through this code of conduct, we can deduce that B&Q adopts a possession of knowledge rather than practice of knowledge. B&Q receives know ledge about labour and environmental guidelines from ILO conventions and uses the basic context to write down or capture in an information technology (IT) system which is then made available as an organizational resource – B&Q Operational Standards for Supply Chains. This is in contrast of having a group discussion with the vendors and seeking their opinions and views on how to create a better working environment for the workers (practice of knowledge).For example, Baer (1987) and Abbott (1988) explained that in order to defend their position, occupational groups such as doctors would write down or ‘black box’ their skills and knowledge which is then used by others as guidelines or instructions to follow. B&Q is following the same concept as they wish to guard their position as a responsible organization or employer where the rights of all workers throughout the world are respected and protected. Thus, this results to an encoded knowledge (Blackler, 1995) for the vendors as information is transmited through the code of conduct.Unlike an individual or specialist ‘black box’, the construction of the code of conduct requires the involvement of a group of people. This method of knowledge creation follows Nonaka’s SECI framework where it is a spiralling process of interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge (Nonaka,1994; Nonaka & Toyama, 2003). The SECI framework consists of four knowledge conversion processes; Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization; which can be seen in Figure 1. The breakdown for B&Q case is as follow: 1.Socialization – The ILO standards which was made known to the B&Q management assist them to create their own knowledge or set of standards which vendors are to adhere. 2. Externalization – B&Q management then decides to have their on set of guidelines in accordance to ILO standards and form a group to write down the code of conduct. 3. Combination – We beli eved that during the process of writing down the code of conduct, B&Q managerial level will each provide inputs and opinions based on the organization’s mission and values on what and how to write down.Once drafted, the Head of Human Resource Department will read it through and request for any necessary adjustments. Once finalized, the Chairman or Head of B&Q will give the approval to codified and disseminate the code of conduct to all the vendors. 4. Internalization – Vendors will then read the instructions and ensure all CFPs are met. For any areas which fail to comply, site management of the vendors will then follow the guidelines to make changes and improvements. Figure 1: SECI model of knowledge creation Source: Nonaka & Toyama (2003)However, Nonaka SECI framework downplays the difference of interest, power and political dynamics which people and organizations face everyday. Thus, during an economic crisis, B&Q may approach innovation differently due to the uncert ainty and adversity faced in a crisis. According to Tsoukas (1996) and Schauer (1991), even though organizations can make assumptions and obtain knowledge from previous economic crisis where similar conditions are seen, the formulate strategy may not work perfectly according to what the organizations believed as there are still uncertainty.Meaning to say, a strategy used in a crisis five years ago may not generate the same result due to the difference in technology, people’s mindset and other relating conditions. B&Q need to adopt practice of knowledge during a crisis as information may not be readily available since people and other organizations are wary and may not disclose essential information in order to survive the crisis. With competition between rival organizations getting tougher, B&Q needs to learn, practice and embodied skills and knowledge which increases their chance of survival (Barnett & Burgelman, 1996).As mentioned by Hitt et al (2007), a multilevel research approach to encourage employees to have better understanding of the strategy implemented by B&Q management. Hence, B&Q through providing an enabling context, B&Q allow its employees to do things differently and better. For example, when selecting their vendors, B&Q can not just rely on which vendor is able to adhere to its code of conduct. B&Q also need to look into the pricing, capability and other characteristic of the particular vendor.B&Q vendor management team need to have further dicussion with sales, procurement and operations team to gain their opinions and views on which vendors to select. With the current vendors, B&Q need to adopt open communication and discuss with them on how the crisis is affecting their perfomance and compliance towards the code of conduct. Another example is due to the crisis, a vendor had to lay off several staff and workers due reducing their headcount. Hence in order to meet B&Q rders, the vendor’s workers may need to work extra hours whic h is over the local law. Through discussion, B&Q may allow the vendor to carry out the new process until the economy stablize and the vendor is able to employ more workers. 3. TASK TWO 3. 