Silicon Solar Cell Grid And Bus Bar Design Engineering Essay

Silicon Solar Cell Grid And Bus Bar Design Engineering Essay In this paper, we shall be designing and explaining the process for fabricating the top grid and busbar electrodes for a crystalline silicon solar cell using commercial processing techniques, such as screen-printing. The solar cell must be kept at a minimum of 20.8% conversion efficiency and we must keep our power losses under 8% using commercially available technology and inks. INTRODUCTION Solar cell technology is a rapidly growing form of power generation. There are new and improved processes being developed and understood all the time. In this paper, we will introduce, design, and calculate the properties and a process of fabricating a crystalline silicon solar cell. A solar cell is an electronic device that converts sunlight into electricity, using what is known as the photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect is the basic physical process in which a PV cell converts sunlight into energy. The sunlight, containing photons, strikes the PV cell and are either reflected or absorbed. When the PV cell absorbs a photon with an adequate energy level, an electron is excited to the conduction band, which produces a hole in the valence band. Once the electron-hole pair is formed, the built-in electric field separates the electron from the hole and then the two charges can contribute to current flow in the PV cell. Once this hole is formed a built-in electric field is needed to drive the current to an external load, assuming one is connected. The built in electric field is a property of the PV cell consisting of an n-type (negative) and a p-type (positive) semiconductor formed together. When these two materials, normally positively or negatively doped silicon, are together, they create a pathway for excess electrons in the n-type material to flow to the p-type material. This causes the holes to flow into the n-type material from the p-type material. Through this process of electron and hole flow, the electric field is created and needed to force the electrons to jump to the surface in order to become available for use in the electrical circuit as shown below in figure 1. [1] With light, charge imbalance, generates voltage across terminals No voltage across diode, No Current Load connected, Current flows Figure 1: Different stages of PV cell [2]. Problem: Our job was to design grids and busbars, outline a fabrication process for putting down the grids and busbars on top of the crystalline silicon solar cell using commercial printing inks for making ohmic contacts, and describe the commercial processing techniques we are using, such as screen-printing. Our initial constraints are that the silicon solar cell is a square such that its dimensions are 10cm by 10cm. Also, the cell is such that, when there are no resistive or grid-shadowing losses, it produces a current density of 40 mA/cm2. The cell also produces a voltage of 0.65 V, a fill factor of 80% and an energy conversion efficiency of 20.8%. We are assuming that the sheet resistance of the p layer is 100 ohms/square. We also must calculate the shadowing loss due to the blocked sunlight from the grids and the busbar on the solar cell. In addition to those losses, we must take into account the resistive losses in the top junction layer with the cells sheet resistance, grids and busbar s. While fabricating this solar cell, the losses are to be minimized such that the sum is to be less than 8%. MATHEMATICAL DERIVATIONS In this section the mathematical equations for calculating various losses in the solar cell will be derived. Below in table 1 is the design parameters and constraints given for this solar cell. Parameters given in the design project specifications Parameter Value Description Light-generated current density Open-circuit voltage Fill factor Energy conversion efficiency Sheet resistance of the p-layer Area of the solar cell Table 1: Design parameters for solar cell Using the parameters given above, the optical power incident on the solar cell is given by manipulating the equation into the form which gives . The power generated by the cell is given by . The voltage at the maximum power point Vm is determined by using the following equation: [2]. Using this value of Vm, the current at the maximum power point Im was then determined with the following equation: The losses in the solar cell are caused by resistance in the bus bar, resistance in the fingers, resistance in the base and emitter layers, and shadowing by the bus bar and fingers. The resistivity per square of the ink used in this cell is measured at 25 µm thick [5]. The resistivity of the ink is then calculated by . A MATLAB program was written to help determine the optimum spacing between the fingers of the solar cell. The code that was written can be seen in the back of this paper located in the appendix. The graph generated by the program is in figure 2. C:UsersGenDocumentsEE 332Final ProjectFinger Spacing Chart.png Figure 2: Total Power Loss versus Finger Spacing. From the graph we determined the optimal spacing between fingers to be 2.5mm. The power lost in each finger is given by where Lf is the length of the finger, Sf is the spacing between fingers, à Ã‚ f is the resistivity of the finger, wf is the width of the finger, and df is the height of the finger. A summary of the design parameters used here are shown in Table 2. Once the power lost in each finger is known, the total resistive losses in the fingers can be calculated by multiplying by the number of fingers . The power loss in the bus bar is calculated by where Lb is the length of the bus bar, à Ã‚ b is the resistivity of the bus bar, wb is the width of the bus bar, and db is the height of the bus bar. The power loss in the emitter of the solar cell is calculated by where à Ã‚ em is the resistance per square of the emitter. There are losses due to shadowing of the solar cell caused by the fingers and bus bar blocking light. The shadowing losses is calculated by where Nb is the number of bus bars. The total power losses in the solar cell is then calculated by . We can then determine the percentage of power losses to be which is below the 8% loss specified for this design project. CELL FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES Cell Fabrication: When it comes to fabrication techniques of solar cells there are a few techniques to pick from. These choices mainly consist of screen printed solar cells, buried contact solar cells, high efficiency solar cells, and rear contact solar cells. For the purpose of this paper the method of choice that will be used is screen printing. The screen printing process can be a cheaper process and is often comprised of fewer steps than other methods. Screen printing has been around for quite some time, though originally designed for printing graphics, advertisements, flyers, etc.; one of these screen printing machines can be seen in figure 2. http://www.phoseon.com/img/Screen_Print_iStock_000008690558XSmall.jpg Figure 2: One of the arms of a machine that holds a screen, squeegee, and ink. [3] As far as the physical screen printing portion of semiconducting devices or in our case a solar cell it is a pretty simple idea. A screen is created in the form of a negative just as film in a camera. Certain areas of the screen allow ink to pass through and others do not. This screen can be made of different materials such as silk, metal, plastics. The screen is used to hold the ink that will be transferred to the target object, in this particular scenario a wafer of crystalline silicon or c-Si. Saw damage etch: After the blocks of silicon are cut into wafers, roughly .5mm thick, the saw leaves behind a residue that was used as a coolant during the cutting process. [2] The wafers get loaded into cassettes so that they can be cleaned as show in figure 3. The wafers are then cleaned in a hot sodium hydroxide bath to remove the contamination left behind. This process removes the first 10 micrometers of silicon which was damaged during the cutting process. Once this has taken place the silicon is then placed into another, more diluted, sodium hydroxide bath which has been mixed with isopropanol as a wetting agent to etch the surface of the silicon wafers. This process gives a very uniform etch rate when c-Si wafers are used as the primary substrate. http://www.pveducation.org/sites/default/files/PVCDROM/Manufacturing/Images/MVC-420F.JPG Figure 3: Multicrystalline silicon wafers in cassettes are ready to be cleaned [2]. Junction formation by doping: The wafers have now been cleaned and are ready to be doped. This process will create an n-type layer on the c-Si. This n-type layer is created by applying a phosphorus coating to the silicon and then firing the wafers. The wafers are in what is called a diffusion coating furnace where the layer of phosphorus is deposited on to the wafers. The wafers are then moved to a different furnace where they are fired at a temperature roughly 800-1000 degrees Celsius. The firing process incorporates the phosphorus layer into the outer surface of the silicon wafer. Edge isolation: Edge isolation is a process in which the newly doped silicon wafers have the front and back sides isolated from each other. This is done by first stacking the wafers together and then loading them in to a plasma etching system. In this system the sides of the wafers will be plasma etched by using CF4 and O2. This process will remove the phosphorus dopant from the sides of the wafers thus separating the two n-type surfaces encompassing the silicon. Anti-reflection coating: One more step is needed before the wafers can begin the screen printing process and this is the application of an anti-reflection coating. This is a very important step because it is this coating that helps to reduce the amount of reflected photons, which in turn helps increase the efficiency of the solar cell.[4] For this step silicon nitride is used via a process called chemical vapor deposition process or CVD. During this process the chemicals are fed into the deposition chamber and they break down and adhere to the wafer. The actual chemical process for this is 3SiH4 + 4NH3 -> Si3N4 + 12H2. [2] Screen printing the rear contact: Now that the wafers have been doped, the front and back have been isolated from each other, and they have been coated with an anti-reflection coating they are now ready to receive the rear contacts. This is done through the screen printing process discussed earlier on in this paper. A screen carrying a metal paste is lowered over the top of the solar cell and then a squeegee pushes the paste through holes, transferring it to the cell in the desired pattern, this can be seen below in figure 4. This process is usually repeated twice for both the front and back sides of the solar cell, each of which both distributing different patterns to the solar cell. The first usually deposits an aluminum mask across the back of the cell to create the back surface field. [2] Figure 4: Squeegee pushing metallic ink across a screen. [2] The cell is then dried in an oven to remove all of the organic solvents and binders before the next screen takes place. The second screen on the back of the solar cell deposits a silver paste which is used for the contacts on the solar cell. After performing the second screen print on the back of the solar cell it is then placed in to an oven and fired at a higher temperature. During this process the metal and wafer are heated to a high enough temperature to destroy the n-layer allowing the metals printed on the cell to become in contact with the p-type silicon itself. Screen printing the front contact: Now that we have printed the back side of the solar cell it gets flipped over for the printing of the conductive fingers and the main busbars. This is the exact same process as explained earlier when printing the rear side of the solar cell except for the fact that the screens will have different designs to create the buss bar and finger system as mentioned. For the purpose of this paper we will be using a DuPont Solamet PV412 ink. The properties of this ink can be seen below in figure 5. Figure 5: Specification sheet for DuPont Solamet PV412 ink. [5] In between these two steps the wafers will be put into a drier around 200 degrees Celsius to dry the ink as said before on the back side. Once the second screen is transferred the wafer will again go back into an oven to fire the chosen metal paste into the silicon. A finished image of the front of a solar