Decision making case study Essay

Is decision making a science or an art? Perfectly diplomatic answer is ‘No one knows, really’. If it is to be assumed as a science, then it should be governed by a set of universally acceptable and applicable principles. Are there such principles? Not, really. If it is to be accepted as an art, one should perfect it with practice. Did it ever happen that way? Not, really. That is precisely the probable reason why there’s no structured course yet in any MBA Programme across the globe. Barring aside a few unstructured modules here and there, there is not a single and sophisticated course on decision making. And that fact is quite a revealing. After all everyone associated with any organized human activity (partnership, NGO, Joint Venture, small scale enterprise, a medium scale enterprise, No.1 company in any country, No. 1 company in Fortune 500 list or any company in any country for that matter) makes decisions. How decisions are made? Is there any difference between a wrong decision and a bad decision? What are the prerequisites for effective decision making? How do personal traits influence decision making? This book on decision making helps to understand such questions and has a collection of articles and interviews that highlight the importance and significance of decision making. In this book, many international experts share their views on effective decision making and give insights about decision making in different industries

Organizational Behavior, Mintzbergs Managers

Introduction The theory our group will be discussing and explaining in depth is the leadership styles of top management using Mintzberg’s managerial roles. Mintzerg named ten different roles, all separated into three categories. The first category is interpersonal. This includes figurehead, leader, and liason. The second category is informational which includes monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson. The last category is decisional which includes entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator.These roles are all used in the leadership styles of top management and we will find throughout research which roles are most frequently used and which seem to be the most effective. We have selected five companies in which we will research and in turn, be able to apply Mintzberg’s roles to each company individually. Our company selection includes Nokia, Walt Disney, Apple, Microsoft, and city utilities. We look forward to researching these companies and fin ding exactly which roles are most important to each company specifically, as well as comparatively.Theoretical Identification Mintzberg’s managerial roles are categorized into ten different roles, separated into three categories. The liaison role is under the category interpersonal roles, and it focuses on the manager’s interpersonal work with people that are not a part of his/her own organization. It describes the information and communication that is obligated by a manager, for example that the manager must create networks and engage in information exchange via trade shows, joining boards of directors to gain access to more knowledge.A successful liaison would be networking with the right amount of people in the right circles so that they also would be either a step ahead of their competitors, or at least up to date with the right knowledge. The monitor role is under informational roles, and it focuses on regularly seeking information related to the organization and industry to look for changes that are relevant to the companies’ environment. This is important to the company and to its employees who value being able to adapt to changes that happen in their environment as well.It is also the monitor’s role to be the one to monitor the team in terms of productivity and the team’s well -being to make sure that they always have productive and satisfied employees. Figurehead is considered a symbol, but is required to perform a number of routine duties of a legal or social nature. The figurehead is not always considered a decision maker within a company. Steve Jobs was a perfect example of someone who made business decision, but he was also considered someone that represented the company socially.The other form of figurehead could be Ronald McDonald representing McDonalds, but he has no authority in business decisions. Figureheads are important in helping sell the brand as well as creating a positive image. Figurehead performs ce remonial and symbolic duties. Figureheads are crucial in a company for the brand name, and how they can help build a company. Leader is responsible for the motivation and direction of employees. Every company will have leaders throughout all levels of the company. You will have someone at upper level, middle level and lower level management.Upper level management has someone leading sometimes through board of directors or CEO. Middle Management has a manager in charge of lower level. A leader cannot be taught, but it is a person who has always been a natural born leader. Leaders will direct and motivate subordinates, train, advice and influence. These tasks are crucial in keeping the company flowing smoothly and keeping the product moving out the door. Leaders are crucial in deciding tasks to elevate the company. They are making decisions that the everyday employee has no control over.The disseminator and spokesperson roles, classified under the informational category, are closely r elated. The disseminator role refers to the manager who takes information received from outsiders or employees, and shares it with upper level members of the organization. The spokesperson role takes information from inside the organization and relates it to the public. Good disseminators and spokespersons need to have good communication skills in order to interact with company heads as well as the public.A successful spokesperson needs to be able to speak during conferences with confidence and also be able to maintain a consistent relationship with the media. If a manager is both a spokesperson and disseminator, they are excellent in communicating both inside and outside of the company. The decisional category includes four roles: entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator. The entrepreneur role is one in which managers take initiative and seek out opportunities that will both benefit the organization as well as create innovation. These managers work on m ajor rojects and are proactive in accomplishing goals as well as bettering the organization. The disturbance handler role refers to managers who are responsible in taking action when problems or disturbances occur. Every organization faces conflict, most of which are sudden and unexpected. The disturbance handler steps in to handle this conflict and attempts to resolve and correct the problem so that the organization can continue successfully. Organizations Identification/ Introduction and Descriptions Disney The Disney Company was founded by its namesake Walt Disney on October 16, 1923.In 1923, Walt Disney left his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri on his way to California with a cartoon of a little girl in a cartoon world called Alice’s Wonderland (Disney). Disney decided to use his cartoon to make some Alice Comedies which first made him successful with his brother, Roy. The Disney Company’s original name in 1923 was Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio which then changed to Walt Disney Studios at the request of Disney’s brother (Disney). After a few years Disney decided to transition to an all cartoon show Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and he made his first business mistake.When he went to his distributor for more money for a second season of the cartoon he realized the distributor sold the rights to a studio who made the cartoons for a cheaper price and that upon further review of his contract he did not own the rights to Oswald the distributor did. However, this was probably a great error because right after this incident Disney created Mickey Mouse, the figurehead for the Disney Company. According to Mintzberg’s managerial role not only is Mickey the figurehead of Disney but so is Walt Disney himself.The Disney Company has expanded greatly over the last 80 years since the company was started by Walt Disney and his brother. The company has moved from cartoons to feature films, amusement parks, merchandise and even Broadway. Walt Disney di ed December 15, 1966 and the company continued with his brother Roy who followed plans Disney left behind (Disney). Once again the Disney Company was not satisfied with its success and decided they should make another theme park on the east coast called Disney World, which opened October 1, 1971. Roy Disney who ran Disney after the death of his rother died in 1971, the company was run for the next decade by people trained by the Disney brothers. The community of tomorrow or EPCOT was one of Disney’s last ideas and it was realized in the larger Disney World Park. The now CEO, Robert Iger, showed that he had what it takes to lead such an innovative company. He became the Disney Company CEO in 2005 and after that the companies stock jumped 42% (Steptoe). In 2007, he increased the fiscal profits almost 80% over the previous year to 2. 63 billion dollars (Steptoe). Disney is one of the most innovated and widely diverse companies around the world.Toyota Toyota joined the automobile industry in 1936 based out of Japan. Toyota has always been a top tier automobile company that has top of the line manufacturing. Toyota will continue to stay top of the line in automobiles with cars such as the Hybrid. The Hybrid has revolutionized the automobile industry to new heights, and that is owed to the management team who has had their struggles. It was large news not too long ago about Toyota recalling several cars, because the accelerator was sticking. The severity cannot be explained in this paper for people involved with this scenario.Mintzberg’s managerial roles might not be the direct idea companies are using, but they are being used by everyone in certain situations. Mintzberg has ten managerial roles divided into three categories of informational, interpersonal and decisional. The crisis Toyota dealt with for the last several years heavily involved the category, decisional. The start was with interpersonal and the leaders to make a decision to go public wit h their apology. It does not make the public happy for the current situation, but it lets the public no Toyota realizes they made a mistake.The leader also had to make some large cuts within the company to show they realized the mistake. The leader also had to motivate employees, so they did not have another lapse that would ruin Toyota. The decisional aspects consume of disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. The negotiator had to deal with all the complaints, and they had to negotiate all the lawsuits aimed at Toyota. The negotiator did pretty well by taking a small hit in the large scheme of the company. They were able to find settlements for over half the cases dealing with the incidents.It took years to uncover a lot of these settlements, but Toyota was willing to take that hit to rebuild the brand name to its original strength. The other two decisional roles are disturbance handler and resource allocator. The disturbance handler is someone who takes corrective action in a crisis and solves problems at hand. This could have been the ending result of Toyota with so many lives in jeopardy, but this person dealt with the problem by confronting it head on. They took the approach of no excuses, and making it publicly none of the problem and recalling the vehicles.It was going to take a hit for taking blame in such large failure of automobiles, but it would save their image in the long run. The resource allocator was in charge of dealing with the issues inside the vehicle to make sure no problem occurs like this again. Toyota continues to bounce back by having top of the line vehicles with minimal complaints. The resource allocator has seemed to done their job in fixing the problem with newly acquired resources. Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington.The company develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products and services that’s related to electr onics and software. Microsoft is also one of the world's most valuable companies. As of 2012, Microsoft is a market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets. It was founded on April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Paul Allen was born in Seattle, Washington, Allen attended Lakeside School, a private school in Seattle, and befriended Bill Gates, who was almost three years younger and shared a common enthusiasm for computers. Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, to William H. Gates, Sr. nd Mary Maxwell Gates. Gates father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. Gates graduated from Lakeside School in 1973. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and enrolled at Harvard College in the autumn of 1973. Gates joined Paul Allen at Honeywell during the summer of 1974. The following year they saw the release of the MITS Altair 8800 based on the Intel 8080 CPU, and Gates and Allen saw this as the opportunity to start their own computer software company. Gates dropped out of Harvard at this time and that was the start of Microsoft Corporation.Bill Gates management style was very different. Gates's role at Microsoft for most of its history was primarily a management and executive role. From Microsoft's founding in 1975 until 2006; Gates had primary responsibility for the company's product strategy. He aggressively broadened the company's range of products, and wherever Microsoft achieved a dominant position he vigorously defended it. He gained a reputation for being distant to others; as early as 1981 an industry executive complained in public that â€Å"Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls. As an executive, Gates met regularly with Microsoft's senior managers and program managers. Accounts of these meetings described him as verbally combative and they were worried about the long term agreement with the company because of the way Bill Gates operated things, he was for example very known for the way he would interrupt presentations and be rude and harsh. Gates's role at Microsoft for most of its history was primarily a management and executive role. Microsoft has a top 12 over their management style which is: Total World Domination The Top Five PercentMicrosoft rigorously attempts to hire only the smartest people, those who are within the smartest 5% of the total population. Bet the Company Winning in the game of business is about being willing to make bets at good odds. Require Failure At most companies, to succeed is good, but to fail is unacceptable. This type of policy means that, as a risk/reward scenario, the risk of failure vastly exceeds the reward of success. Managers Are Qualified At Microsoft, the most important qualification for a manager is expertise in the functional area over which (s)he is managing Perform, Perform, PerformPerformance is all that matters at Microsoft, so mu ch so that excuses are flat-out irrelevant â€Å"Shrimp vs. Weenies† Even with its billions upon billions in cash, Microsoft is as frugal as Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's a company that buys canned weenies for food, not shrimp. Commander Steve Ballmer flew coach. (For scheduling Size Does Matter Bill is Watching Esprit de Corps Again alluding to Microsoft being less like a big company than it appears, Thielen asserts that Microsoft has esprit de corps like that of a start-up where everyone involved is focused on a common goal.Stop the Insanity The plague of most big companies is bureaucracy and stupid rules. Home Away From Home Microsoft has a simple way of maximizing its employees' productivity: It allows each individual's office to be as individualized as one desires. Nokia Nokia was founded in 1865 by a man named Fredrik Idestam. He set up two paper mills on the banks of rivers in Finland, the second one on the Nokianvirta River. This is where he came up with the name we all kno w, Nokia. It is ironic that Nokia began by making paper, one of the most important communication tools in history.The first step Nokia took towards the technology industry was in 1912 when Arvid Wickstrom set up Finnish Cable Works. They worked closely with Nokia and in 1962 they created their first electronic device, a pulse analyzer for nuclear power plants. In 1963 Nokia started developing products for the army and shortly after became the biggest computer brand in Finland and the third largest TV manufacturer in Europe. Throughout Nokia’s history there is a trend of innovation and entrepreneurial thinking from its managers.In 1991, the Finnish Prime Minister made the world’s first GSM phone call using a Nokia device. The Nokia President and CEO at the time, Jorma Ollila, decided to focus exclusively on manufacturing mobile phones and telecommunication. This marks the beginning of the Nokia Company that we all know to date. With its aggressive grown strategy and foc us on mobile communication Nokia quickly became the largest mobile communications company in the world. More recently, Nokia has been making many changes due to the increase in competitors in the smart phone market.Fresh blood was brought into management when Stephen Elop was appointed the new President and CEO. He has a history of being a top decisional manager according to Mintzberg’s managerial roles. His job is to keep up with the changing industry and stay competitive in the smartphone market that has been dominated by apple in recent years. In the few years that Elop has been CEO he has made further changes to the management team of the organization. A new vice president of operations has been appointed along with new vice presidents of sales & marketing, mobile phones, and communications.Elop is clearly taking action to make up some of the market share lost to apple in the past years. Apple Apple, a multinational and billion dollar company, was founded on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. It was incorporated January 3, 1977 without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak. Apple is best known for the Mac line of computers, the iPod, the iPad, and the iPhone. It is the world’s largest mobile phone maker after Samsung and Nokia and was named the most admired company in the United States in 2008 and in the world from 2008 to 2012.The Apple market cap is larger than that of Google and Microsoft combined and its worldwide revenue totaled $156 billion in 2012. Apple uses Mintzberg’s managerial roles throughout its corporation to function on a daily basis. Application and Analysis/ Relationships and Inconsistencies Apple While there are many similarities as well as inconsistencies between Apple and Mintzberg’s managerial roles, I find there to be mostly positive relationships between this organization and our topic. The strongest role that Apple focuses on is the leadership role.M intzberg described leading as motivation, direction, and communication from managers to their employees in an effective manner. Steve Jobs was the soul of Apple and his leadership skills and qualities lead this company to extreme success. He was an innovator who focused not only on the needs of the stakeholders, but also on how the organization could reinvent or create new products, markets, customers, and services. Job’s leadership skills followed Mintzberg’s definition of leadership precisely.Along with the similarities of Apple and our topic come inconsistencies. The main inconsistency I found was Apples ability to use Mintzberg’s disturbance handler role effectively. Mintzberg describes this role as the one to take corrective action when the organization faces important, yet unexpected disturbances. Apple has faced many challenges and crossroads in its past and many of these were not solved in the best of manners. A stronger decisional role, such as the dist urbance handler, may have made such challenges easier to handle.Mintzberg’s managerial roles are important and used within all organizations and relationships, both positive and negative, are present. Disney The Disney Company is most well known for its figurehead Mickey Mouse an important role according to Mintzberg. Disney utilizes the figurehead role in a positive way to influence the company and the fans. The Disney Company continued to gain in success after the creation of Mickey Mouse when they realized that they could make more money by selling Mickey merchandise. Then they moved on the first Mickey book and comic strip.In 1934, Disney decided to break into the animated feature films starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White was a huge success and was the highest grossing film of all time until it was surpassed by Gone with the Wind (Disney). Walt Disney knew that his cartoons were successful but the future of his company was in the feature films where he continued to be successful but eventually wanted to expand his company again. This time he moved to amusement parks and Disneyland was opened on July 17, 1955, which fans later called theme parks (Disney).In the 1950’s Disney came out with movies like 20,000 Leagues Under the sea and perhaps the finest culmination of his career Mary Poppins (Disney). According to Mintzberg’s roles, Disney was a great leader by not only running a successful company but by influencing the grand expansion of his company from cartoons to films, amusement parks, and even Broadway. He also knew how to inspire and teach his young proteges how to be good leaders and entrepreneurs. After Disney’s death, the new group of leaders decided to keep the Disney expansion going by building a Disney theme park in Tokyo, the first international theme park.In the 1980’s the new management team began the realization of Disney’s own cable network, The Disney Channel. Over the next tw enty years Disney expanded their movie, television, and theme park networks. In 1994, Disney moved to Broadway with their production of Beauty and the Beast (Disney). In 2005, Robert Iger became the CEO of Disney and he is still the CEO today. Many people were skeptical because Iger was a weatherman who had worked himself up the ranks and was now the leader of a large company (Steptoe).However, Iger showed that he could be a great leader like Walt Disney and it was Iger who changed Disney into a technologically savvy company. Iger proved his business smarts by meeting with Steve Jobs the Apple and Pixar chief executive and Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7. 4 billion (Steptoe). Robert Iger uses Mintzberg’s role of negotiator in a positive way by making a deal with Steve Jobs for Pixar which really helped expand Disney’s company and increase their profits. Iger uses a laid back management style different from his predecessor and encourages the senior executives to entr epreneurial.The hardest roles of Mintzberg’s to see if they are being utilized by Disney are the informational ones, monitor and disseminator because it is hard to tell if Iger is good at the interoffice communication. Disney has been a thriving company for almost 80 years, starting with cartoons and blossoming into a company with diverse roots in television, movies, theme parks, and Broadway. The Disney Company utilizes the entrepreneur role positively throughout the company’s history from Walt Disney all the way to the leaders of the company today.Implications and Conclusions The concept of Mintzberg’s managerial roles is one that is used throughout every organization on a daily basis. The roles that Mintzberg describe are crucial to the success of any organization and they directly relate to the real world. These roles, although unique in their own, come together to form a single working unit that creates effective and productive employees. Without the knowle dge of Mintzberg’s managerial roles, organizations will struggle to understand how to work together as well as how to form a useful system for success.While learning about Mintzberg’s managerial roles, our group retained information that will further help our understanding when working in an organization. We studied three important categories: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. It is important to be able to distinguish the differences in these categories and to be able to see the significance of each. Each individual role plays an important part in the success of an organization. The more organizations focus on these roles and allocate them to their employees, the more successful and organized they will be.

