Operations in hilti company Essay Example for Free

Operations in hilti company Essay You are the manager of a firm selling product X in a competitive market. You consider writing a market report on X. Due to some economic changes, there is significant increase in the wages of workers. Please write a report about the expected effects on the market equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity of product X. the following points help you organize your report: 1. Indicate the effect of this event on supply and / or on demand. 2. Analyse what will happen to market equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity in the short run. 3. If wages are expected to continue at higher levels, analyse what will happen to market equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity in the long run. The competitive market is one of the type of economic market structure. In a competitive market the price is determined through the forces of demand and supply. The following essay the effects of increase on wages on product price, quantity traded, and the supply and demand. The demand is the want or need of the person with the willingness to purchase the good at a particular price. The demand is negatively correlated to price. As the price increases the quantity demanded decreases. The supply is the desire and willingness of the supplier to sell the product at a particular price. The downward sloping curve represents demand. Supply is positively correlated to price. As the price increases the quantity supplied increases. Hence, the positive sloping curve represents supply. In the competitive market the point where demand and supply meets is the equilibrium point, which shows the equilibrium price and quantity traded. This is illustrated in the following graph. The increase in wages, increases the costs of the product. This then will decrease the supply bringing a shift in the supply curve. The shift of the supply curve occurs when any factor except price changes bringing an effect on supply. The increase in cost of production will reduce the supply at level of the price because now it has become more costly to produce the supply. The supply curve will shift towards left. The following diagram shows that the supply curve S1 has shifted to S2. This has increased the market equilibrium price in the short run from P1 to P2. The quantity traded has decreased from Q1 to Q2. Long? Run market supply curve. The short? run market supply curve is just the horizontal summation of all the individual firms supply curves. The long? run market supply curve is found by examining the responsiveness of short? run market supply to a change in market demand. As the wages will increase, in the long run the price will reduce and the quantity traded will increase because there will be more entrants into the market and the competition will reduce the price of the product. However, the profit levels will also decreases due to the increase in the wages. Question 2 You’ve been hired by a firm to determine whether it should shut down its operation. The firm currently uses 70 workers to produce 300 units of output per day. The daily wage (per worker) is $40, and the price of the firm’s output is $20. The cost of other variable inputs is $500 per day. The firms fixed cost is $3000 per day. You know that the marginal cost of the last unit is $30. 1. Calculate the firm’s daily losses 2. Should the firm continue to operate at a loss? Carefully explain your answer. Total daily losses are the following: Description Cost / Revenue Total cost Total daily sales 300 x 20 6000 Daily total wages 70 x 40 2800 Variable inputs 500 Fixed costs 3000 Total Cost 6300 Daily losses 300 According to the profit maximization theory, each unit sold, marginal profit (M? ) equals marginal revenue (MR) minus marginal cost (MC). Then, if marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost at some level of output, marginal profit is positive and thus a greater quantity should be produced, and if marginal revenue is less than marginal cost, marginal profit is negative and a lesser quantity should be produced. At the output level at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost, marginal profit is zero and this quantity is the one that maximizes profit. In this case, the marginal profit is negative as according in competitive market marginal revenue is equal to price hence, it is $20 and marginal cost being $30, this equals to -$10. The company should not operate at a loss. Question 3 Given the data of the last question (2), the owner of the firm suggested that losses can be reduced by firing some workers. If you found that the marginal product of the 70th worker was 4units of output per day, do you agree with the owner to reduce employment in order to reduce losses? Please explain carefully. The marginal product of labour is the change in the output compared to the change in the number of labour. Hence, the 70th labour is producing 4 units per day according to the data given in the question. The marginal product of labour is 4. In order to determine the demand of labour, the value of marginal product will be calculated. The value of marginal product should equal to price of the product which is the marginal revenue (MR) with the marginal product of labour (MRP). As long as a worker’s value of marginal product exceeds the wage, the worker is hired. But because the marginal product is diminishing, eventually so many workers will have been hired that the value of the marginal product of an additional worker would be less than the wage. At this point the hiring will stop. A firm hires labour up to the point at which the value of marginal product equals the wage rate. If the value of marginal product of labour exceeds the wage rate, a firm can increase its profit by employing more workers. This can be summed in the following way: Where TR = total revenue; Q = quantity MR x MPL = (? TR/? Q) x (? Q/? L) = ? TR/? L Hence, in this case the value of marginal product is: MR X MPL = 20 x 4 = 80 Wage rate = ? TR/? L = 40 The company should continue to hire more labour as the marginal product will diminish which will eventually bring the marginal revenue product of labour down until the wage rate is equal to the marginal revenue product of labour.

