The Role of Supply Chain Risk Management in Ensuring Smooth Functioning

Introduction A number of issues such as changes in product design, branding and employee are likely to cause risks that threaten supply chain. Risk management in this field is a fundamental activity at the executive level in most organizations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Supply Chain Risk Management in Ensuring Smooth Functioning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Several studies have developed various models and theories that attempt to provide an explanation of the need for supply chain management in reducing risks. The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze some research articles from various authors with an aim of exploring theories and models developed over the last few decades. Model and theory analysis: Review of research Lin and Zhou (2011) carried out a study to address the impact that product design changes have on supply chain, with a special focus on the risks involved. Using a case study, the researchers developed some concepts that attempt to explain how supply chain runs under risks when the product design changes significantly. The theory attempts to show that such changes predispose an organization to a number of risks in supply, policy and delivery. Moreover, this theory suggests that change in product design leads to an array of risks at the internal level, which in this case involves research and design, production, planning, organization and information. This theory seems to indicate that any change in the product design that may have a significant impact on the customer and retailer’s perception of a product is likely to expose the supply chain system to these risks, which means that both customer-requested and company-initiated change in product design exposes the supply chain system to these risks. Using an in-depth longitudinal case study, Khan, Christopher and Burnes (2012 examined the impact of product design on the supply chain risk. The case study was based on a major cloth retailer in the United Kingdom. The researchers aimed to address the questions associated with the increasingly important issues of the impact of product design on the risks involved in supply chain management. The case study leads to a concept that was used to explain the impact of product design in the supply chain and the associated risks. The researchers theorize that risk management in supply chain is heavily dependent on the product design, where recognition of a design is a creative function of managing risks. In addition, the theory attempts to show that recognizing product design is a fundamental platform, on which risks are managed with ease and effectiveness.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This concept attempts to show that recognition of product design must be one of the major activities as well as requirements for risk management at the executive level. In addition, this theory seems to have closer association with the theory developed by Lin and Zhou (2011), as both of them emphasize on the need to consider product design as one aspect or factor that may lead to risks as well as effective management of risks in the supply chain. Christopher and Peck have attempted to present a good analysis on how supply chain management can effectively control risks by building a resilient supply chain system. Although the research is an analysis of findings rather than an empirical study, it provides the reader with some important theories that attempt to explain how product design impacts the supply chain in modern organizations. An important model developed in this article is the argument that building a resilient supply chain depends on a number of features that can be engineered into the supply chain to improve resilience. Among these factors is the need to focus on product design, which should be incorpor ated into the general designing for the supply chains in organizations. In addition, the concept argues that product design plays a major role in the process of understanding the supply chain and its structure. According to the article, products are the major aspect of a supply process, which means that their nature and impact on the whole process are fundamental. Therefore, failure to focus on product design when engineering supply chains is likely to involve risks that threaten the integrity and effectiveness of a supply chain management in a globalized business environment. This theory is important in providing some background information on the need to focus on product design when managing and engineering supply chains. In fact, it shows the important role that product design plays in mitigating risks in supply chains. The article by Chopra and Sodhi (2005) is based on real-life examples of how risk management in supply chain poses threats to the business process in a modern bus iness environment. The authors used two cases in which an electricity supply plant operated by Royal Philips Electronics in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was hit by a lightning in 2000. The massive surge the impact of the lightning caused at the grid started a fire that completely destroyed the plant’s microchips. Nokia Corporation was one of the major customers of the Royal Philips at the time. The impact of the lightning caused a massive reduction in the number of microchips at the Royal Philips stock, which made corporations like Nokia and others find it difficult to deal with the company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Supply Chain Risk Management in Ensuring Smooth Functioning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, it is worth noting that Nokia Corporation had more than one supplier in its supply chain strategy, which made it possible to switch from ordering chips from the Royal Philips on a temporary base. This proved effective in risk mitigation. On the other hand, the authors compared this situation with the impact of the problem at Telefon AB Ericsson Corporation, another major customer of the Royal Philips Corporation. This company had a single provider of chips in its supply chain. The company suffered from the problem, which led to a complete shut down of operations until the Royal Philips resumed production. From the two examples, the authors attempt to develop a theory, in which they explain the need for an effective design in the supply chain system. In this theory, the authors argue that corporations that use multiple designs for a product that is either sold or outsourced are likely to mitigate the risks involved when one product line or design is affected by any problem that may arise. In other words, this theory hypothesizes that multiple supply chain designs are more effective in risk management and mitigation than single-design supply chains. Supply c hain management in the process of supplying and delivering high risk products such as oil and gas proves to be one of the most crucial aspects of managers in these corporations. In fact, high risk but, at the same time, high profitable oil and gas production and supply provide a good example of how risk management in the supply chain can be enhanced with product design. Vosooghi, Fazli and Mavi (2012) used this example to develop additional concept of product design and its impact on supply chain management in the oil supply industry. The researchers use the fuzzy analytical hierarch process (FAHP) to weigh and analyze the risks related to crude oil supply chain. The study, carried in Iran, developed some theory that can be used to explain how risks can effectively be managed and mitigated in crude oil supply process. This model argues that regulation and environmental risks as well as cooperation polices can be viewed from a design perspective. Although the theory does not deal wit h product design, the conclusions made in the article indicate that the way, in which the product is designed, usually influences the effectiveness of risk management in the supply chain.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The aerospace industry is another high-risk field that requires attention when studying risk management and product design. Sinha, Whitman and Malzahn (2004) developed a study, in which they aimed at explaining how risk management can be effected in aerospace industry. The researchers argue that most of the supply chain systems involve a single supplier, which is likely to increase risks involved. Therefore, risk management proves to be an important area of management in companies that adopt this system. The researchers’ aim was to develop a model that can mitigate risks in supply chains adopted by aerospace companies. The results of the study have provided some models that can be used to mitigate risks in these companies. According to the study, IDEF0 concept is a model that mitigates risks in the aerospace supply chains. The model has five stages: risk identification, risk assessment, planning, and failure analysis and continuous improvement. Although this model focuses on a number of issues, it is worth noting that the design of the products in the supply chain system is a fundamental aspect of the model. Tang (2007) published an article that explains the risks involved in supply chains and how they can be managed with effectiveness even during crisis. The researcher develops a model that attempts to show how supply chain managers can enhance the supply chain to navigate through major disruptions whenever they occur. According to this model, inherent fluctuations are the first aspect that increases the risks, which implies that they should be the first issues to address in management. Secondly, the model indicates that corporations must design and reengineer their supply chain systems to enhance resilience and the ability to withstand the impacts of major disruptions. In addition, the model indicates that enhancing residence is strongly linked to the process of retaining apprehensive customers. Goh, Lim and Meng (2007) developed a study, in which the y attempted to develop a model for enhancing risks management in globalized supply chain networks. The study, carried out in Singapore, provided a scholastic model that indicates the need for risk management in supply chain to reduce the threats involved in globalized organizations.The model, known as multi-stage global supply chain network, incorporates a number of supply chain aspects in a globalized business system. For instance, it considers a new focus on related risks such as supply, demand, disruption and exchange as the most important areas of focus in managing risks. In addition, the model provides a new solution methodology that makes use of Moreau-Yosida regulation, design and logarithm that enhances the process of risk management and mitigation in diagnosing risk associated problems in globalized and multi-staged networks. Although this model is difficult to implement, it is highly effective in managing and mitigating risks in supply chains. Sheffi (2001) takes a differe nt approach to developing a model for risk management and mitigation in supply chains. In this article, Sheffi (2001) takes an example of risks posed by terrorism as a major threat to modern supply chain systems. The author analyzes the companies that were affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US. Using several examples, the researcher develops a model for explaining the importance of supply chain management