Economic Exposure Essay

This report reviews the foreign exchange exposure of Eurojet due to the future development plans and growth of the low cost airline company, this report also highlights the various risks Eurojet, faces in operating in different countries identifying, measuring, and managing the various foreign exchange exposures that might be faced by Eurojet. However, some of these issues will be analysed differently. Foreign Exchange Exposure: According to Buckley (2004, pg.135) foreign exchange exposure means that a firm has assets, liabilities, and profits or expected future cash flow streams such that the home currency value assets, liabilities, profits or the present value in the home currency terms of expected future cash flows changes as exchange rate change. ISSUE 1: foreign risk exposure management Identifying Eurojet foreign exchange risk For Eurojet the risks that might arise currently for being an international business is the concentration of Eurojet airlines with significant exposures in Euro areas (Dublin Dusseldorf, London-Stanstead, Milan, Brussels,) and North Africa, means that they need to be aware of this risks before they analyse, and agree on what to do about it. Therefore, this exposure occurs due to their currency movements in operating centres, which may alter their home currency (Buckley, 2004, pg.143) giving rise to exchange rate fluctuations and risks. Therefore Eurojet exposure to exchange rate fluctuations will come in three forms: transaction exposure, economic exposure, and translation exposure. In addition, these different exposures will be analysed by applying to Eurojet. Transaction exposure Transaction exposure occurs because; a payable or receivable is denominated in a foreign currency (Buckley, 2004). It is also a cash flow exposure including sale of an asset and the receipt of the payment. Within this time interval exchange rates might change, and will exposed Eurojet to a risk either positive or negative, which will have an impact on Eurojet exposure to international contractual transactions to exchange rate fluctuations. Eurojet transaction exposures will therefore have an impact on the exchange rate fluctuations in the value of committed cash flows. From Eurojet income statement (appendix 2-note 5), due to the contracts for the supply of  fuel and oil to Eurojet invoiced in US foreign currency (dollars). It could be analysed that Eurojet will be faced with currency risk. This is going to affect the price of fuel cost due to exchange rate movements. So the current price of fuel cost is â‚ ¬18887million, so to get the fuel cost in dollars. It will be â‚ ¬188 7 divided by US$1.59686 (current exchange rate value in dollars) will equal to US$1181694075- this is how much eurojet have to pay in dollars to get fuel supplied to their airlines, which is certain. However, there is also an issue of uncertainty as to what the fuel cost in dollar will be in the future. Due to dollar invoicing of fuel, the dollar price will vary with the exchange rate. Although eurojet can lock in the dollar price on its current orders, it has no idea what the will be the dollar costs of its future orders of fuel. This also explains the volatility of fuel prices, as when eurojet buys fuel they have to pay for it immediately. So they will need to hedge fuel price to stablise fuel costs. However, losses due to transaction exposure merely result in lower sales revenue. Eurojet also faces currency risks as regards to the British pound sterling. From the case study, 40% of Eurojet revenues come from its London-Stanstead operations, this means that a change in pound sterling will hugely affects Eurojet profitability. In calculation, (40% of â‚ ¬4884m=1953.6) to get the real revenue, we say 1953.6 divided by â‚ ¬1.19683(currency exchange rate) = £1632.312024-so therefore, this is Eurojet revenue from its London-Stanstead operations. To measure transaction exposure, Eurojet will need to project the net amount of inflows or outflows in each foreign currency, and determine the overall risk of exposure to those currencies (Pilbeam, 2006). And then it will measure any gains or losses that may arise from the settlement of existing financial obligations whose terms are included in the foreign currency. Economic exposure According to Tesar and Dominguez (2006), factors such as firm size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets, and competitiveness and trade at the industry level may influence economic exposure of the companies Economic exposure the impact of long-term currency exposure and analyses the health of a company’s business in the long run. The changes registered in the expected future cash flows depend of the  change in the position the company holds In the case of Eurojet foreign operations and competition, managing economic exposure will involve all aspects of the company. Economic exposure will arise in all markets for Eurojet against US dollar, British pound, Swiss Franc. This arises because Eurojet has its costs base in Euros whereas competitors might have theirs in British pound, US dollar etc. Although it is difficult to reduce economic exposure, Eurojet can reduce the risk by offering same as competitors. Airlines, like many industrial