Leadership Styles At Asda Plc Management Essay

Leadership Styles At Asda Plc Management Essay Knowledge is power, and information is nowadays one the most valuable assets if not the most valuable one. However [if not properly managed] information becomes rapidly useless, becoming a serious competitive disadvantage for any organization. Leaders play a crucial part in the game of knowledge management in all levels inside a company. The basic skills of any leader should make him/her able to solve problems, to make decisions, to plan, to manage meetings, to delegate, to communicate and to self management, but it also requires human qualities for nowadays good leaders are those who are capable of understanding and responding to the peoples needs and to the constant challenges and demands of modern days, without compromising the goals of the organization. Instead in the traditional model the leader would be at the top of the hierarchy as a chief authority. Currently a good leader is not the one who is feared [while occupying a power position inside an organization] but the one who is respected and trustworthy for its human qualities like character, values, ethics and beliefs, while combining it with other specific skills. Otherwise wont attract followers. But how can theories and leadership models are applied to a real situation evolving a real organization and how useful can that really become? Companys Introduction: ASDA will be used as a practical example of an organization: After War World I the milk prices were falling down rapidly, farmers had to protect themselves in response to that a farmer from Yorkshire (in association with other farmers) named J.W. Hindell created in 1920 the Hindells Dairy Farmers Limited to acquire or build both wholesale and retail outlets for their milk, guarantying a steady market and a floor price. That lasted about 25 years with a variety of dairy business, involving 9 companies in this process. This partnership became a public company in March 1949 (Associated Dairies and Farm Stores Limited), employing 1200 people. By 1965, Associated created a subsidiary [ASDA Stores Limited], extremely profitable. A new concept was launched: new extremely large stores were open, in abandoned warehouses or mills, offering a limited selection of goods at the lowest prices. By 1978, ASDA had 60 superstores and two years later more than  £1 billion sales mark. In 1984 John Hardman became managing director and decided that changes (including new look for stores, new lightningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) were needed or ASDA would fall behind , the ASDA Brand new line of foods would emerge to increase sales including other measures , under Hardman  ´s direction the company sold not only but also the Associated Fresh Foods, concentrating only in superstores and expanded line of food stores, only expectation was Allied, a chain of carpet and drapery stores ,the Group was not able to sell it. ASDA acquired 62 of rival Gateways superstores, the company kept on full expansion. In 1991 after Hardman resigning Archie Norman took and the next several years were dedicated to restructuring, renewing the brand image, lowering prices and product mix and in 1995 the profits were increasing again as compared to 1992. Then in 1999 the U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. offered to takeover ASDA and in 2000, after the acquisition, launched Smart Price, a new brand based on Wal-Mart. ASDA with 259 stores is now the second largest retailer in the UK, having a very big competitive advantage: price competition in a variety of shops, which helps customers to relate with the company. Also under Wal-Marts wings ASDA has been adding new departments like: pharmacies, opticians, jewellery, besides selling music, videos, and books. Examine the impact of different leadership attributes and skills on work groups There is no universal academic concept of Leadership there are as many definitions as the number of scholars studying it (combination of certain characteristics, skills, process à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). It can be described as the result of a process by which an individual influences others in order to accomplish a common goal. Leadership should not be confused with power or authority for it is a wider concept, demanding much personal effort from the leader in order to fully mobilize the people in achieving that common goal mostly supporting all strategy on top of the companys values and culture. Many theories try and keep trying to identify the skills that a good leader should have, some became popular and important tools for management and leadership until now. John Adairs Action-Centred Leadership Model supported leadership has 3 main responsibilities: task, team/group and individual, keeping all these 3 responsibilities in the right balance the success would be guaranteed: better quality, sustains morale, develops the team and also highlights the intervention of the leader as a successful one. The leader, like in Tom Peters theory also, should be inspiring to others, showing enthusiasm, commitment and ability to pass all that to the people. Although he argued that the situation itself would appoint the leader and determinate what kind of leadership, nevertheless some leaders need innate characteristics like military ones (need courage), other human qualities like integrity, wholeness and moral sense were considered essential to any leader. Elizabeth Moss Kanter focused on empowerment [key to human motivation] management should be available for those usually put aside, like women, clerical workersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ decentralizing authority with the creation of other small and autonomous groups. Early researches on leadership are more behavioural searching to classify personal features that set efficient leaders apart from