in risk mitigation. This model focuses on two issues. First, it argues that corporations must adopt strategies to set certain operational redundancies in order to enhance their preparedness for risks. Secondly, it focuses on reduction of reliability on lead time and certain demand scenarios. The model suggests that private public partnership is the best way, trough which companies can organize themselves into networks that will enhance risk management and mitigation. In 2007, American corporations IBM, KPMG and ACE sponsored a study with an aim of revealing the best prac tice for managing risks in supply chains. The researching institute, the Economic Intelligence Unit, developed a comprehensive study and a report that show their hypothesized model for managing supply chain risks in the modern concept. In its simplest form, the model suggests that risk management is a discipline that has moved from loss avoidance to assume a new position as the key contributor to market advantage. According to the model, this is achieved through improved corporate reputation and better stand among the companies with the role of oversight such as rating industries. In addition, the model hypothesizes that risk management in supply chains has become an area that needs both technology and workmanship, because ideas must be generated, devised and implemented. In addition, it indicates that technology is an additional source of risk for supply chains, especially at a time when supply of products has gone virtual thanks to the internet technology. However, the author†™s model does not imply that technology should be avoided. Rather, it suggests that technology and workmanship should be integrated to provide the best method for mitigating and managing risks in supply chains. Conclusion From this analysis, a number of aspects should be noted. For instance, the models developed over the years to enhance risk management in supply chains tend to focus on the product, product delivery and internal aspects of the management. They incorporate the ideas of understanding the risks, developing prior knowledge of the risks, ensuring everyone is involved, company-company or company-public sector relations and the use of technology. Although the models are different, most of them attempt to show that supply chain is one of the areas of corporate management that runs under high risks due to the link between the company and other parties in its supply chain system. Therefore, changes in product design, branding and employees are likely to cause risks that thr eaten supply chain. Risk management in this field is a fundamental activity at the executive level in most organizations. These models/theories have attempted to provide an explanation of the need for supply chain management in reducing risks. References Chopra, S Sodhi, M, 2005, â€Å"Managing Risk To Avoid Supply-Chain Breakdown†, MIT Sloan Management Review, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 53-64. Christopher, M Peck, H, 2004, â€Å"Building the resilient supply chain†, International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 1-13, Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007, Best practice in risk management: A function comes of age, Economist Intelligence Unit, New York Goh, M, Limb, J Meng, 2007, â€Å"A stochastic model for risk management in global supply chain networks†, European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 182, no. 1, pp. 164–173 Khan, O, Christopher, M Burnes, B, 2012, â€Å"The impact of product design on supply chain risk: a case study†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 38 no. 5, pp. 412-432 Lin, Y Zhou, L, 2011, â€Å"The impacts of product design changes on supply chain risk: a case study†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 162-186 Sheffi, Y, 2001, â€Å"Supply Chain Management under the Threat of International Terrorism†, International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 1 – 11 Sinha, PR, Whitman, LE Malzahn, D, 2004, â€Å"Methodology to mitigate supplier risk in an aerospace supply chain†, Supply chain management: An international journal, vol.9, no. 2, pp. 154-168. Tang, C, 2007, â€Å"Robust strategies for mitigating supply chain disruptions†, International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications: A Leading Journal of Supply Chain Management, vol. 9, no.1, pp. 34-56. Vosooghi, M, Fazli, S Mavi, R, 2012, â€Å"Crude Oil Supply Chain Risk Management wit h Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process†, American Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 12, no. 46, pp. 34-42 This essay on The Role of Supply Chain Risk Management in Ensuring Smooth Functioning was written and submitted by user Brodie J. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sam Walton One of Uss All Time Great Leaders Essays

Sam Walton One of Uss All Time Great Leaders Essays Sam Walton One of Uss All Time Great Leaders Paper Sam Walton One of Uss All Time Great Leaders Paper Sam Walton, One of US’s All Time Great Leaders Sam Walton was born on March 29, 1918 to Thomas and Nancy Walton on a farm in Oklahoma. In 1923, after realizing the farm would no longer be able to support the family, Thomas Walton decided to go back to his previous profession of appraising farm loans and relocated the family to Missouri. Due to the nature of Thomas Walton’s profession the family was continuously moving. The constant moving allowed Sam Wlaton, the eldest son to become a survivor and gain a great passion for learning and adapting that ultimately facilitated the path towards becoming one of the richest and most successful leaders in the United States. Throughout his life, Sam Walton exhibited qualities that could be categorized under the trait approach theory. The trait approach theory states that leaders are individuals who are always out front and leading the way in the society and are gifted people who can do extraordinary things by possessing the following traits: intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability (Northouse, p. 19, 25). It is quiet apparent to see through Sam Walton’s accomplishment that he possessed all of these traits. Since Sam Walton was a young boy, he had what it took to get a head, get things done and make money. During the depression at an early age of seven Sam Walton helped to provide for his family by milking the cows and delivering magazines. At the age of 13, Sam Walton had become the youngest boy in the state of Missouri to become an Eagle Scout. Although, Sam Walton was not seen as one of the smartest kids in his class, his dedication and hard work eventually placed him in the ranks of the honor students. Sam Walton went to Hickman High School in Columbia, where he played basketball and lead the football team to the state title in 1935 as the starting quarterback. Sam Walton showed leadership potential early on by serving as Vice-President of his junior class and the President of his senior class. Unlike the other kids, besides school, Sam Walton had other responsibilities. He continued to work in order to help support his family. By the the time he graduated high school, he was voted the ‘most versatile boy’ in his class. Sam Walton got his BA in Economics from the University of Missouri, all the while working by waiting tables, serving as a life guard and delivering newspapers. After graduating in 1940, Sam Walton entered his first retail job at JC Penny’s in Des Moines, Iowa as a management trainee making $75 a month. In 1942, Sam Walton joined the Army for World War II, where he became the captain of the U. S. Army Intelligence Corps. While waiting to be inducted into the military, Sam Walton met his future wife to be, Helen Robson in 1945. Robson’s father was a successful banker and rancher who helped Sam Walton in starting his first retail business. Mr. Robson lent Walton $20,000. With the help of his father-in-law, Sam Walton was able to open his first Butler Brothers franchise as a variety store that became one of the highest sales and profit stores in the six-state region. According to Northouse, when he states in his book, Leadership Theory and Practice, â€Å"although it is good to be bright, the research indicates that a leader’s intellectual ability should not differ too much from that of the subordinates† (Northouse, P. 20). Sam Walton had the ability to relate, work and learn from his employees, as well as his competitors (Huey, P. 22, 23). Walton learned from just about every person he came in contact with. He said, â€Å"Great ideas come from everywhere if you just listen and look for them. You never know who’s going to have a great idea† (Huey, P. 211). To show his sociability, according to Lee Scott the former CEO of Wal-Mart, Walton would show up in the drivers’ break room at 4 AM with donuts and just sit there and talk to them for hours. Walton was amazed at how many ideas they always had in fine tuning the system. He would drill them by asking, â€Å"What they saw? How people were acting in the stores? Had they been to a certain store lately? And were things getting better? † (Huey, P. 212) According to Katz, effective leadership depends on three basic personal skills: technical, human and conceptual. Katz argues that these three skills are very different than the traits of leaders. He state that skills are what leaders can do and traits are qualities that made the leader who they are (Northouse, P. 40). Sam Walton was one who possessed all of the three skills, some better than others. Walton’s conceptual skills gave him the ability to bring new ideas and introduced services never provided by other retailers. His brilliant idea of providing a variety of goods for low prices under one roof has been the best idea anyone had ever thought of. The idea of making his stores centrally located, so customers were able to easily access the stores and having later store hours, especially during Christmass, gave the Walton stores an edge over his competitors. Sam Walton’s conceptual skills gave him the ability to create a vision and strategically place the proper steps and people needed to make that vision into reality. Sam Walton experimented with discount merchandising, where he bought directly from the wholesalers by cutting out the middle men in order to bring the lower cost to his customers, therefore, giving him the ability to sell a great number of goods resulting in high sale volume and more profits. One of the keys to Sam Walton’s success as a leader was his human skills. Katz defines human skills as having the ability to assist group members in working cooperatively as a group to achieve the common goals of the organization (Northouse, P. 41). While in college, he wanted to become the student body president. In order to win and make sure everyone knew him on campus, Walton would speak to anyone and everyone who was walking down the sidewalk. He would always look ahead and spoke to the individuals walking toward him and would start speaking to them, even if he didn’t know them. If he knew them, he would always address them by their name, thus making sure everyone recognized him and considered him their friend (Huey, P. 15). To keep management motivated and performing at their best, Walton offered his managers limited partnership and allowed them to invest in the store they were managing. This kept the managers personally vested in the business and motivated them in keeping the profits to a maximum in order to