Critical Analysis of Organisational Change Development and Management

Critical Analysis of Organisational Change Development and Management INTRODUCTION Sometime in the 5th century BC, Heraclitus of Ephesus philosophised the only constant is change. (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heraclitus). All organisations go through change as they develop and evolve, whether to success or to failure. This essay will look at two companies as they go they go through change, planned and unplanned, their approach and the extent to which they succeeded and applying organisation development and change theory to these two case studies. Organisational change is a recurring theme in the study of organisational development there are several factors, internally and externally, that will influence the development of the organisation, initiating a change which may, or may not, lead to success and sustainability. How the change is implemented is essential to its success as it often impacts one, if not all, areas of the organisation. Early change management theorists include: Kurt Lewin (1951). Doug Stace and Dexter Dunphy (2001) identify organisations which they describe as prudent mechanistics, which retain traditional structures, avoid the organisational fashion show, and perform well. (Buchanen, p566). Harold Leavitt (2003) argues that, while rigid beaurocratic structures encourage authoritarianism, distrust, dishonest, territoriality, toadying, and fear, they also provide ways of handling complexity, give us structure and predictability, and offer psychological rewards by fulfilling needs for order and security. It is argued that the study of change is paradoxical (Buchanan, 565) as the reasons for organisational change are many and complex and because change is a process not a static moment in time, hence can be only understood in relation to continuity. Not all change needs to be deep change it can be a fine tuning to an appropriate response. Transformational change of the Australian Defence Force. The companies were chosen because other their organisational similarities. Company A Company B Similarities Large > 20,000 Reactive International Public Sector Strong corporate culture Founded 1921 Large >20,000 Reactive International Public Sector Strong corporate culture Founded 1922 Differences Australia 90s Organisational structure Approach to change England 00s Organisational structure Approach to change Scope: PESTEL Organisational behaviour terrain. Study this at the organisational level. This essay is not going to examine the group or individual level. Australia has maintained military forces since federation as a nation in January 1901. Upon Federation, the Australian Government established the  Australian Army  and Commonwealth Naval Force. In 1909, the Government established the  Royal Australian Navy, which absorbed the Commonwealth Naval Force. The Army established the Australian Flying Corps in 1912 although this separated to form the  Royal Australian Air Force  in 1921. The services were not linked by a single chain of command, as they each reported to their own separate Minister and had separate administrative arrangements. The three services saw action around the world during  World War I  and  World War II. The importance of  joint warfare  was made clear to the Australian Military during World War II when Australian naval, ground and air units frequently served as part of single commands. Following the war, several senior officers lobbied for the appointment of a  commander in chief  of the three services. The government rejected this proposal and the three services remained fully independent.[13]  The absence of a central authority resulted in poor coordination between the services with each service organising and operating on the basis of a different  military doctrine.[14] The need for an integrated command structured received more emphasis during  the Australian militarys experiences in the Vietnam War.[14]  In 1973, the Secretary of the  Department of Defence,  Arthur Tange, submitted a report to the  Government  that recommended the unification of the separate departments supporting each service into a single Department of Defence and the creation of the post of Chief of the Defence Force Staff. The government accepted these recommendations and the Australian Defence Force was established on 9 February 1976.[15] The  British Broadcasting Corporation  (BBC) is the principal  public service broadcaster  in the United Kingdom. It is the largest broadcaster in the world with about 23,000 staff.[1][2][3]  Its global headquarters are located in London, and its main responsibility is to provide  public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom,  Channel Islands  and  Isle of Man. The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster[3]  that operates under a  Royal Charter.[4]  Within the United Kingdom its work is funded principally by an annual  television licence fee,[5]  which is charged to all United Kingdom households, companies and organisations using any type of equipment to record and/or receive live television broadcasts;[6]  the level of the fee is set annually by the  British Government  and agreed by  Parliament.[7] he BBC was the worlds first national broadcasting organisation[8]  and was founded on 18 October 1922 as the  British Broadcasting Co mpany Ltd. The original company was founded in 1922[9]  by a group of six telecommunications companies-Marconi, Radio Communication Company,  Metropolitan-Vickers,  General Electric,  Western Electric, and  British Thomson-Houston[10]-to broadcast experimental radio services. The first transmission was on 14 November of that year, from station  2LO, located at Marconi House, London.[11] Outside the UK, the  BBC World Service  has provided services by direct broadcasting and re-transmission contracts by sound radio since the inauguration of the BBC Empire Service in December 1932, and more recently by television and online. Though sharing some of the facilities of the domestic services, particularly for news and current affairs output, the World Service has a separate Managing Director, and its operating costs are funded mainly by direct grants from the UK government. These grants are determined independently of the domestic licence fee. How do organisations change why do they change. How change is implemented, their impact and their success factors? Two organisations will be compared and contrasted against the various theories, their similarities being that they are both large and complex organisations whose purpose is to serve the public. Initition What are the triggers for change? Why did the organisation have to change. Organisational life cycle (Greiner L) Mintzberg types of change possible step change (company 1) Elements of change : Whipp, Rosenfeld and Pellige The Change Kaleidescope Bolgrum, Barly Whitepaper 1986 Organisational behaviour terrain. Types of change planned and unplanned Strategy Safari Punctuated equilibrium Organisational structure Cultural Era Implementation Strategic Elements of change (Whipp) Levels of change Change Kaleidescope Factors faciliting change Levels of change Wilson, D Forces for change, Lewin K (disagree in co1 cas but potentially for co 2) Total quality management nstep process : c1 y c2 elements of Resistance to change bellelan co1 n long terms, c2 yes short-term bursts Managing resistance : Kotter Co1 yes, co2 no The coping cycle Kublar-Rosser co2 yes ; n/a to company 1 Factors facilitating change Yes co1 2 but co2 fainlied in mid-implementation Unless structure follows strategy, inefficiency results. (Chandler 1962: 314) Impact Contingency approaches Dunphy and Stacy : Yes can be applied to both Effectiveness of change strategy The change kaleidoscope (culture leadership) Time Preservation Capability Scope diversity Organisational structure- tie into first part (initiation) Organisational culture- tie into first part (initiation) Efficiency Resistance 5 types of organisational structure : Mintzberg Divisional Form, mechanistic 1982 : Peters and Waterman in search of excellence Mckinney 7 steps Elements of change context : Economic Political ? Organisational effiveness/ development maturity? Transformational Political and economic forces Restructure of organisation Culture Organisational design IT communciation Conclusion: Bluprint for change One must consider the culture re: effectiveness and how deep it is to go Contigiency Approach Lawrence and lorsh structure depends on factors from the environment. Contingencey Theories : imprecise specification of factors such as environment Ashridge leadership and management BPR radical decentralisation BBC petal. The management of innovation burns stalk mechanistic Æ’Â   organic The Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) has an enduring strategic priority is to keep Australia and the Australian people safe from attack or the threat of attack, and from economic or political coercion. To meet this requirement, the Defence Department employs a full time workforce of over 92,000 personnel consisting of both uniformed Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and civilian Australian Public Service (APS) personnel. The Defence Environmental Scan 2025, identified that the Defence Organisations workforce consists of an ADF with 50,600 full time members and 20,600 Defence Public Servants. In addition, the ADF has 21,000 Active Reserve