cell is shown in figure 6. http://www.ecn.nl/typo3temp/pics/db94f2dc2b.png Figure 6: Front of a finished solar cell [6] TECHNOLOGIES CHOSEN FOR THIS APPLICATION Why screen printing is used: Screen printing technology, where a metal-containing conductive paste is forced through the openings of a screen onto a wafer to form the circuits or contacts, is one of the best established and one of the most mature forms of solar cell fabrication technology. [7] First developed in the 1970s, screen-printing is currently the dominant form of fabrication of photovoltaic modules. [2] While screen printing does reduce the efficiency of a solar cell by 3.5-4% when comparing it to the best and more expensive methods, however, there are advantages to this fabrication method. [6] Some of the key advantages are the technologys simplicity in fabricating the solar cell, its cost-effectiveness and its ease of control. Why silicon is used: Currently, crystalline silicon is the dominant material used in the photovoltaic market, even though silicon does not have optimum material parameters. Specifically, its band gap is a little too low for an optimum solar cell and it has a low absorption coefficient. Due to silicons abundance and its prominence in the manufacturing industry, silicon still makes it difficult for other materials to compete in this market. [8] Why silver is used: Many factors come into play when deciding the material to be used in the solar cell. Some factors include the materials efficiency, its conductivity, its adhesion strength, as well as its cost effectiveness. Silver, being a great conductor of electricity, is used in the contact points. A well-formulated silver paste could have almost 50% higher conductivity compared to other pastes. [9] Silver also has great adhesion strength that meets the general costumer requirements. FINAL FABRICATION PROCESS DESCRIPTION Table 2 is a summary of the final design parameters for this solar cell. Table 2: Final Design Parameters Parameter Value Description Voltage at maximum power output Current density at max power output Maximum power output without losses Resistance per square of the emitter [10] Resistance per square of the ink [5] Resistivity of the ink Spacing between fingers Width of the fingers Height of the fingers Length of the fingers 80 Number of fingers Length of the bus bar Width of the bus bar Table 3 is a summary of the calculated losses of the solar cell associated with the grid and bus bars. Table 3: Calculated Power Losses Power losses due to shadowing Power losses in the emitter Power losses in the fingers Power losses in the bus bar Total power losses Percentage power losses The Final Fabrication After all of the multiple steps of screen printing are completed and the wafers have been fired at the appropriate temperatures for the correct amount of time, the solar cells are complete. Keep in mind that the stages of manufacturing where the wafers are fired must be done correctly to get the desired solar cell. If the temperature is to high this will cause the metals to melt together and make contact with others causing possible short circuit or giving the wafer improper properties. After this process is successfully completed, the cells can then have leads soldered to the back sides of them. This completes production of the physical solar cell and just leaves the process of soldering leads to the back side of the wafers which will allow the cells to be wired in series to achieve the desired output voltage. In conclusion the initial parameters included a minimum of 20.8% conversion efficiency and the power loss was to be kept under 8% by using commercially available inks and technology. We were able to achieve a conversion efficiency of 20.8% and we were able to reduce our power lost to 4.64% by screen printing our c-Si solar cells and also reducing the width while increasing the height of the fingers and busbars. REFERENCES [1] Reprinted from U.S. Department of Energy Photovoltaics Program. [Online]. Available: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsolar3.htm [Nov. 15, 2012] [2] Christiana Honsberg, Stuart Bowden. Photovoltaic Education Network [Online]. Available: http://www.pveducation.org/ [Nov. 1, 2012] . [3] Phoseon Technology Screen Printing. [Online]. Available: http://www.phoseon.com/applications/screen-printing.htm [Nov. 4, 2012] [4] Daniel Nilsen Wright. (2008, Jan, 16) Anti-reflection coatings for silicon solar cells [Online]. Available: http://www.sintef.no/uploadpages/24509/Daniel%20N%20Wright.pdf [Nov 3, 2012] [5] DuPont Solamet PV412 photovoltaic metallization [Online]. Available: http://www2.dupont.com/MCM/en_US/assets/downloads/prodinfo/Solamet_PV412.pdf [6] Jaap Hoornstra. Better printing delivers more solar power. ECN (Sep. 2010). [Online]. Available: http://www.ecn.nl/nl/nieuws/newsletter-en/2010/september-2010/two-stage- screen-printing-improves-solar-cell/ [Nov. 6, 2012] [7] Applied Materials. (April 2011). Screen Printing For Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells. [Online]. Available: http://www.appliedmaterials.com/sites/default/files/ [Nov. 15, 2012] [8] Jessika Toothman and Scott Aldous. How Solar Cells Work. [Online]. Availabe: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/solar-cell2.htm [Nov. 15, 2012] [9] Dr. Weiming Zhang. How Silver Paste Can Improve Silicon Solar Cell Performance/Cost Ratio. [Online]. Available: http://pvsilverpaste.com/media/webmedia_local/media/whitepapers/HowSilverPasteCanI mproveYourPerformance.pdf [Nov. 15, 2012] [10] Yelundur, V.; Nakayashiki, K.; Hilali, M.; Rohatgi, A.; , Implentation of a homogeneous high-sheet-resistance emitter in multicrystalline silicon solar cells, Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005. Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE , vol., no., pp. 959- 962, 3-7 Jan. 2005 URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=arnumber=1488291 isnumber=31426

Qantas strategies Analysis Essay

