Information Systems as a Supportive Role in Total Quality Management and Business Process Re-engineering

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Introduction

Management fads have come and gone at an increasingly rapid rate throughout the decade of the 10s. Two that became popular in the late 180s, Total Quality Management and Business Process Re-engineering, often have been labeled as failures by organizations that did not fully implement their principles. Another reason was that the organization did not take enough care in their planning so that it would be possible to fully implement the principles of the underlying philosophies of each. Information systems often have been blamed for the failures; in other cases, efforts to implement the philosophies in information systems have themselves been unsuccessful. However, regardless of managements ability to bring about the change initiatives, information systems are charged with becoming and remaining true forces within their organizations that can enhance the companys competitive advantage.

TQM and BPR Comparing the Initiatives

Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a revered state and an unloved process. Business publications are prevalent with tales of millions spent on efforts to implement TQM in specific organizations, which all too often say that they have found it not to be advantageous. Despite those stories the most successful of todays organizations have indeed taken on quality initiatives, even though they may not label their efforts as being true TQM. The fact is that Deming himself never used the term TQM in reference to his 14 Points; there has been in many instances confusion over just what TQM is.

Aside from the participatory management necessary for full and successful implementation of TQM in any organization, perhaps the greatest component of the philosophy is that of continuous change. Its not to say that organizations should change just for changes sake, but that processes continually should be improved. Without improvement, simple change is only counterproductive. Early on in the recognition of the necessity of quality initiatives, it was found that the most difficult aspect of implementation was that of negotiating change in process. In some cases, it was necessary to re-engineer the entire organization to align business activities with the processes necessary for gaining maximum benefit from available resources.

While TQM and business process Re-engineering (BPR) are separate entities and address different aspects of operations, they both are directed to improvements in the organizations bottom line. Increasingly, information systems (IS) departments are charged with becoming proactive and contributing to the organizations growth in competitive advantage within its industry-IS needs to be both involved in the TQM and BPR efforts of the entire company while also incorporating the philosophies and methods into their own operations.

While TQM and BPR remain distinct entities, each does have integral connection with the other in their reasons for being. The quality that most differentiates the two is that BPR is generally run from the top down, with most work done by outsiders, while TQM is usually run close to the business using input from line workers (Moad, 14).

If system requirements are overlooked in business process re-engineering, projects are destined for failure (Gaughan, 16). The MIS department is often organized in a manner that inhibits TQM, rather than supporting it. For example, TQM demands flexibility, continuous improvement, and a customer orientation. Many information systems are inflexible, static, and do not reflect customers needs (Mathieson and Wharton, 1).

In addition to often being blamed for an organizations failure either to implement TQM successfully or achieve maximum benefit from any BPR effort, historically IS has shared with Human Resources the distinction of being viewed as little more than a necessary evil (Cummings and MaCaluso, 15). This evil is one of detracting from the bottom line rather than contributing to it. Human Resources managed to realign much of its outlook so that those departments are, in many organizations, now full partners both in setting long-term strategy and in working in productive ways to assist in achieving those goals.

Information Systems not only have the same opportunities as Human Resources, but also have infinite applications in which they can be essential in establishing and maintaining the organizations competitive advantage. Rather than hinder TQM and BPR efforts of the organization, IS can aid in achieving stated goals. As with every other department within the company, IS can apply the principles of TQM and BPR to its own daily operation.

IS Supporting TQM

IS professionals are often seen by others in the organization as somewhat odd, and the processes by which they work even more eccentric. TQM stresses zero defects, but that condition is nearly a given in IS. It is possible in some cases for faulty logic to survive and even be operational in the form of code, but it is unlikely that any application of real importance to the organization can be defective and operational simultaneously. The TQM requirement of continuous improvement presents obstacles for IS professionals who rightly tend to believe that nothing operational needs to be fixed. Even when better ways of manipulating or reporting information are identified, they often involve an enormity of effort that is unworkable within the confines of available work hours or without hindering the operation of other systems.

In physical systems such as manufacturing or non-technical applications such as Human Resources, continuous improvement can be physically accomplished. The effort is physical in IS operations as well, but it generally involves rewriting of code followed by testing, all of which may interfere with ongoing current IS needs or the needs of the customer.

A 14 article suggests several ways in which IS can fully participate in planning and sustaining competitive advantage for the organization. The traditional TQM focus of increasing quality while reducing costs and still meeting customers needs does not help management control the companys operations. Purchasing, inventory, and accounting systems have many quality indicators, but it requires someone in the organization to find them, and the best group for the job are managers of IS (Beckley, 14). Performance measurement tools in TQM include such soft indicators as customer and employee satisfaction, market share, on-time shipments, delivery performance of vendors, accuracy of transactions, and service levels. Much of the data required to implement TQM already exists in established and necessary areas of the organizations records. In identifying and highlighting those quality indicators, IS can directly and positively affect the organizations bottom line (Beckley, 14).

By its very nature, TQM is information-rich. The original focus of the quality efforts of Deming and his mentor Walter Shewhart was to bring manufacturing under statistical control. The Japanese added to Shewharts SPC charts, tracking of the progress toward that state of statistical control. Often there is so much information regarding performance gains that the overall effort fails when the organization gives inordinate attention to their own records and not enough to the needs of the customer. IS can help manage that information generated by TQM record keeping, and highlight for immediate use only those items of greatest use to the organization.

Some organizations recognize that there is a drastic void when they implement only the practices and not the full principles of TQM, though they frequently are unable to determine where their attempts have gone wrong. Instead, they blame TQM as being a failure. TQM focuses peoples attention on internal processes rather than on external results (Harari, 17).

It is difficult to sell TQM to non-manufacturing, non-operations groups like sales, marketing, design, and engineering. These are people, who could and should be influenced by strategies to add value to end users, which is the ultimate goal of real quality anyway. Since TQM activities dont explicitly address this issue, they often are perceived by these in-house professionals as only marginally relevant to their concerns (Harari, 17). The primary difference between TQM and BPR is that successful TQM is driven from the bottom up, rather than from the top down (Moad, 14).

Reacting to damage instead of identifying trends in todays business climate can set any organization back far behind the competition. Using IS to identify possible trends from data already existing is a noble application of TQM with which IS can contribute to either building or maintaining the firms competitive advantage (Beckley, 14).

BPR Combined with IS

A primary component of TQM or continuous process improvement, is the essence of business process re-engineering. If processes cannot be changed without great affect on other systems, then change is not likely to occur. Such is often the case in IS. Information systems are complex, consisting of many interdependent components. There are often so many interactions that a change to one component requires changes to many. A firm might be reluctant to improve one part of a system because other components might be threatened. However, complexity is not the sole domain of the management of information systems. Manufacturing can be just as complex with flexibility still being achievable. The general approach is to use a set of modules that can be connected in many different ways with each module being assigned a variety of tasks. Though they are interactive with other modules, they still can be altered individually in the quest for continuous process improvement (Mathieson and Wharton, 1).

Information Systems have been blamed for much of BPR failure with respect to efforts within industry. Rather than being a valid complaint however, there are many other reasons that BPR efforts fail. Some of the reasons cited for poor results with BPR include lack of management commitment, barriers encountered as a result of a companys culture, and a general reluctance to change. These issues have been heightened by poor management of the implementation phases of projects. Another failing is that the BPR methodology is often viewed as the silver bullet that will address all of the firms critical business issues (Gaughan, 16).

Business Process Re-engineering normally is a management-induced operation that is run from the top down, rather than the bottom up as with successful TQM implementations. The standard pattern is to call in consultants who will plan the new vision based on current conditions and anticipated future business needs. Nearly all these consultants operate from a rather consistent methodology pattern that is predictable in its steps, but often with less than ideal results (Gaughan, 16).

Many BPR projects are based on the premise that if the methodology is followed, all the business goals of the project will be attained. Process cost issues, industry best practices, and the role that information systems play in supporting current business operations are subjects that are not effectively addressed when this myopic view is taken. In addition, the impact that information systems and technology have as enablers of any newly designed process is often minimized. If you accept the premise that the 0s is the information age, any BPR project that does not address information systems requirements can only be destined for failure or limited success in attaining the business objectives that were the basis for the project (Gaughan, 16).

A common IS approach in the decade of the 10s has been to design information systems to support processes rather than functions (Gaughan, 16). This inherently means that any drastic change in the process in which information systems are involved will entail a similar change in IS focus. Too often, this is an overlooked factor that can significantly affect the organizations overall BPR effort and result in slipped schedules and substantial cost overruns.