members.2 2. As a whole, the Defence workforce is responsible for delivering the range of defence outcomes required by Government. While the military and civilian components of the Defence Organisation are required to contribute collectively to the achievement of these Government objectives, the management of the Defence workforce is currently stovepiped along ADF and APS lines, with limited consideration of the workforce as a total resource. Scope. This essay will examine the theories current Defence workforce structure across the ADF and APS. It will consider the potential disadvantages of the current stovepiped separation of ADF and APS personnel management, and examine the merits of moving towards an integrated and total Defence workforce. It will explore the potential benefits of increasing the number of contested positions available to ADF and APS members, particularly in middle and senior management. ONE DEPARTMENT TWO WORKFORCE COMPONENTS Experience and Opportunity 7. The Department of Defence is consistently praised for its success in the planning and conduct of military operations, while also being criticised for failings in its corporate and strategic management. This somewhat paradoxical situation is in part a result of the Defence Departments personnel management processes, where on one hand significant effort and resources are applied to ensure that ADF personnel are adequately educated, trained and prepared for roles they are likely to undertake within the Defence Organisation, while within the APS, individuals are expected to undertake any task without subject matter expertise or professional qualification.6 8. The structured and formalised ADF approach underpins a culture where the importance of experience and professional development are valued and built into career pathways. The APS personnel management approach is not supported by the appropriate personnel structures or management mechanisms required to enable this development. While ADF senior commanders understand and expect ADF personnel to be released from mainstream responsibilities at certain times during their career to meet professional development milestones, the APS management framework does not offer senior managers this flexibility. The APS workforce structure provides limited ability to backfill APS staff undertaking formalised professional development and as such, it is very difficult for senior APS managers to release personnel for extended periods professional development and education. 9. The lack of opportunities for professional development in the APS is compounded by the relative inexperience of the APS workforce when compared to their ADF counterparts. This inexperience has been exacerbated by the accelerated promotion of individuals in recent years as a byà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ product of the rapid growth in civilian numbers.7 A comparison of the relative experience levels of senior and middle management in the Defence Organisation shows that 27 %of all APS Senior Executive Service (SES) staff are under the age of 45 and 26 %of Executive Level 2 (EL 2) staff are below the age of 40.8 For ADF members, the minimum period of commissioned service for promotion to one star rank is approximately 23 years, with a minimum of 20 years service required before being eligible for promotion to colonel equivalent rank. The accelerated progression to middle and senior management in the APS limits the time and opportunity for staff to pursue professional development and education for civilian personnel is very much an exception rather than a rule. A TOTAL AND INTEGRATED WORKFORCE Workforce Integration 11. The Chief of the Defence Force and Secretary are currently focussed on moving the Defence Departments people management in a more strategic direction so we [Defence] can better recruit and retain the talent we need to meet the security challenges of the future.11 To meet these challenges, the Defence Department will require a people management framework that draws together the capabilities of the current personnel resources available to the Department more effectively. Key to this approach is breaking down the culture of stovepiped management of ADF and APS personnel. A move to a more integrated workforce management framework, that selects the most experienced and qualified candidate from across the Defence Organisation for particular appointments, would provide significant benefits to the Department. 12. While acknowledging that certain areas of the Defence business requires a degree of specialisation, particularly in the ADF for the planning and conduct of operations and the APS in the delivery of specialist services, there is a great deal of scope for a more integrated approach to personnel management across large sectors of the Department. This is particularly the case across middle and senior management within the Department at the EL 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ lieutenant colonel (05) equivalent level and above, where the requirement for specialisation is often not as important as a sound knowledge of the broader functioning of Defence. 14. In relation to the ADF, an integrated workforce would significantly improve the capacity of the Defence Organisation to better leverage the experience and skills of ADF members. ADF members detailed knowledge and skills gained through experience in a variety of operational and nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ operational appointments, and structured professional development, can be applied in a range of areas within Defence. For ADF members, an integrated approach would provide increased career opportunities for the large majority of ADF officers who currently find themselves with limited options midà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ career. Achieving Improved Effectiveness and Efficiency 15. An integrated personnel management framework and the corresponding improvement in experience and professional development across middle management within the Department would provide considerable scope and opportunity for senior management to consider delegating additional responsibility to a more capable middle management group. This would assist in focussing the decision space of senior management on the strategic direction of the Defence Organisation as opposed to the more routine issues currently consuming their limited time. The empowerment of middle management would also provide increased job satisfaction, leading to improved productivity and retention. This is a significant benefit in an environment where the Defence Organisation is aggressively competing to recruit and retain the best. 16. The introduction of an integrated workforce will require cultural change within both the ADF and APS. There will need to be an acceptance that the lines of accountability for personnel issues to the Secretary for APS members and CDF for ADF personnel will become less clear. The personnel management framework will need to move away from a differing model for the APS and ADF to a more integrated management system, particularly in the area of middle and senior management. The recent appointment of a human resource management professional into the role of Deputy Secretary People Strategies and Policy, provides a real opportunity to realign personnel management across Defence. 17. To assist in this process, a review of all middle and senior management positions from EL 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 05 equivalent and above is required. The review should focus on identifying which positions are suitable to be classified as contestable between APS and ADF members. With an understanding of the nature and scale of these contestable positions, an overarching management structure that incorporates both APS and ADF senior and middle managers can be developed. This overarching approach requires Defence senior and middle management personnel to be centrally managed to best meet Defenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ wide requirements. For this approach to be successful, the Departments personnel numbers would need to be managed in a more flexible manner, with a move away from separate ADF and APS caps, towards an overarching cap on total Defence employees. 18. There are many examples within industry and other Government agencies where personnel with diverse skills and backgrounds are managed as a total resource. Studies of these approaches would be of benefit when developing a revised framework for the Defence Organisation. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has addressed these issues very effectively and achieved a wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ integrated workforce incorporating both sworn and unsworn officers. Defence should consider using the AFP experience as a case study on how to integrate differing elements into a total workforce. CONCLUSION (Substantial conclusions are drawn about the implications of the analysis for theory and practice) 19. The Defence Department can no longer afford a stovepiped approach to workforce management and must move towards greater integration between the ADF and APS components where the total personnel resources of the Department can be applied to achieve best affect. A move to a more integrated workforce, particularly in the areas of middle and senior management would have significant benefits for the individual APS and ADF members and the Department as a whole. It would provide opportunities to build mechanisms and flexibility into APS personnel management to enable increased professional development and enhanced experience levels. This will improve the job satisfaction and overall employability of APS members both within the Defence Department and the wider APS. For ADF members, greater workforce integration will provide improved career opportunities for the majority of experienced and qualified personnel who, under the current construct have limited career options once they reach the mid career point. This will have significant benefit for ADF retention. 20. A more integrated workforce would provide a framework that ensures the most qualified and experienced personnel from across the entire Department are identified for appointments at the middle and senior management level. Increased integrated can only improve overall workforce effectiveness and efficiency as the Defence Organisation confronts the complex security challenges of the future. RECOMMENDATIONS (Detailed, relevant and considered recommendations for practice are offered).In developing a total and integrated Defence workforce the following is recommended: TQM-What Is It?   If you are reading this book, it is likely that you already know what we mean when we use the term Total Quality Management. Still, its a good idea to define the term, and provide a brief overview.   Certainly TQM can be defined in a number of ways, and the details of different approaches can vary somewhat. However, a good starting definition, drawn from Capezio Morehouse is:   Total Quality management refers to a management process and set of disciplines that are coordinated to ensure that the organization consistently meets and exceeds customer requirements. TQM engages all divisions, departments and levels of the organization. Top management organizes all of its strategy and operations around customer needs and develops a culture with high employee participation. TQM companies are focused on the systematic management of data of all processes and practices to eliminate waste and pursue continuous improvement.    Perhaps a better way of understanding TQM is to compare a TQM organization with what we might call a traditional organizations. tets look at a number of differences.   1. Customer-Driven vs. Company-Driven   Traditional organizations tend to make their decisions based on what is most convenient for them, rather than what is wanted and expected by their customers. Being customer-based means gatf7ering information from customers/clients and modifying services and processes to meet those needs as well as possible. In government, this is not always easy, due to the conflicting responsibilities of a department, and the multiple customers/stakeholders involved in government situations. However, in many cases moving to a customer-driven organization can yield many positive results for government departments.   2. Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation   Traditional organizations tend to think and plan with respect to short term outcomes, white TQM organizations tend to think in much larger time spans. A typical example might be that a TQM organization would look at downsizing as having effects over a decade or two, while a traditional organization would look only at the immediate budgetary issues, letting future chips fall where they may.   Also, successful TQM organizations make a long term commitment to the principles of TQM, rather than looking at TQM as a program; something with a beginning and end. This means patience.     3. Data-Driven vs. Opinion-Driven   Traditional organizations tend to be managed by gut feel, or by opinion. They guess at what their customers want, and guess at the costs of waste, etc. TQM organizations base their decisions on data they collect; on customer needs, on waste, on costs, and on the sources of problems. While judgment is always involved in any decision, TQM organizations begin with the data, not with the solution.   4. Elimination of Waste vs. Tolerance of Waste   Most organizations operate with a high degree of waste and inefficiency. Traditional organizations consider waste, whether it be in time, materials, etc, as a normal part of their operation. TQM organizations are very active in identifying wasteful activities, and eliminating them.   5. Continuous Improvement vs, Fire Fighting   Traditional organizations tend to address problems with the way they do things only when there is a major problem or crisis. The watchword in traditional organizations is: if it aint broke, dont fix it, except that often it IS broke, but nobody is paying any attention .   TQM organizations are always looking for improvement, and are constantly engaged in problem-solving to make things better.   6. Prevention vs, Inspection   Traditional organizations tend to fix problems after the fact. Rather than trying to prevent problems, they catch them after the fact, which is very costly. TQM organizations work to prevent problems and errors, rather than simply fixing them.   7. Cross-Function Teams vs. Fortressed Departments   Traditional organizations tend to have sub-units that work autonomously and with little communication or involvement with other units. For example, personnel may have only limited interaction with other departments. Or, on a local level, administrative staff may have little communication with other staff in a government branch, and have a different reporting structure.   In TQM organizations, there is more use of cross-functional teams; teams convened for a particular purpose or purposes, with representation from a number of units or levels in the organization. The use of cross-functional teams means that input is gained from parts of the organization that need to be involved.   8. High Employee Participation vs. Top-Down Hierarchy   Traditional organizations tend to have very restricted communication and decision- making patterns. Employees are told what to do, rather than being inctuded in figuring out what to do. Information tends to flow from top to bottom.   In TQM organizations, employees are much more actively involved in both the decision-making and communication processes. Information flows both top to bottom and bottom to top. For that matter, information also flows sideways.   9. Problem-Solving vs, Blame   Traditional organizations tend to look to affix blame for things that go wrong. TQM organizations attack the problems in their organizations rather than the people. They fix things.   10. Systems Thinking Vs. Isolation   Traditiona~ organizations tend to see the parts and processes of their organization as single things, unretated to other part of the organization. TQM organizations tend to recognize that most often, probtems arise as a result of multiple causes, and that sub- units are interdependent. TQM organizations tend to see problems as a result of the entire system.   11. Leadership vs. Management   Traditional organizations tend to see people as objects to be managed; told what to do, disciplined, tracked, etc. TQM organizations exhibit more confidence in staff and more trust, and expect MORE from them, not less.   Thats a good starting point. There are probably a number of other comparisons to be made, but that gives us some common ground for discussion.   The Three Quality Gurus   While TQM may seem to be a new development to many, it has been around since the 1940s. One of the reasons why TQM seems to be the newest fad was that it was not embraced by North Americans, but it did find a home in post-WWII Japan.   The most well-known advocate of TQM was W. Edwards Deming, a statistician who, while largely ignored in North America, was actively involved in the 40 in the rebuilding of Japan. Deming passed away recently, and was in his 90s.   Two other gurus are Philip Crosby and Joseph Juran. Both are a bit younger than Deming, but have been influential in the field. It is worthy of note that the three gurus do not always agree, probably due to differences in terms of what each thinks is important, rather than in basic principles.   For those interested in learning more about TQM, it might be a good idea to read material from each of these experts.   TQM As Organizational Change Overview Moving to TQM is like any other organizational change. It must be managed effectively, and leaders of the change must take into account aspects of the organizations current culture. In fact, although TQM brings a number of benefits to those in the organization, you can expect some people to be cynical and resistant to change. Lets face it. Everyone in government has seen management fads come and go. Thankfully, a well managed TQM organizational change is likely to bring most if not all people on side over time. Organizational Change Principles 1) Time Any change (and its attached benefits) will take longer to realize than you expect. Typically, it may take as long as two or three years to have TQM working at its peak. 2 Resistance Regardless of the objective nature of the change, some (even many) people will resist it because it is unfamiliar. TQM must be introduced so that it maximizes peoples enthusiasm and minimizes resistance. 3. Leadership Any change will succeed or fail based on the ability of the change leaders to lead. People will take their cues about TQM from the management. If management show that they are committed, employees will become so. If management waffles, hedges, and backs off, then employees will see this as just more rhetoric of little importance. 