other people. Works like Daniel Golemans and also Higgs and Dulewicz work (among others) about emotional intelligence theory became very popular. EQ has become a very important factor to select and recruit, for management development, job profiling, HR planning, customer relationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ even to reduce stress by decreasing conflict, improving relationships and communication, stabilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). Daniel Goleman ´s EQ theory (EQ Emotional Quotient) is a revolutionary concept by defending that success does not depends only of the IQ (Intelligence Quotient), but also behaviour and character are twice important. His studies lead him to develop a model containing several personal (e.g. capability of understand oneself, self-control, self motivationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) and social competences (Organisational awareness, Change catalyst, Building bondsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), necessary for a good leadership. This is a tremendously important contribute most of all to develop people and organizations allowing to understand peoples behaviours, attitudes, potential, styles in management and interpersonal skills. Higgs and Dulewicz divided Emotional Inteligence in 3 major areas: Drivers: motivation and decisiveness, skills that give people the necessary energy for achieving goals. Constrainers: conscientiousness, integrity and emotional resilience (control and smooth the excess of drivers) Enablers: sensitivity, influence and self-awareness, skills that help performance and the success of individuals In result a successful leadership would be the sum of EQ, IQ and also Managerial Competence (MQ). In their theory the EQ of an individual (interpersonal sensitivity, self-awareness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) is also result of cognitive ability and certain management competences; EQ is also affected by drivers and constrainers. Impact of leadership attributes and skills: Psychologists Litwin and Stringer at Harvard University developed research among top companies all over the world, in order to investigate the connection between leadership behaviour, team climate and performance ,they identified 6 types of effective leadership styles creating a (ILS) the inventory of leadership. Coercive: gaining immediate compliance from employees Authoritative: long term vision and leadership Affiliative: generates trust and harmony Democratic: allows group consensus and creating new ideas Pacesetting: leading by example and finalization of tasks to high standards Coaching: the professional evolution of employees. The ILS helps to understand the leadership from the side of those who are led, it provides the leader the choices for leadership behaviour focusing on the individuals and how their behaviour affects team  ´s results. Also, these 6 leadership styles would produce a positive and stable climate inside the organization improving motivation and performance. Climate was measured using some criteria to measure employees perception on how they were treated (like: amount of responsibility given; the clarity of goals and objectives; team spirit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). They also concluded that organizational climates would vary according to the leadership styles, proving that the leaders personal qualities and actions have definitely a major impact on others. Explain how different theories, models or principles of leadership can be used to gain insights into leadership requirements for a given organisational context Mostly Re-developing of envision is not very much inaugurating, an entirely new envision for organisation as it is coming back the organisation that is failed to keep possession of its way to their main agenda. The new CEO Archie Norman took into command as CEO of ASDA Supermarket chain in the UK in 1991. That time ASDA was going diminishing, descending to a poor and poor position as compare to their competitors e.g. Tesco, Sainsburys and Safeway. Basically ASDA was losing its way as it tried to race with Sainsburys and Tesco by going upmarket, ASDA was at that time using a major designer to remodel their stores, Increasing their Product range, Introducing own-label products and appointing new management to give a big support to their stores. So ASDA was doing lots of new ideas due to ASDAs costs Rose. Because of costs rising ASDA trying prices up and do to this ASDA was going away from their core customers. About three-quarters of ASDAs stores in that areas where the average income of people was below as average standard income. People were going on the cheapest prices to purchase their food. ASDA had also introduced new range of non food retailing products like furniture and carpets. So ASDA had led to a  £1 billion debt burden. Archie Normans challenge was to take ASDA of their First Position, which he termed the Virtuous Circle revaluating the customary price with different of 5 to 7% below of their competitors and helpful and friendly service. That was definitely difficult by financial point of view but with the good effort ofASDA Way of Working it became possible. With the effort of Norman the new approach was formed to transform that became an all-powerful and no races system to one where employees enjoyed work and regularly providing customer service with a personality derived from the heart of the company The struggle of Norman started daily huddles (like meeting) with managers and colleagues instead of weekly huddles, Introduced Sharing option for all employees of ASDA with same terms from top to bottom, with All efforts of ASDA Colleagues ASDA brought biggest increase in sales. Everyone had right to give suggestion directly to Archie Norman, So he got 14,000 suggestion just in first 18 months. So the profits margin within 5 years in 1991  £168.3 million to  £304 million in 1996 when Archie Norman took command of ASDA as CEO role to Allan Leighton Evaluate the usefulness of the theories, models or principles of Leadership The World is entering in 21st Century, How many Development programs are try to focusing with usefulness of their leadership training. As resources are becoming more limited but the organisations are also trying to more and more accountable for meeting their goals. Taking Accountability and responsibility for improving youth leadership life skills today, Confident the assure for impressive leadership tomorrow. Define the leadership skills needed for a specific situation within an organization Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.  