companies, are potentially exposed to risks resulting from adverse movements in interest rates, foreign currency prices, and commodity prices, particularly fuel prices. Airlines’ fuel price exposures are particularly transparent because oil is a widely traded global commodity, and the poor economic condition of airlines (partly as a result of higher fuel prices) has frequently been in the news since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 Translation exposure Under the FASB 52, Eurojet translation gains and losses of â‚ ¬138 million will be included in their stockholders equity. So therefore, when the Euro strengthens, the consolidated earnings of Eurojet will be unfavourably affected by the translation exposure, and when the euro weakens the consolidated earnings are favourably affected. Also from Eurojet income statement, it could be analysed that currently eurojet concentrates on local sales and has little foreign competition, although obtains foreign fuel supply from the US (-denominated in foreign currency) this will likely be hurt by depreciated local currency. As in the case of translation exposure the MNC can have an equal amount of exposed foreign currency assets and liabilities. By doing so the company will be able to offset any gain or loss it may have due to changes in the exchange rates of that currency, also known as balance sheet hedging. (Eiteman, Stonehill, & Moffett, 2007) Management of foreign exchange exposure/risks Eurojet Foreign exchange risk management will focus on identifying areas in the operations of Eurojet, which may be an issue to foreign exchange exposures, evaluating and analysing the exposure, and choosing the right  approach to manage the risk to the final performance of Eurojet. Before establishing hedging policies, Eurojet will need to measure its economic exposure. In order to do that a eurojet can invest some of its resources in evaluating its exposure, i.e., identifying the set of environmental contingencies affecting and relevant to the creation of shareholder value (Miller, 1998). This identification allows the assessment of alternative environmental scenarios and consequent adoption of improved strategic decisions by the company. Furthermore, Froot et al. (1993) analysed that firms find hedging more valuable when the connection between investment opportunities and cash flows resulting from hedgeable risks is lower. For Eurojet, it could be implied that hedging will increase their value and investment opportunities, which are available when fuel prices are high (and internal cash flow is low as a result). In addition, hedging can assist Eurojet ability to invest by negotiating with US aircraft manufacturer in advance of delivery of some of the aircraft. In essence, Hedging might preserve Eurojet internal cash flow to meet future commitments to purchase aircraft. In dealing with economic exposures efficiently, a MNC may have to diversify either its finance or its operations. It can diversify its operations by either moving to locations where the cost of production is low, or having a flexible supplier policy, or changing the target market for its products and the types of products it deals in. As it can be illustrated from the 1994 example of Toyota, when a strong Yen made Japanese exports to US more expensive, it decided to shift its production from Japan to US, where it achieved comparatively lower costs of production, enabling it to compete in the US car market. (Eun & Resnick, 2007). ISSUE 2 Firstly, for Eurojet expanding to more routes, this will mean more revenues as regards to cash inflows and outflows. And Eurojet achieving their business objective of airline ambitious growth plans. One of the Risks eurojet is mostly likely to face is operating risk, which it will incur from the US dollar. This also reveals that exchange rate has been a big challenge for the airline industry. The instability of an exchange rate makes it  impossible for airlines to match in transaction and timing of foreign currency expenses. Furthermore, in extending its route network Eurojet might incur a net cash outflows in currencies (dollars and rubbles) when operating in US and Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg) which will create a higher exposure to exchange rate. As Eurojet currency (â‚ ¬) will represent a net cash outflows on the balance sheet thereby giving rise to translation exposure due to the increase in proportion of earnings as generated by these foreign subsidiaries ((Muller, 2005). So therefore as eurojet wants to operate in US and Russia areas, if they want to fly from other European locations they will need to approach government to deal with US and Russia Eurojet also face the risk of weather turmoil in Russia, compounded with the volatility of risk in Euro-dollar exchange rate. Also in expanding to Russia areas, there are some legal issues due to tightening regulations from government authorities. As non-refundable tickets, charging for meals, and hiring of foreign pilots ISSUE 3: Firstly, due to Eurojet opportunity for network growth, by ordering 200 aircraft from US, and China manufacturer. Here Eurojet will be considered to be an importer, and their exchange rate risk will be limited to net cash flows