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The report has discussesd and appliesd theoretical concepts and principles of strategic management into analyzing the environment context where to Qantas Airways Limited operates. It shows that, Qantas has a long history and sustainable development but needs to evolve in the global world. ization context, the company has to continue to participate in international activities to grab development opportunities. Besides that, the increasing competitive also challenges the corporation. In order to be successful and take competitive advantages, strategy is the key element for every enterprise including Qantas. By researching and applying strategy analysis theoretical into Qantas case study, its current strategies are outlined and reviewed and some others are suggested. It approves the roles of strategies in create competitive advantages through cost leadership, differentiation  and focusing. 1.0. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background In the globalized and integrated world economy, enterprises have spread their operations into other countries and become multinational corporations. Qantas Airways Limited is the Australia’s oldest and largest airline also takes part in international activities very early since 1935. The international operations create for the group a great opportunity to expand and grow but also challenge Qantas Airways with inherent risks and competitions in international market. In order to sustainably develop and remain the largest airways not only in Australia but also in the world, the Group should implement strategies to create comparative advantaged. 1.2 Aims – To analyse the company’s information; – To analyse the internal and external context where the corporation operating; – To analyse the resources and capacities of Qantas Airways Limited; – To analyse and discuss strategies the corporation using and recommendation to improve them. Scope Data and information are mainly collected from CQU online module, databases, academic articles, the corporation’s website and textbooks. The report is based on the operations of Qantas Airways in five recently years and focus on two recent years. 2.0. INTERNAL ANALYSIS 2.1. Qantas Airways Limited Qantas is Australia’s largest airline and the second oldest airline in the world carrying billions passengers in more than 20 countries such as Australia, Asia, North and South America, New Zealand, Africa and Europe. Qantas Group is one of the strongest brands in Australia. The Group’s main operation is the transportation of customers in two complementary airline brands – Qantas and Jetstar (low cost carrier). The Group’s broad portfolio of subsidiary businesses ranges from Qantas Freight Enterprises to Qantas Frequent Flyer. Qantas has strong network all over the world. Founding member of oneworld alliance, until now Qantas has 27 bilateral partners extending the network and offer passengers a global network. ïÆ' ¼ In 2012, Qantas carries a 44.6% shares of the Australian domestic market and 18% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia while the respective market segments for Jetstar are 20,7% and 8%. The chart below compares the top 10 inter national airlines. Figure 1: Top 10 international airlines in Australia (Source: ANNA- Airlines Network News and Analysis, 2010)   2.2. Resources and capabilities – Tangible resources: Establisheding in 1920, Qantas Group has grown gradually and remain one of the largest and strongest in Australian airways industry. During the last 5 recently years, Qantas has steadily expanded its operations by increasing number of aircrafts, passengers, employees and destinations all over the world. Its development can be demonstrated as data below: Figure 2: Qantas’s resources from 2008-2012 (Adopted from Qantas data book 2012, see Appendix) Qantas’s total asset increased from $19.7 billion in 2008 to $21.1 billion in 2012. More than half of its assets are from property, plant and equipment which book value at $14.13m at the end of FY2012. Intangible assets values at $610,000. ïÆ' ¼ At the end of FY2012, the corporation had a cash balance of $3.4 billion, and 308 aircrafts from three main suppliers Airbus, Boeing and Bombardiers. The Group has 12 Airbus A380, 30 Airbus A330, 60 Boeing B737, 36 Boeing B747 and 46 Bombardiers.   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Intangible resources: Qantas has a strong reputation for long history with a huge number of customers, larger segment in the Australian market. Qantas is the world’s second oldest airline and since its inception, Qantas has remained one of the largest and strongest brands in Australia. Qantas Frequent Flyer has grown steadily growth, more than 750,000 new members joining the frequent program during 2012. And increase the total member to 8.6 million. (Qantas data book 2012). Many Australians regard Qantas Airways Limited as a national icon and pride of Australia. ïÆ' ¼ Another intangible resource of Qantas is its networks with large corporations. Qantas started the Oneworld Alliance with American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines and Cathay Pacific in 1998, and with Finnair and Iberia one year later. Oneworld is an arrangement among airlines to share departure lounges, frequent flyer points and joint booking of flights for travellers to go wherever they want. (Dallas, H 2010). Qantas fre quent Flyer has partnerships with many large corporations in and outside Australia, such as Optus, Woolworths, Caltex, Safaris, etc.   2.3. Performance analysis According to Mail Business Staff 2012, Qantas Airways reported $204 million annual loss in FY2012, the first loss since 17 year period. It was impacted  from the increasing fuel prices, intense competition, industrial disputes and its struggling international division and a series of strikes that temporarily grounded its fleet. By analyzing data from the corporation’s annual report, profitability index can be calculated as shown bellowed: Figure 3: Qantas Airways ratio analysis (Adopted from Qantas data book 2012) As can be seen, the Qantas performs ineffectively in recently. Its turnover, profit and ROA, ROE have reduced considerably particularly a loss of $244 million in 2012. ïÆ' ¼ However, the group still has strong financial capability. Its debt/equity ratio slightly increased but can be acceptable and its create leverage to encourage managers improve the corporation’s performance. Qantas has quick ratio around 0.5, that help Group has ability to pay current debt. Besides that, the current ratios were less than 1 and continuously decreased. It faces the Group to risk of liquidity that means Qantas may not have enough resources to pay its debts over the next 12 months in case of liquidity. ïÆ' ¼ According to Grant, 2013 the goal of a firm is value maximization that means maximizing the shareholders’ wealth. It was measures via the share’s price and profitability. The corporation recorded an decline in share’s price and market capitalization from 2009 to 2012 a fter a bounce in 2008 to reach the highest price of $6.0 per share. The earnings per share dropped significantly and in 2012 and the shareholders received no dividend due to the loss of $244m.   