John F. Kennedy The concept of Leadership in ASDA is slightly different while based in the servant leadership model, the leader is first a servant, and the mission of the leader is to serve others. Basically Servant leaders should help followers to develop their own values that support the organization in its mission (examples of this kind of leadership: Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Training a leader is essential to any business success, mainly for small and medium sized companies, the leadership development as well as the people training has become a very important process, especially for companies who look to reduce costs and increase their revenues, and over the time companies who develop their human assets (leaders and people tend to have better results than those who dont. Propose methods to develop leadership skills to meet the specific requirements of a part of an organization A leaders skills can be sculptured and polished using different kind of methods like training courses, coaching, mentoring, by renewing the own methodology in leadership development programmes, making partnerships with well-known academics ,formal management programs, international study tours , experimental workshops, action learning projectsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ For example the CEO of U.K. grocery chain ASDA is responsible for profound structural changes like freezing wages, but also promoting transparency and egalitarianism in the organization, making ASDA a great place for everyone to work. Trust and openness increased as well as shareholder value in consequence. Such kind of leader is more participative, at same time capable of: Planning, effectiveness, Financial and commercial understanding, Innovation, vision, creativity, taking initiative, problem-solving and decision-makingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The Belbin frame-work team roles model makes it possible for organisations to understand the weaknesses and strengths of individuals and creating more balanced teams to accomplish tasks and roles looking for the best performance of the team. This model could be quite useful when talking about a major company like ASDA with so many and such huge stores to manage, each one divided into several departments. A second benefit of this model applying to ASDA  ´s example is that it allows to point out the existence of Incompatibility inside a team, avoiding the mix of the wrong individuals is one of the key reasons why teams fail. An ineffective team may at times be nothing more than just a consequence of the wrong combination of people. Critically evaluate the use of a full range of methods of leadership development within the specified context There is a large variety of leader development methods, but there are 5 major ones (also adaptable to ASDA): Developmental relationships mentors and role models and also those who are designed to stimulate and support learning like coachers. Managers are expected to contribute to the development of their employees by teaching, coaching, giving feedback. Nowadays the online social networking sites allow the dissemination of information at an epidemical speed; Developmental assignments giving leaders the right challenge so they can develop their needs and goals (promotion, working in a multicountry project team; working in a joint venture) also very useful to develop cultural awareness and adaptability in a global era; Feedback Processes -ongoing honest feedback, there processes may include 360- degree feedback for all managers with direct reports, in the end of a project to obtain feedback from their teamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Formal programs mainly off-the-job joining individuals to share learning and development experiences; Self-development activities (reading books, articles, using internet, all-staff meetingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) The pursuit to understand leadership concept continues daily, within rapidly and ever changing century. Leaders are expected to focus their attention on a more ethical leadership and on how emotions form and sustain relationships, what kind of thinking will be used? How can a leader coordinate several people, many dispersed geographically? Conclusion: Leadership is common and necessary in all aspects of society and as a concept is not fully understood, daily challenged by constant demands of modern society, however there is no common definition of leadership no organization can stand without the leader fully understanding its values and culture, in order to strongly motivate and inspire the constituents that participate of the organization. Understanding the relationship between leader and the people is the key for any organizations success, not so much in a power or authority perspective, but looking also for more human characteristics and qualities. Being a leader also implies responsibilities and its also up to the public to support the practice of good leadership so it is even more important to understand the possibilities and weakness of leaders that is the true potential of theories and models of leadership.