1 Introduction Stoneman (2010) mentioned that â€Å"product, process and organizational innovation are socially and politically mediated processes†. This means that through social relationship and even political standing in an organization; product, process and organizational innovation are being conceptualized.Jackson (2001) noted that the real-world issues and situations do not match up to traditional disciplinary boundaries due to the inequality in the capitalist world. Therefore, trust and power play an essential role in the development of knowledge and innovation. Internally at B&Q, their managers may see themselves as the authority towards process and organizational innovation. For example, a manager has the power to decide on how his department should be run in order to meet the depar tment and organization goals.And through his relationship and interaction with the staffs, he may perceive a staff as capable if able to follow the process and excel in it. Hence, to gain trust and acknowledgement, employees compete and motivate each other to do better at what they do and also provide suggestions to the manager on improving certain situations or issues. As highlighted by Hardy and Dougherty (1997), depending on the organization’s culture and its board of management, resource power and process power can either work against or aligned with innovation.However, without meaning and a direction to support the need for innovation, people will notbe motivated to innovate. For example, the warehousing staffs at B&Q may face difficulties in picking the correct product. Thus, with its power, the warehouse manager can arrange a group discussion with the warehousing team leaders and their IT department to create a new process whereby the product are bar-coded and connecte d to a system which will provide the product information when it is scanned.Externally, when working with their supply chain members such as customers and suppliers, B&Q managers can use either its power or trust to ensure compliance are met by the suppliers and customers continue to purchase from B&Q. For example, the board of management has the authority to continue or discontinue the services of a vendor depending on its compliance and performance. However, during an economic crisis where risk and uncertainty are faced, B&Q managers may react to similar situation or innovation differently.B&Q decisions on innovation, processes and products are affected by four types of distance – time, technological, social and cultural. 3. 2 Time distance Due to the changes in time, environment and conditions, certain processes or procedures that B&Q managers created may not be applicable in an economic crisis. Moreover, the decisions B&Q managers made in a previous crisis are also not ap plicable even though the conditions are similar because there is still uncertainty whether the outcome would be the same.The finance department will be more guarded on the expenses and budget thus setting a more thorough process of other departments to ensure waste are minimized and costs are low. In a study done by Hardy and Dougherty (1997), innovators or managers in an anti-innovation environment would solve their problems through methods and ways which hamper innovation whereas in a pro-innovation environment, innovators are able to incorporate the organization’s resources, processes and meaning to develop an more suitable and effective product.Thus, in relation to the crisis, B&Q managers may tackle a deparment issue by pushing away the problematic function and work its way around it. 3. 3 Technological distance As ICT becomes highly advanced, B&Q need to be selective of the information and tacit knowledge that is available widely. This is because not all tacit knowledge is applicable to B&Q’s strategy and that an overflow of information will result to overloading and poor decision making. Through market and technology knowledge, innovators are able to examine problems, communicate and collaboratively develop new products for the organization (Dougherty et al, 2000).However, in an economic crisis, technology knowledge that is necessary for innovation may not be readily available or cost effective to the organization. Faced with uncertainty, B&Q board of management may decide to take on a survival mode concept and develop process such as budget control to restrict unnecessary cost and waste. Thus, if an innovator in B&Q requires a certain technology to assist in its development of new product, he need to go through many levels of strict procedures in order to attain approval. 3. 4 Social distanceDuring an economic crisis, organizations face many problems and situations as they try their hardest to survive and go through the crisis without a m ajor disruption or impact. Due to the uncertainty and risk, managers need to respond quickly and effectively. Even in a crisis, Jackson (2006) noted that managers need to ensure their processes are efficient and effective, staffs are motivated and knowledge is created and enhanced. This is to ensure that the organization is constantly better than their rivals thus surviving the crisis.While ICT and innovation should still move on in a crisis; being a regimental organization; B&Q managers follow routine and have the power to make innovation unlawful through rewarding short-term results, punishing mistakes and even not rendering the support needed for innovation (Hardy & Dougherty, 1997). Not only does this kills innovation in B&Q, the staff would also be less motivate to innovate as they unable to relate a specific project with B&Q’s strategy (Van de Ven and Polley, 1992; Hardy and Dougherty, 1997; Dougherty & Heller, 1994).Hence, B&Q board of management need to re-evaluate it s organization strategy and procedures if it wishes to maintain in the industry. Jackson (2006) suggest organizations to adopt creative holism which is a set of guidelines that are multi-paradigm, multi-methodology and multi-method in nature. Through holism, organizatons look at the situation at a macro and organizational level, thus assuring that the departments are connected and performing together as a whole.Dougherty et al (2000) explained that since organizational knowledge and learning involves many different processes, a focal point or objevtive is essential to ensure one is taking the right path. Pelz and Andrews (1966) recognized that the efforts to combine and link market and technology knowledge across and throughout the organization is often met and filled with tensions. Thus, B&Q need to incorporate these two factor and be less rigid if it wishes to produce and gain new ideas, products and processes (Weick and Westley, 1996). 3. 