One approach to BPR has been to redesign processes based on the capabilities of the IS system and the application software the organization has chosen to use (Gaughan, 16). While the approach could be useful to some organizations and indeed has worked for some, the ultimate effect of such an approach too often is an initiative that results in change simply for the sake of change. The ultimate contribution of an Information System is changed, but not always in the manner that would be most advantageous to the company.

As could be expected from the most superficial examinations of such an approach, business process re-engineering has declined much in popularity since its introduction in the late 180s. It has been observed that the majority of companies instituting BPR were not able to achieve the expected improvements on profitability and efficiency. This outcome has spurred managers to seek out the strengths and weaknesses of this approach and to incorporate BPR lessons to sounder management practices (Bryant, 18).

A positive aspect of even the failed attempts at BPR is that it requires, at the very outset, something that all organizations should regularly be doing anyway, that is to make a clear enunciation of the organizations goals and in-depth assessment of whether business activities are aligned towards the achievement of those goals (Bryant, 18). Its flaws have been too difficult for many to overcome. The primary flaw of BPR is that it forces IS to be the main shaft by which all organizational changes are to revolve and that IS should just be a tool for re-engineering (Bryant, 18).

In spite of admonitions that IS should largely be left alone in its own structure and process in any BPR effort, there are those that have attempted to apply the principles of BPR to IS and share their efforts with the rest of the industry. National Semiconductor tells its story of failed efforts to re-engineer its IS function (Garner, 17). The company adopted the TQM evolution of self-directed work teams as its new personnel structure, but further realigned job responsibilities to match business processes, and implemented client/server technology (Garner, 17).

As a first step in re-engineering its IS function, the company required all 50 of its IS workers to reapply for the jobs they currently held. Rather than causing any morale problems, the employees welcomed the exercise as a vehicle by which they could list the growth and development experienced while employed at National Semiconductor. Initially they were pleased with the changes that had been instituted. After five months, however, there were two rounds of layoffs. A study was launched to determine whether the companys infrastructure operations should be outsourced and the company learned that careful planning can be undone by tactical errors in implementing a re-engineering effort. They also found that people are often unwilling to part with the familiar (Garner, 17). The greatest factor in National Semiconductors IS/BPR effort, was in trying to do too much at one time. The company had listed 8 organizational redesign objectives, but it failed to prioritize them and it also failed to phase in changes that actually were made.

This is not a company that is likely to operate under the control of monolithic information systems that are either exceedingly difficult to alter or possess no IS infrastructure other than its underlying programming. Another company not as in tune with the information industry as National Semiconductor could be forgiven for persisting with such an outdated structure that could nearly guarantee failure. National Semiconductor abandoned that sort of IS structure years ago, if indeed it ever truly operated under such a format (Mathieson and Wharton, 1).

Still, the company found itself perplexed by poor planning and unanticipated obstacles in its BPR initiative within its IS function. The IS section was not singled out for individual re-engineering; the entire company was undergoing varying degrees of re-engineering within several departments. The Information Systems appear to have been that only of change for changes sake. National Semiconductor Vice President of Information Services, Connie Deletis, makes no implication that there were any considerations in enhancing the IS role, either by enhancing or sustaining the companys competitive advantage in the failed BPR attempt. In todays business environment, every major decision must be prefaced with an examination of how proposed changes can improve the organizations competitive advantage within its industry.

Combining IS with TQM and BPR for Competitive Advantage

The medical information industry is one that is taking great advantage of available IS technology and talent in the pursuit of competitive advantage. This industry has also enhanced service to customers while refining business processes to provide the most advantageous position possible through the use of IS. With all the focus of TQM being that of quality and improvement of process along with the other aspects of TQM, it is often overlooked in those discussions that the customer is the endpoint of any assembly line. Without addressing the needs of the customer first and then refining processes in order to best serve that customers needs, the quality exercise is just that-exercise (Harari, 17).

The medical community in all its varied functions, including health insurers, appears to be leading all others in data mining and data warehousing, putting the newly-discovered data into useable form, and then acting on the information provided by that data. The focus on data warehousing is such that The Ninth Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)/IBM Leadership Survey Trends in Health Care Information Technology finds that the top priority for healthcare organizations in 18 will be recruiting and retaining IT talent. The survey of more than 1,700 CIOs, CEOs, senior managers, medical records professionals, vendors and consultants found upgrading IT infrastructure, integrating systems in multivendor environments and re-engineering to a patient-centered computing environment as the top three priorities. Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents cited the need to derive more value from existing data, or data mining as the top business driver for IT (Dendinger, 18). The need for that added value from existing data is not only to keep in close contact with former patients, but also to encourage them to stay current on all recommended tests and procedures. The health organization with the best in-place system capable of providing this function is the organization that will be able to claim the greatest competitive advantage within the industry.

Conclusion

Only in the realm of theory do labels account carry much weight. In business and in reality, the bottom line is nearly all-important in the business environment of today that is approaching a hyper-competitive state. The lessons to the organizations efforts to enhance and then maintain its competitive advantage, and that there are varied organizational, management and technological factors associated the IS as an agent of business strategy that cannot be ignored. Change is integral to both TQM and BPR, and change is one of the most difficult accommodations that IS can make for the organization. Nonetheless, meaningful and useful change must be managed and allowed to occur.

References

Babcock, Charles (16, December 16). Taking the long view on IS expertise. (obtaining legacy mainframe skills). Computerworld, vol. 0, p. 17.

Beckley, Glen B. (14, September 1). TQM find the red flags hiding in existing systems. Datamation, vol. 40, p. 6.

Bryant, Antony (18, January-February). Beyond BPR - confronting the organizational legacy. (business process re-engineering). Management Decision, vol. 6, p. 5.

Callaway, Erin (18, March ). Help Desk Slam Dunk; Duke, others are scoring points by revamping IT support.(Duke University Network Knowledgebase is a finalist for the Help Desk Institutes 18 Team Excellence award). PC Week, vol. 15, p. 7.

Cummings, Dorothy and Gregg Macaluso (15, December). The 7th annual quality conference. (Annual National Business Quality Foundation Conference). Colorado Business Magazine, vol. , p. S1.

Dendinger, Martha Jo (18, April). HIMSS/IBM survey staffing top priority. (the Ninth Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society/IBM Leadership Survey Trends in Health Care Information Technology). Health Management Technology, vol. 1, p. 6.

Garner, Rochelle (17, March ). Too much, too fast. (National Semiconductors re-engineering of its IS organization). Computerworld, vol. 1, p. 75.

Gaughan, Thomas R. (16, November). The systems dimension of process re-engineering. CMA - the Management Accounting Magazine, vol. 70, p. 1.

Harari, Oren (17, January). Ten Reasons TQM Doesnt Work. Management Review, vol. 86.

Keen, Peter G. W. (16, November 18). Putting the payoff before process. (reengineering processes). Computerworld, vol. 0, p. 108.

Keith, Richard B. Jr. (14, April). MIS + TQM = QIS. (management information services in process engineering). Quality Progress, vol. 7, p. .

King, William R. (18, Winter). IT-enhanced productivity and profitability. Information Systems Management, vol. 15, p. 64.

Laberis, Bill (17, December 1). The big fixes that arent. Computerworld, vol. 1, p. 110.

Mathieson, Kieran and T.J. Wharton (1, September). Are information systems a barrier to total quality management? Journal of Systems Management, vol. 44, p. 4.

Moad, Jeff (14, October 15). After reengineering taking care of business. Datamation, vol. 40, p. 40.

Spencer, Michael S. and Leslie K. Duclos (18, Spring). TQM stresses MIS the ache of continuous change. Mid-American Journal of Business, vol. 1, p. 5.

Ward, James A. (18, Spring). TQM and the Year 000 crisis. Information Systems Management, vol. 15, p. 60.

Zahedi, Fatemeh (18, November-December). Quality information systems a unifying framework. International Journal of Technology Management, vol. 16, p. 446.

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How Do Jeanette Winterson in her Novel "The Passion" and Carol Ann Duffy in her Poetry Collection "The World's Wife" use Literature to Undermine the Idea of Stereotypes

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Man and woman, blue and pink, earner and housewife. These are the views imposed on gender through a mixture of history and myth. A patriarchal society, it has been argued by many feminists, has created this picture of a dominant male and a subservient female. This could be naïve or it could be a truth that we, as males or females don't like to admit. Looking at Jeanette Winterson's "The Passion" and Carol Ann Duffy's poetry collection "The World's Wife", it is clear to see that they at least share the idea that history and myth have somehow intertwined, to lead to male and female stereotypes. This is not an essay that preaches feminism, nor does it do the opposite; it is an exploration into how Duffy and Winterson use literature to pull apart, or in some cases exaggerate upon stereotypes in order to undermine them.