The changing in Qantas’s share price is illustrated as below: Figure 4: Qantas Share price from 2008-2012 (Source: Qantas data book 2012, p.33) Researches show that, loss is result of high fuel price and changing in foreign currency exchanges as well as competition with other low cost airlines in international activities (O’Sullivan, M 2012). The researchers require Qantas implement strategies to hedge fuel cost and manage foreign exchange risks to increase its competitive advantages.   2.3. Genertic strategy and connection to the internal value chain Qantas Airways aim at maintaining its position as the leading Australian domestic carrier and one of the world’s premier sustainable long-haul airlines through two dual  airline brands, Qantas and Jetstar that endeavour at two different strategies. While Jetstar focus on low cost Airline, Qantas aims to provide safety, highest quality services and more â€Å"Ausiee† airline. It seek to deliver sustainable, long term returns to the shareholders. The Qantas Group strategic priorities are illustrated below. Figure 5: Qantas strategic priorities (Source: Qantas data book 2012, p.5) Qantas’s strategies have connection to the firm’s internal value chain. According to Grant 2013, a value chain analysis describes a sequential chain of the main activities that the firm undertakes. Michael Porter’s Value Chain has been used as a tool to analyse competitive advantages. It is divided to two parts, primary activities and support activities. First of all, primary activities include five main activities which are Inbound logistics, Operations, Outbound logistics, Marketing and sales and Customer service (Grant, 2013). Inbound logistics is a part of the ‘supply chain’ and involve distribution. Inbound logistics’ activities describe the receiving and storing of materials (Porter, 1985). Qantas has three major jet suppliers which are Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier. Each supplier has different competitive advantage with others. For example, Airbus has A380 that is larger, longer and can deliver more passengers than others while Boeing h as B787 that is lighter, smaller and faster than others. In addition, Qantas also has others suppliers who provide products related to oil, gas and food. Operations are activities to transfer inputs into the final product (Porter, 1985). The operation of Qantas group includes airports, catering, engineering, flight operations, operations planning, control and aviation services (Qantas Factfile, 2010). For example, Qantas aviation services are applied through several processes such as customers can book ticket through travel agent or booking online, check-in online, and baggage claim. Outbound logistics is the process related to collect, store and distribute the final products to customers (Porter, 1985). The general activity of airline industry is transportation goods and services from one area to others all over the world. Therefore, most of airlines implement their transactions though travel agent and online and Qantas is not an exception. By using these ways, Qantas achieves the most cost effective,  while satisfying customers. Marketing and sales are activities to provide the places which customers can buy the products (Porter, 1985). In order to advertise product, Qantas has created many media advertisements on television, radio, newspapers, posters in travel agents and billboards. Qantas announced $44 million for advertising campaign with Tourism Australia in 2010 (Qantas, annual report 2010). For example, Qantas used Boeing 747 aircraft to paint the words ‘Come play’ in Frequently Flyer program and Sponsorship Football Federation Australia (World football insider, 2010). However, Qantas is trying to use more direct marketing than blanket advertising because blanket advertising is more expensive and less targeted especially to corporations than direct marketing. Moreover, Qantas also uses global marketing strategies which are standardization, customization and global branding. Through these marketing, Qantas has implemented successful strategies to ensure its reputation for high quality good s and services. In addition, Qantas also has sales promotions in particularly periods. An example of this is Qantas launched a two – for one ticket sale, it means that a second passenger is allowed to fly for the cost of taxes and charges. Another is that Qantas first launched to issue 100,000 tickets at $49. ïÆ' ¼ Secondly, Support activities consist of Firm infrastructure, Human resources (HR) management, Technology and Procurement (Grant, 2013). Support activities can help primary activities to work more effectively. Firm infrastructure relates to structure of the industry. Qantas’s infrastructure includes functional departments such as accounting department, financial department, marketing department, customer service department or engineering department. Qantas’s HR strategy focuses to ensure a flexible, adaptable and safer workforce, improve labour unit costs and productivity, develop management and leadership capabilities as one of the largest employers in Australia, approximately 37,000 people (Qantas, 2012). Qantas’s HR concentrates on four areas: corporate, business segments, shared services, and learning and development. Each area has own responsibilities to help deliver the human resource strategy. Besides that, Qantas group is also known as the Australia’s largest aviation trainer. There are many training courses to help the Qantas employees to improve their knowledge and skills. For example, in 2011/2012, Qantas invested $65 million in training approximately 2,300 pilots (Qantas, annual report 