insure the success of the store. Walton also, made sure each customer was greeted at the door and set up his stores conveying the hometown identity. Each store honored a local graduating senior with a college scholarship and held bake sales to raise money for local charities. Although, Sam Walton possessed many great qualities as a leader, his technical skills fell short in some areas. According to him, he â€Å"never learned hand writing all that well. † (Huey, P. 16) Nobody could read his hand writing. He wasn’t very proficient in keeping accurate details, like sales slips and cash register transactions. Walton was known to be so disorganized that his manager at his first job in Penney’s stated, â€Å"Walton, I’d fire you if you weren’t such a good salesman. Maybe you’re just not cut out for retail† (Huey, P. 17, 18). Walton would schedule appointments and forget he ever made the appointments. He would constantly miss meetings because he simply would forget to make a note of the appointments. In analyzing Sam Walton’s leadership style, the style approach is very different than the trait and skills approaches due to the fact that the style approach focuses on what leaders do rather than who they are (Northouse, P. 86). The â€Å"style approach suggests that leaders engage in two primary types of behaviors: task behaviors and relationship behaviors, [and] how leaders combine these two types of behaviors to influence others is the central focus of the style approach† (Northouse, P. 86). One of the things that made Walton a task oriented leader was his meticulousness on having the store shelves stacked properly. He was adamant on having the stores clean, and well lit. He would personally visit every store to make sure the stores were setup in the best way. Along with being task oriented, Walton focused greatly on his relationship behavior with his subordinates. He would say, â€Å"Visiting the stores and listening to our folks was one of the most valuable uses of my time as an executive. But really, our best ideas do come from the folks in the stores. Period. † (Huey, P. 230) Walton firmly believed in crediting when credit was due. He was known for giving recognition for the success of Wal-Mart to the associates and made sure information about the company’s goals and objectives were shared throughout the organization. It was obvious that Sam Walton loved to be in the retail business. But what he said he most enjoyed about retailing was seeing people achieve more than he. He used to say: Listen to your people and respond to their needs. Recruit employees who have the capacity to replace you. Allow people to think and try new things. And create an environment that allows your staff to comfortably disagree with you. By allowing this type of atmosphere, as a great leader, one would enable people to provide the best route in meeting the organizational goals and objectives, as well as making you a great leader. Sam Walton’s leadership was most popular amongst his followers (associates, employees). The basic concept he followed and believed in was that â€Å"individuals don’t win, teams do. Sam Walton was presented the Medal of Freedom Award just a few weeks before his death by George W. Bush, â€Å"Then nations highest reward to be awarded to a civilian† (Wal-Mart Page). The presidential citation read: An American original, Sam Walton embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and epitomizes the American dream. Concern for his employees, a c ommitment to his community and a desire to make a difference have been the hallmarks of his career. By sponsoring scholarships for Latin America, he has also worked to bring peoples closer together and to share with others the American ideals he so well represents. A devoted family man, business leader, and statesman for democracy, Sam Walton demonstrates the virtues of faith, hope, and hard work. America honors this captain of commerce, as successful in life as in business(Wal-Mart Page). One of the things Walton focused on was having engaged followers, a concept that has become very popular in recent years. Although, we are currently looking to discover different ways of keeping followers engages, Walton’s way was through profit sharing, by making his managers part owners in his stores, as well as by keeping every person in the organization informed of all its activities and seeking feedback. Sam Walton believed that a happy employee meant happy customers and more sales. And by giving employees part of the company and making the employees success dependent on the company’s success, everyone would be a winner. Although Sam Walton was known as one of the most successful retailers and leaders, he had many critics. Walton was criticized for making Wal-Mart a virtual monopoly in the retailing industry. Where by his organization forced many local small businesses to close down. Some critics say that the expansion of the Wal-Mart stores brought down employee wages and working standards in the retail industry. By diverting most of the small business owner’s customers to Wal-Mart, it impoverished small independent retailers and destroyed historical downtowns in small communities. In the 1980’s, the Wal-Mart sales had exceeded over a billion dollars with over three hundred stores across North America. By 1991, Wal-Mart was the largest retailer in the US with over 1700 stores. Walton remained president and CEO until 1988 and chairman until his death. Walton died in 1992 as the second richest man, behind Bill Gates. He passed his company down to his three sons, daughter and wife. Wal-Mart stores now operate in Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, China and Puerto Rico. Sam Walton had done real well as leader because he had the intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and the sociability traits needed to be a successful leader. His human and conceptual leadership style made him an amazing leader. His ability to be able to lead by task as well as nurture group relationships put Walton as one of the greatest leaders of all time. Walton’s commitment to maintaining positive followership just added to his unique ability to possess all the qualities needed to be a successful leader. After analyzing Sam Walton’s leadership methods, I’m able to walk away with the following advice from the man himself, Sam Walton: â€Å"Commit to your goals, share your rewards, energize your colleagues, and communicate all you know, value your associates, celebrate your success, listen to everyone, deliver more than you promise, work smarter than others and blaze your own path† (Littlerock Website). Bibliography Wal-Mart Visitors Center Wal-Mart Community Involvement http://littlerock. about. com/cs/homeliving/a/aasamwalton. htm http://walmartstores. com/AboutUs/9502. aspx davidgorman. org/articles/the-sam-walton-way. html leader-values. com/Content/detail. asp? ContentDetailID=1065 Huey, John and Sam Walton. Sam Walton: Made in America. Mass Market Paperback. New York: Bantam1993.

How do practitioners in a child care centre encourage babies and young Research Paper

How do practitioners in a child care centre encourage babies and young children to learn to talk - Research Paper Example It is not very common to have a relative look over their children. This is when the role of child care centers comes into the spotlight. Over the time, women have come to realize the importance of child care centers in helping them look over their children while they are away; at the same time, working mothers are relieved of the tension of having their children unattended. There has been a surge in the demand for qualified and experienced people who can take responsibility and care for young children. Moreover, the demand for child care workers is also high because of the high turnover rate of the job; this is because the wages given to child care workers are low, making the turnover rate as much as 31 percent (Eberts & Gisler, 1999). It has become more of a rule, rather than a something arising out of necessity, for women to work outside their homes. There has been a shift from the parenting approach to child care to a market approach to child care (Lamanna & Riedmann, 2008). Therefore, a number of alternatives have surfaced over the years to facilitate working mothers while they are away. In America, the three main types of child care options that are preferred are in-home care, family child care and child care centers. Child care centers are also known as day care centers. Where in-home child care includes hiring a nanny or au-pairs, family child care is concerned with the caring of a child from the personal residence of the care giver. Both have advantages and disadvantages of their own. In-home care provides the child care in his or her own, and is very personalized for the child. However, the little exposure the child gets of the outside world, along with the lack of authentic proof of the character of the care giver, makes the in-home care option less preferable. On the other hand, family care centers are generally preferred for their small child to care giver ratio as well as the dependency on the

Communication Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication Technology - Essay Example And as centuries passed by, communication tools were eventually refined, brought about by technological progressions- from typewriters and telephones, then computers and cellular phones, and now, laptops and notebooks, not to mention the advent of iphones and ipods- thus, broadening the horizons and spectra of communication. In this regard, it would be interesting to explicate and exemplify the effects of technological advances in communication into the lives and ways of the people. As such, this paper shall answer the following interesting queries: The modern contemporary society's daily lives may seem to be an indulgence in communication technology. People watch televisions and listen to radios, as well as converse or talk through phones and browse the internet. Perhaps, one can never imagine living a life each day without these communication technologies. On the other hand, compared 50 or 100 years ago, the people today are definitely experiencing more benefits in terms of the availability of the communication technologies. ... People watch televisions and listen to radios, as well as converse or talk through phones and browse the internet. Perhaps, one can never imagine living a life each day without these communication technologies. On the other hand, compared 50 or 100 years ago, the people today are definitely experiencing more benefits in terms of the availability of the communication technologies. For instance, during our grandparents' time 50 years ago, that is, during 1950s, they did not have access to the internet because the first internet or the predecessor to the internet, called the ARPANET, only started during 1969 and the renowned WWW or world wide web only became possible in 1994 (About.com "The History"; Federal Communications Commission "Making the Connections"). Hence, in most recent times, a growing percentage of American households agreed that internet broadband connections provided many advantages in their lives, as evidenced by integrated access to voice, high-speed data, video-on-demand, and interactive delivery services, thereby experiencing the fullest communication technology (Federal Communications Commission "Making the Connections"). [The image below was taken from ThinkQuest.org "Co mputer", which depicts how the current world "revolves inside an era of technological advancement in communication".] However, as communication technology advances, it is accompanied by the alarming unlawful activities like identity fraud and video scandals, to name some, which can be seen as the offenders' acts to "communicate" their aggression and bad intentions. In fact, anyone can become victims and be harmed by those misuses of communication