4. Persistence Nobody is telling you that this process is easy. The worst thing a manager can do is start the process, and when it gets difficult, stop it. That breeds contempt for both the process and the manager. Managers need to commit over the long haul and realize they must be persistent while the rest of the organizations works at getting it. 5. Consistency The primary mistake managers make is that they become inconsistent. Perhaps most of the time, their thinking and actions reflect the principles of TQM. However, not all the time. This tells employees that the manager is not serious. As soon as a manager suggests that a poor product or service be delivered, the game is up. Instant lack of credibility. Consistency also means including employees in the planning of TQM activities, treating employees as the managers customers, and a number of other things. 6.Incentive People will embrace changes that they see are in their own self-interest. When presenting or deal ing with TQM changes it is important that managers highlight and focus on the benefits to the other people in tt7e organization. 7. Communication Change will be accepted or rejected based on the effectiveness of the communication about it. Communication must be frequent, of a two-way nature, and balanced (both positives and negatives). It must begin as early as possible in the process. http://work911.com/articles/tqm2.htm accessed 23102010 Impact Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day. Frances Hesselbein The Key to Cultural Transformation, Leader to Leader (Spring 1999) Implementation Ten years ago, Peter Senge introduced the idea of the learning organization Now he says that for big companies to change, we need to stop thinking like mechanics and to start acting like gardeners. Alan M. Webber, Learning for a Change Vision without action is merely a dream Action without vision just passes the time Vision with action can change the world Joel A. Barker The Power of Vision In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy. J. Paul Getty Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. Confucius

Analysing strategic business decisions in us cereal industry

Analysing strategic business decisions in us cereal industry The purpose of this essay is to use game theory and barriers to entry to analyse strategic business decisions in the US ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry. An industry analysis was done using different published journals. An overview of the oligopoly industry was also done for a broader understanding of the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry. Bertrand competition was used as the oligopoly model adopted by the industry. Game theory was used to analyse the strategy firms in the industry will adopt and a discussion on barriers to entry as it applies to the industry was done. Introduction This essay will discuss the US ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry. An overview of oligopoly, discussions on Game theory, Nash equilibrium, Bertrand Price Competition and Barriers to Entry will be used to analyse the industry and the strategic business decisions as they relate to the industry Analysis of the Ready-to-eat Breakfast Cereals Industry Connor (1999) described the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry as a capital intensive industry requiring huge capital investments in production plants. To a large extent, this has contributed to Barriers to Entry in the industry. This industry market structure though having quite a few number of suppliers, is dominated by four major companies which are Kellogg Company, General Mills, Quaker Oats and Kraft. According to Nevo (2000) these companies have consistently continued to post high profits in comparison with the other food industries. A key characteristic feature of this industry is product differentiation. Brand specific knowhow is apparently present since established firms are sometimes unable to duplicate each others brand. The existence of this however, does not prevent them from producing, promoting and distributing successful new brands. Existing brands differ in such potentially relevant dimensions as sweetness, protein content, shape, grain base, vitamin content, fibre content and crunchiness (Schmalnesee, 1978) Connor (1999) has argued that competition in this industry does not involve the use of price war and therefore not a competitive strategy. Different researches conducted on the industry have shown that there is a level of collusion amongst the top firms though not openly done. This assumption was made popular by a case of anticompetitive complaint by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against the top three manufacturers Kellogg, general Mills Post in the 1970s (Aviv Nevo, 2000) Because of the absence of price wars in the industry, the use of other non-price strategies to gain competitive advantage are employed by firms in this industry. The consistency of zero price wars over the years, however was broken when in the late nineties, a price reduction by Kraft led the other big three Kellogg Company, General Mills and Quaker oats to respond by also reducing their prices as suggested by ( Nevo, 2000). This pricing strategy by Kraft significantly affected the overall industry price forci ng its competitors to reduce their prices as well. Innovation through the launch of new products and aggressive media advertising are strategies employed by firms in the ready-to-eat cereals industry to compete for market share. This is a major factor contributing to the consistent high profits in the industry. The result of Connors (1999) research revealed that the rivalry in the breakfast cereals industry tends towards the choreographed grunts of televised wrestling than a cutthroat dual to the death and that the ultimate weapon, steep price cuts, is rarely unsheathed. According to Connor (1999), media advertising and new product introductions are intimately related. New product introductions are one of the principal mechanisms for effecting rapid price increases in the breakfast cereals industry. His research revealed that all the new cereals introduced by the big four companies between 1981 and 1987 in the first year of sales, were priced 12% above the companys existing brands average prices. Connor (1999) in his research further showed that the extraordinary attachment of consumers to branded cereals (or at least to the boxes they come in) has made entry by private-label products extremely difficult. This high degree of brand loyalty in the industry has significantly posed a threat to any firm considering entry into the industry. Invariably, the more a firms brand is recognised, the higher the sale of a newly introduced cereal will be. The cereal industry has oligopolistic tendencies and characteristics and will be classified as one. An overview on oligopoly below highlights the characteristic nature of oligopoly. Overview of Oligopoly Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) defined oligopoly as the theory of imperfect competition among the few. The industry is characterised by a few firms selling differentiated products. Because there are only few firms, each firm realises that its competitor may respond to any move it makes and takes that into account because each firms decision affects the other firms in the industry. Earl and Wakeley (2005) described firms in the Imperfect competition as having differentiated products which are close substitutes. These differentiated products are supported heavily by advertising. Advertising tends to persuade consumers to patronise a particular brand over other brands of the other competitors. Advertising is used as a crucial weapon to create brand loyalty in the industry as consumers are assumed to be highly mobile. The existence of strong brand loyalty makes entry difficult because consumers are likely to have strong preferences for the already existing brands. This implies that the behaviour of oligopolists are strategic with each firm taking explicit account of the impact of their decisions on competitors and the expected reactions from them (Lipsey + Chrystal, 1999, page 176). Besanko et al (2004) also defined oligopoly as a market in which the actions of individual firms materially affect the industry price level. The strategic behaviour of oligopolists is attributed to the highly competitive nature of the industry. For these firms to make strategic decisions that can give them comparative advantage, they make use of oligopoly models and game theory (Besanko et al, 2004). Game Theory and Bertrand Price Competition Besanko et al (2004) defined Game theory as the branch of Economics that deals with the analysis of optimal decision making when all decision makers are presumed to be rational and each is attempting to anticipate the actions and reactions of its competitors (Besanko et al, 2004, page 36) Game theory is a strategic business decision making tool in areas such as pricing and capacity expansion. Bertrand Price competition Model Besanko et al (2004) has described Bertrand competition as a model of competition in which each firm selects a price to maximize its profit given the price that it anticipates its competitor will select. Each firm views its competitors price as fixed and believes that its own pricing practices