Analysis of Customer Service Management

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W6 - Essay Example In addition, the use of technology has become increasingly common; as a result, geographical boundaries which previously functioned as a barrier, are now being dissolved, facilitating interaction and communication among organizational employees in various nations. A global information system functions within a global context, therefore a leadership strategy that appears appropriate within an organizational context in one country might not necessarily be as relevant in a different country with a different cultural context. As a result, devising an effective leadership strategy must also take cultural, political and legal factors in different countries into account. A global information system refers to any information system that is developed and used within a global context. Outsourcing of organizational functions is becoming increasingly common, especially within the IT context, in order to gain cost benefits. Devising an effective strategy for leadership is vital, because coordinating the effective functioning of the various subsidiaries would require an adherence to the regulatory and legal frameworks that are in place in the subsidiary countries; it would also require adaptation in terms of cultural elements. Devising an effective leadership strategy would therefore require a well thought out approach. This study examines leadership issues in the context of a global information system and sets out a framework for a model that may be applicable. Outsourcing has been defined as the use of external agents in order to perform organizational functions (Brooks, 2006). Where IT sourcing is concerned, this could be carried out in-house, wherein it would be internalized or outsourced to other individuals and companies across the globe, which would in turn, affect the impact of the outsourcing decisions on the workforce and their motivation. Leadership has traditionally been associated with management, but