in US and China currency. Eurojet transaction risk will arise in the US (dollar) and China (yen) order received immediately for the manufacture of 200 aircrafts to Eurojet, payable within 10 years. Also, the quantity of US dollar and China yen price is already known. This means that the transaction risk will concern the euro value of the dollar payment in 10 years, and the China quotes the yen value of the dollar payment in 10 years-as the price of china aircraft in Renminbi . To buy the C900 aircraft offered by the Chinese manufacturer, eurojet might face exchange rate risk as they will need the dollar to buy the Chinese aircraft. In calculation, this will be 116,307.5m Renminbi divided by 6.12287CNY= US$18995.5854-this is how much it will dollars to pay for China aircrafts. Furthermore, Eurojet will also face exchange rate risks, as their transaction risk arise from their euro currency denominated imports in the same ways as US and China foreign currency denominated exports. Eurojet economic risk will be subject to variations of its costs induced by exchange rate fluctuation. This is  also going to have an impact on Eurojet exchange rate variations on their stock market return, and controlling the return for their entire market (Dohring, 2008). So therefore euro appreciation will increase Eurojet share value because it is eurojet-operating currency. Also the exposure of Eurojet to US aircraft payment is 65% when measured over a 10 year period this can be quite difficult, to hedge as Dohiring (2008) identified that long term exposures are difficult to hedge than short term exposures as they could increase over the time horizon under consideration. Risks involving short-term transactions can be dealt with using financial instruments but long-term risks often require changes in the operations of the company. In the case of Eurojet, importing aircrafts from US and China. Eurojet will have to pay in the currency of the US manufacturer (US dollars), therefore it is Eurojet who carries the risk as they have to buy dollars in order to pay the manufacturers. However, Eurojet can pay in its own currency (Euros) but this might mean that China manufacturer will carry the risk most as they have to change the Yen from dollars. Furthermore, as Eurojet wants to contract out much of its production to US (including fuel supply) and China manufacturers, this means that Eurojet will face currency risk and uncertainty as US and China manufacturers are billing in their local currencies, There is also an issue of uncertainty as to what the dollar cost of its orders will be, both now and in the future. If it insists on dollar invoicing, the dollar price will likely vary with the exchange rate. Hence, although Eurojet can lock in the dollar price of its current orders, it has no idea what will be the dollar costs of its future orders Furthermore, adding new aircrafts means that Eurojet needs more crew members, pilots and maintenance engineers, this will impact on the Eurojet profitability as the expenditure will go up. Eurojet will also face political risk due to significant foreign financing, foreign suppliers or customers, and international transactions or assets are relatively exposed to adverse changes in currency controls, capital flow barriers, and other laws and regulations (Graham, 2012). The probability of expropriation can differ across industries. Firms whose cash flows are particularly sensitive to general economic conditions may be exposed to political risks due to their broad impact on the economy. APPENDIX 1 The main objectives of the Bretton Woods system are to achieve exchange rate stability and promote international trade and development According to David Ricardo, with free international trade, it is mutually beneficial for two countries to each specialize in the production of the goods that it can produce relatively most efficiently and then trade those goods. By doing so, the two countries can increase their combined production, which allows both countries to consume more of both goods. Any foreign currency (ie non euro) denominated transactions may give rise to transaction exposure if there is a delay between entering the contract and settlement Eurojet addition of 200 aircrafts of its existing operations reveals a strategic move by Eurojet. Bringing new flights will also require upgrading of its scheduling and reservation application, this is mostly related to change management, so Eurojet will need to understand the risk, which could arise due to it. However, as the number of fleets go up, Eurojet will face the challenge of domestic aircrafts been rested for a short period. Inappropriate handling of this issues will lead to operating risk where the charges to be paid to authority will increase. Therefore Eurojet need to make sure that its scheduling application is proficient enough to take this challenge. There’s also a risk, which might arise due to social acceptance from Eurojet passengers if this happens, Eurojet will have to educate its customers more on the usefulness of its new aircrafts may be by offering at discounted rates. Eurojet will need to implement on the job and off the Traning programs for its new crew members and maintenance engineers. So they can learn