2012). Furthermore, in the  past four years, 122 young people graduated through the Qantas program. Their training enables them to experience with various aspects of airline management and they may provide the next generation of aviation executives. ïÆ' ¼ Regarding technology development, technology has an important role in supporting Qantas business to deliver enhanced value. Technology development of Qantas focuses on main five areas which are project and program management, business system analysis, testing and quality assurance, services and relationship management, and architecture (Qantas, 2012). Qantas is also investing in new technology for customers; Qantas is the fir st airline to offer iPads as an option entertainment for passengers to access to the latest entertainment. These activities can support for main purposes to enhance the quality and create reputation for Qantas group. ïÆ' ¼ The purpose of Qantas’s procurement is maximizing the shareholders’ value from all supplier relationships (Qantas, annual report 2012). This is implemented through a chain process such as disciplined, systematic and ongoing process. All procurement activities are ensured through Qantas’ procurement policy. One of the important procurement activities is that goods and services meet specification and are transferred on time at competitive prices from stable suppliers. Others procurement activities are also applied such as financial risk, total cost basic must be reduced and supplier relationship management is focused on win-win outcome.   3.0. EXTERNAL AND INDUSTRYIAL ANALYSIS 3.1. Macro economy Qantas as a part in the global airline industry has continued to benefit from globalization where growth trade and tourism increase demands for travelling. According to the World Tourism Organization, throughout 2011, international tourist arrivals went up by 4.4% to 980 million, from 939m in 2010. The context also creates corporative opportunities for Qantas. For example, in early 2011, Qantas acquired Network Aviation, a West Australian charter airline that contributed around $19 million in revenue and other income (Marketline 2012). However, globalizations with the participation of many airline industries also threat Qantas in provide good service at reasonable price. Besides that, the increasing and unpredicted fuel price and foreign currency exposure also challenges the Group when participate in  international operation. 3.2. Five forces analysis Porter’s Five Forces is a most widely used framework in practice to determine intensity of competition and the level of profitability for companies (Grant 2013). Porter (2008) stated that five forces shape the structure of industries and launch the basement for competition and profitability within industry. These include threats of new entrants and substitutes, bargaining power of substitutes and buyers, and rivalry among existing competitors. According to Dobbs (2012), five forces assessments of threats and opportunities are powerful responses of managers to challenging environment where they must to compete with rivals and increase profits. The first important element is threat of substitutes. Substitute products/services perform a similar function as an industry product by a different means and at times at a cheaper price. This makes the competitions become more violent for all. It corresponds to industry profitability suffers. Therefore, companies have to reinvest themselv es such as their services, product and event low price and restructure their organizations in order to survive in challenging environment. They have estimated what threats coming from substitutes whose product are similar to that of a company/brand that is established within the industry and give some strategies for themselves. The aviation business now tries to boost up diverse options and promotions trip with low price to persuade the customers. Under pressure of substitutes like Virgin, Delta, Tiger Airlines, especially coaches or trains, Qantas have to plan some strategies not only in Airline industry but Transportation industry The second of five forces is threats of new entrants. When new entrants have launched in an industry, the proportion of industrial profits has changed. They bring new capacity and desire to share a market with the others, and simultaneously put pressures on old rivals about prices, qualities of services and goods, cost and rate of necessary investment. When threats are high, managers must implement a number of methods into the marketing mix in order to deter new entrants. According to Grant (2013), there are some principal sources of barriers to entry: Capital requirements, economies of scale, absolute cost advantages, and product differentiations, access to channels of distribution, governmental and legal barriers, and retaliation. The effectiveness of barriers to entry depends on the resources  and capabilities that potential entrants possess. The new entrants, Virgin Airlines or Tiger Airline, become competitors to Qantas with new full service airline and cheap tickets. In order to compete, Qantas is focused on business market which does not have a strong market competitor. The group also try to control the budget airlines through introducing of Jet Star (Reference for business, 2006). In addition, although Emirates airline is a international competitor, Qantas has corporation with Emirates to enhancing their shared network across the Tasman. This hit the competition in Australia and New Zealand (Cornwell 2013). The third is rivalry among existing competitors. According to Grant (2013), in some industries companies compete aggressively, sometimes the prices are under the value of output and leading definitely loss incurred. In the others, they focus on the innovation, advertising and non price dimensions. The intensity of competition of companies base on some factors: concentration, diversity of competitors, product differentiation, excess capacity and exit barriers, cost condition. Simultaneously Qantas operates Jetstart to compete the other companies by cheap tickets, Qantas also cooperate with Woolworths in Frequent Flyer program to maintain loyal customer (Qantas FactFiles, 2010) . The next is bargaining power of suppliers: suppliers are also described as the market of inputs: ability of suppliers to put the buyers under pressure. There are two factor effected on aviation industry including aircraft manufactures and fuel supplier. According to Qantas annual report, 2009, Suppliers of Qan tas are Boeing, Airbus, and Bombardier. They have strong power to deal with Qantas because they determine cost and delivery times and can be potential to turn into competitors. Lastly, bargaining power of buyers: Customers are described as the market of outputs and put the firm under pressure of low prices and quality of services. Therefore, Qantas have to cooperate with the other airline such as Emirates, Vietnam airline to rival the others. Qantas also has to impulse its sale with quality product and cheap price in several channels such as travel agency and website to deal with others. What is your conclusion from the 5 Forces Analysis? 