Duffy's collection would not be so influential if she hadn't been able to successfully bring alive the idea of the male stereotype in her poetry. In the poem "Mrs Beast" Duffy uses colloquialisms to show an independent modern woman giving the reader advice on men and what to expect from them. "I could have told her- look, love I should know". The poem takes a similar format to that of Duffy's newest collection "The Feminine Gospels" as the informal language does give the reader the impression that what Mrs Beast says is the truth. The word "love" is jargon associated with the east end of London. It is heartfelt but also contains an aspect of masculinity. This exaggerates the independence of "Mrs Beast " in the poem. The word "Beast" in the poem is symbolic of a type of man, not the one however, that immediately springs to mind. This is the image of a conceited man with no etiquette or respect for women.

"But the Beast fell to his knees at the door

to kiss my glove with his mongrel lips good-"

Custom Essays on How Do Jeanette Winterson in her Novel "The Passion" and Carol Ann Duffy in her Poetry Collection "The World's Wife" use Literature to Undermine the Idea of Stereotypes

Instead Duffy explores the idea of a man who lacks the drawbacks of vanity and arrogance and shows qualities of appreciation and gratitude, a man who Duffy links with sheer unattractiveness.

In comparison to "The Beast" it is fair to look at Winterson's portrayal of "The Cook" in her novel.

"The cook moved first, slapping a woman on the rump and making some joke about her corset…He came towards her with his fist raised"

Winterson- exaggerated as it may be, creates an unsympathetic brutal and violent character whose behaviour toward the whores depicts an attitude that many would familiarise with the date and setting. Winterson is introducing the idea of patriarchy into the story. The novel, although set in the early C1th at the peak of the Napoleonic wars is one that could, in the opinion of many critics and the writer herself be moved into the modern day. "All of my work, manipulates history. The past is not sacred. The past is not static."(1) Winterson feels that the male stereotype is not developing and that male dominance is as strong today as it always has been. This allows her to mould the setting and the time into the story and not vice versa, a growing trend among late C0th novelists including Will Self.

The new recruits in the novel "The Passion" also illustrate the army's ability to 'make men'. The fact that the recruits are clean-shaven when they enter the barracks is symbolic of the naivety and inexperience. Henri shows the effects of war on men;

"But my companions are no longer shy boys with cannon fire in their eyes. They are rougher, tougher. Naturally you say, that's what army life is about"

Even Henri realises that along with army life comes a list of things that are expected of you, a certain charisma is supposed to develop, the male stereotype is in full force yet again.

The essential impression of the texts is the portrayal of the female characters. Both writers put across feminist messages and the sexuality of both Duffy and Winterson, especially the latter, is apparent. Villanelle the main female character in "The Passion" seems to be symbolic of the rebellion against conformity that Winterson expresses so much in her works. From birth Villanelle is defined as different and unusual. Firstly she is born in Venice, which is a "city of mazes. You may set off from the same place to the same place everyday and never go by the same route". Venice, France and Russia play a large part in the geographic symbolism in the novel that leads to the formation of stereotypes of people in certain areas. Villanelle is born with webbed feet, which is a trait only common in the boatmen of Venice. Her actions in life therefore take on a masculine form, although her emotions would be defined as female. Her cross-dressing, gambling nature and her bravery shown in facing the harsh "zero winter" proves that she alone is more masculine than the male characters in the novel. Her combination of masculine and feminine traits is summed when she decides to row her boat for comfort.

"The Grand Canal is already full of vegetable boats…the others eye me curiously"

To relieve her feminine emotions she decides to partake in the male role of the boatman although others around her do not take well to this. Her manner of speech, her casual, laid back nature, which forms half the narrative in this novel also adds to Winterson's rejection of keeping within gender boundaries

Duffy on the other hand doesn't use this method in her poetry. The length of her poetry limits the character development that would take place in the novel. The imagery therefore needs to be much more intensive. Female characterisation starts when the reader first glances at the poem. For example in Eurydice the lines are of altering length. It could be argued that although Eurydice does have something to say she can be blunt and to the point. Eurydice, one of the most noticeably feminist poems in the collection, shows the influence of feminism on the poetry. The liberation of a woman to hell must prove that Duffy acknowledges the dislike of if not dislikes herself, the idea of paternalism. The tone in Mrs Midas, just sums up a stereotypical "stay at home wife". "You can almost imagine Mrs Midas touching up her make-up in the mirror as she moans about her husband"(). This quote makes Duffy's poetry sound trivial, and this could be the device that is key to Duffy's interpretation of stereotypes. They are insignificant, immaterial concepts that should not be taken seriously. Duffy has created many alternative ways of undermining stereotypes, although her preference seems to be in exaggerating them to draw out their futility.

Winterson's structure intensifies the meaning of the story. As with her language and imagery that compares so well with poetry, her structure springs out of the page. It is unpredictable and exciting with narratives of thought. She is obviously influenced by the work of Virginia Woolf, with the stream of consciousness flowing in and out of both her narratives. Henri's narratives jump between his life in the army, his thoughts and his life before the army.

"Mother. Father. I love you"

Winterson has placed this line separate from the bulk of text on this page, it stands out as a separation between a description of his life at home and the continuation of his story in the army. It gives off an almost nostalgic feel and is clearly effeminate. It is in these small structural devices that the reader builds up their feeling towards a character. "I'm telling you stories, trust me" is used in the same way. As well as this the novel is split into four chapters. The first two split up the monologues of Henri and Villanelle, but as the narrators' lives become intertwined the narratives flow into one another. The name of the chapters intensifies the idea of symbolic geography further. "The Emperor" and "The Zero Winter" have historic significance to the story linking to the Napoleonic era. "The Queen of Spades" set in Venice, taken from the opera by Tchaikovsky of the same name (), shows that Venice is linked to myth and story telling. It is a city of unpredictability as Villanelle says herself "You play, you win. You play, you lose. You play".

The final chapter "The Rock" is still set in Venice however it is a Venice that has suffered the influence of the Napoleonic wars. The name is bland and doesn't give a lot away about the lives of the central characters. It sets the scene for the almost pessimistic ending of the novel. Henri is living on the rock (San Servolo a mental institution) hearing the voices of his dead friends. Villanelle is living a meaningless life although she has riches. The rock shows that both have reached the end of their capabilities. For Winterson it may symbolise the constraints that will inevitably occur if you attempt to overcome the stereotypes in society.

The structure of the poems in "The World's Wife" varies in order to give off different effects. "Queen Herod" shows the division between relaxed and stately language through the use of italics. Also this represents the difference between obligation and emotion. When Queen Herod is lead by emotion she is allowed to show her true feelings

"No man, I swore,

will make her shed one tear."

The effect of this is not only opening up gender stereotypes but class labels also. Focusing on the idea that all women share the same basic instincts. In comparison to this "Mrs Darwin" takes the form of a diary entry. It makes the poem seem secretive and very informal. The reader gets the idea that Mrs Darwin never wanted anyone to read this. Obviously this poem has a comical aspect to it and almost takes the form of a short joke

"7 April 185

Went to the Zoo

I said to Him

Something about that Chimpanzee over there reminds me of

you."

The word "you" seems to form the punch line of the joke. This shows that it is almost incomprehensible that the wife of Darwin thought up the theory of evolution, females are not generally classed as intellectuals, scientists or engineers in this period.

A feature that both writers focus on in their texts is the idea of motherhood. This is one of the concepts that the writers disagree on. In Winterson's work there is an autobiographical resentment for a combination of motherhood and religion.

"My mother loved God, she said that God and the Virgin were all she needed though she was thankful for her family."

Although Henri has a clear admiration for his mother, the reader gets the impression that she is portrayed as not committed to her family. She has indoctrinated Henri, to some extent in the same way that she has become devoted to religion. This is obviously a biased view of motherhood; Winterson likes to links the liberation of a person, to breaking away from your maternal bonds, as she did herself. This portrayal does to some extent ruin the strength of the female in this novel. But instead of considering it as an attack on motherhood it is more realistic to look at it as an attack on religion. Religion, has, in the eyes of many prominent feminists has held back the development of women's rights. The breakdown of religion in this novel is also shown when Henri befriends a corrupted Irish priest named Patrick.