how to operate the new fleet. For new employees the training will include, training for B737 or C900 depending on which option it wants to buy. However, the aim of achieving this will generate some additional training costs for Eurojet, but it help Eurojet to enjoy its process driven operation rather than having its driven people operation Russia climbed eight places to the 112th position in The World Bank’s 2013 Doing Business Rankings, up from 120th in 2012. Tax payment and contract enforcement fueled this improvement. However, despite this progress, Russia’s overall ranking for doing business remains relatively average. According to recent estimates†¨by the Central Bank of Russia, approximately US$54.1 billion of private capital was invested out of the country in 2012. This is†¨an improvement on the US$80.5 billion of outward investment recorded in 2011, which suggests that some of the Government’s efforts to improve this situation have been successful. Also, the traditional literature on the choice of he invoicing currency of international business trade. Grassham law 1973, starts from the observation that trade in manufacturing goods between industrial countries is mostly invoiced in the exporters currency Exchange rate changes can also impact on the level of competitiveness of the firms that are exposed to exchange rate risk, or affect the value of their net assets denominated in foreign currencies It is widely believed that changing exchange rates affect the competitiveness of firms engaged in international competition. According to Luehrman (1991), a falling home currency promotes the competitiveness of firms in home country by allowing them to undercut prices charged for goods manufactured abroad. Many simple partial equilibrium models (e.g. Shapiro) predict an increase in the value of the home country firm in response to a real drop in the value of the home currency. Economic theory suggests that under a floating exchange rate regime, exchange rate appreciation reduces the competitiveness of export markets; it has a negative effect on the domestic stock market. Conversely, if the country is import denominated, exchange rate appreciation may have positive affect on the stock market by lowering input costs. Financial hedging may be a more cost-effective strategy than operational hedging for many firms since it doesn’t involve major redeployment of resources like building factories in other countries. One likely risk to be faced by Eurojet is the financial crisis. Involved with the foreign currency exchange markets. It is also evident from the case study that due to eurojet current and future operations it is already dealing with more than one national currency especially in extending its routes to US travels. So therefore, the changes in the foreign exchange rates will affect eurojet profitability. Also this risks arises because of currency movements may alter in home country values(Buckley, 2004), which depends on various variables such as the interest rate parity, government policies purchasing power parity on exchange rates Is there any direct evidence that risk management increases firm value? The answer is yes, but the evidence is fairly limited as yet. A number of more recent studies show a clearly positive correlation between higher share values and the use of derivatives to manage foreign exchange rate risk and interest rate risk. And one study provides fairly compel-ling evidence that the use of commodity price derivatives by commodity users increases share values. But studies of the hedging by commodity producers provide no clear support for the argument that risk management adds value. At a minimum, whether hedging adds value appears to depend on the types of risk to which a firm is exposed to. Given investment patterns in the airline industry, the value premium suggests that hedging allows airlines more ability to fund investment during periods of high fuel prices. The constructive relation between hedging and value further suggests that investors view such investment as positive net present value projects. We find that The interaction between hedging and capital expenditures captures a large majority of the hedging premium. We also examine a two-stage system in which hedging impacts value through its effect on capital expenditure. Given investment patterns in the airline industry, the value premium suggests that hedging allows airlines more ability to fund investment during periods of high jet fuel prices. The positive relation between hedging and value further suggests that investors view such investment as positive net present value projects. We find that the interaction between hedging and capital expenditures captures a large majority of the hedging premium. We also examine a two-stage system in which hedging impacts value through its effect on capital expenditures. The results of this procedure also suggest that the hedging premium is largely attributable to the effect of hedging on capital investments. The results of this procedure also suggest that the hedging premium is largely attributable to the effect of hedging on capital investment. However, from airline industry research it could be assumed that Eurojet is faced with the following financial risks; change in fuel prices, foreign currency exchange fluctuations, and changes in interest rates. An increase in fuel price, which is due to increase in demand from emerging economies like India and China. And decline in supply is due to major disruptions in oil production and refinery. REFERNCES http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6622.2005.00042.