will not affect the pricing of the competitor. In an oligopolistic industry with differentiated products, price competition is usually mild. When products are differentiated, a firm will not lose all of its business to competitors that embark on a price cut. This is majorly attributed to competition being based on a variety of product parameters such as its quality, availability and advertising. The US ready-to-eat- breakfast cereal industry like all oligopolistic industries is highly competitive. The strategy of each firm will be to maximize profits and outputs given its rivals strategy. To use game theory to analyse what choice is best for a firm at any given point, two companies will be used; Kellogg Company and General Mills as they are one of the top four and are each others competitors. Game theory and Nash equilibrium will be used to analyse the best strategy for profit maximization given that each firm sets a price for its cereals. A Nash Equilibrium is the strategy combination where each player is doing its best given the strategies of its competitor. An assumption is made that each firm sets a price that maximises its profit and that a price cut by either of them to achieve a larger market share will impact their profits given the strong influence of brand loyalty. The consequences of each firms actions are described in the game matrix below; In the game above, the strategy (Co-operate, Co-operate) is both a Nash equilibrium and a dominant strategy because each firm maximises profit at this point. It is a Nash equilibrium because with the pay-off of ($120, $120) no firm will unilaterally want to deviate knowing that it will achieve a lower pay-off by doing so. Furthermore, co-operate strategy is a dominant strategy because no matter what the other firm chooses, to co-operate will always yield a higher pay-off. Barriers to Entry According to Earl and Wakeley (2005), barriers to entry exist when potential competitors find there are obstacles which hinder their proposed entry into an otherwise attractive industry. Typical barriers to entry include: incumbents owning all sources of essential raw materials; incumbents patents; economies of scale providing incumbents with a cost advantage; and incumbents past expenditure on advertising (which gives them a higher profile in the minds of buyers relative to newcomers). The important point to note about barriers to entry is that they protect all of the industrys incumbent firms from the threat posed by competition from outside of the industry As fierce as rivalries are and as highly competitive as the oligopolistic industry may be in nature, Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) stated that there are determining factors that make a few large firms dominate in the industry. According to Lipsey + Chrystal (1999), some of these factors are natural or structural, and some are firm-created or strategic. These same factors are deterrents to firms seeking entry into an oligopolistic industry. The natural/structural barriers as it applies to the cereal industry include economies of scale, cost of introduction of new brands and economies of scope, and marketing advantages of incumbency, while firm-created/strategic barriers include capacity expansion. Natural/Structural Barriers Economies of Scale According to Besanko et al (2004) production process for a specific product exhibits economies of scale over a range of output when the average cost drops over that range. Economies of scale exist when the unit cost of production declines as the quantity of output increases. When production becomes standardised and highly specialised, the concept of division of labour must be applied. Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) described division of labour as occurring when the production of a product is broken up into hundreds of simple, repetitive tasks. They further stated that the division of labour is, as Adam Smith observed long ago, dependent on the size of the market. If only a few units of products can be sold each day, there is no point in dividing its production into a number of specialised tasks. Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) further stated that larger firms have advantage in industries that have potentials for economies based on the division of labour because the larger the scale of production, the lower their average costs of production. Economies of scale also lead to minimum efficient scale. According to Besanko et al (2004) and Earl and Wakeley (2005) minimum efficient scale is the smallest level of output at which economies of scale cannot be sustained further. Minimum efficient scale can only be achieved in the long run. Based on this, it will be difficult for a firm considering entry to achieve MES because of the costly nature. The cereal industry is capital intensive and is dominated by a large few with the long years of existence. As a strategy to deter entry, the incumbent firms may decide to increase the quantity of output to further drive down their costs and achieve a higher rate of economies of scale. Because economies of scale are present in the industry, the incumbents average cost of production will be lower than that of a new entrant who will have difficulties trying to attain MES which can only be achievable in the long-run. Doing so will entail acquiri ng excess capacity and increasing production output which will both be costly and unprofitable as brand loyalty is extremely high in this industry. Costs of Introducing A New Product and Economies of Scope The cereal industry is categorised by the introduction of new brands. It will be difficult for a firm attempting entry to recover such costs in a short period of time bearing in mind that it will need to break even before making profits. Economies of scope are associated with lower cost scales derived from having multiple production lines within a plant. According to Besanko et al (2004) The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry provides a good example. For several decades, the industry has been dominated by a few firms including Kellogg, General Mills, General Foods and Quaker Oats, and there has been virtually no new entry since World War II. There are economies of scope in producing and marketing cereals. Besank0 et al (2004) further explained that for an entry to be successful in the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry, the newcomer will need to introduce 6 to 12 successful brands. This requires heavy capital and makes entry a risky proposition. The introduction of new brands is associated with a high cost of advertising. An incumbent firm in the cereal industry can consistently employ the use of introduction of new cereals to deter further entry by new firms. It will not be as expensive for the incumbent firm to advertise its new cereal product as it will be for a new entrant because of the high brand loyalty in the industry and the economies of scope cost advantages. C) Marketing advantages of incumbency Umbrella branding has been described as a situation whereby a firm sells different products under the same brand name (Besanko et al, 2004). According to Besanko et al (2004), an incumbent firm can exploit the umbrella effect to offset uncertainty about the quality of a new product that is been introduced. The umbrella effect may also help the existing firm negotiate the vertical chain. Retailers are more likely to devote scarce warehousing and shelf spaces to the firms new products more than it would for a new entrant. Likewise, suppliers and distributors may be more willing to transact businesses with the incumbent firms more than the new entrant in the areas of credit sales and relationship-specific investments (Besanko et al, 2004). Incumbent firms in the cereals industry can use umbrella branding as a strategy to deter new entry or force new entrants out of the industry. Umbrella branding also has an effect on consumers. The possibility of a newly introduced brands been widely a ccepted by consumers is higher for firms enjoying umbrella branding than for new entrants. Umbrella branding has the ability to reduce uncertainties associated with the introduction of a new cereal brand. Furthermore, the development of close relationships by an incumbent firm with its vertical chain is another strategy for barriers to entry. Firm-Created/Strategic Barriers Capacity Expansion The incumbent firm may decide to embark on capacity expansion. A new entrant will find it difficult to match up its plant size with the plant size of existing firms and may incur losses at entry. With the expansion of capacity and increased sales, the incumbent will continue to enjoy economies of scale thereby forcing new entrants who are unable to achieve such low unit cost of production out of the industry as their average cost of production may consistently be higher than the market price of the cereal brands and the price. Conclusion The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry is an oligopolistic industry requiring the firms to employ non-pricing strategies to maximize profits and sustain competitive advantage. Because the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry has natural barriers to entry, firms in this industry do not need to do much in the area of strategic barrier to entry to prevent of or force new entrants out of the market. However, the constant introduction of new cereals is crucial to earning higher profits.