A Perspective on Water Crisis Essay Example for Free

A Perspective on Water Crisis Essay Global water crisis is one of the biggest problems that the world is facing. Freshwater resources are increasingly becoming scarce today and probably for the next decades. Less than one-half of 1% of all the water on the planet comprises the available fresh and clean water (Maude). Humans already used more than half of the world’s clean fresh water and by the year 2025 the consumption of freshwater will increase to three-quarters. Global water consumption becomes double every 20 years and if this trend continues, the supply of freshwater will not be enough for the demand of the world’s population by 2025. World Bank and World Heath Organization noted that there are about 2 billion people have no access to clean and safe water and about 1 billion people have no enough clean water to meet their daily water requirements. Depleted water resources are attributed to the intensive urbanization, deforestation, water diversion, industrial farming and population growth. As the world population increases, the consumption of accessible freshwater may grow six-fold (Maude). As a result of water crisis, lots of people suffer and die from water and sanitation related diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis. Unfortunately, most of the poorest countries in the globe are the ones who are experiencing water shortage. Uganda is located at the Sub-Saharan Africa and is among the poorest countries around the globe. The country relies solely on agricultural industry however, less than half of the arable land is subject for cultivation. Large part of the land area (more or less 82%) of the country is arable, however more than 67% of the country has poor ferralitic soil which has nearly lost its mineral content due to prolonged weathering. Thus, proper soil management is needed for the soil to regain its lost nutrients. The economy of the country has a great potential, considering the potentials of its agriculture and natural resources. There is a great possibility that Uganda will recover from difficulties, most especially from poverty. However, due to some existing problems that the country is facing, it seems to be difficult for Uganda to escape from poverty. One of the biggest problems that the country is facing today is water crisis. Water crisis definitely affect the country as a whole contributes to Uganda’s poverty and worsen her current situation (Dauda, 2003). The country of Uganda is definitely endowed with water resources. About 18% of the total surface area of the country is covered with renewable water resources including lakes, rivers and wetlands. Approximately, it can supply an individual of Uganda with 2,800 m of water in a year (Dauda, 2003). These fresh water resources are considered as the essential resource for sustaining life, preserving the environment, uphold development and alleviating poverty in the country. It has direct impact the quality of life of Ugandans and their productivity as a whole. Water is very essential to Uganda since it plays an essential role in the production of sufficient supply of food for the country as well as supplying electric power all over the country. It is the key resource of the country’s agriculture, food processing and other agro-industries which provides employment to the people of Uganda. Aside from supporting Uganda’s agriculture and industry, water also provides electric power to the country. Indeed, it is the source of hydropower which is the country’s main resource of abundant and cheap electric power. The socio-economic development of the country depends solely on the energy produced from hydropower. Inadequate power supply cannot support Uganda’s large-scale manufacturing industries and agro-industries which may lead to low economic level of the country (National Water Development Report, 2005). The major freshwater resources of Uganda include rainfall, surface or open water and groundwater. Rainfall is the most vital source of freshwater of the country. The rainfall pattern in the country greatly influences the land use potential and consequently the population distribution. The rainfall pattern of Uganda is influenced by the local topography and the presence of Lake Victoria. Rainfall in Uganda tends to increase with altitude; meanwhile, rainfall is apt to decrease with the distance from the lake. High rainfall is noted on the central and western parts of Lake Victoria and over the mountain. Another factor that determines the occurrence of rainfall is the country’s season. The most stable rain season in Uganda is from the months of March to May; meanwhile, the reported variable rainy months in Uganda is from October to December (National Water Development Report, 2005). The major freshwater resources of Uganda are in the form of lakes and rivers. These open sources are often used for the supply of hydropower in the country. The major resources of hydropower in Uganda are the Nile River and Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria supports the fisheries industry of Uganda and provide water supply to the majority of people of Uganda. Indeed, the Lake is also supporting the agriculture industry along its shoreline (National Water Development Report, 2005). However, the Lake’s potential use for the future is now in question since it is experiencing dying up which leads to lower water levels. The available water left in Lake Victoria may not be enough to sustain the required hydroelectric power generation (Xinhua News Agency). Other water bodies include Kyoga, Albert, George, Edward, Ruizi, Katonga, Kafu, Mpologoma and Aswa (National Water Development Report, 2005). Some of these lakes, most especially those on the western and central part are also drying up due to drought which threatens the cattle industry in the area. Cattles have little access to water which may lead to lower production rate and low quality of Cattles (Xinhua News Agency). In addition to drought, the quality of surface water has been deteriorating with time. In most parts of the country, surface and ground water are already polluted due to increased urbanization and population as well as human activities such as poor agricultural practices, poor sanitation practices, industrial waste discharge, and mining activities (National Water Development Report, 2005). Aquifers, which can only be generated and recharged by endogenous precipitation, are also essential resource of freshwater in Uganda. It is the major source of water in rural, semi-arid and arid areas in the country. The occurrence of groundwater is highly dependent on the geologic formation in the country. Uganda is endowed with productive aquifers water; this can be attributed to the geology of Uganda which is dominated by crystalline Basement Complex of pre-Cambrian age. More than 90% of the country is underlie by different kinds of rocks which predominantly include granites, granitoid gneisses and gneisses. Ground water resources are generally found on the underground layer of unconsolidated materials such as weathered bedrock, silt and clay. This groundwater can only be extracted through wells. The highest yielding and productive groundwater can be found in weathered-fractured bedrock which has high permeability (National Water Development Report, 2005). In general, the groundwater of Uganda is in good and sound condition. There are no traces of toxic substances that may threaten the health of the people in Uganda. Moreover, these aquifers have significant amount of minerals such as aluminum, calcium, magnesium metal cations, chloride, iron, manganese and chromium that may not cause harm to the people of Uganda. Consequently, there are few parts of the country that are found to have high amounts of these minerals and have traces of high nitrate and chromium levels in some areas. Aside from high amount of minerals, it was also reported that some parts of the country have found to be positive in Coliform bacteria. Contamination of the aquifers is attributed to deterioration of the borehole casings, leaching of sewage wastes, weathering of aquifer environment as well as poor sanitation condition in the areas around the aquifers (National Water Development Report 2005). In general, the availability and preservation of water resources in Uganda solely relies on various environmental, sociological and cultural factors. The availability of freshwater resources depends on the distribution of water bodies on the country. It is known that freshwater resources in Uganda constitute a great part of the country. However, due to its uneven distribution and seasonality, availability of water is still a big problem on most parts of the country. Ugandans find it difficult to have an easy access to fresh and clean water. Women together with their young are spending so much time and energy on walking a mile-long way just to fetch water from areas with sufficient supply of clean water. The uneven distribution of water resources in the country also influences the agro-industry in the country. Cattle raisers tend to transfer from place to place just to find safe and sufficient water for the cattles. As a result, disease spread and transfer brought by the cattles becomes prevalent on various regions of the country (Xinhua News Agency). Meanwhile, uneven distribution of groundwater greatly influenced the accessibility of Ugandans to clean water. Regions endowed with productive groundwater are indeed rich in geological characteristics (National Water Development Report 2005). The occurrence of extreme weather conditions has a great effect on the availability and safety of water on the country. Heavy rains may cause to flooding and consequently may contaminate the water resources of the some regions in the country. Contaminated water may result to more serious problems such as disease outbreaks, epidemics and even death. Contaminated water is the key reason to the high and increasing mortality rate of Ugandans especially of infants (National Water Development Report 2005). It is reported that most number of mortality occurs on infants and this can be attributed to less accessibility to clean and safe water. Meanwhile, erratic rainfall and seasonality of the occurrence of rainfall in the country resulted to desertification of arable lands. These definitely affect several industries in the country especially those that greatly depend on water (i. e. agricultural industries) (Dauda, 2003). Some of the suspected major reasons of water resources deterioration in Uganda are rapid growth population, urbanization, industrialization, relentless environmental degradation and deforestation as well as pollution. High population density greatly influenced the availability of water resources in Uganda. The population of Uganda in 2007 is approximately 30. 9 million and more than half of it is comprised of infants. The country has an average annual growth rate of 3. 4% which is one of the highest growth rates in the globe. The demand for water relatively increased while the supply decreased with high population density. And as what the country is experiencing, there is no enough clean water for all. Increased population accompanied by urbanization and industrialization resulted to increased pollution and deforestation. Most of the land bodies are converted to industries which produces toxic wastes that pollute the environment especially water bodies. This contributes to the decreased supply of water in Uganda. Depleted water supply is also attributed to poor agricultural practices in the country such as cultivation, pastoral activities, and livestock practices. Poor sanitation is also identified as a possible cause of freshwater shortage in Uganda. Some of the land owners that cultivate their own lands seem to be unaware of environmentally sustainable practices. They have poor knowledge on these methods that they do any practices which may pollute their environment. These practices accompanied by poor sanitation will indeed bring negative effect on Uganda’s environment. Poor sanitation practices are among the factors that contribute to depleted water supply and water related diseases in Uganda. Fetching and purifying water are very labor intensive, considering the distance that Ugandans walk just to obtain clean and safe water. They often share and obtain polluted water from water resources where farm animals usually dwell. However, as an everyday routine, it became arduous to the people of Uganda to fetch water from distance places and to consume so much time purifying the water that they fetched. People tend to ignore the hazard that the contaminated water may bring them; they just drink the water as ease without purifying it. As a result, development of water related diseases became prevalent in Uganda (Dauda, 2003). Another major factor that leads to water shortage in Uganda is global warming. Majority of Uganda’s water table, especially the northern and northeastern part is dry due to global warming and environmental degradation (Dauda, 2003). Global warming may also contribute to the occurrence on the extreme weather condition in the country such as El Nino and La Nina. Moreover, these parts of the country are experiencing wide fluctuations in the availability of water between wet and dry seasons as well as variations in the onset of rainfall as a result of the extreme weather conditions (National Water Development Report 2005). Prolonged drought, which leads to drying up of significant water tables of Uganda, has also threatened the food security in the country. Due to prolonged drought, production of staple foods of Ugandans such as sorghum and millet relatively decreased (EuropaWorld). Just like any other country, Uganda is rich in traditions and belief. They value their culture so much it comes to a point that their beliefs and traditions hinder the possibility of development in their country. There are existing cultural norms that are related to the water bodies in Uganda. Some of the water bodies in Uganda are believed to have special healing powers for many diseases and supernatural dwellers as well. Moreover, these water bodies have potentials for many significant uses such as hydropower resource and irrigation for agricultural industries. However, due to close cultural attachment of people of Uganda to these water resources, the government found it difficult to create potential programs that will optimize the use of the water resources in the country (National Water Development Report 2005). Aside from various problems stated previously that have great impact on freshwater availability, Uganda’s neighboring regions seem to contribute on the water crisis that it is experiencing. Majority of Uganda’s freshwater resources have existing crossing frontiers which bound the country from maximizing its use on its own water resources within its territory. Though they have legal riparian rights to have a share on the water resources, these transboundaries definitely affect the socio-economic growth of the country since water is considered to be as the key player in the development of Uganda (Encounter Uganda Well Health). For one thing, these transboundaries serve as the main competitors of Uganda from the available water resources. People of Uganda have little access to large water resources since they are restricted to come across the boundary of another country. Moreover, these crossing frontiers not only prevent Uganda from optimizing its available freshwater resources but source of food and employment as well (National Water Development Report 2005). In order to unravel the existing problems in Uganda, its government decided to make some modifications on its various sectors, most especially the water sector. Several studies and situational analyses are conducted by the water sector that leads to preparation of comprehensive strategy of water sector and investment strategies. The government has anticipated many factors and they made it possible that the strategies may still be implemented on the sector up to 2015. The government has already started implementing some of the strategies and one of these is Sector Wide Approach to Planning (SWAP). SWAP requires all stakeholders to participate in the planning and implementation of the sector’s activities while optimizing benefits for all. The strategy has provided a regular budget on the programs that are made which is relatively different to the previous programs that the sector has made (National Water Development Report 2005). Another significant program that also aimed to promote sustainable management and development of water resources of the riparian regions is the Collaborative Partnership Program. The program is focused in improving the coordination of efforts of the different stakeholders. The program is also focused on harmonizing strategies and plans that involves sustainable management and development of the shared water resources. This makes Uganda very eager to have a close relationship with its neighboring regions. Uganda became enthusiastic with regard to making joint plan, management and development of the water resources that they shared. Uganda’s aim on making collaboration with her transboundaries is for all of them to obtain fair benefits from the water resources as well as to ensure that they will get sufficient supply of clean water. Fair utilization and consumption of shared water provide a high opportunity for sustainable use of resources as well as sustainable growth and development. Moreover, Uganda will be able to support its economic and social objectives through collaborating with its cross frontiers (National Water Development Report 2005). The riparian countries including Uganda will have comparable advantages from the equitable use of shared water. While building a close relationship with the riparian countries, the potentials of the existing industries in Uganda may be developed through collaboration with her neighboring regions. Advancement in its industries may lead to economic development of the country and in turn advancement on the quality of life and well being of its whole nation. Meanwhile, there are potential conflicts identified in the implementation of collaboration program between the riparian countries. Aside from the common objective that the riparian countries agreed on making the joint collaboration, these countries also have different interests which make a potential conflict between them. They made plans and implemented projects which do not take into consideration the wide coverage of the shared water resources. They do not anticipate the possible conflicts that may arise by implanting their plans. As a result, some of their individual plans for the development of their own countries are contradicting with the plans of other countries. Plans of other countries will not be possible if other countries’ plan will be allowed. Another issue that makes the joint program complicated is the mistrust among the cross frontiers. This issue seems to be unavoidable since the riparian countries have different objectives and interest in joining the joint program. They refuse to show their own data regarding the shared water resources as well as information of their plans and strategies. Since the riparian countries have no idea of the plans and programs of other riparian countries there are instances that the individual projects implemented are the same with other countries (National Water Development Report 2005). The last issue identified is the restoration of the environment. One of the minor objectives of the joint program is to conserve the environment; however, it is found to be difficult to implement their plans and projects while not taking into consideration the possible negative effect that it may bring to their environment. The main concern here is the methods of the activities and projects as well as the way these are conducted. Countries located on the downstream of the shared water resources are threatened by the possible effect of the activities that the upstream countries are conducting. Also due to mistrust, they are not guaranteed that the upstream countries are performing the activities in a proper way. It is essential that both the upstream and downstream countries will conduct their programs and projects in such a way that these programs will not affect that conservation of environment that they are promoting in the country. Through this little start, there will be a great possibility that their countries will surpass big problems such as water crisis and most of all poverty. References Barlow, Maude. The global water crisis and the Commodification of the worlds water supply A Special Report issued by the International Forum on Globalization (IFG). Retrieved May 30, 2008, from http://www. thirdworldtraveler. com/Water/Global_Trade_BG. html Toure, Dauda. 2003. The Millennium Development Goals Progress Report for Uganda. Retrieved May30, 2008, from http://www. undg. org/archive_docs/6197-Denmark_MDG_Report. pdf 2005. National Water Development Report: Uganda. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from http://www. unesdoc. unesco. org/images/0014/001467/146760E. pdf Xinhua News Agency. 2006. Lakes in Uganda dry up due to prolonged drought. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from highbeam. com/doc database. Encounter Uganda Well Health. Retrieved May 29, 2008 from water_website database. EuropaWorld. 2003, February 21. Northern Uganda: The Forgotten Crisis. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from http://www. europaworld. org/week117/northernuganda21203. htm