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6622.2005.00042.x/pdf David A. Carter, Daniel A. Rogers, Betty J. Simkins 2008 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-053X.2006.tb00131.x/pdf http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/2013-Russia-attractiveness-survey-Eng/$FILE/2013-Russia-attractiveness-survey-Eng.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication11475_en.pdf

David Jones SWOT Essay

David Jones Ltd (DJS), one of Australia’s oldest and most recognised department stores was founded in Sydney in 1838 and is a retailer of diversified products ranging from clothes to daily home products. This report’s purpose is to provide the David Jones’ Board and Senior Management advice through the assessment of SWOT, resources, capabilities and strategies with a Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Map as the measurement of the strategies. Part A-1: David Jones Strategic Analysis – SWOT STRENGTHS †¢ Brand Name, Product and Brand Portfolio DJS was the first department store in Australia and its black-on-white hounds tooth was judged one of the Australia’s top ten favourite trademarks in 20061. DJS maintains a wide variety of products and brands ranging from fashion to electrical goods with a portfolio of over 1000 brands covering international and local labels as well as its own internal DJS and DJS Plus brand names. †¢ Services Portfolio David Jones offers both in store and financial services to cater for customers. In store services include personal shopping, style advisors, beauty and free health screening services. Financial services provided include David Jones Platinum AMEX, Qantas Frequent Flyers points and the DJS Store card. Corporate services provided include DJ gift cards. †¢ Store Portfolio Operates 35 stores and two warehouse outlets in metropolitan locations nationally. The four premium Sydney and Melbourne CBD retail properties are owned outright with 85,000 sqm of retail space plus existing leased properties and the opening of new village format stores in areas with appropriate demographics with no major shopping centre. †¢ Capability for Fund Raising Even with challenging retail conditions, DJS’ balance sheet exhibits strong fundamentals exhibited by solid cash flows, low debt to equity and debt to asset ratios in FY11 and FY12. WEAKNESSES †¢ High Brand Switching – Low Brand Loyalty DJS is primarily a mid to high-end luxury brand. With the multitude of product and service options available for consumers from direct and indirect competitors and the current economic environment, David Jones target market is now seeking out bargains when it comes spending. †¢ Limited Global Penetration With the globalisation of retailing, DJS faces formidable competition in an attempt to increase its penetration in domestic and international markets as confirmed in the IbisWorld Report, â€Å"the globalisation of this industry is low but the trend is increasing†. †¢ Weak Profitability Indicators Volatility in the global equity markets, financial uncertainty in Europe and the US and weak domestic consumer sentiment impacted on DJS’ financial performance leading to a decline in all profitability ratios in 2012 as compared to FY112. †¢ Narrow Target Market David Jones focuses on the premium market and with a key external driver of retail sales being real disposable income, DJS’ market primarily comprises of the â€Å"baby boomers† with high disposable income, who under the current economic climate have reduced their spending dramatically. (IbisWorld 2012 p.15) OPPORTUNITIES †¢ Growth prospects: E-Retail With developments in technology and an increasing number of people utilising either computer or smartphone platforms, the trend towards online shopping is increasingly popular market both for its high efficiency and convenience with massive potential still to be explored in Australia. Statistics show 12% of sales earnings are derived from e-retail in UK compared to 4.9% in Australia. †¢ Business transformation With the rise of E-commerce, consumers have more options than ever before. To seize the opportunity and become a more enhanced profitable unit is to be vigilante across channels thereby giving customers many options for purchasing products, which involve providing the personalisation of physical stores, online options for convenience and engagement through social media. †¢ Brand expansion Globalization brings in more brands and more competition from other countries. Instead of being a competitor, DJS sees this as an opportunity of a ‘win-win’ situation by cooperating with more international suppliers evidenced by the introduction of 300 new brands over the past 26 months. †¢ Business expansion The physical store is an â€Å"experiential centre† where customers are able to interact with the brand and although e-retail provides choice, convenience and