"He had been forced out of the church for squinting at young girls from the bell tower….What priest doesn't"

Winterson shows little respect for the church going on to suggest that the Bishop was a homosexual. In exaggerating the negative stereotypes of religion in order to strengthen them, Winterson is again spoiling her argument against stereotypes. The argument she makes in this novel does in some cases seem to trail off in regards to institutions she dislikes.

Alternatively Duffy explores a more positive view of the mother, "Queen Herod" is a poem that illustrates the strength of motherly protection.

"We wade through blood / for our sleeping girls. / We have daggers for eyes.

Behind our lullabies, / the hooves of terrible horses / thunder and drum."

The use of caesura allows Duffy to separate the well-meant motive from the almost evil actions. The words "blood" and "daggers" are almost cancelled out by the images of "sleeping girls" and "lullabies". The closing poem, one that would need to sum up the collection as a whole, focuses entirely on motherly love. "Demeter" is the goddess of agriculture in Greek myth. The lord of the underworld Hades captures her daughter. The depression felt by the searching Demeter is brought alive in the poem. Duffy in the first two stanzas depicts a desolate and barren landscape. "Where I lived winter and hard earth". By the end of the poem however the atmosphere has completely changed and instead of the land being dead, personification is used to depict a happier surrounding.

"the blue sky smiling, none too soon,

with the small shy mouth of the new moon"

The poem is 14 lines long and is linked to the Shakespearian sonnet exempt from the rhyme throughout the whole poem. The last two lines are a rhyming couplet, often associated with poems about courtship and romance; Duffy has used in a poem about the love between a mother and daughter. Again she is combining conventional devices with original ideas to give off her own effect.

Both the "The Passion" and "The World's Wife" deal with the idea of stereotypes as a way of fighting female oppression. They do not however, ignore the stereotype of men and in many ways Winterson shows a great respect for male characters in her novel. Duffy relies on a combination of humour and history to retell old stories in her poetry. In using wit to address the idea of gender discrimination Duffy is able to completely destabilize the image of stereotypes. Winterson uses the stream of consciousness, androgyny and vast amounts of imagery to make sure none of her characters become predictable. The focus is not on how her characters should act in a certain situation because of their gender but due to the fact they are Henri or Villanelle.

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MEXICAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

When NAFTA implementation began nine years ago, it created the world's largest free trade area, which now links 406 million people producing more than US$11 trillion worth of goods and services. The dismantling of trade barriers and the opening of markets has led to economic growth and rising prosperity in all three countries.

These effects should be greatest in Mexico, the least developed of the three.

This report reflects a perspective of NAFTA, the recent developments in the Mexican manufacturing sector, and analysis of the business situation in Mexico pre and post NAFTA in the manufacturing sector.

CHAPTER

NAFTA

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement is a trilateral trade agreement between Canada, the USA and Mexico allowing the free flow of products and services between countries. Mexico became a signatory to the agreement in 14.

According to Article 10 of the NAFTA, the objectives of this Agreement, as elaborated more specifically through its principles and rules, including national treatment, most-favored-nation treatment and transparency, are to

• Eliminate barriers to trade in, and facilitate the cross-border movement of, goods and services between the territories of the Parties;

• Promote conditions of fair competition in the free trade area;

• Increase substantially investment opportunities in the territories of the Parties;

• Provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in each Partys territory;

• Create effective procedures for the implementation and application of this Agreement, for its joint administration and for the resolution of disputes;

• Establish a framework for further trilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation to expand and enhance the benefits of this Agreement.

The proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) aims at reducing and ultimately eliminating most of the remaining barriers to trade and investment among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. While it can be interpreted as a continuation of a prior trend toward increased economic integration between the three countries, NAFTA symbolizes a much larger change in economic relations, particularly between Mexico and United States.

If NAFTA works as its supporters posited, it should have a positive effect on income and employment in each of the three member countries. These effects should be greatest in Mexico, the least developed of the three. If there are no mutual benefits, then the agreement is unlikely to endure. The gains, however, depend on adding content to the framework provided by the agreement. This deepening must necessarily involve, among other things, more efficient customs procedures, understanding on common or compatible standards for industrial goods, working out sanitary requirements for food and pharmaceuticals products, enhanced environmental protection, and consistent standards for trucks that in due course will have the right to carry freight anywhere in North America.

The motivation of Mexico for initiating the negotiation of the NAFTA was principally of an economic nature. The Mexican government under the leadership of President Salinas was in the process of restructuring the Mexican economy to reduce its centrally planned character. It was gradually disavowing Mexico's long-standing policies of import substitution and antipathy toward investment by foreigners. Mexico had begun to see an acceleration of inward capital investment. Nevertheless, the government recognized that if the transition to an open market economy was to succeed without causing the kind of political upheaval which frequently characterizes economic reform programs, it would have to do everything reasonably within its power to accelerate and aid that transition. By negotiating the NAFTA the government of Mexico would offer an incentive to U.S. enterprises to move more quickly into the newly opened market by providing both a form of investment guarantee and by offering a level of preferential treatment both with respect to imports and investment.

CHAPTER

MANUFACTURING IN MEXICO

Overview

Mexico is considered a semi-industrialized country. Manufacturing accounts for 0% of the GDP and contributes % to the Mexican employment rate. It also accounts for 85% of all Mexican exports.

There are two distinct sub-sectors in manufacturing first is the light (maquiladora) manufacturing sector and the second is the capital-intensive manufacturing such as steel making and automotive manufacturing.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been a driving force behind the manufacturing sector's exponential growth over the past 7 years.

Many foreign companies are taking advantage of the Maquiladora program, where manufacturers pay little or no duty on raw material and capital equipment entering Mexico. The duty accrues only on value added material.

There are 4000 Maquiladora plants employing 1.6 million people in Mexico.

Three common business structures for manufacturing in Mexico are Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Shelter Programs and Contract Manufacturing.

In a wholly owned subsidiary, a foreign company owns 100% of the Mexican corporation. Sheltering programs involve partnering with a Mexican company that already has the infrastructure and expertise to quickly set up and run the business. Contract manufacturing is when a foreign firm enters into a legal agreement with a Mexican manufacturer to produce goods to defined specification and quantity.

Manufacturers in Mexico are able to produce cost competitive goods as a result of Mexico's labour force being much less expensive then the U.S. and Canada and other developed countries. The labour force is attractive as direct labour is readily available, easily trained and 50% of the population is under the age of .

Maquiladoras

One of the major differences between Canada and Mexico is the Maquiladora Industry. The word Maquiladora originates from colonial Mexico when Maquila was a fee charged by millers for processing farmer's grain. The industry is governed by the "Decree for Development and Operation of the Maquiladoras Industry" published in 18. This industry allows for the duty free importation of machinery and equipment for the assembly of semi-manufactured products and can have 100% non-Mexican ownership.

The advantages are obvious; the use of very competitively priced labour and a low fixed cost structure and the finished products can be exported back to the country of origin, to a third country or sold locally. Until recently only a percentage of manufactured goods produced by the Maquiladoras industry could be sold locally. In 000 it was 85% and today there are no limitations to sell to the Mexican local market.

Originally the Maquiladoras were only located along the Northern border, close to the intended market of the United States. Now 67% of the assembly line industry is located on the border the other % is in other regions. There are about 4000 maquiladora plants, which employ approximately 1.6 million people in Mexico. They include such industries as apparel, automotive equipment, electrical equipment, furniture and other consumers' goods.

Some companies of note include General Electric, Hallmark, and Ford. Exceptions to products allowed under Mexican law include petroleum, petrochemicals, other chemicals, arms, and items that contain radioactive elements. Maquiladora exports represent almost 50% of all Mexican exports, worth an estimated $6.5 billion as of 001 and 0% of all goods exported to the US.

07 new maquila plants opened in 001 in a variety of industrial sectors (see Figure 1), from automotive to consumer electronics.

Figure 1

Most direct foreign investment into Mexico continues to be maquila-related. Figure shows country of origin for the 07 new maquiladoras opened in 001.

Figure

Each Mexican city where maquiladoras are located vary in the type of product that is produced which results in a wide range of maquila production.

Figure shows Mexican Maquiladora Activity as of December 000 based on employment by sector

Figure

Foreign Ownership/Investment Opportunity

Foreign investment plays a key role in Mexico. In fact only the US and China receives more direct foreign investment than Mexico. It is stated by LATGO USA that one out of every four jobs in Mexico was created by foreign investment between 14 and 000. Of the foreign investment made in Mexico, 6% of it was in manufacturing.