Gas sensors on zinc oxide nanostructures

Gas sensors on zinc oxide nanostructures Introduction Gas sensors based on semiconducting metal oxides are being widely used for sensing gases and vapors. The initial momentum was provided by the findings of Seiyama et al. in metal oxide-gas reaction effects in 1962. It was shown that the electrical conductivity of ZnO can be changed by the presence of reactive gases in the air. The merits of these sensors include their reliability, low cost and easy implementation. Nanostructures of metal oxides have been found to be most effective as gas-sensing materials at elevated temperatures. Very popular sensing materials are metal oxide semiconductors such as ZnO, SnO2, TiO2, and WO3. Generally the change of electric field (conductance, voltage, resistance or the change of piezoelectric effect) of the sensor is monitored as a function of the target gas concentration. Gas sensors normally operate in air, in the presence of humidity and interfering gases. A heated substrate membrane is fitted with gas sensitive nanostructured semiconductor material which generates electrical output signals once chemical reactions are initiated at their surface. A common property of all these detection reactions is that they require significant levels of thermal activation to proceed at a measurable rate. Nanostructures of semiconducting oxides are widely used for gas sensing due to their large surface area to volume ratio and possibility of complete depletion of carriers within nanostructures when exposed to gases. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a reddish-brown, highly reactive gas that reacts in the air to form corrosive nitric acid as well as toxic organic nitrates. The major man made source of NO2 emissions is high-temperature fuel combustion in motor vehicles and industries. These emissions are primarily in the form of NO which gets oxidized in the atmosphere to NO2. The conversion rate depends on the ambient concentration of NO and O3. If O3 is present, the conversion is very rapid. Health and safety guidelines suggest that humans should not be exposed to 3ppm or more NO2 gas for periods longer than eight hours because of its toxicity. NO2 is a pulmonary irritant primarily affecting the upper respiratory system in human beings. Continued or frequent exposure to high levels of NO2 can cause inflammation of the lungs. Therefore, the development of a stable NO2 gas sensor that can detect extremely low concentrations of NO2 with high sensitivity and selectivity is highly desirable. Such a sensor can be used for environmental monitoring. It can also be used in an early warning system that detects the presence of NO2 before the critical concentration of NO2 is reached. In our work, we will develop a sensor for NO2 gas sensing based on our understanding in sensor mechanism and synthesis of ZnO nanorods, using simple hydrothermal methods. The various performance parameters of the sensor, namely gas selectivity, sensitivity, response and recovery time will be studied. The gas sensor test-bench developed in COEN (Centre of Excellence in Nanotechnology), AIT, will be employed for characterizing the sensor performance. Chapter 2 Literature review This chapter is focused on the literature review of metal oxide based semiconducting nanostructures used for gas sensing. The working principle of metal oxide gas sensors, measurement methods and synthesis mechanisms is included in this review. Metal oxide nanostructures Metal oxides such as SnO2, WO3, TiO2 and ZnO possess high sensitivity to changes in their surrounding atmosphere at elevated temperatures. The sensing properties of metal oxides in form of thick or thin films have been studied to improve, by the addition of noble metals namely Pd, Pt, Au, Ag in terms of selectivity and stability. In 1991, Yamazoe showed that reduction of crystallite size caused a huge improvement in sensor performance. In a low grain size metal oxide almost all the carriers are trapped in surface states and only a few thermal activated carriers are available for conduction. From the point of view of device fabrication, first generation gas sensor devices were fabricated by thick film technology. Then the material fabrication processes improved towards the thin film technology. The fabrication process for thin film technology namely physical and chemical vapour deposition was highly automated and offers high reproducibility. The electrical properties of both thin and thick film sensors drift due to the grain porosity modification and grain boundary alteration. Several methods like addition of noble metals as catalysts or mixed oxides were put forward to improve the sensing performance of the gas sensors. The structural engineering of metal oxide nanostructured thin films proved to optimize the performance of these types of gas sensors. The various operating parameters such as response time, output signal, selectivity and stability can be improved and tuned through the optimization of the structure. Using structural engineering method, the various geometric parameters of metal oxide gas sensing matrix like grain size, agglomeration, film thickness, porosity can be controlled. The next forward step in gas sensing was achieved by the successful preparation of stable single crystal quasi-one-dimensional semiconducting oxides (nanorods, nanowires) leading to the third generation of metal oxide gas sensors. Working principle of metal oxide gas sensors Conductometric metal oxide gas sensors depend on changes of electrical conductivity due to the interaction with the surrounding atmosphere. The normal operating temperature of metal oxide gas sensors is within the range between 200  °C and 500  °C. The operating temperature should be high enough so that gas reactions occur in a time on the order of the desired response time and should also be low enough to avoid any variations in the bulk of the sensing matrix. The single crystal structure synthesized at temperatures higher than the operating temperature of the sensor shows high stability. Based on the study of a large range of oxides, the phenomenon of change in conductivity to the presence of reactive gases in air is common to oxides and not specific to a few special cases. If the conductivity is too high, then an effect is not expected and similarly if the conductivity is too low, then an effect will be difficult to measure. In practical applications, if an oxide sample has a resistivity between 104 and 108 Ocm at 300- 400  °C, then it will function as a gas sensor when heated to a temperature in this range. The sign of response (resistance increase or decrease) leads to a simple classification: gases can be classified as oxidizing or reducing and oxides can also be classified as p or n type. P-type oxides show a resistance increase in the presence of traces of reducing gases and resistance decrease to oxidizing gases. n-type oxides show opposite behaviour. This behaviour also correlates with the effect of changing oxygen partial pressure (PO2). Adsorption on surfaces The sensing mechanism in metal oxide gas sensors is related to ionosorption of species over their surfaces. The most important ionosorbed species when operating in ambient air are oxygen, water, carbon and its compounds. High concentrations of carbon can block surface sites of adsorption on a metal oxide. In the temperature range between 100  °C and 500  °C, oxygen ionosorbs over metal oxide in molecular (O2-) or atomic form (O-). Hence the study of adsorption is of fundamental importance in the field of sensors. Physisorption In this weakest form of adsorption like van der waals forces, no true chemical bond between the surface and adsorbate (or reaction species) is established. This bonding is mainly due to the induced dipole moment of a nonpolar adsorbate interacting with its own image charges on the polarized surface. The bonding energy is rather weak in the order of 0.1 eV. Chemisorption Chemisorption corresponds to the creation of chemical bonds between the adsorbate and surface and results in the electronic structure perturbation. In gas sensors, the target gas may be chemisorbed or physisorbed on the surface. When the gas species adsorb on the surface, molecules are either dissociated or diffused in the sensitive layer. Based on the Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) and Electron Paramagnetic study (EPR) studies, at lower operating temperatures, oxygen is considered to be adsorbed in molecular form (either as neutral O2 (ads) or charged O2(ads) 2- ) due to its lower activation energy. At higher temperatures it dissociates into atomic oxygen (either neutral O(ads) or singly ionized (charged) O(ads)- or doubly ionized O2(ads)- ). Finally at very high temperatures the loss of lattice oxygen (first surface and then bulk) takes place. When a reducing gas like CO comes into contact with the surface. These consume ionosorbed oxygen and in turn change the electrical conductance of metal oxide. The overall effect is a change of the density of ionosorbed oxygen that is detected as an increase of sensor conductance. Direct adsorption is also possible for the gaseous species like strongly electronegative NO2, which decreases the sensor conductance. NO2 absorption on tin oxide surfaces was studied by temperature programmed desorption measurements and found that the adsorbates originating from NO2 are the same as those from NO, as NO2 molecule dissociates easily over the tin oxide surface. These adsorbates can be divided into three types, two nitrosil types (Sn NO+ and Sn NO- ) and the nitrite type Sn O-N=O. The nitrite type does not play any role in gas sensing since it is not involved in any electron exchange with the bulk of the semiconductor. In practical applications, gas sensors are normally expected to operate in air, in the presence of humidity and interfering gases. In such cases, for operating temperatures in a range of 100 to 500  °C, at the surface of the sensitive material various oxygen, water and carbon dioxide related species are present. Some gas species form bonds by exchanging electrical charge with specific surface sites and others may form dipoles. Dipoles do not affect the concentration of free charge carriers and so they have no impact on the resistance of sensitive layer. Fig.1 explains the simplified case of adsorbed oxygen ions and hydroxyl groups bound to an n-type metal oxide semiconductor. These adsorbed ions cause a band bending while the dipoles change the electron affinity when compared to the state before the adsorption .The changes of the work function (?F) are determined by band bending (qVs due to ionosorption) and changes in the electron affinity () due to building of dipoles at the sur face (M d+ OH d-). Ec, Ec,s Energy level representing the bottom of the conduction band and at the surface respectively. Ev, Ev,s Energy level representing the top of the valence band and at the surface respectively. Evac vaccum level, EF Fermi level, ÃŽ ¦ Work function, χ Electron affinity. Sensor Characteristics The characteristic of a sensor is classified into static and dynamic. Static characteristics can be measured when all the transient effects of the output signal have stabilized in to steady state. Dynamic characteristics tend to describe the sensors transient behavior. Static characteristics Sensitivity Sensitivity is the ratio of incremental change in the output of the sensor to its incremental change of the measurand in input. For example, if we have a gas sensor whose output voltage increases by 1 V when the oxygen concentration increases by 1000 ppm, then the sensitivity would be 1 mV/ppm. Generally, the sensitivity to the target gas is defined as the percent reduction of sensor resistance. Sensitivity (%) = [(Ra- Rg) / Ra] Ãâ€"100, where Ra is the value of initial equilibrium resistance in air and Rg is resistance in the presence of a target gas. For convenience sometimes the sensitivity of gas sensor is expressed as the ratio of resistance in air over resistance in gas for reducing gases (Ra/Rg) and resistance in gas over resistance in air (Rg/Ra) for oxidizing gas. Selectivity The sensors ability to measure a single component in the presence of others is known as its selectivity. For example, an oxygen sensor that does not show a response to other gases such as CO, CO2 is considered to be selective. Selectivity = (sensitivity of gas1/sensitivity of gas2) Selectivity of the sensor is assessed by the ratio of sensitivity between the gases that is of interest to be detected over the gases that are uninteresting for detection in equivalent concentrations. To improve selectivity to specific gases, sensor array technology is also being adapted. Stability and Drift The sensors ability to produce the same output value when measuring a fixed input over a period of time is termed as stability. Drift is the gradual change in the sensors response characteristics while the input concentration of the gas remains constant. Drift is the undesired and unexpected change that is unrelated to the input. It may be attributed to aging, temperature instability, contamination, material degradation, etc. For instance, in a gas sensor, gradual change of temperature may change the baseline stability, or gradual diffusion of the electrodes metal into substrate may change the conductivity of a semiconductor gas sensor. Repeatability It denotes the sensors ability to produce the same response for successive measurements of the same input, when all operating and environmental conditions remain constant. Reproducibility The sensors ability to reproduce responses after some measurement condition has been changed. For example, after shutting down a sensing system and subsequently restarting it, a reproducible sensor will show the same response to the same measurand concentration as it did prior to being shut down. Hysteresis It is the difference between output readings for the same measurand, when approached while increasing from the minimum value and the other while decreasing from the peak value. Response Time The time taken by a sensor to arrive at a stable value is the response time. It is generally expressed as the time at which the output reaches a certain percentage (for instance 95%) of its final value, in response to a stepped change of the input. At the onset, the response time is very fast, followed by a long drawn tail before reaching steady state value, thus the response time are often expressed as 50% or 70% of the final time. Recovery time is defined as the time that the sensor takes to recover its resistance from exposed condition to the baseline value after target gas is cut out from the environment Dynamic Range or Span The range of input signals that will result in a meaningful output for the sensor is the dynamic range or span. All sensors are designed to perform over a specified range. Signals outside of this range may cause unacceptably large inaccuracies, and may even result in irreversible damage to the sensor. Dynamic characteristics The dynamic characteristics of a sensor represent the time response of the sensor system. The various important dynamic characteristics of sensors are discussed below, Rise time Rise time is defined as the time required by the sensor response to change from 10% to 90% of it final steady state value. Settling time It is the time taken by the sensor response to settle down to within a certain percentage of the steady state value. Influence of contact electrodes on sensor performance The contact electrodes used in gas sensors can have both electrical and electrochemical roles. For thin compact films, contact resistance plays an important role as dominant factor in overall resistance. The contribution of contact resistance is also extremely important for the case in which individual nanorods, nanowires or nanobelts are used as sensing layers. These electrodes are generally made of metals. They can also be fabricated from materials such as conductive polymers or conductive metal oxides. Although the concept of resistance change of the sensitive material when exposed to target gas is widely known, the overall resistance of the sensor depends not only on the gas sensing material properties but also on parameters such as transducer morphology, electrode etc. When the sensitive layer consists only of a compact continuous material and the thickness is larger than the Debye length, it can only partly depleted when exposed to target gas. In this case, the interaction does not influence the entire bulk of the material. Two levels of resistance are established in parallel and this fact limits the sensitivity. Thin layer will be the better choice which can be fully depleted. The representation shows the influence of electrode-sensing layer contacts. Rc is resistance of the electrode-metal oxide contact, R11 is the resistance of the depleted region of the compact layer, R1 is the equivalent of series resistance of R11 and Rc, and the equivalent series resistance of SRgi and Rc, in the porous and compact situations, respectively. Rgi is the average inter-grain resistance in the case of porous layer, Eb minimum of the conduction band in the bulk, qVs band bending associated with surface phenomena on the layer, and qVc also contains the band bending induced at the electrode-metal oxide contact. Improvement of selectivity by surface modifications Mixing metal oxides with Metals that function as catalysts Binary compounds and multi-component materials Doping are the most common methods used to enhance the gas sensing performance of metal oxide gas sensors. These additives can be used for modifying the catalytic activity of the base oxide, favoring formation of active phases and improving the electron exchange rate. The interaction of gas with the sensing material, resulting in the gas sensitivity, is determined by the chemical properties of the sensor surface. Different surface atoms can be introduced on the surface of the metal oxide sensors. This surface modification leads to new chemical reactivity and enables the sensor to be operated at low temperatures. Nanoscale particles of noble metals (Pd, Pt, Au and Rh) and oxides of other elements (Co, Cu and Fe) deposited on the surface of metal oxides can act as surface sites for adsorbates and promoters for surface catalysis. They create additional adsorption sites and surface electronic states and as a result gas sensitivity, selectivity, rate of response can be altered. For achieving high gas response, the noble metal should create optimal conditions for both electron and ion (spillover) exchange between surface and reacting gas species. The nature of noble metals, their oxidation state and their distribution on the surface are determining factors in gas sensor sensitivity and selectivity. To attain the homogenous distribution of noble metal on the surface is very difficult. Surface morphology has a significant effect on the shape and distribution of catalysts. Noble metal clusters have a tendency to accumulate at step edges and kinks of metal oxides during their deposition. Catalysts based on noble metals can be poisoned by many organic and inorganic chemicals that contain sulphur (H2S, SO2, thiols) and phophorus. The excessive thickness of catalytic active additives can change their functions, turning into either shunting layer or active membrane filters, obstructing the penetration of detecting gas in the surface of gas sensing matrix. At certain conditions this quality can also be used for an improvement of gas sensors selectivity. It has been studied that the incorporation of additional phases (different oxides) in nanocrystalline systems in small quantities can change the conditions of base oxide growth. SnO2 doped with Nb (0.1 4 mol%) causes a decrease in crystallite size from 220 nm for pure SnO2 to about 30 nm for Nb (0.1 mol%) doped samples. The additional influence observed due to doping is the change in film resistance. SnO2 doping by Nb and Sb in the range of 0.01 and 1.0 mol% during sol-gel preparation and annealed at 900  °C leads to film resistance decrease of 100 to 1000 times respectively, while doping with In resulted in a rise in film resistance by a factor of 100. The effect of doping on gas sensing properties of metal oxide gas sensors is different from the catalytic activity of these additives. Improvement of selectivity by operating conditions The sensor material may be operated at a comparably wide range of operating temperatures (300 900  °C) leading to different thermal energies for the surface reactions, differences may be attained by selecting the operating temperature, leading to a variation in gas sensitivity. A more improved version of this idea is to continuously increase or decrease the operating temperature of a given sensor and to continuously measure the variation of conductivity. This technique is known as temperature transient operation which gives more information in case of gas mixtures. To realize selective gas detection, sensor arrays are also constructed where several sensors showing different patterns of gas sensitivity are selected and simultaneously operated. A simple technique to obtain an array using one sensor is to modulate the operating temperature to different levels. Excessive increase of operating temperature may lead to a considerable drop of gas sensitivity. Moreover increasing working t emperature can create conditions, where gas response will then be determined by change of bulk properties of material. Improvement of response and recovery time of gas sensors A high speed gas switching system can be used to improve the response of the gas sensor. Yamazoe et al. studied the response and recovery properties of SnO2 porous film gas sensors using a high speed gas switching system. The developed system allows the rapid replacement of the gas atmosphere in the chamber between air and H2 (or CO). It was reported that the response speed of the sensor was fast, reaching a response time of less than 0.5s at 350  °C. The rates of diffusion and surface reactions of these gases (H2 and CO) in the porous sensing film are high enough for the sensor to reach a steady state within a short time. However the resistance in air did not reach the original value by repeated switching. This incomplete recovery was attributed to the slow desorption of H2O and CO2 formed on SnO2 by the surface reaction of H2 and CO respectively. Synthesis of 1-D metal oxide nanostructures Metal oxide nanostructures synthesis methods are broadly categorized as Solution phase synthesis method, where the growth process is carried out in liquid. Since aqueous solutions are used, this process is otherwise termed as hydrothermal growth process. Gas phase synthesis method uses gaseous environment in closed chambers. The synthesis is carried out at high temperatures from 500  °C to 1500  °C. Zinc oxide (ZnO) ZnO is wide bandgap (Eg = 3.4 eV) II VI compound semiconductor which has a non-centrosymmetric wurtzite structure with polar surfaces and lattice parameters a = 0.3296 and c = 0.52065 nm. The structure of ZnO can be described as a number of alternating planes composed of tetrahedrally coordinated O2- and Zn2+ ions, stacked alternatively along the c-axis. The tetrahedral coordination in ZnO results in piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The oppositely charged ions produce positively charged (0001)-Zn and negatively charged (000-1)-O polar surfaces, resulting in a normal dipole moment and spontaneous polarization along the c-axis. Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zinc oxide nanostructures Different techniques namely sol-gel, spray pyrolysis, hydrothermal method, electrospinning and thermal evaporation are prevalent for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and nanorods. The hydrothermal process is an environmentally friendly process and does not require a complex vacuum environment. The hydrothermal process is surface independent and provides good control over the morphology of the nanostructures. ZnO nanorods growth on glass substrates by thermal decomposition of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and zinc nitrate is reported by Baruah et al. Thermal degradation of HMT releases hydroxyl ions which react with Zn2+ ions from ZnO. The role of HMT is to supply the hydroxyl ions to drive the precipitation reaction. Sugunan et al, have proposed that HMT being a long chain polymer and a nonpolar chelating agent, gets preferentially attached to the non polar facets of the zincitie crystal thereby cutting off the access of Zn2+ ions to them leaving only the polar (001) face for epitaxial growth. Metal oxide nanostructure based conductometric gas sensors Zinc oxide Characterization of gas sensing properties of ZnO nanowires is reported by Ahn et.al. ZnO nanowires were fabricated by a selective growth method on patterned Au catalysts forming a nanobridge between two Pt pillar electrodes. The gas sensing properties were demonstrated using NO2 gas. The response as a function of temperature is shown to be highest at 225  °C and linearly increased with the concentration of NO2 in the range of 0.5 3ppm and saturated beyond this range. The sensor performance is also compared with ZnO nanocrystals, Sn and In doped ZnO thin film. Also the nanobridge structure is shown to have fast recovery behaviour because the desorbed gas molecules can be easily removed off from the nanowires surfaces. Lupan et.al demonstrated the gas sensing behaviour of Al doped ZnO films synthesized by successive chemical deposition method. Successive chemical solution deposition method was reported to be simple and requires non-sophisticated equipment to produce nanostructures with high efficiency. Nanostructured ZnO films doped with Al showed a high sensitivity to CO2 than undoped ZnO films. Characterization and gas sensing properties of ZnO hollow spheres is reported by Zhang et.al. Different concentrations of NH3 and NO2 at different temperatures were used to test the gas sensor. ZnO hollow sphere sensor exhibited extremely different sensing behaviors to NH3 and NO2. The optimum operating temperature of the sensor was 200  °C for NH3 and 240  °C for NO2 respectively. The gas sensor exhibited much higher response to NO2 than to other gases at 240  °C implying good selectivity and potential application of the sensor for detecting NO2. Tin oxide Law et.al, analyzed room temperature sensing properties of a single crystalline tin oxide nanowire sensor towards nitrogen dioxide. NO2 chemisorb strongly on SnO2 surface and at room temperature desorption is not complete when the NO2 is removed. UV light was used to activate both the adsorption and desorption process. In the dark, oxygen adsorbs on the surface capturing electrons from the semiconductor and creates a depletion layer. When exposed to UV, photo-generated holes migrate to the surface and recombine with electrons releasing oxygen ions, with an increase in conductance. The detection limit was 2 10 ppm of nitrogen dioxide. Kolmakov et.al studied the effect of catalysis in tin oxide single wire FET structures. The sensing capabilities of SnO2 single nano-wires and nanobelts in a FET configuration before and after functionalization with Pd catalyst was analysed. The improvement in the sensing performance after catalysation was reported to be the combined effect of spill-over of atomic oxygen formed catalytically on Pd clusters and migrating on SnO2 surface and also to the back spill-over effect in which weakly bound molecular oxygen migrates to Pd clusters and are catalytically dissociated. Indium oxide Indium oxide nanowires have been tested towards ethanol by Xiangfeng et.al. A mixture of In2O3 nanowire and polyvinyl alcohol solution was coated on alumina tubes with two gold contacts at the end; a heating wire was inserted in the tube to operate in the temperature range 100 500 °C. The resistance of the nanowires was monitored in presence of air, ethanol and other gases. The highest response was obtained with ethanol, the detection limit was estimated to be equal to 100 ppm. Molybdenum oxide Molybdenum oxide nanorods based gas sensing was reported. The MoO3 nanorods were characterized by high response to ethanol and CO at temperatures in the range of 100  °C. The response of thin films with the same structure was comparatively studied and nanorods based sensor resulted in one order of magnitude more sensitive due to the high surface to volume ratio and reduced lateral dimensions of the nanorods. Other metal oxides Sawicka et.al. presented the nitrogen sensing properties of tungsten oxide nanowires prepared with electrospinning. The effect of processing parameter variations was studied and a comparison with thin films prepared by sol-gel was also presented. WO3 nanowires showed better NO2 sensing performances compared to sol-gel processed films due to increase in surface area of nanowires. A large amount of literature is available on the gas sensing properties of carbon nanotubes. Only little attention is put in the studies of gas sensing properties of metal oxide based tubular structures. Varghese et.al. studied the hydrogen sensing properties of titania nano-tubes. The tests were performed in nitrogen atmosphere and 1% H2. The response time increased with temperature and the response time was 2-3 min. NO2 gas sensors based on ZnO nanostructures Liu et.al reported the NO2 gas sensing properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays prepared by hydrothermal method with zinc acetate and hexamethylenetetramine. The seed layer was deposited by ultrasonic spary pyrolysis. The aqueous hydrothermal solution was prepared by mixing equimolar ratio of zinc acetate dehydrate and HMT. The hydrothermal growth was carried out in a Teflon-lined stainless container. The substrate was put in the solution with the seeded face down and the container was sealed and kept at 110 °C for three hours. The nanorod sensor shows a higher sensitivity than the ZnO film based sensor prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The enhanced sensitivity is attributed to the higher aspect ratio of the nanorod structure and the sensitivity increases with the length of the nanorod. The relative response of the sensor is linearly proportional to NO2 concentration in the 0.2 5 ppm range. The NO2 gas sensing properties of semiconducting type gas sensors with channels composed of non-agglomerated, necked ZnO nanoparticles were investigated by Jun et.al. The heat treatment of the nanoparticles at 400 °C led to their necking and coarsening. The slight necking of the nanoparticles with their neighbors also enhanced the conductivity of the channels, due to the lowering of the potential barrier. The response of the necked nanoparticle based sensor was reported to be as high as 100 when exposed to 0.2 ppm of NO2 at 200  °C. NO2 gas sensor based on ZnO nanorods grown by ultrasonic irradiation was reported to very high sensitivity with a very low detection limit of 10 ppb at 250 °C. Sonochemical route was employed for the fabrication of vertically aligned nanorods on a Pt electrode patterned alumina substrate. The total time requir

How Does Counselling Differ from Other Helping Skills

INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELLING ASSIGNMENT ONE HOW DOES COUNSELLING DIFFER FROM OTHER HELPING SKILLS? Lorna Wilson 15/12/09 How does Counselling Differ from other Helping Skills? In everyday life people experience difficulties and problems that they feel they are not able to deal with on their own and need help with. The help that people receive to overcome their problems can be in many different forms. People may receive help in an informal way, such as having a chat to a close friend or relative, who can offer support and advice or they may seek help in a more formal capacity from various helping professionals, such as counsellors, social workers, psychiatrists, doctors, etc. For all of these professionals it is their formal role to help people manage distressing problems of life, but the help that is given can be very different depending on the profession of the helper & their specific skills. This assignment aims to consider how counselling differs from other forms of helping. Not every person who uses counselling skills is designated a counsellor. We can distinguish two groups of people who use counselling skills. People who are called counsellors, who engage in counselling as a distinct profession and others who use counselling skills as part of their role. We may go to a doctor to discuss a problem we are facing and a helping relationship is formed, but what the doctor offers is not counselling. They may well use their counselling skills, by listening to the patient to gain an understanding of their distress, but they also use other skills such as giving advice and providing factual information. The British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy define counselling as ‘taking place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction or purpose. It is always at the request of the client, as no-one can properly be sent for counselling’. It is a supportive relationship that enables clients to explore, understand, come to terms with and resolve their problems. Hough (2006) describes counselling as a relationship which is often between two people, but can sometimes be in a group setting. The counselling relationship is unique to other forms of helping for various reasons. One reason is due to the special form of communication that takes place between the client and counsellor. A primary difference between counselling & other forms of helping is the way in which counsellor’s listen. By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor begins to perceive the difficulties from the client’s point of view and can help them to see things more clearly or from a different perspective. Active listening involves thinking behind the client’s words