access, face to face customer service still reigns supreme (business insider article) the physical store plays an important role in the retail industry allowing consumers to touch, feel and take a product home fast. By increasing physical presence, and improving systems and processes, companies will be able to enhance the customer experience. THREATS †¢ Customer income and preference influence Real household disposable income has reflected a downward trend from 2009 to 2013 and household saving did not decrease during 2012, which reduced the level of cash flow meaning store sales will be affected by a decreased level of income remaining for shopping after spending on daily necessities. In addition to this, switching costs remain low for customer changing their preferences because of the diversity of options like Myer, K-Mart or the brand retailer like ZARA and Gucci. †¢ Counterfeit goods market As globalisation brings in new and various products, counterfeit goods also spread quickly. This has a negative influence on local retailers and trademark owners by taking away part of their local market share, taking advantage of the designs of a brand’s products as well as the millions of jobs lost, lost tax revenue and additional welfare spending as a result of counterfeit products. †¢ Competitive environment There are an increasing number of overseas and online competitors entering the Australia market. In addition, a strong Australia currency and online business exploration is also seen as a threat to retailers for it has a  deflationary impact on domestic sales4. †¢ Growing employment and wages – rising cost of doing business in general IbisWorld has stated that the capital to wage cost is expected to be 1:6.590 in 2013. Although industry research indicates employment and wages reducing in 2013, David Jones is increasing sales staff working hours and introducing hundreds of new positions in a bid to improve customer service and engagement. Part A-2 From our analysis on the external environment we have understood that in recent years the Australian department store industry has been characterised by increasing competition due to the presence of online competitors and overseas specialists, like Zara and Top Shop. Moreover, adverse macro-economic conditions further decrease the potential profitability of the industry. In fact after the GFC, a deteriorated â€Å"consumer sentiment index† and a reduced real household disposable income together with a strong Australian dollar increase the level of rivalry significantly. In this kind of environment, we strongly believe that DJS must rely on two fundamental capabilities: first class customer engagement and customer service and Brand Positioning. These two capabilities are mainly based on a common group of resources in addition to some specific resources that are tabled in Appendix X in detail. Upon analysis of the internal environment of DJS, the key factors for the success of the firm are: †¢ The property portfolio, which includes a basket of extremely well located and high-end profile buildings in all the major cities in Australia. These stores are unique and highly desirable assets for a premium retailer, are highly costly to imitate and difficult to substitute for potential premium competitors since they are a highly scarce resource. †¢ DJ’s is a particularly well-capitalised company with significant borrowing capacity as demonstrated by a gearing ratio of 13%, interest coverage ratio of 14.5x (FY12) and excess cash held allowing the company to continue investing in the development of its strategy. †¢ The brand portfolio; with over 1000 brands DJS can meet the expectations of its customers and ensure the preservation of its premium brand leadership as â€Å"home of brands† †¢ The employees and management culture; DJS has and continues to invest in training and development programs to ensure that the â€Å"face† and the â€Å"leaders† of the company are strongly oriented to customer retention and satisfaction. In assessing whether the two capabilities  mentioned above constitute a core competency for DJS, we have reached the following conclusion: 1) Ability to develop and maintain first class customer engagement and customer service Criteria Assessment Valuable Yes A high level of customer service is a key element for the success of the David Jones’ differentiation strategy. Rare Yes In the department store competitive arena only Myer have achieved a similar level of customer service. Non-substitutable Yes On-line based competitors can circumnavigate some key resources of this capability such as premium store locations and well-trained employees through an efficient on-line web store, however the physical experience of shopping in the store cannot be replaced. Costly-to-Imitate No First class customer service is extremely difficult to imitate and would require any potential competitor to heavily invest in training and services, although as Myer (Roy Morgan Awards in 2012) has shown this capability can be replicated in the long run. According to our vision, DJS has a temporary competitive advantage from its first class customer engagement and service since, at the status quo only Myer has a similar capability. However, it is of primary importance that DJS keep improving, for instance through an impeccable implementation of its OCR strategy in order to further improve the quality of its customer service so as to avoid new entrants reaching the same level of service. 