Success of Mcdonalds

As a husband and Father of two children, I’d like to say I’m an expert on McDonalds, especially the modern day McDonalds which is a lot different than when I was a kid. Today, McDonald’s is practically everywhere in the world and is a part of their cultures. The explanation of McDonald’s success can be derived from many things, but the ones that stand out are first their branding. They have been around for over sixty-five years and that certainly helps with branding. As of today, McDonald’s success in the public’s eye is that they have quality food at a low price that is given to the customer quickly with great service and clean facilities. The planning, organization, leadership and controlling by McDonald’s are about as cutting edge as you can get when it comes to fast food restaurants. I’m going to talk about these four points and they will tell you why McDonald’s is the number one fast food chain in the world. The McDonald’s chain is composed of company owned restaurants as well as franchised restaurants which make up over sixty-five percent of the operating McDonald’s outlets. Now because of this many of the restaurants are controlled and run separate from one another. McDonald’s is not just around to gain profits, but to survive not only the American recession, but also the global market. They strive to be the best employer for people in each community around the world, deliver operational quality to their customers in each and every restaurant and achieve profitable growth by continuing to expand their brand and using their strengths to continue to be innovative and take advantage of modern technology. So yes, McDonald’s knows what they are doing, but that wasn’t always the case. Back when they first opened, they were only open for lunch and dinner. So approximately from 7:00 a. m. to 7:00 p. m. and they did well, but today most McDonald’s restaurants are open twenty-four hours a day. Many fast food chains have copied this idea in order to keep up with McDonalds. From a planning standpoint, McDonald’s is always coming up with innovative ideas to continue to their branding. When you watch a couple hours of television in the evening, no matter what channel, you are going to see a McDonald’s commercial. They are typically very fresh and memorable and that’s without a doubt on purpose. The planning that goes into McDonald’s marketing is to always be two steps ahead of their competition. You also probably can’t help but see at least one billboard from McDonald’s on the way to work. Again, this to McDonald’s in your head for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Another big part of McDonald’s planning is to stay modern. Our American culture has gotten increasingly obese over the decades and McDonald’s takes a lot of heat for this. This is why they came up with their healthy menu a few years back so people had the choice to eat healthy. I believe another big part of McDonald’s planning is to tap into markets that they haven’t reached before. Sure McDonald’s has been serving coffee for years, but who doesn’t like a good cup of Starbuck’s coffee? I know I love my Starbuck’s in the morning and this is where McDonald’s decided to tap into the gourmet coffee drinker market recently by coming up with the McCafe. They now serve frappuccinos, gourmet coffee and iced coffees. This was brilliant in my opinion because now when you go to McDonald’s in the morning for your Egg McMuffin, you can now get a Starbucks quality gourmet coffee. McDonald’s has done very well with this addition to their menu and this is why McDonald’s has been and will continue to be the number one fast food chain in the world. As far as organizing, McDonald’s has franchises all over the world now and they continue to grow at a blistering pace. Their goal is to make sure that globally, each restaurant caters to specific cultures. What is on the menu in my southern California McDonald’s is different that say a McDonald’s in Europe. Having been stationed in Germany, I can definitely attest to this. So organizationally, McDonald’s continues their success by globally rganizing and implementing innovations to each of their franchises all over the world. Even the McCafe, as new as it is, is launching in McDonald’s franchises across the globe. Leadership is vital the McDonald’s success. Without strong leadership, who knows what would have happened to the McDonald’s brand. In 2001, the Hu man Resource Design Center for McDonald’s Corporation initiated the development of a special leadership development program for a select number of high potential managers identified as candidates for possible promotion into a key role in its system, that of regional manager. The program was entitled â€Å"McDonald’s Leadership Development Experience†. This program, now twelve years young, is breeding leadership within its own walls. Having read about the program, it’s very extensive and well thought out and this is just one of the reasons why McDonald’s continues to have strong leadership. Now as far as McDonald’s controlling is concerned, they do have very strict controls and guidelines in place to ensure that all of their restaurants are uniform. This is really one of the qualities that separate themselves from the competition. The strict controls in place for each McDonald’s franchise don’t just apply to the ones here in the United States, but all over the world. Things like uniform restaurant hours, quality control standards and strict hiring criteria for employees are just a few of the things that McDonald’s has in place to ensure that all of their restaurants in the world have a high standard of excellence. McDonald’s has been successful for quite some time now and the four points I just wrote about are some of the reasons for their success. McDonald’s will continue to be innovative and hold a high standard of excellence. I be in twenty year there will be new and exciting products from McDonald’s as they continue to be the number one fast food chain in the world. McDonald's 24/7; By focusing on the hours between traditional mealtimes, the fast-food giant is sizzling, by Michael Arndt. Business Week. New York: Feb 05, 2007. , Iss. 4020; pg. 64, retrieved at 07/22/2010 from: http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/07_06/b4020001. htm Helm, B. (2010). Ethnic Marketing: McDonalds' Is Lovin' It. Bloomberg Business Week, retrieved May 15, 2011 at http://www. usinessweek. com/magazine/content/10_29/b4187022876832. htm A Golden Recipe for McDonald’s Europe, by Kerry Capell(2010). A Golden Recipee for McDonalds' Europe. Business Week (on line), New York, July 18, 2008, retrieved at 07/200/2010 from: http://www. businessweek. com/globalbiz/content/jul2008/gb20080717_293203. htm Patton, L. (2011). Ronald McDonald Sidelined as Chain Toutes Lattes. Bloomberg Business Week, retrieved May 15, 20 11, at: http://www. businessweek. com/news/2011-03-02/ronald-mcdonald-sidelined-as-chain-touts-lattes. html