The "Foreign Investment Law of Mexico" governs how foreigners can do business in Mexico. This breaks the economy down into classified and unclassified activities. Unclassified activities (about 67% of the Mexican economy) are the sectors of the economy where there is no limit to foreign ownership. Classified activities require approval for ownership and limit the amount of foreign ownership. There are geographic areas where foreign ownership of land is prohibited, 100 kilometers along the border, and 50 kilometers along the coast.

In general foreign investment has been and continues to be liberalized with negotiations underway for independent producers to generate and sell power. Mining companies must be 51% Mexican owned and financial services are highly regulated but investments in other industries up to US$00 million can be made with approval, which is generally automatic unless rejected within 0 days.

Labour Laws and Trade Unions

Labour is highly regulated in Mexico by the Mexican Federal Labour Law (FLL). Minimum wages are usually on a daily rate basis and vary from region to region. The workweek is 48 hours (6 days; 8 hours per day) maximum with appropriate overtime payment thereafter. There are mandatory employee benefits

• Profit sharing

• Year end bonus

• Nine vacation days

• Vacation day premiums

• Training and maternity leave

• Retirement savings system

• Federal Workers Housing Fund (INFONAVIT) contributions

There appears to be many challenges with labour in Mexico and a long awaited labour reform bill has yet to be passed. Unions have been corrupt in the past but times are changing. Many foreign organizations find it much better to work with their labour unions to deal with issues that are not covered by the current labour laws for the benefit of both parties.

Some large multinational manufacturers report their workforce to be skilled and highly motivated because of the long-term opportunities they offer both within and outside of Mexico. NAFTA has had another positive impact on the workers in Mexico as export-oriented manufacturing jobs pay 40% more than the remainder of the manufacturing sector in Mexico.

Mexican Manufacturing Areas of Concern

The following are the areas of concern for Mexico manufacturing

• Uncertainty concerning the fiscal regime.

• Recent over-valuation of the Peso, which has driven up wages and salaries.

• The lack of adequate education, health and other social security services.

• Inefficiencies in urban service infrastructure in the cities (water and sanitation).

• Bureaucratic red tape. For example government officials admit that it takes on average 10 days to set up a new business in Mexico. (Compared to one day in Canada).

• Personal security.

During a recent survey of executives from the manufacturing industry the following were issues raised

• Cost reduction was the overall strategy.

• Production was the most challenging operational issue.

• Preventive maintenance is the most widely adopted manufacturing practice in all plants.

• Primary cost reduction initiative has been improving process efficiency.

CHAPTER 4

PRE VERSUS POST NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed between Canada, U.S., and Mexico in 14, thus creating the word's largest free trade zone, comprising of 406 million consumers.

The impact of NAFTA was tremendous to Mexico. Total trade between Mexico and U.S./Canada tripled from $1B USD in 1 to $8B USD in 000. Further, employment in Mexico grew by 8% with the creation of NAFTA.

In particular, NAFTA boosted Mexico's export business. During the same nine-year period, Mexico's average exports increased by 1% per year, while the rest of the world grew by only 10%. NAFTA has spurred significant change within the make-up of the Mexican exports. For example, in the 180's, 80% of Mexican exports were oil. Today manufactured products make up 85% of Mexican exports.

Although the benefits of NAFTA are clear, there are some concerns. First, while the manufacturing sector has grown significantly, almost all of this growth has been in the maquiladora sector. These are foreign owned companies that are using Mexico as a low-cost provider of assembly services. Within these companies, there is very little research and development being done. Subsequently, very few new or complete manufacturing solutions are offered. Further more, approximately 0% of Mexico's exports are to the U.S. This has created an extreme dependency on the U.S. economy. For example, the economic slowdown that the U.S. experienced in 001/0 was nearly identically mirrored in Mexico.

While these concerns must be managed, it is undeniable that NAFTA has been the driving force behind the Mexican manufacturing sector's exponential growth.

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

Manufacturing Benefits

Companies considering locations for manufacturing are attracted to Mexico over other countries for the following reasons

Labour advantages

• Labour force is much less expensive than in the U.S and Canada

• Labour is readily available and easily trained

• Employees have good work habits and work 48 hours per week

• Productivity averages 10% higher than in parent's other international subsidiaries.

Proximity to the United States market

• Materials and finished goods have shorter transit times and suppliers are closer and more responsive. Communication issues are less complicated.

• Border crossing is quick.

• Shipping is cheaper, plus materials can be shipped overland

Preferential US/Mexican customs programs

• Under Mexico's maquiladora program, manufacturers pay little or no duty on raw material and capital equipment entering Mexico.

• Manufacturers gain access to the 100 million Mexican consumer market; 100% of the maquiladora product can now be sold in Mexico.

Competitive advantage in the North American market

• Reduced costs NAFTA gives duty preferences to companies who manufacture in North America.

• Open market sell products in Mexico; sell components or finished products to other maquiladoras

The major advantages to manufacturing in Mexico are the relatively low cost for labour and the relatively low value of the peso. Under these conditions, labour and materials are paid for in pesos and the finished goods are paid for in dollars. This is a great combination for increased profits and return on investment.

In summary, the advantages listed above highlight a compelling business environment for investment in manufacturing in Mexico. In spite of the political uncertainty and the immaturity of good fiscal management we believe that Mexico is an ideal location in which to manufacture.

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Fighting a Two-Front War

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The United Food and Commercial Workers union has been fighting a war on Wal-Mart's expansion efforts from the time of Wal-Mart's conception in Bentonville, AR. The reason being that according to The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Wal-Mart typically pays many its new employees less than $10 an hour, and doesn't immediately offer health benefits to new workers. That compares with wages of up to $5 an hour and a wide range of health and pension programs guaranteed to employees under the current labor contract between the United Food and Commercial Workers union and major supermarket chains such as Albertson's, Ralphs, Vons and several smaller companies."

This poses a problem to not only the 11,000 unionized grocery workers in San Diego, but to the rest of the unionized workers across the country. "With revenues of $18 billion in 001, Wal-Mart is the country's biggest company and largest retailer." And since Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the US, its "newest growth vehicle" , the Neighborhood Market, threatens to drive down sales in the major supermarkets already operating in the US.

The Neighborhood Market is Wal-Mart's version of a free-standing [sic], full-service supermarket. These stores range in size from 40,000 to 55,000 square feet and have all the specialty departments that regular supermarkets have plus a drive-through pharmacy. As of mid-year 00, Wal-Mart only operated 4 and just a few in Safeway's geographies. Current projections however estimate that by year-end 008, over 1500 Neighborhood Markets will be in operation.

According to retail analysts, "these powerful stores [are expected] to achieve dominant market positions wherever they operate. Experts say that, in order to remain competitive, conventional food and drug retailers like Safeway and Vons may be pressured to reduce employee wages and benefits to the lower prevailing levels established by Wal-Mart."

How does this affect the unionized workers? Well in November of 00, the UFCW local 106 based in Camarillo, CA voted to increase member's dues to help fight Wal-Mart in order to show the owners of Safeway, Kroger, and Albertson's that their employees are taking action to help stop Wal-Mart. Because come this October of 00, the union contract with Safeway expires and both organizations go to the negotiating table. Steve Burd, CEO of Safeway has been quoted as calling the practices of Wal-Mart "the new standards for the industry." And has made it clear that he believes Safeway needs to

ɨ freeze wages or offer lump sum payments;

ɨ establish a market-based rate for new-hires;

ɨ offer voluntary buyouts to senior employees;

ɨ reduce health care benefits;

ɨ limit pension increases;

ɨ And demand work rules that give managers authority to exercise their powers arbitrarily.

This is the second front of the war that the UFCW is preparing to fight. What it does in October when negotiating this new contract will be seen by the owners and CEOs of Kroger (Ralphs) and Albertson's and will set the precedent for new contracts in the future.

If Safeway gets what they want, Vons checkout clerks like Kristy Mundt who has worked for the company for 0 years worry about their careers. Kristy has a condominium in El Cajon for which she puts / of her monthly pay towards the mortgage. If her wages were suddenly dropped from $17.50 to $10 an hour, her annual pay would decrease from about $6,000 to $0,000. "I'd be right on the edge," she said. "I wouldn't even be able to go to a movie anymore." Karen Stratton, a -year veteran grocery clerk at Vons, has been quoted as saying, "We could lose our homes, our cars, and everything else we've worked so hard for" in response Wal-Mart's announcement of plans to move into the grocery business in her area of San Diego County.