and about their feelings and emotions. It also involves being aware of non-verbal communication such as eye contact, facial expressions and body language. All of which can provide the counsellor with information about what the client may be experiencing. Some helping relationships involve giving advice, which means telling people what they should do. This should not take place in counselling. The counsellor may well talk through with the client what is possible and explore different ways that problems could be resolved but it is about helping the client to take responsibility for finding a solution that feels right for them. This enables the client to take control of their own life and is based on the principle of empowerment. Freud (1920) even cautioned against giving advice. He felt that people should be helped to come to their own independent decisions without pressure. Confidentiality is also an essential part of the agreement between counsellor and client, but it can also be important to other helping professionals in their work. During counselling, clients may reveal intimate details about their lives. They would not want these private details to be passed on to other people and need to be reassured of confidentiality, probably more so than in other helping professions due to the depth and intimacy of the information that is being discussed. However, it is not always that simple and there may be some instances when it is not possible to maintain total confidentiality and the counsellor my have to pass on certain information that was revealed. For example, if a crime has been committed or if there is a risk of harm to another person. In this case the counsellor must be clear with the client what information they may have to pass on and to whom. Professional counsellors are also bound by other ethics such as being non-judgemental and should not exploit their clients in any way. They must be respectful of how their clients choose to live and their right to self-determination. Counsellors must not impose their own thoughts or feeling on other people & should not have any expectations or impose any conditions on their clients. The relationship between counsellor and client should be one of equality. Although, the client may not feel that there is equality, they may feel powerless, as they are seeking help. The counsellor must try and convey a sense of equality and use their skills and knowledge to enable the client to take control of their life and feel empowered. The setting where counselling takes places is also very important. The counsellor must have an environment that feels comfortable, safe, private and consistent to enable the client to feel more at ease and therefore able to talk more freely about difficulties they are experiencing. Professional counsellors also have to undergo specific training. As previously mentioned many helping professionals use counselling skills such as listening and attending to clients, asking questions, helping clients to clarify their thoughts etc. Professional counsellors become experts at using these particular skills. Professional counsellors also have training in the theory behind counselling and for example have knowledge of the process of human development and personality, knowledge of problems which can occur at different stages of the lifespan and how the environment and other influencing factors can affect people’s ability to deal with everyday life. They are aware of common psychological processes such as bereavement, loss and attachment and how people form and interact in relationships. Personal development is also another aspect of the role of a counsellor, as it is essential that they have increased self-awareness. The more self-aware the counsellor is the more they will be able to understand their clients. They often have their own supervision or counselling to enable them to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. To summarise, people experience difficulties and problems that they feel they are not able to deal with on their own and need help with. The help that they receive to enable them to overcome their problems can be in different forms, it can be informal advice from a friend or family member or it can be help from a professional that has particular skills in helping others. It was identified that many professionals use helping skills in their work but this differs from the work of a professional counsellor. Counselling is a supportive relationship that enables the client to explore, understand and resolve their problems in a private and comfortable setting. There is a special relationship between counsellor and client that is based on equality, respect, confidentiality and a non-judgemental attitude. The counsellor uses expert skills such as listening, enabling them to perceive the difficulties from the clients point of view. They also have specific training to develop these skills and have knowledge of the theory behind counselling and increased self-awareness through personal development. Word Count: 1300 References British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (2005) What is Counselling? , London: BACP. Egan,G. (1998) The Skilled Helper, Brooks/Cole Publishing Company Freud, S. (1920) A General introduction to Psychoanalysis. New York: Horace Liveright. Hough, M (2006) Counselling Skills & Theory, London: Hodder Arnold Swain, J (1995) The Use of Counselling Skills: A Guide for Therapists, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Adapting to Change

The mechanical technological driven world of today is moving fast and in this environment change is an inevitable thing because all the ups and downs; failures and successes faced by the people are dependent on the changes occurring in the surrounding environment.The capabilities of a person to respond towards the changes and adopt them determine the way of spending of person’s life. In the personal as well as professional life the people have to be well aware of the changes occurring around them so that they can keep them align with those changes. Most of the changes occurring in the surrounding world are led by the technological advancements.Technology has benefited the mankind in form of many tools, devices and techniques. These new facilities replace the old one and the way of doing certain thing also change with time. Most of the time these advancement and changes bring improvement in the life of the people but in some of the cases people have to give up their traditional values and cultural norms in order to cope up with the changes.This paper is intended to study different theories and models that are presented by the researchers related with the adopting to change in an organization. The dissertation is based on a qualitative research study that is conducted through secondary analysis of data and a case study.The case study of a US based company is presented so that different theories of adopting to change can be studied in the perspective of the company and the evidences could be found about the practical implications of the theories of adopting to change.1.1 Importance of TopicIn the fast moving world of today ideas came in to existence and then they are executed rapidly too, building lot of pressure on the people working in different fields because they have also to adopt the same policy of creating and implementing new and changed ideas from time to time.The time required for making these changes is often very short but the success of an orga nization in the highly competitive marketplace of today lies in the fact that how quickly they can respond towards the changes. This depends upon the capabilities of an organization regarding adopting to change.It is very importance to study that what is the importance of adopting to change in an organization because it is one of the most important issues for the business organization now days and the complete understanding of this issue is essential for individuals as well as organization so that they can manage their existing and design new strategies in this perspective.Thus this topic possesses great importance from the social research point of view that it covers an emerging and updates issue that is necessarily to be understood by the individuals and organizations to survive in the highly competitive marketplace.1.2 Need and Significance for the StudyThere is considerable portion of the literature conducted around the topic and numerous research studies have focused on the mod els and theories of adapting to change and their practical implication.This dissertation is continuation of the research work done so far because the topic is gaining more and more importance. As the technologies is rapidly spreading so the need of studying the change in organization is also getting more and more important and the dissertation is aimed at fulfilling the need of further study on this topic.1.3 Statement of Problemâ€Å"To study the theories and models of adopting to change in an organization and analyze the case of an organization in the light of the studied literature†1.4 Objective of the StudyThe study is aimed t achieving the following objectives ·To understand the concept of adapting to change in an organization from the historical perspective ·To study different theories and models of adopting to change ·To present the case study of an organization regarding the strategies and planning related with adopting to change. 2. Literature Review2.1. Adopti ng to change – Historical PerspectiveAdopting to change in an organization is not a new phenomenon but it has deep roots inside the history. Lewin (1952) presented a three stage model about adopting to change in an organization.   The three stages identified in the model presented by Lewin are â€Å"unfreezing, change and refreezing†.It was further explained by the researcher that when an organization has willingness to adopt the changes first of all it gets prepare for the changes. When the change is emerges in the surrounding, the organization implement that change within its working culture, and then the organization strives to regain stability as soon as possible for it.All of these steps are taken by the organization with a specific period of time so that organization can get stability and functionality on early basis (Lewin, p459, 1952). As the time passes, the business world show the need for more turbulent and flexible model of adopting to change that can fit well in the uncertain organizational and environmental conditions as well so the early model presented by Lewin became less appropriate and uncommon.De Jean (1991) and Malone et al (1992) presented another concept of adopting to change that technology is the main factor that bring changes in the environment and while designing the technologies it is the key issue that the technology must be easily adoptable by the end users and the people can have the opportunity to customize their existing features using the new technology and at the same time they can also create new applications with the help of newly introduced technology.In this way the features and adoptability of the technology it self determines the success rate of its acceptability. At the same time, the organizations also have to be aware of the fact that how they can implement change within their existing working patterns and what are the most appropriate ways of integrating new technologies in their traditional system.I n this situation the experience of