A Solar Cell (The Photovoltaic Cell) Essay

A Solar Cell (The Photovoltaic Cell) Essay A solar cell or the photovoltaic cell is an electrical device that converts light energy directly into electricity. This cell when exposed to light can generate and support an electric current without being attached to any external voltage source. The solar cell uses the photovoltaic effect to produce electricity.thw word Photovoltaic comes from the Greek word meaning light, and from the word Volt, which is the the unit of electro-motive force also the word volt comes from the last name of the inventor of the battery (electrochemical cell), the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. Thus we get the term photo-voltaic. The photovoltaic effect, in brief, is a process in which electric current is produced in a material upon exposure to light. The photovoltaic effect being directly related to the photoelectric effect is actually a different phenomenon. In photovoltaic effect, the light is incident upon the material surface; the electrons present in the valance band of the atom absorb energy from the light and jump to the conduction band (band theory). Now these electrons are attracted by a positively charged electrode and thus the circuit is completed and the light energy is converted into electric energy. On the other hand, in photoelectric effect, the electrons are ejected from a materials surface upon exposure to radiation. Photovoltaic systems are extraordinary and very useful with a huge list of advantages. The reason they are so unique is they have no moving parts (in the classical mechanical sense) to wear out. There are no fluids or gases (except in hybrid systems) that can leak out. The best part about these is that they need no fuel to operate. Having a rapid response, they achieve full output instantly. These cells can operate at moderate temperatures producing no pollution while producing electricity, although waste products from their manufacture and toxic gases in the event of catastrophic failure and disposal may be a concern. Solar cells require little maintenance if properly manufactured and installed. Silicon, the second most abundant element in the earths crust can be used to make these cells. Thus, their production is possible on a large scale with an added advantage of them being modular, permitting a wide range of solar-electric applications such as: 1) Small scale for remote applications and residential use. 2) Intermediate scale for business and neighborhood supplementary power. 3) Large scale for centralized energy farms of square kilometers size. Solar cells have a relatively high conversion efficiency giving the highest overall conversion efficiency from sunlight to electricity yet measured. This gives them wide power-handling capabilities, from microwatts to megawatts. Clearly, photovoltaic cells have an appealing range of characteristics. [1] 1.1 HISTORY The physical phenomenon responsible for converting light to electricity-the photovoltaic effect-was first observed in 1839 by a French physicist, Edmund Becquerel. Becquerel noted that a voltage appeared when one of two identical electrodes in a weak conducting solution was illuminated. The Photovoltaic effect was first to be noticed and researched in solids, e.g. selenium, in the 1870s. However, it was in 1883 Charles Fritts built the first solid state photovoltaic cell; he coated the semiconductor selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the junctions. The device was only around 1% efficient. In 1888 Russian physicist Aleksandr Stoletov built the first photoelectric cell based on the outer photoelectric effect discovered by Heinrich Hertz earlier in 1887. The first practical photovoltaic cell was developed in 1954 at Bell Laboratories by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Souther Fuller and Gerald Pearson. A diffused silicon p-n junction was used by them; this junction could reach 6% efficiency, as compared to the selenium cells in which it was difficult to reach 0.5%. At first, cells were developed for toys and other minimal uses, since the cost of the electricity they produced then was very high; i.e. a cell that produces 1 watt of electrical power in bright sunlight cost about $250, compared to $2 to $3 per watt for a coal plant. [2] In 1958, the U.S. Vanguard space satellite used a small (less than one-watt) array of cells to power its radio. These cells functioned so well that the space scientists soon realized the Photovoltaic could be a very effective power source for many space missions. Technological development of the solar cell has been a part of the space program ever since then. Besides the space programs, another source is the transistor industry has contributed greatly to solar-cell technology. Transistors and PV cells are made from similar materials, and their workings are determined by many of the same physical mechanisms. A great amount of research and development has been done in improving and developing the ever-useful transistor, and there has been a regular discovery of valuable information in relation to solar cells. This situation has reversed in recent times and much of the research happening in PV is affecting transistor technology. 1.2 EFFICIANCY OF SOLAR CELLS Today, photovoltaic systems are capable of transforming one kilowatt of solar energy falling on one square meter into about a hundred watts of electricity. One hundred watts can power most household appliances like television, stereo, or a lamp etc. . In fact, on a standard basis a roof covered with solar cells facing the sun in a typical home provides about 8500-kilowatthours of electricity annually, which also is almost equal to a average households annual consumption on electricity. On comparison, a present-day, 200-ton electric-arc steel furnace, demanding electricity worth 50,000 kilowatts, would for a PV power supply, require about a square kilometer of land. Certain factors make capturing solar energy difficult. Apart from the suns low illuminating power per square meter, sunlight is discontinuous and is affected by time of day, climate, pollution, and season. Power sources based on photovoltaic require either back-up from other sources or storage for times when the sun is obs cured. Moreover, the cost of a photovoltaic system is very high (electricity from PV systems in 1980 cost about 20 times * that from conventional systems powered by fossil fuels). Thus, solar energy for photovoltaic conversion into electricity is abundant, inexhaustible, and clean; yet, on the other hand it also requires special techniques to gather enough of it effectively. When sunlight is incident on the solar cell, most of the energy is lost even before it can be converted to electricity. Maximal sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiencies for solar cells range up to 30% (and even higher for some highly complex cell designs), but typical efficiencies are 10%-15%. Most current work on cells is directed at enhancing efficiency while lowering cost. Certain physical processes limit cell efficiency-some are inherent and cannot be changed; many can be improved by proper design. Reflection is the first factor that reduces the efficiency of the cell. Normal, untreated silicon reflects 36% (or more) of the sunlight that strikes it. This would be a horrendous loss in terms of efficiency. Fortunately, there are several ways of treating cell surfaces to cut reflection drastically. By dint of these methods, reflection can be lowered to a quite manageable 5% or so. The second factor affecting the electricity production and then, in turn, the efficiency of the cell is the intensity of light falling on it. Now, this light can be of two types- -Light that is not energetic enough to separate electrons from their atomic bonds. -Light that has extra energy beyond that needed to separate electrons from bonds. Both of the above types of light contribute in reducing the efficiency of the cell. Light entering a solar cell can- a. Go right through it. b. Become absorbed, generating heat in the form of atomic vibrations. c. Separate an electron from its atomic bond, producing an electron-hole pair. d. Produce an electron-hole pair but have an excess of energy, which then becomes heat. Only (c) is a near-perfect means of transforming sunlight into electricity. Since the suns spectrum has a wide variety of energies and intensities, the key is to match a material and its characteristic band gap energy with the spectrum so that the maximum amount of energy in the suns spectrum falls just above the characteristic energy. The third factor that reduces the efficiency of the cell is electron-hole recombination. There are two ways in which recombination of electrons and holes occurs, which can be characterized as direct and indirect recombination. -Direct Recombination: Direct recombination is relatively rare. It happens when an electron and a hole randomly encounter each other, and the electron falls back into the hole. Thus the materials original bonds are reasserted, and the electrons and holes energies are lost as heat. -Indirect Recombination: Indirect recombination can occur in many ways. (Indirect means that the electron and hole do not just run into each other and combine-the interaction is influenced by further circumstances.) Contrary to what one might expect, indirect recombination is much more of a problem in solar cells than direct recombination. Resistance is a factor which reduced efficiency of almost all known electrical appliances and the solar cell is no different. Resistance losses in solar cells occur predominantly in three places: in the bulk of the base material, in the narrow top-surface layer typical of many cells and at the interface between the cell and the electric contacts leading to an external circuit. Resistance losses lower voltage and enhance the chances of recombination of charges, reducing current. Usually it is better to highly dope silicon to reduce resistance as highly doped silicon has numerous free carriers to conduct the current. After considering the various factors discussed, we can actually look forward to see and study the construction of the solar cells with maximum possible efficiency. [3-10] 1.3 types AND GENERATIONS of solar cells Solar cells can be of many types as we know them. Todays modern technology has allowed us to be able to study each in detail and help with improving energy output and increasing efficiency. There are three types of solar cell- Amorphous