Understanding Downsizing and Rightsizing

DOWNSIZING AND RIGHTSIZING Downsizing: The downward migrations of business applications are often from mainframes to PCs due to low costing of workstation. And also today’s workstations are as powerful as last decade’s mainframes. The result of that is Clients having power at the cost of less money, provides better performance and then system offers flexibility to make other purchase or to increase overall benefits. Rightsizing: Moves the Client/Server applications to the most appropriate server platform, in that case the servers from different vendors can co-exist and the network is known as the ‘system’. Getting the data from the system no longer refers to a single mainframe. As a matter of fact, we probably don’t know where the server physically resides. Upsizing: The bottom-up trend of networking all the standalone PCs and workstations at the department or work group level. Early LANs were implemented to share hardware (printers, scanners, etc. ). But now LANs are being implemented to share data and applications in addition to hardware. Mainframes are being replaced by lesser expensive PC’s on networks. This is called computer downsizing. Companies implementing business process reengineering are downsizing organizationally. This is called business downsizing. All this would result in hundreds of smaller systems, all communicating to each other and serving the need of  local teams as well as individuals working in an organization. This is called cultural downsizing. The net result is distributed computer systems that support decentralized decision-making. This is the client/server revolution of the nineties As client/server technology evolves, the battle cry is now right sizing–design new applications for the platform they are best suited for, as opposed to using a default placement. An application should run in the environment that is most efficient for that application. The client/server model allows applications to be split into tasks and those tasks performed on individual platforms. Developers review all the tasks within an application and determine whether each task is best suited for processing on the server or on the client. In some cases, tasks that involve a great deal of number-crunching are performed on the server and only the results transmitted to the client. In other cases, the workload of the server or the trade-offs between server millions of instructions per second and client millions of instructions per second, together with the communication time and network costs, may not warrant the use of the server for data intensive, number-crunching tasks. Determining how the tasks are split can be the major factor in the success or failure of a client /server application. And if the first client/server application is a failure, for whatever reason, it may be a long time before there is a second. Some variations on this theme are: 1. Downsizing: A host based application is downsized when it is re-engineered to run in a smaller or Local Area Network based environment. Downsizing involves porting applications from mainframe and mid-range computers to a smaller platform or a Local Area Network based client/server architecture. Downsizing is not as easy as buying and installing hardware and software that support client/server computing. This paper presents a case of rightsizing, with an outsourcing approach, of a mainframe based information system. A full downsizing process, is a highly complex process due to the following reasons: * The need to manage, at the same time, the old and the new technology and environment for the parallel periods; * The need to migrate in the new platform the millions of LOC (line of code) of the several applications. In this paper we describe how that process can be performed in an outsourcing framework. We discuss which are the critical factors that assure an efficient process and big savings from the cost/benefit and cost/performance point of view. There are several key factors to be considered in order minimizing the risks of failure and maximizing the success. The paper is organized in the following three parts: * The Rightsizing process; * The case study and the results obtained; * The lessons learned from the experiences done. The rightsizing Generally we can distinguish two main streams of the Rightsizing process: the downsizing and upsizing processes. The downsizing process is characterized by data and process shifting from Mainframe to desktop connected with LAN and WAN network. The following steps, instead, characterize the Upsizing process: * The integration and connection of stand alone workstations or LAN * The development of distributed applications on this new architecture The Rightsizing of the applications and systems, that is their Downsizing or Upsizing, provides a major opportunity for cost savings and improving the flexibility of the information systems. In the following figure we see the rightsizing of the case study. It is from a traditional architecture based on a MVS IBM to a new distributed Client-Server architecture. The new Client-Server applications are executed on several application servers. Down Sizing is nothing but The Process of moving an application from a {main frame ) to cheaper system, typically a (client-server) system. Downsizing and Client/Server Computing Rightsizing and downsizing are strategies used with the client/server model to take advantage of the lower cost of workstation technology. Rightsizing and upsizing may involve the addition of more diverse or more powerful computing resources to an enterprise computing environment. The benefits of rightsizing are reduction in cost and/or increased functionality, performance, and flexibility in the applications of the enterprise. Significant cost savings usually are obtained from a resulting reduction in employee, hardware, software, and maintenance expenses. Additional savings typically accrue from the improved effectiveness of the user community using client/server technology. Downsizing is frequently implemented in concert with a flattening of the organizational hierarchy. Eliminating middle layers of management implies empowerment to the first level of management with the decision-making authority for the whole job. Information provided at the desktop by networked