Most disheartening of all though, is the affect all of this will have on customers. While prices may be lowered by retail supermarkets to compete with Wal-Mart, how will the quality of food and standards of work fare? Are we as consumers still able to trust our produce clerks to supply us with the freshest fruits and vegetables when their wages have been lowered so drastically if indeed, Safeway gets what they want at the bargaining table?

"For the last year and a half, the United States has been engaged in a war on terror that clearly is still in its early stages. At the same time, preparations have been going on for months for an all-out war against Iraq. Success tends to favor the prepared in any war, be it armies or labor unions."

As the UFCW local 106 prepares to mount its largest campaign in the local's history, we can only sit back and wait until the dust settles to see who is the victor.

Please note that this sample paper on Fighting a Two-Front War is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Fighting a Two-Front War, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Fighting a Two-Front War will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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Lady Macbeth

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Lady Macbeth is the penultimate person in the play, especially at the beginning, next to Macbeth himself. And though she does not survive to the end, her influence on Macbeth lasts throughout.

She is most influential person in Macbeths downfall, next to the witches. However, her relationship with him goes far deeper then that of the witches. It is my belief that the witches act only as a trigger to start the events in the play, and that Lady Macbeth herself was the driving force behind Macbeths actions. It is she who he contacts when he meets the witches, and immediately trusts her with the prophecy he is given.

The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is paramount to the understanding of a major theme of this play. At first it would appear to be an equal partnership. However, I believe Lady Macbeth was the dominant of the two character; she could have persuaded Macbeth to do anything if she so wished. And though she does not openly exercise her power over him in public, in private she often uses humiliation and emotional bribery to manipulate Macbeth to execute her will.

The first scene in which we see Lady Macbeth is Act 1 Scene 5, in the first half of which she is reading the letter sent by Macbeth about his meeting with the witches, and about half way through Macbeth, himself enters, having caught up with the messenger who delivered the letter. Immediately we see the nature of her relationship with Macbeth, and have a strong sense of her character. The first thing that you notice of course, is that Lady Macbeth is reading a letter that must have been written mere hours after the events contained happened. It is a letter from Macbeth, containing potentially treasonous information about his meeting with the witches, now, the actual meeting itself could not be considered treason, because that could not be helped, but for Macbeth to even hope for the witches prophecy to become truth would have been very dangerous ground. This is very important; it shows that Macbeth trusts his wife with everything. Another indication of their relationship in the phrase "my dearest partner in greatness". This suggests that Macbeth loves his wife dearly, but not only that, but considers her his equal. At the time this play was based, or even written, women were very much considered inferior. She also perhaps, reveals, a weaker side to her personality when she prays to the dark powers to fill her heart with cruelty, and rid her of feminine kindness. If she were truly evil, then she would not need this extra infusion of darkness. This is an interesting point because it reveals a whole new side to her, which while it isnt a good side; it is a more human side. It proves that she is not a witch, perhaps, as some people think.

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When Macbeth enters, they greet each other warmly, and Lady Macbeth reveals her intentions to murder King Duncan, and persuades Macbeth to go along with the idea, and warns him to greet the King warmly and not give any indication of their plans. It is important how Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth, she uses veiled talk, and double meanings to attempt to sweeten the idea, she never mentions the word murder, rather, and just notes that Duncan will not see the sun rise tomorrow. It is a form of seduction almost, she hides the foul ideas behind pretty words, making it seem as if it is all right. When Macbeth tries to interject, she simply speaks over him, soothing his now troubled mind with a promise that she will handle everything else, as long as he keeps an innocent face.

The next scene is Lady Macbeth welcoming Duncan and the others into her and Macbeths castle, and true to her own advice, she is warm hearted and kind. All the while knowing that she intends to kill him. She is the perfect hostess, and makes several remarks on how much she thanks Duncan for rewarding her house with his presence. This is extremely two-faced of her; she greets him with smiles, while practically holding a dagger. Neither of these scenes give many positive points for Lady Macbeths character, it does indeed seem that she is just incredibly evil.

The banquet scene also reveals a few astonishing facets about her, as well as reinforcing her apparent cruelty and ambition. The first part of scene 7 shows a lengthy monologue of Macbeth weighing up the pros and cons of carrying out his wifes wishes to kill the King. Although Macbeth wants to be King, he is unsure of himself, and it is obvious that he is cracking under the pressure already. Lady Macbeth however, when she sees him in such a state, immediately tries to rectify his weakness, using his pride to blackmail him to her will. It is impressive how she can bend him to her will so easily, to whatever she wished. She again uses veiled words to dupe him, stating that the crown is the "ornament of life" and it would be cowardly not to seek it. While Macbeth is in such an insecure frame of mind, these words infuse him with passion, while he lacks surety; his wife fuels him with pride in his cause. She makes it seem to him that murder is a small price for something so valuable as the crown. Although Macbeth said that he didnt want to kill the King, I believe he was just trying to goad his wife into changing his mind, knowing that she would make everything seem all right, he does not reveal all his doubts to her, just enough to make sure she argues with him. During this she makes several references to masculinity and femininity, retorting that Macbeths cowardice is unmanly, and she herself would kill her own child rather then back down. This is a very powerful image, and further increases her mask of cold ambition, also suggesting more links in Lady Macbeths mind between femininity and kindness, which she seems to think is the truth.

Her manipulation is again, effective. She fills him with pride, and using that, suggests a seemingly easy way of dispatching the King in his sleep, and blaming the murder on the guards. Macbeth applauds her, and quickly psyches himself towards the task, steeling himself to put on a false face for the banquet.

Act begins with Lady Macbeth waiting for Macbeth in the Courtyard of their Castle, after he has killed the King. (It is an interesting point to note, that the audience never actually see the King murdered, just the aftermath of it. This was perhaps to prevent the story being too linear). Lady Macbeth has drugged the guards and has drunk herself, and notes its exhilarating affect. Again, this is a sign of weakness on Lady Macbeths part. She also starts at an owls shriek. However, this behaviour is perfectly understandable, since the position they are in, is one of great peril. They have, of course, just murdered a King, which is punishable by death. So being nervous is natural. There are also other hints indicating their heightened paranoia, but again, Lady Macbeth is always quick to sooth her husbands tattered nerves, no matter what state her own are in. This is peculiar, she seems to gain strength from her husbands weakness, when she sees one as mighty as Macbeth (who is a war hero after all) show fear; she gains the ability to look after him; perhaps a motherly instinct? A famous example of her comforting Macbeth is the line "A little water clears us of this deed". Unfortunately, Macbeth is not so easily soothed this time, he is deeply distraught by what he has done, and though he does not for one second blame his wife, he is now very unsure of himself.

The next day, obviously the other houseguests learn of the murder, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth perform an amazing drama to dupe them, and prove their innocence. Macbeth kills the guards who they planted the evidence on. Thus, removing any ability for them to defend themselves. Now, this does temporarily shift suspicion towards Macbeth, but he gives such an intricate and heartfelt speech, that combined with Lady Macbeth swooning and starting to faint, it is enough to convince the others of their innocence at least for the moment. The murder also frightens Duncans sons; they fear that they might be next; this is probably true, since in order for Macbeth to have a good chance to become King, both of them must be killed. So they flee, and this puts them under suspicion. It could be reasoned that they might have killed their father in order to quicken their ascension to the throne. Again, all of which are complete lies. Such harmonious cooperation when under pressure shows that Lady and Lord Macbeth do indeed work well together, and have an excellent relationship.

Between Act and , Macbeth is crowned King, and one of the first things Macbeth does, is have Banqou assassinated. It is important to note that he does this independently of his wife; his coronation seems to have given him new courage. Lady Macbeth herself however, is doubtful in her new found power; she is troubled by their present state. But, she does tell Macbeth this, who is already worried, almost to the point of suicide by his speech. Instead she comforts him again, advising him not to brood on the past. But he is still deeply concerned. He tells his wife of his plan to kill Banquo, and for a change she asks him what to do. He tells to do as she has told him; to put on a false face, and pretend nothing has happened. Macbeth does however, suggest his discontent about his deceitfulness, but recognises its necessity. This switching of roles due to Macbeths increased confidence and Lady Macbeths lack of is perhaps quite important. It shows that their relationship is changing.