cells, Polycrystalline Monocrystalline. Amorphous, also known as the thin-film solar cells are more commonly seen in devices like toys, calculators etc. Monocrystalline solar cells are cut from one silicon ingot which is got from a single large silicon crystal. Polycrystalline cells are cut from an ingot derived from many smaller crystals. Mono cells are made by growing an ingot of the silicon crystal from a smaller crystal, hence the name mono-crystalline or single-crystal. This ingot is then trimmed and sliced into wafers. In case of polycrystalline cells, molten silicon is poured into a square mould allowing it to set. Now silicon cools and sets at different rates, that is, the inside cools slower than the outer part and there is no seed crystal to grow the new material. This uneven cooling itself creates multiple crystals within the block thus giving it the name of poly-crystalline or multi-crystalline. Due to its multifaceted surface, this type of solar cell is a better performer even in dim light conditions giving greater wattage even from a small surface area. Amorphous cells are made by depositing a thin sheet of silicon over a surface like steel. The panel we get is a single piece and individual cells are not visible. These cells do not have a high efficiency and thus give a lesser investment for our investment. Apart from this solar cells can be divided into three generations, being: 1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation First-generation cells are based on expensive silicon wafers and makeup 85% of the current commercial market. Second-generation cells are based on thin films compounds such as amorphous silicon, or copper indium selenide. The materials are relatively cheap, but research is needed to raise the efficiency of these cells if the cost of delivered power is to be reduced. Third-generation cells have shown a dramatic increase in efficiency that maintains the cost advantage of 2nd generation materials. Their design may make use of carrier multiplication, hot electron extraction, multiple junctions, sunlight concentration, or new materials.[11] First generation solar cells: These are the dominant type of cells available in the commercial market. A crystalline silicon wafer is used for the production of these cells. They tend to have a large surface area and a single layer p-n junction diode. Being so widely used, these cells have their own advantages and disadvantages. On the pros side, these cells have a broad spectral absorption rate and also have high carrier mobility. But these cells require expensive manufacturing technologies and also growing ingots is a very intensive process. Another disadvantage we can usually observe in these cells is that it is relatively easy for an electron to encounter a hole and thus that leads to recombination instead of electricity production. Most of the energy from a high energy photon is usually lost as heat.[12] Second generation solar cells: Second generation solar cells are mounted on glass substrates. The production costs that were plaguing first generation solar cells find some relief with the second generation. There are many companies who desire to release second-generation thin-film solar cells to the public. The material used in second generation solar cells are normally; amorphous silicon, micro-crystalline silicon, cadmium telluride (CadTel) and copper indium selenide/sulfide[14]. We see a potential for cost advantages in this generation over crystalline silicon because of various reasons. There is a lower material use along with fewer and simpler manufacturing steps. These cells also have the perfect band gap for solar energy conversion.[13][14] Third generation solar cells: The third generation cells are very different from the previously discussed cells. They do not rely on a p-n junction to separate photo-generated charge carriers but are based on a silicon substrate with a coating of nanocrystals. The third generation is the future of solar cells and the cheapest of them all. They are exactly what the sun-powered industry needs for renewable and efficient power sources. As solar cell technology continues to grow, our solar conversion efficiency will continue to rise and production expenditure will continue to drop. The third generation solar cells focus on reducing manufacturing cost and enhancing the performance of 2nd generation solar cell technology. Nanotechnology is one area that is being researched upon by this new generation of cells. Nanotechnology is being used to improve the basic solar cell to have improved electrical performance which also makes it more cost efficient. [15,16] 1.4 POLYMER SOLAR CELL AND ITS DEVELOPMENT One of the unique 3rd generation solar cells we know today is the polymeric solar cell. usually consist of an electron- or hole-blocking layer on top of an indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass followed by electron donor and an electron acceptor (in the case of bulk heterojunction solar cells), a hole or electron blocking layer, and metal electrode on top. During the last 30 years the polymer solar cell has developed from an inefficient light-harvesting device with almost no lifetime to a device that may be introduced to the commercial market within a short span of years. Today scientists are working with a lot of di ¬Ã¢â€š ¬erent types of polymer solar cells and since it will be too comprehensive to deal with all of them, only one type will be treated in this report. The type of solar cell which will be treated is a polymer/fullerene bulk hetero-junction solar cell This type of polymer solar cell consist of 6 layers: Glass, ITO, PEDOT:PSS, active layer, calcium and aluminum. The glass serves as a supporting layer for the solar cell and the only demand glass has to ful ¬Ã‚ ll is that it does not absorb light in the visible area, since the solar cell uses this light to generate power. Other and more  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exible types of supporting layers, like transparent polymers, can also be used. The focus of this report will not lie on the supporting layer and therefore the use of other types of supporting layers will not be discussed any further.[18] ITO (indium tin oxide) and aluminum serves as the electrodes in the solar cell. Beyond that, the ITO and Aluminium are also used to generate a built-in electric held caused by the difference in the metals work functions. This electric field is used dissociate the excitons, which are generated when the active layer absorbs light, and afterwards to pull the charge carriers out from the active layer. Like glass the ITO layer is transparent in the visible area. PEDOT:PSS (poly[3,4-(ethylenedioxy)-thiophene]:poly(styrene sulfonate)) and calcium are two materials which are introduced into the solar cell in order to increase the built-in electric  ¬Ã‚ eld and thereby improve the performance of the solar cell. The active layer in this polymer solar cell consists of a blend between the conjugated polymer MEH-PPV ((poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)- 1,4-phenylenevinylene])) and the modi ¬Ã‚ ed fullerene PCBM (1-(3-Methoxycarbonylpropyl)-1-phenyl-[6.6]C61). MEH-PPV is the absorbing part of the active layer and PCBM is introduced into the layer to make the dissociation of the excitons more e ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ective. In bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells, light generates excitons with subsequent separation of charges in the interface between an electron donor and acceptor blend within the devices active layer. These charges then transport to the devices electrodes where these charges flow outside the cell, perform work and then re-enter the device on the opposite side. The cells efficiency is limited by several factors especially non-geminate recombination. Hole mobility leads to faster conduction across the active layer.[29][30] By simply blending polymers (electron donors) with fullerene (electron acceptor) in organic solvents, a self assembling interpenetrating network can be obtained using various coating technologies ranging from laboratory-scale spin coating or spray coating to large-scale fabrication technologies such as inkjet printing[20,21], doctor blading [17] , gravure[23] , slot-die coating[24] and  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exographic printing[25] . In the last few years, several effective methods have been developed to optimize the interpenetrating network formed by the electron donor and acceptor, including solvent annealing (or slow-growth)[ 25] , thermal annealing[ 26-28] and morphology control using mixed solvent mixtures[ 29] or additives [30] in the solutions of donor/acceptor blends. Poly (3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT) in particular has been subject to increasing interest in the polymer research community, but signi ¬Ã‚ cant progress has also been made in developing new active-layer polymer materials [19,30-37] . Since around 2008, the efficiency of PSCs has risen to 6% using new conjugated polymers as electron donors [34]. Although progress has been impressive, there is still much to do before the realization of practical applications of PSCs. Many factors need to be taken into account in efficiently converting sunlight into electricity. Figure 2: Shows the energy levels in a polymer solar cell. ITO(indium tin oxide) is used as the high work function electrode and Al is used as the low work function electrode. (a) displays the energy levels before the polymer solar cell is assembled. (b and c) shows the energy levels after assembling. In (b) the polymer is an isolator and therefore the electric field changes linearly through the cell. The polymer used in (c) is a hole conducting polymer and therefore a Schottky junction will be formed between the polymer and the low work function electrode. The absorption range, the photon-electron conversion rate and the carrier mobilities of the light-harvesting polymers are among the crucial parameters for achieving high-efficiency solar cells. Furthermore, fabricating large area devices without signi ¬Ã‚ cantly losing efficiency while maintaining long lifetime of the device remains challenging.