2) Brand Positioning: ability to maintain premium leadership status in the department store market as the â€Å"Home of Brands† Criteria Assessment Valuable Yes This capability helps DJS to justify its premium price and to increase customer loyalty. Rare Yes The premium brand of DJS is a unique capability; no ones in the actual competitive environment can rely on a similar core competency. Non-substitutable Yes There is no strategic substitute for this capability; the DJS brand is one of the most iconic brands in Australia. Costly-to-Imitate Yes Developing a brand identity comparable to DJS is not one that can be achieved easily by competitors due to the massive investment required and the unique historical conditions that have contributed to form it. DJS has a Sustainable Competitive Advantage from its brand and in our opinion, the firm should heavily leverage on it to successfully implement its future strategy. PART A3 – Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholder group Specific interest Assessment of Shareholder value alignment 1. Employees Employees in David Jones as same as other employees who are interested in premium payout, promotion, training and recognition from employers. Fair company policies e.g. safety workplace and effective company communication and structure are additional requirement staff are looking – Employee reward to encourage employee to flow in their idea to the business e.g. Innovation Workshop – Training provided to retain staff: executive leadership program, Future leaders program, Operations Online Compliance Training – Incentive program in different level of management that align with shareholder value, e.g. New Frontline Incentive Incentive program only represents part of employees’ salary which means employees’ interest is not fully aligned with shareholders. 2. Customers Customers in David Jones prefer exclusiveness. The products they purchase from DJS won’t be able to find outside the store. That also applies to  shopping experiences which they are serviced in professional and friendly environment that cannot be experienced in other shops. Customers expect DJS can provide the best brand with premium quality and reasonable price. Only added value products can be found in DJS Customers are common to look for better price with top quality and service however shareholders expect DJS to be more profitable with generous dividend, especially DJS have maintained GP in these few years. It is a fact that both parties’ interests are contradicted. Ultimately customer satisfaction draws higher sales and margin. Mainly happy and loyal customers can maintain the profits in long term which shareholders can receive benefit 3. Suppliers They want to maintain good relationship with David Jones and make long term contract to get good margin for their business. Because of the reputation of DJ, suppliers want to achieve their brand recognition in the market. Suppliers’ value do not align with DJ’s shareholders’ value, they desire to maximize their margin but the cost of goods increase which lower shareholders dividend. But considering the brand recognition and reputation, both shareholders and suppliers want to capture market shares. They have to obtain a balance between their interests. 4. Community The community expects DJ concerns more about corporate social responsibility such as social wellbeing and environment sustainability such as producing environmental annual report and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. DJS outlines a list of environmentally sustainable managements to eliminate greenhouse gases, wastes and promote energy saving. DJS give charity leave to employees to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation and monetary support other charities. Community is not fully satisfied as DJS only concern a small portion of the society. Every group of stakeholders’ value has certain degree of alignment with shareholders but none of them is fully in lined. DJ relatively put more effort to appreciate employees who are the key personnel to draw the sales. However, the unbalance of stakeholders’ investment will disappoint the others and DJS should be careful to avoid any relationship damage. Part A-4: David Jones Generic Business Level Strategy In a highly concentrated and competitive retail environment, David Jones  pursues a Differentiation Strategy. It has historically targeted the 30 to 54 year old high income woman and the strategic factors relevant to her and is now seeking to expand this market to include the younger generation with medium to high disposable income. David Jones is known as a â€Å"quality† store and to achieve this, it focuses on providing a combination of exclusive product ranges, a high standard of customer service, image and store presentation and location. This is directly evidenced by optimisation of the David Jones private label and the introduction of over 300 new brands over the past 26 months. Additionally, further investment in customer service and engagement via