PCs and workstations integrated with existing host (such as mainframe and minicomputer) applications is necessary to facilitate this empowerment. These desktop-host integrated systems house the information required to make decisions quickly. To be effective, the desktop workstation must provide access to this information as part of the normal business practice. Architects and developers must work closely with business decision makers to ensure that new applications and systems are designed to be integrated with effective business processes. Much of the cause of poor return on technology investment is attributable to a lack of understanding by the designers of the day-to-day business impact of their solutions. Downsizing information systems is more than an attempt to use cheaper workstation technologies to replace existing mainframes and minicomputers in use. Although some benefit is obtained by this approach, greater benefit is obtained by reengineering the business processes to really use the capabilities of the desktop environment. Systems solutions are effective only when they are seen by the actual user to add value to the business process. Client/server technology implemented on low-cost standard hardware will drive downsizing. Client/server computing makes the desktop the users' enterprise. As we move from the machine-centered era of computing into the workgroup era, the desktop workstation is empowering the business user to regain ownership of his or her information resource. Client/server computing combines the best of the old with the new—the reliable multiuser access to shared data and resources with the intuitive, powerful desktop workstation. Moving to Open and Client-Server System environments allows organizations to take advantage of several opportunities: the new cost/performance relations for the hardware components, the ? easy to use? graphical interfaces, the portability of the software, the adoption of faster software life cycles like RAD, the use of the information highways (for example internet) and so on . Most of the organizations invest in rightsizing processes to build Client/Server architectures. Actually, upsizing and downsizing process has become a phenomenon of big importance for a lot of organizations. It is possible to preview that the next years the rightsizing tendency will increase very much, and will become a rule. Anyway we must consider, from the point of view of the architectural structure, that a rightsizing process is complex and may imply an increase of complexity of the final system if it is not well planned. A typical distributed Client-Server architecture is characterized by the presence of workstations and personal computers acting as clients, by the interconnection of different groups of these computers through different local and wide networks, by the presence of several servers including eventually a mainframe as a file server. It is typical of the local network that there is a local database; the local stations of the network are able to reach this database instead of the remote database. In order to lower the complexity of the process, an outsourcing of all the IT activities, for the rightsizing period, or even more, can prove effective. The IT system after the outsourcing/rightsizing period (typically from 3 to 5 years) becomes technologically updated and easier to maintain (especially if the outsourcing/rightsizing contract provides strict guidelines for the development of the new software and for the Reverse Engineering projects). The major trend for corporate information systems this decade will be downsizing. In its broadest sense, downsizing means implementing applications traditionally deployed on mainframes or minicomputers, on personal computers and Local Area Network (LAN) platforms. Applications most often involved in downsizing are those designated as mission-critical, the success of these applications is integral to the daily operations of the organization. This shift will enable companies to use the power, affordability and flexibility of the microcomputer as the hub of their information systems, and when appropriate operate cooperatively with existing mainframe or minicomputer investments. Downsizing is enabled by a number of factors: -Powerful cost effective PC platforms. -Mature networking technology providing a communication infrastructure. Software that delivers a robust development environment for the creation of applications with mainframe-like complexity. -Economical migration paths for moving applications to the desktop. -The ability to integrate and synchronize front-end tools and back-end data sources. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. In the 1970s, the prevalent model for information management systems was a centralized hierarchical database platform. Such database s, residing on a mainframe or minicomputer, offered high performance and tight security but little if any end-user access or control. Essentially, the mainframe provided a highly sophisticated server with unintelligent clients, or â€Å"dumb† workstations. For its day, the approach was sound, giving information system managers a way to electronically store huge amounts of information that previously filled volumes of books and ledgers in company storage rooms. But it soon became clear that accessing and manipulating these databases was difficult, as well as prohibitively expensive. The 1980s saw the introduction of PCs that were used by individuals and departments within an enterprise to provide local, easy-to-use decision-making tools. Over time these users became more sophisticated in their usage, their expectations rose and they had a desire to communicate with others in their group and to have greater access to all corporate data. The solution at the time was to link these PCs through Local Area Networks, giving the users increased information access. This approach, which used a â€Å"file server† model in which the server acted as an unintelligent storage device, did offer peripheral sharing but, there was no intelligent data management capability, which severely limited the types and sizes of applications that could be used. The immaturity of this approach was reflected in the lack of well integrated and transparent connectivity to mainframe and minicomputer systems, where much of the corporate data resided (and still remains). In short, workstations were restricted in their ability to handle complex applications and to get at relevant data. Information system managers were highly interested supporting their end-user's desires and in gaining improved access to all their corporate databases through the