Weve Only Just Begun: Translating Third Wave Theory Into Third Wave Activism :: Free Essays Online

We've Only Just Begun: Translating Third Wave Theory Into Third Wave Activism After graduating from college in 1999 with a degree in Women's and Gender Studies, I was looking forward to beginning my new job as an abortion counselor at the local Planned Parenthood clinic. I envisioned working in a strong feminist community committed to a women's right to control her reproduction. On my first day I was ordered to prepare the doctor's scrubs and get his coffee while I observed him chastise women during the procedure for not using birth control. I was angry for having to accept and accommodate this man because he was the only doctor we could get to perform abortions (and according to Roe v. Wade, as I learned, abortions could only be done by doctors). I had studied reproductive rights and was excited and inspired by my Second Wave feminist professors' praises of Roe v. Wade and women's health clinics, but my present reality was not living up to their romantic historical vision. I had also studied Second Wave feminist theories of power, economics, and sexuality and it was this knowledge that allowed me to understand that my so-called glamorous feminist work at Planned Parenthood was not, in fact, expressing feminist principles. I cultivated a desire to use these personal experiences break the silence in the feminist community about these discrepancies and challenge the impervious reputation of Roe v. Wade and abortion providers. I sought to involve myself in organizations working to allow midwives to perform abortions, which would give women more options when it came to choosing a provider. That was also when I came to understand and be a part of third wave feminism. Feminism's first wave is usually seen as having begun with the Seneca Falls Convention of 1948 and ending with securing the right to vote in 1920 and the second wave categorizes the resurgence of women's activism beginning in the late 1960s and ending (or at least ebbing) with the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment and the Reagan-Bush era. Third wave feminism purports to encompass the young women born in the 1960s and 70s who feel their personal experience of their history set them apart from older women. Barbara Findlen in the introduction to Listen Up: Voices from the Next Generation of Feminism states, "I strongly believe that the experiences that led me to identify as a feminist were significantly different from those that inspired the previous generation" (xi).

What was Montesquieu?s aim in writing The Spirit of the Laws? Essay

‘I ask a favour that I fear will not be granted; it is that one not judge by a moment’s reading the work of twenty years, that one approve or condemn the book as a whole and not some few sentences. If one wants to seek the design of the author, one can find it only in the design of the work.’ (Montesquieu 1989: preface) The Spirit of the Laws took Montesquieu twenty years to write and was first published in Geneva in 1748. It was distributed freely, without the hindrance of censorship and deemed and instant success, despite negative feedback from friends to whom the manuscript was shown. After two years and twenty-two impressions made across Europe many critics arose of his work, however this merely added to the fame of the author. Despite his critics, Montesquieu knew he had created a worthy and original work of political theory expressed by the phrase of his last preface ‘an offspring made without a mother’. (Montesquieu 1989: preface) This suggests that Montesquieu intended to create a distinctive political theory which was unlike any of his predecessors. Although he quotes famous predecessors such as Plato and Aristotle, he treats them as sources of information rather than philosophical fundamentals. The Spirit of the Laws was Montesquieu’s last work and undeniably over the course of twenty years he implemented what Judith Shklar suggests as ‘his entire intellectual capital as a judge, scientist, novelist, historian, and traveller...’ (Shklar 1987: 67) It is his work ...

American Utopias

Utopia is a perfect place, for some it is an attempt to realize heaven here on earth. For Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, it is a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean with a perfect social, legal and political system. Several utopian ideas arose in the history of mankind, they may slightly differ from each other, but they are similar in the effort to create a perfect society.In American History, the communal movement in the 16th century to 17th century, and the similar attempt to establish the Utopian America of the 1960s to 1970s, was both a response to the social ills brought about by the development of capitalism and commercialism. While the communal movement of the 16th century can trace its roots from Europe, the Utopian movement of the 1960’s was homegrown with the relatively young members of the population leading the way. Both, however, have the similar vision of establishing a perfect community of harmony and brotherly love.While Utopian experiments in Europe were made as far back as the early 16th century, such as the Paris Commune or the Fouriesrist Phalanxes, it was only in America that the Europeans were successful in their attempt to found their New Jeruzalem characterized with idealism, zeal and moral fervor (Mizrach). Early Christian communists in Europe, propelled by the belief that America was a place free guile, deception and corruption, had decided to withdraw from the perceived sinful and corrupt world to establish new communities.Most of these communities saw themselves as islands of redemption in a world of temptation, sin and avarice (Mizrach). This belief in America as the â€Å"new† world where further proliferated by the famous literary writers of that time such as Thomas More in his Utopia and Francis Bacon in New Atlantis that suggested America was heir to the traditions of the first civilization, Atlantis, and a new â€Å"philosophic continent† within whose outlines lay modernity and freedom (Mizrach). The m ost interesting of these communities were founded in the 17th and early 18th centuries.Included here are those known as the Woman in the Wilderness founded by German Pietist in 1694, The Ireneia founded by Moravians in 1695, the Bohemia Manor founded by the Labadists in 1683, the Ephrata Cloister founded by Sabbatarians in 1732, Bethlehem founded by Anabaptists in 1740 and the Mount Lebanon founded by the Skaers in 1787 (Mizrach). All of these communities share the common feature of being founded by sects who at that time were considered as heretical by the Lutheran or the Calvinist Protestant Churches of Germany and Central Europe.Most of these also were located or founded around Pennsylvania which was Wiliam Penn’s Quaker â€Å"experiment of toleration†. Another feature of this communities were most of the members are European migrants who followed a charismatic founder. The Utopian American of the 60s and 70s flourished in about the same time when industrialization was in full swing. Soon after the World War II, the American economy prospered but it left many young people feeling estranged and isolated.While the older generation who grew up during the Great Depression was focused on material accumulation, the young people felt there was something missing in their lives (Meunier 1994). The dissatisfaction with capitalism grew and many young adults expressed this through their rejection of materialism and renewed interest in spirituality (Meunier 