4.0. STRATEGY TO CREATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE In the competitive environment, enterprises have to create competitive advantages or they will be died. Grant (2013) says that a firm can achieve a higher rate of profit over a rival in two ways: supplying an identical product or service at a lower cost, or providing a unique product or service that is differentiated with others in order to persuade customer pay a price premium that exceeds the additional cost of the differentiation. 4.1. Cost leadership In order to take advantages in cost, the corporation has to structure and effectively exploit resources, apply some drivers of cost advantages such as economics of scale, product design, technology and inputs cost (Grant 2013). Figure 6: Qantas’s expenditure in 2011-2012 ïÆ' ¼ (Source: Qantas data book 2012, p.18) As can be seen, there are three main parts from Qantas’s expenditure in both 2011 and 2012. They are fuel cost, labour cost and aircraft operating aviation. Figure 7: Fuel cost of Qantas ïÆ' ¼ (Source: Qantas Data Book 2012, p.19) Fuel cost is the highest expense of Qantas, accounting for more than 25% of total expenses. In 2012, the fuel makes a new record at 27% of total costs at $4.22 billion in compare with $593million in 2011. ïÆ' ¼ The Group uses several strategies to reduce the influence of fuel prices. They are hedging; passing fuel surcharges to tickets; shortening the jet fuel supply chain fuel conservation; investment in new fuel-economic aircraft; improvement managing air traffic and enhanced technology in flying techniques and navigation approach. (Qantas data book 2012). Aircraft operating variable spent $3 billion in costs in FY2012. It includes route navigation charges, landing fees are charged by the relevant airport company or authority, maintenance cost and passenger expenses (in-flight consumables and amenities, entertainment). Therefore†¦.? Moving to cost leadership strategy can be applied by Jetstar that focus on low cost airline to gain market share in difference target customer th an with the main brand. Due to nowadays, there are many low cost airways emerge worldwide. Thus, the firms that can offer the cheaper price will be gain the customers. Jetstar want to  reach the lower price than others fare airlines so the company designs to adapt another strategy such as partnership strategy to deal with the main competitors. In current years, almost aviations industries have considered about how to the firms getting the customer faster than competitors. Also, Jetstar recognizes about low price with fast sale so the firm tries to create new promotion to attract and gain the customers quickly than another firm. The firm can take advantages in cost by increasing passenger load factor (promotion), reduce fuel cost, in-flight consumption and entertainment of customers. 4.2. Differentiation According to Grant (2013), differentiation is not just about the product, it embraces the whole relationship between the supplier and customer. Differentiation can be categorised into two types as tangible differentiation and intangible differentiation. 4.2.1. Tangible differentiation: Complementary service: According to Qantas FactFiles (2010), Qantas has provided In-flight entertainment with full-option in all Qantas international flights such as A380, B747 and A330 aircrafts. Simultaneously, Qantas Club lounges with full of necessary facilities are provided to the Qantas’s members at more than 130 lounges worldwide. As Group route network, the Qantas Group have operated numerous flights to cover 173 destinations in 42 countries together with partner airways. According to Qantas annual report (2009), Qantas provides premier price with full service option to serve the customers. For example, Qantas creates unique experiences to Qantas’ members like bringing Chef Heston Blumenthal to meet food and wine (QANTAS 2012). As the result, customers can feel superior when perceive the product or service. This strategy offers unique can enhance value of the product to the customers. The other point is that Qantas designs multi-brand model such as Qantas, Frequ ent flyers, and Jetstar which give customers the experience they desire. Specifically, Qantas provides the clear choice for business and premium leisure travellers. Frequent flyer builds the world’s best loyalty business while Jetstar brings the clear choice for price sensitive travellers (QANTAS 2011). Grant (2013) states a low-price; no-frills offering is associated with a unique brand image. Hub airports:  Qantas has developed Airport terminal consolidation project. This reduces in minimum connection times, underpins Sydney as Qantas’ main hub, and supports the international network alliance strategy, long term price and infrastructure surety. This strategy also increases product differentiation and seamless end-to-end customer experience (QANTAS 2011). 4.2.2. Intangible differentiation: Safety is always the first priority of Qantas aviation firm. Qantas is the leader of safety aviation industry (QANTAS 2008). Qantas is rigorously subjected to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) and Operational Safety Audit Certification, which is an internationally recognised safety audit program, once every two years. Moreover, Qantas is regularly scrutinised additional external audits by around 75 external organisations. This capability combined with constant prudence and proactive prevention is fundamental to Qantas maintaining its leading safety record and reputation. 