use of PC technology. A significant concern of these managers though was a guarantee that they could maintain security, integrity of data and accessibility. The existing single platform approach would no longer work, a new model of computing architecture was needed. Downsizing: A Critical Edge By downsizing applications to the desktop, organizations can more easily deliver vital information to its users, providing a competitive edge. With the cooperative processing model these organizations can integrate their applications and information system resources with others throughout the enterprise. This approach, which blends the flexibility and power of the PC (linked more and more through LANS) with the benefits of the resident database management system, offers numerous advantages: An Open Computing Environment. Despite well-intended and energetic attempts to impose a single computing standard on the industry, the truth is that corporate information systems are and will remain heterogeneous. Standards provide for a level playing field where users can invest and be assured that their investments will be protected. And, standards provide a platform for software innovation, a mainstay of the computer industry. Integrating new technologies and approaches with existing standards should be a goal of every company. The challenge in running this type of heterogeneous environment is to find the correct balance between innovation and standards. Therefore, a information system designed to work with existing processing environments, utilize industry standards and be capable of taking advantage of emerging technologies will deliver the most effective business solutions. The desire to balance new technologies and trends with existing resources is a large part of the motivation behind downsizing. By providing a modular architecture and component pieces that easily connect, the cooperative processing model delivers an environment that enables enterprise-wide connectivity and integration of heterogeneous data formats. The alternative is to create a homogeneous environment that by its nature is limited to its native capabilities. Rapid Application Development Part of the attraction of downsizing is the ability to rapidly prototype, develop and implement applications. One of the principle shortcomings of a mainframe or minicomputer-based information management system is the application development time required and the resulting backlogs. Building a mission critical systems at the desktop is literally months and years faster than on a mainframe or minicomputer. Having robust development tools that enable the creation and implementation of systems in weeks rather than months allows organizations to benefit more from their information and realize a significant dollar savings in the process. Leveraging Existing Investments Information management systems that handle mission-critical applications represent investments of millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours of work. When faced with the need to expand or upgrade these systems, scrapping the existing investment and building a new one is simply not a financial option. Nor is it necessarily a wise one. What is required is the ability to responsibility migrate these systems to the desktop by integrating the various platforms. Development Flexibility The purpose of any software application is to provide a service that makes accomplishing a task efficient and economical. Downsizing mainframe and minicomputer applications to the desktop offers the application developer a wide range of PC-based tools to assist them in meeting needs of specific applications. The flexible nature of this environment lets the developer work faster, maintain applications with less effort, and be more responsive to the needs of the organization. Financial Considerations Developing applications on the desktop platform is a much more cost effective than traditional mainframe or minicomputer approaches. PC-based development means your hardware and software investment is less, development time and its related costs are reduced and with the ability to leverage existing information system investments, and you do not incur the large expense of starting from scratch. Other Advantages Downsizing also offers smoother application maintenance; freedom from being locked into proprietary systems that may become outdated; and the ability to scale applications to match the changing needs of the organization. Ultimately, downsizing gives users improved tools and critically needed access to data, which in turn increases productivity and the effectiveness of an organization. Rightsizing is defined as finding the correct platform for your enterprise. Compared with downsizing (moving to a smaller platform) and upsizing (moving to a larger platform), rightsizing lets a company align its information systems to its corporate goals. Rightsizing involves selecting the most appropriate computing resource to perform a task based on location, size, organizational structure, business work flow, and processing requirements.

Glass Menagerie Symbolism Essay - 2502 Words

In his drama, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams uses symbolism in order to develop multi-faceted characters and to display the recurring themes of the play. These various symbols appear throughout the entire piece, and they are usually disguised as objects or imagery. They allow the reader to know the characters#8217; personalities, and their true inside characteristics. These symbols also add to the major themes, which develop as the play gains momentum. In the drama, symbols play the most important role. One of the most recurring symbols is the glass menagerie itself. It consists of glass animals frozen in form and it is housed at the Wingfield#8217;s apartment. The glass menagerie has a high amount of meaning for all of†¦show more content†¦It is obvious that Laura has changed, but this change does not become permanent. Just as the menagerie represents Laura, it also holds significance for Laura#8217;s mother, Amanda. Throughout the drama, Amanda tells her ch ildren about the life she lived when she was young and living at Blue Mountain. She recalls her dozens of gentlemen callers and her popularity at the time. Seeing how time has changed for Amanda from her youth to the time presented in the play, it is plain to understand why she would try to relive her past. Amanda wishes that her life would be as simple and enjoyable as it was when she was young. She also wants to create such a happy childhood for her two children. Amanda tries to force upon her views to Laura and Tom, and in turn