[38] [39] Therefore, a major challenge lies in fabricating polymer solar cells, in which free-charge-carrier generation is a critical step. Fortunately, it has been found that efficient charge transfer can take place between materials, that is, donor and acceptor molecules, with suitable energy level offsets. The strong electric field at the molecular interface of two materials with different electrochemical potentials is capable of separating the excitons into weakly bounded Coulombic pairs, and thereafter separated charge carriers. In cases where the donor and acceptor molecules form an intimate contact in blend films, efficient charge transfer takes place with an efficiency approaching 100%. The short exciton diffusion length which is much smaller than the necessary film thickness for effective optical absorption, has limited the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and hampers the efficient utilization of the photogenerated excitons in organic photovoltaics. A major breakthrough was achieved with the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) concept, where the nanoscale phase separation creates donor/acceptor interfaces for exciton dissociation via efficient charge transfer from donor to acceptor throughout the film. The concepts of donor/acceptor and BHJs, thus, establish the cornerstones of polymer solar cells. Diagram of a polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction. The bulk-heterojunction concept. After absorption of light by the photoactive material, charge transfer can easily occur due to the nano-scopic mixing of the donor and acceptor (solid and dashed area). Subsequently, the photo generated charges are transported and collected at the electrodes. Here highest occupied molecular orbital is abbreviated as HOMO and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital as LUMO. Despite the high attainable EQE, overall power conversion efficiencies (PCE) reported are still low, due to the inferior charge-transport properties and limited spectral absorption range of the polymer active layer. On one hand, endeavors in synthesis and development of novel low-band-gap polymers are being carried out to harvest the major part of the solar spectrum. [40-46] On the other hand, film-growth dynamics of polymer blends via solution processes has become one of the central topics to derive maximal efficiency from bulk-heterojunction structures. Meanwhile, precise efficiency measurements provide solutions to the spectral mismatch between the solar spectrum and polymer absorption, offering accurate evaluation of novel photoactive materials. High internal quantum efficiencies can be expected, provided that efficient donor-to-acceptor charge transfer and transport in the bulk heterojunctions occurs. A suitable energy-level alignment between the donor and acceptor to provide the driving force morphology plays a decisive role linking the optoelectronic properties and device performance to the fabrication processes. In addition to experimental results, simulation techniques have also been applied to predict the optimal morphology, yielding results that are consistent with the experimental conclusion that a nanoscale phase separation with a bi-continuous pathway toward the electrode is desired. Fabrication parameters such as solvent selection and annealing treatment are the most critical factors in film morphology. However, additive incorporation also showed significant benefits toward improving device performance. The overall effects of morphology manipulation assist in forming an interpenetrating network of donor and acceptor molecules, facilitating both charge transfer and carrier transport. Lateral phase separation has been observed and well-understood in several systems. Beyond that, the ingredient distribution of the donor and acceptor molecules along the cross-section of blend films, that is, vertical phase separation has been observed recently in the nanoscale film morphology, which intuitively governs the charge transport and collection. Thus, an ideal morphology consists of phase separation laterally and vertically, which should both be optimized for satisfying device performance.[47,50-52] A variety of post-treatment methods can alter the optoelectronic properties of the polymer-blend films. Annealing processes in polymer solar cells can be divided into two categories: thermal annealing [53,57,58] and solvent annealing.[48,59-61] Both techniques concentrate on improving the nano scale lateral phase separation of both the crystalline P3HT aggregates and PCBM domains. Thermal annealing can be applied either on the final device (post-annealing) or on the polymer film only (pre-annealing). The annealing temperature and time are the two most critical parameters in this approach. However, the selection of solvent as well as metal electrodes could also affect the ultimate device performance. Solution processing has many advantages over other film fabrication technologies, which usually require complicated instruments as well as costly and time-consuming procedures. Therefore, solution processing has developed into the most favored methodology for fabricating organic optoelectronic devices. Solution processing also allows the freedom to control phase separation and molecular self-organization during solvent evaporation and/or film treatment. The solvent establishes the film evolution environment, and thus has foreseeable impact on the final film morphology. Selection and combination of solvents have been shown to be critical for the morphology in polymer-blend films, and are well-documented in the literature. [48,49]. Spin-coating from single-solvent solutions results in thin films, which possess optoelectronic properties determined by the solution parameters and the spin-coating process, for example concentration, blending ratio, spin speed and time, etc. Meanwhile, solv ent properties, such as boiling point, vapor pressure, solubility, and polarity, also have considerable impact on the final film morphology. [62-75] 1.5 Work function of solar cells 1.5.1 Work function of material The work function is the minimum energy needed to move an electron from the Fermi energy level, EF, to vacuum energy, Evac.   The work function varies by using different materials and also by doping. It is lower for n-type semiconductor than for p-type because Fermi levels within the band gap of a semiconductor depends upon doping. Where are work functions of the n-type and p-type materials respectively. Junctions having different work functions give way to an electrostatic field. 1.5.2 Metal-semiconductor junction Metal-semiconductor junction is the simplest type of charge separating junction. If we have an n-type semiconductor of work function metal of work function, such that, it is called a Schottky barrier. When metal and semiconductor are separate from each other, the Fermi levels will look like in fig. 5(a). But when they are in contact (electronic), these levels will line up. The exchange of charge carriers across the junction results in this, with the consequence that the layers approach the equilibrium (thermal). The energy at the conduction band edge at the interface between semiconductor and metal is higher than in the bulk of the semiconductor. The electrostatic potential energy is shown in fig. 5(b) by the change in Evac. The space charge region or depletion region is the region where there is a net charge. As Evac changes, so must the conduction and valence band energies, and that too by the same amount (proportionality). This happens because the electron affinity and band gap are invariant in the semiconductor, and is called band bending.[76] 1.5.3 p-n heterojunction A heterojunction consists of two different materials with different band gaps and these can also be either p-n or p-i-n junctions. Devices based on heterojunctions can improve carrier collection and thus efficiency. Due to change in the band gap, a discontinuity exists in the conduction and valence band at the junction. The potential step will affect the effective fields for the two carrier types in different ways. Usually, one carrier type is assisted by the field change, while the other is opposed. In fig. 6(b), the field that drives electrons to the n side is increased, while the field driving holes towards the p side is decreased. [76] We know that the standard form of an organic photovoltaic cell is based upon sandwiching a thin semiconducting organic layer(s) between two conducting layers having different work functions here we have higher work function conductors typically made of gold or ITO and lower work function conductors typically made of aluminum or calcium.   We have already discussed in section 1.2 how the efficiency of solar cell can be improved, here we will consider mathematical expression of efficiency. Efficiency is defined as measures the amount of energy converted to electric current relative to the total energy incident upon the cell, it is designated with Greek letter , ÃŽÂ ·. The formula for calculating efficiency is: ÃŽÂ · = Jsc X Voc X FF, where Jsc is the short-circuit current (when there is maximum current flowing and no voltage difference across the circuit),  Voc is the open-circuit voltage (when there is no current flowing), and FF is the fill-factor (the actual power relative to the theoretical power produced by the cell). To increase the efficiency of Polymer Solar cells, we need to improve these 3 factors. Jsc is primarily affected by band-gap, carrier mobility, and film formation properties of the active layer. Voc is primarily affected by the material band-gap and the device structure. FF, is particularly difficult to predict and design, but seems related to the relative motilities of the electrons and holes.[77-80] 1.6 Inverted Polymer Solar Cells The regular device structure for polymer solar cells is indium tin oxide (ITO), where a p-type layer is used for anode contact, and a low-work-function metal as the cathode. Both the p-type layer and the low-work-function metal cathode are known to degrade the device lifetime. [106-108] The p-type layer is potentially detrimental to the polymer active layer due to its acidic nature, which etches the ITO and causes interface instability through indium diffusion into the polymer active layer. Low work- function metals, such as calcium and lithium, are easily oxidized, increasing the series resistance at the metal/BHJ interface and degrading device performance. In principle, ITO is capable of collecting either holes or electrons, since its work function (4.5 to 4.7 eV) lies between the typical highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) values of common organic photovoltaic materials. The polarity of the ITO electrode depends mainly on the contact