At the banquet, Macbeth talks with one of the murderers, and listens to his report on how successful the assassination was. Throughout their conversation, Macbeth; does not mention the word murder; perhaps a sign that his mind is already denying the existence of his guilt. However, after this conversation, the most obvious example of his state of mind occurs. This is of course the ghost of Banquo. This scene is the last scene in which we see Lord and Lady (now of course King and Queen) Macbeth together, it is the last scene in which Lady Macbeth takes charge of Macbeth, she pleads that the Kings apparent madness is just a disease, and asks the gathered Lords to leave quickly when the madness does not seem to abate. This is extremely quick witted and strong willed of her, she has been thrown into the situation where her life is in peril, and she must make up an excuse for her husbands unexpected lunacy on the spot, before the other guests gain an inkling of the true reason behind Macbeth projected guilt. After this scene it is unclear as to what Lady Macbeth is going through, but Macbeth himself slowly deteriorates into paranoia. Lady Macbeth herself I assume, was developing doubts and was unable to help Macbeth as well as tend to her own guilt. So both members of the partnership slowly sink beneath their own discontent.

The next and last scene in which Lady Macbeth features is the scene that seals the fate of the Macbeths. She is deluded and walking in her sleep, and one of her servants and a doctor are talking about the Queens fading mental condition. She is acting out her own guilt, writing letters of confession, muttering and trying to clean the imagined blood off her hands. She is asleep while doing all is, so it is her sub- conscious alone that is acting. We do not know how she acted while awake, but I suspect that she was practically no different from her normal self. I believe their inabilities to express their guilt to anyone was one of the prime reasons why both of the Macbeths went the way they did. Lady Macbeth is a very strong willed and powerful person, but I suspect inside she was as frail as the rest of us.

Obviously, past this point Lady Macbeth cannot be held responsible for Macbeths actions, because she has no say in them anymore. He locks himself away from the world; too paranoid even to trust his wife, who he has trusted with everything up to then.

Lady Macbeth is an interesting character, the impression she initially gives is that of an evil cold-hearted monster, the prophecy in Macbeths letter only reinforces her own opinion that she and her husband should be the ruling monarchs in Scotland, and I suspect that even without the prophecy she would have pursued her ambition.

She is depicted overall as a thoroughly manipulative and scheming female, who will give anything to fulfil her ambition. Although it can be said that through out the play he exhibits masculine tendencies, I think, this behaviour is more of a reaction to the masculine world in which she was born, with a female body. She feels that in order to fulfil her potential she must rid herself of all that makes her female, which in her eyes, means kindness, love, and guilt. And take on masculine properties like power, and ambition. She is trapped by her own gender and greed. She was of the nobility, which is run entirely by men, women taking on an inferior role within the patriarchal society. Lady Macbeth however, is not willing to conform to this ideal, unless it is for her personal or emotional gain. And since she is unable to take power herself, she uses her husband as a vehicle for her ambitions. I do not think she finds the actual power itself that attractive, as Macbeth does, but feels it her goal to make sure she is more powerful then anyone else, she does not want to submit in a kind feminine way to anothers dominance. So, to fulfil this need she does everything she can, to fill her own picture of how she is meant to be within herself. She is, after all, a very human character; she shows weakness on at least three occasions, the third one being very important, because she goes insane. This is very obvious indication of her insecurity, and it is an interesting point to debate, that perhaps she was mentally ill throughout the play. Medical science does not recognise the existence of good or evil, and from a medical point of view, Lady Macbeth was simply a sick person, who, because of her mental condition, was bent on ambition. The play does not show what emotions she was going through, as it does with Macbeth, perhaps because she did not show them, and only experienced the hallucinations just before her death, as her conscience caught up with her, and she succumbed to her guilt, went insane, and killed herself.

The scene in which she dies has little importance to the subsequent ones; Shakespeare perhaps only inserted it to tie up loose ends within the plot. It does however, add resolve to Macbeth to accept his fate, and he gives a very touching speech on the futility of life. I think that at that point, he realises what he has done, and though he is too stubborn to admit the wrong he has done, he is resigned to the consequences. And though Macbeth does not mourn her death a great deal, he was under attack at the time, and since Macbeths coronation, it does seem that Lady Macbeth is fazed out of the play, perhaps an indication that they were growing apart, into their own separate, paranoid worlds, filled with remorse and cloaked daggers. It is a shame, because Macbeths reclusion from her may have contributed to her madness. I believe that she was not able to cope on her own, and needed to support Macbeth to prevent herself from working out her own guilt. They both depended on each other, when Lady Macbeth died Macbeth immediately resigned himself to his fate, and Lady Macbeth died because she had lost mental contact with the outside world. It is true that Lady Macbeth was probably the reason why Macbeths great flaw, his ambition, became his downfall. But she had a mental illness, and she was an ambitious woman trapped in a patriarchal society, so I do not believe she was evil.

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Dutch interiors

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At the end of the Late Renaissance, a new style of art was beginning to emerge. The detail and attention that had previously been placed on complex composition and contorted, elongated, and muscular figures was becoming tiresome and pretentious. This Mannerist style was beginning to transform into a more subtle explanation of space, movement, and immediacy now known as Baroque art. This new style also began to focus on thought, the thought process, and the inner workings of the mind. It strove to illustrate the psyche and bring forward a sense of emotional depth. The subject of light and cast shadow also became an important issue during this time. It is a large step towards modern art, because there is less focus on craft and precision (although these elements are certainly not disregarded), and more concentration placed on the psychological factors in the art.

In the Seventeenth Century, during the period of Baroque art, a European country began to thrive economically, socially, and academically. This country was known as the Netherlands. The Dutch people were the "most urbanized in Europe and the country had the highest literacy rate."(1) These elements all played an essential

role in creating an unusually high development of art during the seventeenth century. "Every year, 70,000 pictures were painted"(1) and this inevitably lead to "an unusually large number of people owning works of art."(1)

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People in the Netherlands began to paint scenes of everyday life, like shopkeepers, farmers, bakers, or barkeeps, known as "genre paintings". There were different levels of genre paintings. A high genre painting was of a historical event, whether it was factional or fictional, recorded in history books or mythological ones. A low genre painting was a painting about the everyday or peasant life.

Also, some artists painted only landscapes and seascapes, just depicting a peaceful scene or attempting to show the divine spirit in nature. And other artists began to paint only the architecture and housing of the Netherlands. During the Seventeenth Century, it was very hard for an artist to make a living solely on his or her artwork. They had to produce about five paintings every week in order to keep up economically, and sometimes even that was not enough. So, some artists were forced to move into other areas of employment, while still producing their artwork.

Even though most of this art may have been created in order to make a living or survive, most artists still produced emotion, intent, and purpose in their work.

An important scene that began to appear in much of the Dutch artwork of the Seventeenth Century was the interior painting. Many different artists, like Johannes Vermeer, Emanuel Witte, Nicolaes Maes, and Pieter de Hooch, used this type of painting in a wide variety of ways, both low and high genres. While others painters, like Caravaggio or Judith Leyster, would avoid the background space all together, whether the scene was placed indoors or outside. This is not to suggest that denying the background space is wrong, just to define it as a new and different way of handling a paintings atmosphere.

For example, Caravaggio, also a Baroque Dutch artist, used a technique called tenebrism in his paintings, which created the illusion of an atmospheric haze or darkness in the background and lighting, and engulfs his figures in shadow. So, the interior space, nor the exterior space, is rendered at all, except for as it was depicted in the tenebrism. And in his later work, Rembrandt began to use this method of shadowing in his paintings. But, Rembrandt still usually provided the suggestion of an interior space.

This allowed Rembrandt the opportunity to access the inner drama and theatrical lighting of his paintings, and the ability to compose his work with cast light and shadows.

On the other hand, there were many other artists that chose to utilize the interior space for their own artwork. Probably the most famous painter of Dutch interior spaces is Johannes Vermeer. He was born around 16 in Delft, and became famous for his artwork during his lifetime. His work's style and composition became very evident and characteristic. It is not known who taught Vermeer the art of painting, but certainly influences from past art can been seen in his work. Most of his interior paintings include one to three figures, a window on the left wall of the room (this may be because his studio was set up as such), and light coming in through the window, creating form and shadow in the composition. It is said that his subject, is light itself. He constantly plays with light and the manner in which it fall upon an object.

Vermeer was not only a painter of interior spaces with light and shadow. He included meaning and purpose, and there were lessons to be learned in his artwork. The Dutch sought to teach a person, while they entertained them.