1994). Aside from this, the technological advances of this period made young people feel detached from their environment.The same advances that produced the atomic bomb and the television made the people feel that they are not in control or beyond understanding their environment (Meunier 1994). The political situation of this period also added to the propagation of the communal movement. The Vietnam War was not favored by majority of the American people and yet it dragged on. Aside from this, the Waterg ate scandal, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King further lead to the disillusionment of young people.It was a combination of all this political, social and economic factors that brought the young people from Haight-Ashbury movement of visionary psychedelia and politically defiant college students together to flee to rural utopian communes in attempt to escape the Establishment and take control of their own physical, cultural and spiritual environment (Meunier 1994). Known to some as the â€Å"flower people† or the â€Å"hippies†, the people who lived in communes in the 1960s were often stereotype as those who practiced free love and drug experimentation.The primary purpose of communal living in the late 1960s and early 1970s was to create a society where person to person relations is the core of existence, promoting greater intimacy and fuller human development (Meunier 1994). It rejects the established order of capitalism of competiti veness and production and turns to unity and cooperative work. People living in communes pool their resources and work together and the emphasis is no longer placed on competing for material goods but instead on friendship and family (Meunier 1994).The communes formed during the 1960s and 1970s were mostly in rural areas where people sought to return to the land. Agriculture made them self-sufficient and growing of food gave them a feeling of connection with each other and with the land. The search for a â€Å"perfect society† for both movements who happens to be centuries apart is are founded on similar assumptions of bringing change from the unrest and alienation that human beings felt as the society develops.Perhaps the utopian ideal will not cease as humans have the intrinsic need to commune, and that even the modern man sought for solace, peace and brotherhood. BIBLIOGRAPHY Meunier, Rachel. Communal Living in the Late 60s and Early 70s. Human Issues Project. 17 December 1994. Mizrach, Steve. The Symbolic Invention of America-as-Utopia. Academentia Website.

Compare and Contrast Essay on King Lear and Macbeth

Shakespeare had written many plays in his life time, some of them included various tragedies which included King Lear and Macbeth. All of Shakespeare’s plays had a theme which was used to help the story’s plot to advance further, making events much more interesting. King Lear and Macbeth both have a common theme of madness that is apparent throughout the play which has been depicted differently. They are both written in different ways but still share a same purpose. The essay will be broken down into three parts; firstly we will look at the way madness is viewed in Macbeth. Secondly, we will look at the way King Lear portrays madness lastly we will compare the two to see how differently madness is displayed. While both plays share this similarity, the plays differ by the way the theme of madness is executed. In Macbeth, both the main characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to show clear signs of madness through alterations in their physical senses. (smell, sight etc. ) this is evident when Lady Macbeth hallucinates that her hands are still covered in king Duncan’s blood despite having washed then several times. Here’s the smell of blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. (Act 5, scene 1, 46-47) Shakespeare uses imagery to give a better understanding of what is going on within the characters mind. Here madness is altering Lady Macbeth’s sense of smell and sight, this tricks her into believing that King Duncan’s blood will never dissipate from her hands even though they are perfectly clean. Another example of the theme of madness that is characterized by Macbeth is found in act three, scene four, the climax of the play. Immediately guilt ridden from ordering the murder of Banquo, Macbeth reaches his pinnacle of madness; exemplified by his delusion of Banquo's ghost. Showing that he can no longer differentiate between reality and his imagination Macbeth shouts, Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with (III. iv. 93-97). Ross responds to him, What sights, my lord (III. iii. 118). The Insanity of Macbeth is shown in these quotes. Shakespeare's description of Macbeth's thoughts visibly reveals the theme of madness. Shakespeare portrays madness among many of his characters, and he returns to the theme again and again. Indirect characterization in the form of Lear's mad speeches allows Shakespeare to convey the theme of madness. For example one of Lear's first speeches after things started to go bad for him, Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your house-hold heads and unfed sides, Your loop'd and window'd rag-gedness, defend you†¦ (III. iv. 35-38). Lear's insanity increases throughout the play, demonstrated to the audience through more speeches, until his emotions overthrow his reason at the climax of the play. Lear randomly shouts in to the storm, Rumble thy bellyfull! Spit, fire! Spout, rain! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters. I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness. I never gave you kingdom, called you children (III. ii. 14-17). The example of Lear invoking the storm to destroy the seeds of matter along with many other absurd statements illustrates that he has an unsound mind and it is made clear to the audience by his words. Shakespeare expands on the theme of madness in King Lear by Lear again using his words to express the reason for his insanity. The cause is the realization that his daughters Goneril and Regan do not love him. What finally pushed him over the edge was the cruel actions afflicted on him by the people that supposedly loved him. To such a lowness but his unkind daughters. †¦ ‘Twas this flesh begot Those pelican daughters describes Lear of the cruelty of his daughters (III. iii. 76,80-81). The character of Lear produces the theme of madness by expressing his own increasing insanity and reasons the reason for it in raving tangents. The style and depiction of the theme of madness are very different in both plays. Macbeth shows madness in the main characters with lots of imagery, giving a very physical sense of feeling towards the audience making them have a better understanding of what the characters are feeling. In King Lear madness is depicted through the main characters dialogue. This is meant to show the psychological turmoil going through the character’s mind which helps the audience understand why and what the character is doing within the play. In conclusion it is clear that madness was a very re occurring theme in both plays King Lear and Macbeth. However, the style in which the madness was depicted in each play is very different, in Macbeth madness within the main characters is shown through basic hallucinations through sight and smell, whereas in King Lear Shakespeare wanted the main characters to display madness through the dialogue. Both techniques used by Shakespeare were made to ultimately give more of an understanding of what is going on within the play. Both uses of madness are equally effective depending on which kind of play is written