5 Cultural distanceKingfisher plc, the pa rent company of B&Q, is a United Kingdom (UK) based retailer that offers do-it-yourself (DIY), home decorations and home improvement products to their 6 million customers (Kingfisher, 2012). To meet their international market and demand, Kingfisher plc has overseas sourcing offices in India and Poland that act as a supplier to B&Q. To ensure these strategies and structure is maintain in other country, Kingfisher plc has to train its overseas employees, make them understand and cultivate the Kingfisher plc working culture.However, this will be a tough challenge for example, in India due to the poor education and different socio-culture. Thus, Kingfisher plc needs to accommodate its Western working culture with India working culture, but without losing its main mission and strategy. To ensure this is executed properly, Kingfisher plc needs to obtain a specialist in the Indian market and culture. An economic crisis affects countries differently, depending on where the crisis originates .However, due to globalization, a crisis in the European Union (EU) nations will have a ripple effect, thus affecting neighbouring countries and countries that depend on the EU economy and market. Likewise, if an economic crisis hits India where one of B&Q suppliers is located at, B&Q need to gather information and data from news reports and the India supplier’s representative, and analyse the data before making a decision on how to overcome the crisis and what B&Q should do to ensure that the crisis in India do not disrupt the entire supply chain.To ensure accurate and timely information and knowledge is recevied, Swan and Scarbrough (2005) suggest organizations to adopt a networked innovation process where the innovation procedures is collaborated in the network arrangements within and between organizations (Alter & Hage, 1993; Owen-Smith & Powell, 2004; Powell et al, 1996). B&Q needs to view networks as a means of communication where knowledge and information are dissemina ted (Swan & Scarbrough, 2005) and thus, adopting a open sharing concept where individuals and groups are allow to interact and exchange knowledge and information. 4. Bibliography Abbott, A. 1988). The system of professions: An essay on the division of expert labour. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Alter, C. , & Hage, J. (1993). Organizations working together. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Baer, W. (1987). Expertise and professional standards. Work and Occupations, 13, 532-522. Barnett, W. P. , & Burgelman, R. A. (1996). Evolutionary Perspectives on Strategy. Strategic management journal, 17, 5-19. Bell, D. (1973). The Coming of Post-industrial Society: A Venture Social Forecasting. New York: Basic Books. Blackler, F. (1995). Knowledge, knowledge work and organizations: An overview and interpretation.Organization studies, 16(6), 1021-1046. Cook, S. D. , & Brown, J. S. (1999). Bridging Epistemologies: The Generative Dance Between Organizational Knowledge and Organizational Knowing. Or ganization Science, 10(4), 381-400. Dougherty, D. , & Heller, T. (1994). The illegitimacy of successful new products in large firms. Organization Science, 5, 200-218. Dougherty, D. , Borrelli, L. , Munir, K. , & O’Sullivan, A. (2000). Systems of organizational sensemaking for sustained product innovation. Journal of engineering and technology management, 17, 321-355. Drucker, P. (1968). The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society.New York: Harper & Row. Hardy, C. , & Dougherty, D. (1997). Powering Product Innovation. European Management ]ournal, 15(1), 16-27. Hitt, M. A. , Beamish, P. W. , Jackson, S. E. , & Mathieu, J. E. (2007). Building Theoretical and Empirical Bridges Across Levels: Multilevel Research in Management. Academy of Management Journal, 50(6), 1385-1399. Jackson, M. C. (2001). Critical systems thinking and practice. European Journal of Operational Research, 128, 233-244. Jackson, M. C. (2006). Creative Holism: A Critical Systems Approach to Co mplex Problem Situations. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 23, 647-657.Kingfisher. (2012). About us. Retrieved from Kingfisher plc web site: http://www. kingfisher. com/index. asp? pageid=176 knowledge. (n. d). Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Harper Collins Publishers. Retrieved November 25, 2012, from Dictionary. com: http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/knowledge Nonaka, I. (1994, February). A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14-37. Nonaka, I. , & Toyama, R. (2003). The knowledge-creating theory revisited: knowledge creation as a synthesizing process. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 1, 2-10.Owen-Smith, J. , & Powell, W. W. (2004). Knowledge networks as channels and conduits: The effects of spillovers in the Boston biotechnology community. Organization Science, 15(1), 5-22. Pelz, D. , & Andrews, F. (1966). Scientists in Organizations. New York: Wiley. plc, K. (2012). About us. Retrieved from Kingfisher plc web site: http://www. kingfisher. com/index. asp? pageid=176 Polanyi, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Powell, W. , Koput, K. , & Smith-Doerr, L. (1996). Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: Networks of learning in biotechnology.Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 116-145. Schauer, F. (1991). Playing by the rules. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Swan, J. , & Scarbrough, H. (2005). The politics of networked innovation. Human Relations, 58(7), 913–943. Toffler, A. (1990). Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of 2lst Century. New York: Bantam Books. Tsoukas, H. (1996). The firm as a distributed knowledge system: A constructionist approach. Strategic management journal, 17, 11-25. Van de Ven, A. , & Polley, D. (1992). Learning while innovating. Organization Science, 3, 92-116. Weick, K. ,

The Mystery of Math Essay Topics Middle School No One Is Discussing

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