Good morals were a very high priority in the Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century. The Dutch even had games where one could read an entertaining story and then they would have to reflect back, and find the moral of the story. It was very common for a Dutch artist to include messages of proper ethics and principles into his or her artwork.

Vermeer is also thought to have used camera obscura, which is a darkened enclosure with a lens, through which light from external objects enters to form an image of the objects on the opposite surface. This is apparent in some of his paintings, because there are areas where circles of confusion can be seen. These circles of confusion are areas that were out of focus on camera and were transferred into the painting. So we know that not all of Vermeers paintings were painted from real life.Bottom of Form 0

In Vermeer's, "The Geographer," he includes a single man centered in the room, gazing out of the window on the left. He holds a graphing instrument in his right hand, and his left hand is placed on a book. Centered above and behind him is a globe and down on the wall, to the right, is a hand drawn map. Now, this is probably part of a stimulated interest in geography, cartography, and the world as they knew it, which was created by Galileo's

investigation of the planets. He had discovered that the earth is not the center of the universe, and this had startled everyone; including the people's own religions. So, I think Vermeer's, "The Geographer," is a response to the mapping of the world. The geographer keeps his hand on the book while he stares out, through the window. This may be interpreted as staying grounded with knowledge while contemplating about the unknown or the uncharted. He leans forward into the light, as if being blessed by the divine light, or perhaps being hit with an idea. He sees the light and he sees the answer.

Another painting of Vermeer's that holds an underlying ethical idea is his "Woman Holding a Balance." This painting includes the window at the left of the room with a female figure on the right. She gazes down at her scales with affection. She is weighing pearls or gold (it is not known which) and counting how much she has. But, behind her is the painting of the "Last Judgment," where Saint Michael weighs his scales, which hold the souls of people, and is the deciding factor of whether they go to heaven or hell. Now, it is pretty obvious as to what the moral is here she loves her gold and pearls, but does that make her a good or bad person. How will she be judged?

It was not uncommon to include a painting within a painting. It was a useful tool for learning and teaching morals, history, and religion. It also acted as a reference to further a point, or to contradict one.

Another Dutch artist who is known for his interior paintings and genre scenes, and who, in fact, resembles Vermeer, is Pieter de Hooch. He was born in Rotterdam in 16, and "was probably the pupil of Nicolaes Berchem, a landscape painter."() In his paintings, he uses "linear perspective and the contrasts of light and shadow to suggest three-dimensional space and forms. Hints of de Hoochs association with Vermeer are found in his study of light"() and cast shadow.

In de Hooch's, "A Mother and Child with It's Head in Her Lap," the floor tiles create a strong perspective and the atmosphere is deepened by the use of windows and doorways. This technique is called "the doorkijkje," which means looking from one room to the next. This painting depicts the scene of a mother checking her child's head for lice (which was a common task in the Seventeenth Century). This subject "was popular with artists because combing and cleaning ones hair was associated with physical and spiritual cleanliness.

Because this is was one of his later interior paintings, the scene is filled with more light and the shadows are not as dark as his earlier paintings. Although his interior scenes are important to the Dutch Baroque era, he is more recognized for his courtyard and town scenes. Even though these are not indoor scenes, a feeling of enclosure still prevails. The walls, ground, doorways, and figures all create a strong perspective space, and one gets the feeling they are inside these Dutch courtyards as the wall raps around you.

Another artist who was interested in "the doorkijkje" is Emanuel de Witte. He was born in about 1617 and never stayed with one genre of painting. Later in his life, he mostly painted so he could have room and board for free. In de Witte's, "Interior with a Woman Playing the Clavecin to a Man in Bed," "the doorkijkje" is used beautifully. In the center of the canvas is a doorway, which leads into another doorway, which leads into a window full of green trees and daylight. In each room is a window (which cannot be seen) that lets in light that is cast onto the floor, creating contrasting shadows and lights. As the woman plays the clavecin, you can almost feel the music being made, as your eye is dances from light to shadow to light

into the next room. This scene may also be seen as "a

message of the healing power of music."(4) The man, whose clothes and hat are thrown on the chair in the foreground, is forced to lye in bed in the middle of the day. The woman plays a song from the clavecin to him, in hopes that it will revive him.

Unlike de Witte, Pieter Saenredam devoted the majority of his art to one theme, the interiors of churches. His father was an engraver and from this, he also learned by making engravings. This played an important role in Saenredam's art by making his paintings very linear. He would make drawings of the interiors of churches and using them later for making paintings. Saenredam was well known for his rendering of cast light on architecture and whitewashed walls.

"He only made one trip to Utrecht, but used the drawings he made there for the rest of his life."(5) In his painting, "The Interior of the Buurkerk, Utrecht," he composes the painting from a grounded point of view. Sometimes he would elongate the perspective "in order to increase the sense of height."(5) The small figures placed in the foreground and mid-ground also help in increasing the height of the architecture. Light shines through the

stained glass windows illuminating the interior of the

church. This suggests the presence of God and his divine light, assisted by the awesome structure, architecture, and columns in the House of God.

While Saenredam painted the churches in order to show the power of God and the place to worship, Adriaen Bouwer painted scenes of vulgar behavior showing us what not to do. He is most famous for his portrayal of Dutch bar scenes full of sin. He also worked with depicting the Five Senses. This was used to create an interaction between the viewers and create a "doorway" into the painting. "Bouwer was a very skilled painter and used a mostly dark palette creating dark shadows and subtle highlights."(6) His, "The Smoker," portrays peasants in a tavern indulging in beer and tobacco. The dirty figure in the foreground looks out at the viewer as he lights his pipe. A man beside him slouches back in his chair and exhales smoke as he stares at the ceiling. An old woman in the back holds a cup of beer up as she turns to shat with another woman through the window. This is another painting showing us the Dutch Morales, and telling the viewer about sin. The window and a faint wall in the background define the interior. Because of his use of dark shadows, a

precise location, here, is indefinable.

Jan Steen is also known for his portrayals of the "low genre" peasant life and sin. He was born in Leyden, around 165 and was one of the first Baroque artists. His, "The Dissolute Household," shows a room full of chaos. A woman is passed out with her head on the table as a child reaches into her pocket, watching her face, hoping she will not catch him stealing from her. Beside her a man drunkenly looks down at the floor, where playing cards, clothing, and food are scattered about. A prostitute next to him gladly passes him a glass of wine as his leg is thrown on top of hers. Behind them a drunken man plays the violin for a woman as she reaches for another drink from a cabinet. A monkey stands on top of the bed and reaches to pull the clock string. This is not a celebration of joy and playfulness, but an example of what happens "when things go terribly wrong."(7)

Another prime example of a Steen's painting is the "Village School." The composition is thrown about with children all over the room. Some are sleeping, some are playing, some are fighting, and one child is dancing on top of a table yelling and singing. There are to adults in the room, but they are not paying any attention to what the

children are doing around them. In the right corner, a

child reaches up to hand an owl a pair of spectacles. Because owls were thought to symbolize stupidity or drunkenness in the Netherlands (not wisdom), this shows us that the owl fits right into this scene. This is another example of the Dutch Moral beliefs and what not to do.

Adrian van Ostade is another Dutch painter who made paintings depicting comical and grotesque interior scenes of peasant life. He was born in Haarlem in about 1610, and may have been a pupil of Frans Hals, a well known Dutch portrait artist. Ostade's, "The Golden Wedding," depicts a drunken, fowl wedding inside a Dutch home. Everyone is slouching from their drunkenness and dancing carelessly. Even children are present in this house of drunken sin. His palette is like most of the Dutch work from this period and his use of dark shadows in the background bring our eye forward and around the crowd of people.

Many different artists used the scene of an interior to portray their view of civilization in the Seventeenth Century Netherlands. Some used it as a setting for a philosophical notion. Others used the interior to paint teachings of ethics and morals. Some artists chose to render churches showing the presence of a divine spirit,

while others painted their interiors in bars full of sin.

And other artists chose to show material objects in shops and town houses. For the majority of Dutch artists in the Seventeenth Century, morals and lessons could be discovered in almost any situation. And even though these painters of low genre are sometimes known as the Dutch little masters,(as compared to Rembrandt and Vermeer) their talent is still very evident and should not be overlooked.

In any light, one must remember that these paintings were crafted in a time and place much different from ours. And also, we should not forget to analyze these works accordingly. It was the Golden Age of Dutch Painting and is now fully of history, even though some of this history may never be shown to us.

Please note that this sample paper on dutch interiors is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on dutch interiors, we are here to assist you. Your essay on dutch interiors will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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