5.0. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION In conclusion, â€Å"strategy is win† (Grant 2013). Enterprises with efficiency strategies and successful implementation will generate advantages in the competitive environment. By applying several strategic analysis methods in analysing the internal and external context of Qantas Airlines Limited, the report has indentified the group’s strategies. Base on the analysis, some strategies has been recommended for the corporation to create competitive advantages by two strategies, cost leadership and differentiation: Expeditionary Marketing: Travel agent can be an important channel to distribute the product and service. Therefore, the Qantas should conduct a plan to consolidate its business activities with the travel agents and sometime the firm has to create a monopoly with those travel agents to decrease competitors. The corporation should also offer promotion to reduce free seat in flight. Unique Service Style: The price of ticket that should included the price of baggag e may set up little bit expensive than others low cost airlines without luggage price. It can be attract the customers; especially, women. Due to almost women need space for their clothes and cosmetic that is often liquid may be banned to carry in a passenger area. Fuel hedging: Qantas should continue research for new technology and invest  in low-fuel consume aircrafts. Charging fuel surcharges to passengers is better than fuel hedging. Foreign exchange risk hedging: Continue hedging foreign currency to reduce risk by using other derivative financial instruments such as option or forward contracts. Labour cost: Qantas can expand to other countries where labour willing to work for lower payment than in Australia, meanwhile reduces intermediates or agencies, directly or online sell tickets to customers. 6.0. REFERENCES Airlines network news and Analysis, 2012, ‘Australian international traffic growing strongly but Qantas is losing market share; US and Indonesia see biggest gains’, viewed 15nd August 2013, http://www.anna.aero/2010/04/20/australian-international-traffic-growing-strongly. Allayannis, G, Weston, G 2001, ‘The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives and Firm Market Value’, The Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 243-276. Cornwell, A 2013, Emirates and Qantas to hit competition in Australia and New Zealand, viewed 15th August 2013, http://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/emirates-and-qantas-to-hit-competition-in-australia-and-new-zealand-1.1221392. Dallas, H 2010, ‘Qantas in the global airline industry’, Strategic management: competitiveness and globalisation (4th Asia-Pacific ed), pp. 434-440. Dennis, A 2012, ‘Is Qantas the dying kangaroo?’, Herald Sun, viewed 15rd August 2013, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/australia/is-qan tas-the-dying-kangaroo/story-e6frfhbf-1226392614457 Dobbs M E, 2012, Dobbs, Michael E, 2012, Porter’s Five Forces in Practice: Templates for Firm and Case Analysis, Competition Forum 2012, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p22. Grant, R.M 2013, Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 8th edn, John Wiley & Sons, NewYork. Fickling, D&Wang, J 2012, ‘Qantas, China Eastern Plan Cheap Flights for Asia Middle’, Bloomberg, viewed 15rd August, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-25/qantas-plans-hong-kong-budget-airline-with-china-eastern.html International Air Transport Association 2013, ‘High cost environment to continue’, Financial Forecast, viewed 15rd August 2013, http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/Documents/economics/industry-outlook-financial-forecast-march-2013.pdf Mail Business Staff 2012, ‘Qantas posts â‚ ¬204m loss as its fuel bill hits â‚ ¬3.6bn’, Daily Mail, p.46. Marketline 2012, ‘Qantas

Comparative Analysis The Great Miles Davis - 1549 Words

Comparative Analysis Throughout Jazz history there has never been an artist that it has changed the sound of jazz several times. He challenged himself and encouraged others to go on diverse paths to create sounds and rhythmic patterns. This distinct musical innovator that influenced jazz beyond its limits is the great Miles Davis. Davis was born on May 25, 1926, in Alton, Illinois. But, he grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. His father was dental surgeon, therefore they never had any financial need or any challenge that could disturb Davis’ life. During his childhood he received music lesson and by the age of thirteen he got his first trumpet. One of the most significant teacher he had was a trumpeter Elwood Buchanon*. At the age of 16†¦show more content†¦One year later while he was touring in Paris, he fell into heroin addiction; which destroyed his marriage. The beginning of his career start with third stream music follow by three periods of bebop: cool, modal, and electric. On September, 1991 he died of a stroke and respiratory failure in Santa Monica, California*. Davis transformed jazz music into the third stream, cool, modal, electric, and beyond its parameters. The bebop revolution was taking place towards the end of Davis’ adolescence. The first years of his career, he get involve in the bebop style. However, he wants to experience new paths and face challenges to succeed. Therefore, he took jazz to new directions introducing different sounds and tones. Initially, Davis take jazz to the third stream; which is a blend of jazz and classical music. Third stream not only use elements of the classical music; but also it try to imitate it. The reason for this could be, that at this time many American classical composers were using many elements of jazz in their arrangements*. As a result Davis introduces new musical instruments to his arrangements, such bass clarinet, flutes, bass trombones, tuba, and muted trumpet; also one orchestral instrument, a French horn. Third stream is alike with cool jazz, since Davis uses a French horn and a tuba in both periods of jazz. The first three periods of Davis’ career are very similar because he uses an unaggressive sounds, and deliberate rhythmic

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