The Trail of Tears Essay -- Native Americans, Indians, Women

Throughout history the United States was involved in some form of racial dispute. During the Trail of Tears in particular, the Native Americans were the ones forced to live under White rule. Until the year 1828 the Cherokee rights belonged to the Federal Government. In the same year Andrew Jackson was elected the next President of the United States, and soon the Native Americans would be a part of the next generation racial targeting. On September 15, 1830, representatives of the United States and the Chiefs of the tribes met to discuss a bill just recently passed by Congress. In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was put into play. This Act stated "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled to cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of the river Mississippi, not included in any state or organized territory’s and to white the Indian title has been extinguished , as he may judgo necessary, to be divided into a suitable number of districts, for the reception of such tribes or nations of Indian...

Gertrude of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay -- Character of Gertrude

The Gertrude of Shakespeare’s Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   Is Gertrude, in the Shakespearean drama Hamlet, a bore? A killer’s accomplice? The perfect queen? A dummy? This paper will answer many questions concerning Claudius’ partner on the Danish throne.    In her essay, â€Å"Acts III and IV: Problems of Text and Staging,† Ruth Nevo explains how the hero’s negative outlook toward Gertrude influences his attitude toward Ophelia:    Whereas it is precisely his total inability to know her [Ophelia], or for that matter himself, that the scene, in this theatrically simpler view, would allow us to perceive as the center of his anguish. He is tormented precisely by doubts, not by confirmations. And how indeed should he know what Ophelia is? Is she loving and faithful to him despite parental authority? Or compliant to the latter and therefore false to him? What has she been told about him? Is he not testing her with his hyperbolic declaration:    I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offenses at my back than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in?    His mother has predisposed him to believe in women’s perfidy, has produced in him a revulsion from sex and the stratagems of sex; he was unable to draw Ophelia’s face by his perusal; she has refused his letters and denied him access; now returns his gifts. What form of devious double-dealing shall he expect? (49-50)    At the outset of the tragedy Hamlet appears dressed in solemn black. His mother, Gertrude, is apparently disturbed by this and requests of him:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Do not for ever with thy vailed... ...loom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Rpt. from Tragic Form in Shakespeare. N.p.: Princeton University Press, 1972.    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Excerpted from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"Gertrude: Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother?† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.   

Antigone and Romeo and Juliet Essays -- Compare Contrast Shakespeare A

Compare/Contrast Antigone and Romeo and Juliet There are many similarities and differences between Antigone by Sophocles and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The adults in both of the books have the difficult job of controlling the actions of the younger characters. Their decisions have a crucial effect on the outcome of the books, for the younger characters that they guide are the main figures in their stories. Antigone’s King Creon and Romeo and Juliet’s Prince Escalus and Lord Capulet share but also have unique strengths, weaknesses, leadership qualities, and crisis-managing techniques. A specific strength of Creon, the major adult character in Antigone, is his ability to make his opinions known to the entire kingdom. One example of this is the major decision that is the focus of the entire story. After Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, died in battle against his own kingdom, Creon told the citizens of the land that no one was to bury the traitor. The king felt that the strict edict was necessary because Polyneices â€Å"broke his exile to come back with fire and sword against his native city. (193)† Creon knew that a traitor to the kingdom should not be honored with the same ceremony given to one who fought for his own kingdom. The Prince in Romeo and Juliet was also very opinionated. He threatened death to both the Capulets and Montagues if there was any more fighting between the two families. He described the issue by saying that the fights had â€Å"disturbed the quiet of our streets (I,i,91).† He did not favor the fighting and declared â€Å"on pain of death all men depart (I,i,103)† to the two houses at his speech’s conclusion after the third brawl. The Prince remained assertive throughout the book, including the fourth fight... ...his child and her boyfriend more reasonably. He handled the crisis of his daughter’s death by making peace with his enemy. He decided with Montague to dedicate statues to their deceased children. This showed that he somewhat understood the cause of death and that it was somewhat his fault. He felt that he should be calm and remember the children for all that they did for stopping the feud between the two families. King Creon of Antigone and Lord Capulet and Prince Escalus of Romeo and Juliet are similar and different in strengths, weaknesses, qualities of leadership, and methods of handling crisis. They are the controlling individuals in the books, governing and leading the main characters. Their traits had a definite effect on the outcome of each book. The adult characters governed the events and influenced the actions of the other lead characters in the book.