wants to live in the past. She yearns for Laura to have gentlemen callers as she had, and tries to make this dream a reality. #8220;It is Amanda who names Laura#8217;s collection a #8216;glass menagerie,#8217; in which animal drives are frozen into esthetic objects, and it is she who longs for gentlemen callers in an ungentle world#8221; (Cohn 101). Amanda tries to freeze her life to preserve the girl she once was. The glass menagerie, being froze n in time, symbolizes Amanda#8217;s wishes for Laura to live the life Amanda once had. One specific member of the glass menagerie, the unicorn, plays an important part in symbolizing the situation between Laura and Jim (theShow MoreRelated Essay on the Symbolism of the Menagerie in The Glass Menagerie1002 Words   |  5 PagesThe Symbolism of the Menagerie in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚   Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie, describes three separate characters, their dreams, and the harsh realities they face in a modern world.   The Glass Menagerie exposes the lost dreams of a southern family and their desperate struggle to escape reality. Williams use of symbols adds depth to the play. The glass menagerie itself is a symbol Williams uses to represent the broken lives of Amanda, Laura and Tom Wingfield andRead More Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie Essay1629 Words   |  7 Pages Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From the beginning, the figure of the narrator shows that Williams play will not follow the conventions of realistic theater. The narrator breaks the conceptual quot;fourth wallquot; of naturalistic drama by addressing the audience directly. Tom also tells us that he is going to give the audience truth disguised as illusion, making the audience conscious of the illusory quality of theater. By playing with the theme of memory and itsRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie Symbolism Essay1424 Words   |  6 PagesImagination or Illusion Can Create Big Trouble The Glass Menagerie is a five-character memory play written by Tennessee Williams in 1945. The play is introduced to the audience by Tom, the narrator and protagonist, as a memory play based on his recollection of his mother Amanda, his sister Laura, and his friend Jim O’Connor as a gentleman caller. There is a fifth character in the play, Tom’s father who doesn’t appear except in the photograph frame. Among them one of the most interesting charactersRead MoreSymbolism in the Glass Menagerie Essay831 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in The Glass Menagerie Symbolism plays a fundamental part in Tennessee Williams’s play, â€Å"The Glass Menagerie†. Examples of the use of symbolism include the fire escape, as an escape from the family, the phonograph, as an escape from reality, the unicorn, as a symbol for Lauras uniqueness and the father’s photograph, representing something different to each character. Through recognition of these symbols, a greater understanding of the play’s theme is achieved. ThroughoutRead More Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie Essay1022 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism is an integral part of every play. The author uses symbolism in order to add more depth to the play. In Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, he describes three separate characters, their dreams, and the harsh realities they face in a modern world. The Glass Menagerie exposes the lost dreams of a southern family and their desperate struggle to escape reality. Everyone in the play seeks refuge from their lives, attempting to escape into an imaginary world. Williams uses the fireRead More Essay on Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie1171 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in The Glass Menagerie Symbolism plays an integral part in Williams’s play, The Glass Menagerie. Examples of the use of symbolism include the fire escape, as an escape from the family, the phonograph, as an escape from reality, the unicorn, as a symbol for Lauras uniqueness and the father’s photograph, representing something different to each character. Through regonition of these symbols, a greater understanding of the play’s theme is achieved. Throughout the play, Tom WingfieldRead More The Importance of Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie Essay1609 Words   |  7 PagesThe Importance of Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie  Ã‚      Tom Wingfield is the narrator and a major character in Tennessee William’s timeless play, The Glass Menagerie. Through the eyes of Tom, the viewer gets a glance into the life of his family in the pre-war depression era; his mother, a Southern belle desperately clinging to the past; his sister, a woman too fragile to function in society; and himself, a struggling, young poet working at a warehouse to pay the bills. Williams has managedRead MoreEssay about Symbolism in The Glass Menagerie2032 Words   |  9 PagesSymbolism is a type of literary device authors use to add special effect and meaning to their stories. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, symbolism is â€Å"The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships (â€Å"symbolism†).† Objects, people, actions, and words often are used to symbolize a deeper meaning throughout the text of a story. As one reads a story, they must realize that each sentence theyRead MoreEssay on Symbolism In Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie1762 Words   |  8 PagesSymbolism In Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Symbolism is a major aspect in Tennessee Williams famous play, The Glass Menagerie. On the surface, the short slice of life story seems to be simple. However, if the reader digs deeper they will find that there are several symbols that give the play a deeper meaning. Each character defines each symbol in a different way. Aside from character symbols, there is overall symbolism in this play. It is set in a memory, so it creates a softRead MoreSymbolism and Crossing the Rubicon in Tennessee Williams’ â€Å"The Glass Menagerie.†1784 Words   |  8 PagesThe masterful use of symbolism is delightfully ubiquitous in Tennessee Williams’ â€Å"The Glass Menagerie.† He uses a collection of dim, dark and shadowy symbols that constantly remind the audience of the lost opportunity each of these three characters continually experience. This symbolism is not only use to enlighten the audience to their neglected opportunities to shine, but it is also repeatedly utilized to reinforce the ways in which the characters try in vain to cross over turbulent waters into