the organization plays the most significant role in determining the role of the organization in the changing situation. Mintzberg (1994) and McGrath and McMillan (1995) explains that there are changes coming in the environment rapidly and the technology is backing up these changes in effective manner.In this new scenario there are many organizations that are still unaware of the fact that what is actually going around them because they see all of the things like a game that is entirely new for them and they don’t even know the rules and regulations of playing the game.This is the main factor that can lead the organization towards greater risk of failure because this show the lack of willingness of the company to get prepare for adopting to change and an organization can not survive in marketplace until and unless it is ready to face the changes.2.2. Adopting to change – Need, Importance and StrategiesVictor Siegle (2006) explains that an organization has to be well aware of the changes occurring all around because the success of an organization largely depends upon the fact that how fast and how adequately they respond towards the changes and make amendments in their strategies to meet the demands of those changes.These changes could be in form of change in the client’s or customer’s requirements and the organization has to provide the goods or services of the client or customer according to their new requirements.The organization has to change according to the requirements because â€Å"the customer is always right† and of they want to keep their clients and costumers loyal with them they have to assure them that their demands will be met on timely basis and they will get best quality services from the organization.In this regard it is very important for the organization to know that what are the priorities of their clients or customers and as far as there are some changes occur in their re quirement due to any factor, then the organization has to keep an eye on those changes and the management has to be always prepare to react upon these changes accordingly. Only then they can be sure about the successful relationsIn this context there is great responsibility lies upon the shoulders of the high officials and management. They have to develop such strategies and organizational culture in the company that the staff and their working patterns can easily adjust with the upcoming changes.All of this has to be done while remaining within the boundaries of the schedules, budgets, people, and deadlines. For better management of adopting to change it is essential to create a synergistic nature of the organization means that different teams should be created to perform different type of business activities separately and whenever there is any change required in the production of good and service, the people concerned with that particular part of the work will be contacted and as ked to make changes in their work.In this way the entire production process or company strategies does not face any set back or major delay. This is necessarily to be done by the management because they have no option to say â€Å"No† to the client or customers asking for change. This will not effect the reputation and credibility of the organization but also the sales and revenue of the company will be badly affected.However it doesn’t means that the organization must be ready and go for adopting each and every change occurring in the surrounding world but there is great need of effective management of adopting to change strategies and planning because unmanaged change can create lots of problem for the organization in terms of increate in the potential of causing disruption to projects already in progress that might lead to the mediocre end product, missed deadlines and budgets.All these factors will ultimately contribute towards the deterioration of the relationship of the organization with their client or customer. So there are some key steps that must be followed by an organization in the process of change management so that they can be in better position for adopting to change.For example they have to assure that the new or changes policies will be integrate in to the original or existing policies and working pattern of the organization so that the employees can cope up with these changes easily.The cost and time involved in the production process should be kept in consideration by the management while implementing a change so that the budget and deadline could be managed effectively.At the same time it is equally importance that the management must choose from the emerging changes that which one is beneficial for the organization and which will harm it. This will help the company is getting well prepared for adopting to change in the organization.Jacowski (2006) explains that the overall success of an organization is greatly dependent on t he change adoptability capabilities of the organization. The researcher explains that adopting to change in an organization requires lot of time, dedication, money and effective planning.It is very essential to manage the change properly because changes can take the organization towards improved productivity, efficient employee’s performance, superior quality of good and services produces and a better bottom line.In case of failure of the organization in adopting the change there is a great risk that the relationship of the company with its client or customers will be harm, there will be frustration generate in the employees, and the over all productivity and quality of the organization will be badly effected.In order to avoid the dangers of mismanaged change, it is very importance for an organization to get ready for adopting the change with all its planning and strategies. First of all the change must be added to the company’s function in a practical and meaningful w ay, otherwise there is no chance that the change will be accepted and successfully implemented in the organization.Thus the management has the major responsibility to choose that what change is necessary for the organization and above all what are the implications of that change within the existing working culture of the company. The management has to keep an eye on the time matter also to decide and when and in which aspects of the business, the organization will welcome the changes and what are the aspects and policies that will be remained undisturbed by any of the changes.For the better management of adopting to change in the organization it is a crucial matter that the people associated with the change management must be aware of all the problems and issues associated with the adoption to change sin the organization and they must have adequate work done on the lines that â€Å"who will be taking on the change, who will best know how the change will work, and how it can be util ized†.In addition to this it is equally important that there must be trust worthy relationship between the management and the employees so that the employees can be motivated to work in efficient manner in the changes environment also and they must be mentally prepare to face the changes adopted and implemented by the organization.It is importance to have trust based relation in the organization to get prepare for adopting to change because in case of lack of trust, the employees will resist strongly towards the implemented changes and it will become even more difficult for the management to implement the changes within the organization.Moreover the management should also have deep understanding of the employees issues so that they can know that what changes will be welcome by the employees and what changes will be resisted. In this regard the management must have effective communication link with its people so that there could be good understanding of their reservations and c oncerns.2.2 Theories and ModelsGallivan at al (1994) adaptation to change in an organization requires hard work of many years because it is not something that can occur immediately. The researchers explain that to get prepares for adopting any change, it is very necessary that the management of the organization must assure the flow of concise, readable and to the point information to the employees.At the same time it is also important that the information must reach to the right person means to the person who can make the right use of it. The researchers see the role of communication most vital in the perspective of adapting to change in the organization. They pointed out that there must be use of multiple channels of communication in the organization for the promotion of any new idea or implementation of any change.The management is recommended that there must be good communication links built with the employees so that the management can effectively demonstrate the decision of the management regarding the implementation and adaptation of any new change. The role of management is very crucial at this stage because there is a broad spectrum of skills required to lead to effective management of innovation and change within an organization.There must be programs, workshops, meetings and gatherings arranged by the management with the employees so that both the management and the employees can better understand the perspective of each other. In addition to this the management must also produce and provide some material in form of hard copy or soft copy to the employees.This material can explain the perspective of the employees in detail and can inform the employees many such things that can not be demonstrated orally.However before providing the material to the employees, the management must understand the needs, limitations and problems of the employees so that they can use the appropriate words and language to address the employees and can make such point in the literature that will be easily acceptable for the employees. Kwon and Zmud (1997) explains that adopting to change in an organization is not an easy issue because in many organizations there is great possibility that the employees with resist change and talk about remaining sticking on the same traditional means of doing their work.He further explains that there are some main reasons due to which the employees within an organization can resist for change and these are the challenges for the management if they want to develop a culture in the organization open towards changes.An important reason why the employees resist the change in ambiguity that people are unclear about the details of the emerging change and they have certain questions in their mind that what would be the effect of the change over their job position and working patterns.This unclear image led towards the resistance in the employees regarding the change. Another important reason is lack of proper communication lin ks between the management and the employees. When the employees are not properly informed by the management neither there is any consultancy done with the employees but the change in imposed on the employees as an order, then there is a generally unlikeness and unwillingness in adopting any change.On the other hand if the employees are well informed about the change and the policies are discussed in details then thy can meet higher levels of job satisfaction than uninformed workers. This is because people like to know and they have the right to know that what is going all around them and what are the decisions that are taking place related with their work and positions.