increased frontline staff hours and in-store events as well as its continued focus on its personal shopping service and the introduction of style advisors offers their target shopper the complete shopping experience. PART B Transformation Suitability According to pro-rata population, the number of online customers in Australia ranks the third, but the sales generated from e-channel are far lower than other countries (IBIS-pp33). Although there is increasing competition in online business, retailers need online channels to expand business and take advantage of e-commerce to serve both national and international customers (IBIS-PP4). Feasibility In 2012, David Jones invested more than A$11 million in Technology CAPEX (AR12) and allocated a 200 person team in collaboration with IBM to successfully implement its â€Å"technological† revolution. High bargaining power with suppliers and very strong brand identity can greatly assist in the Price Harmonisation Process. Overall, David Jones has the necessary borrowing capacity and management skills to properly implement its turnaround strategy. Consistency DJS strategic point of â€Å"Transforming the Business† is not entirely consistent with its generic business level strategy but aims to provide a solid structural retail platform upon which its supplemental strategic points of â€Å"strengthening the core business† and â€Å"growing the store network† can  flourish as signified by price harmonisation which allows DJS to be competitive on price but not a â€Å"discounter†. Shareholders Value Implication This is risky to conclude that Omni channel is profitable when other competitors have already got a well developed system several years ago. The cost to maintain and develop this channel will take a couple of years to recover and reduce profit margin in the short term. Better customer engagement via mobile or internet and price reduction through price harmonization will attract more customers to shop at DJS over competitors, with potential to offset the expenses and eventually increase profit margin in long term. Strengthening the core business Suitability After the global financial crisis, expected profit margin decline to 3.9% in 2012-2013’s department industry with scaling back of disposable income, cost reduction becomes a key factor for keeping GP margin (IBIS pp19). Keeping high margin categories helps to increase GP margin. Brand portfolio is also important for mitigating competition from the effect of globalization. However, even though DJS has a better inventory management system, cutting time for clearance events may still cause excess inventories, which may incur inventory costs. Overall, this strategy is suitable in the current environment. Feasibility In 2012 David Jones added 85 new brands into its â€Å"Home of Brand† model. DJS can leverage on its brand positioning and on its knowledgeable merchandising team to develop its brand portfolio. DJS has the financial resources to fully complete the store refurbishment program. This together with the change in product mix (Fashion&Beauty/Home) should guarantee a higher GP margin. The reduction of the CODB is based on the management team’s capabilities and on the new investment in technology that have allowed a more efficient way of conducting business. Consistency â€Å"Strengthening the Core Business† is directly related to DJS generic strategy  of differentiation through its focus on â€Å"Offering the best National and International Brands† and the high value refurbishments it is undertaking. By continuing to invest in and expand its brand portfolio as well as the image and presentation of its stores and the provision of accompanying services, DJS provides an experience not offered by any other department store in Australia. Shareholders Value Implication In the short time, expanding labels and store refurbishment will lower DJS margin. In long term, the aim for David Jones is to minimize COBD and strengthen GP generation which improves operational profit and ultimately increases dividend to shareholders. B2 – Key Stakeholder Implications Impact on this stakeholder group Proposal to better align stakeholder interests with shareholder value 1. Employees Positive: open challenge and opportunity. It is risky but it will be profitable if success Negative: senior management was forced to leave DJS due to internal restructure happened in 2012.Time to adapt new systems and management. High risk to fail the negotiation with supplier to harmonise the cost. 2. Customers Positive: better shopping experience (store refurbishments). Open another channel to shop (Internet/mobile); welcome lower price; better customer service ; more brands to shop   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Increase customer retention and loyalty (more exclusive brands) – profitable customers which drive higher profit and give out more dividend. – Lower price encourage to choose DJ over competitors and potentially improve margin – Store refurbishment attracts more customers to come and visit. 3. Suppliers Negative: Cost of good is entitled to price harmonization agreement. Profit is minimised. Increase competition between suppliers when DJS introduce more labels to sell. – Increase brand awareness and market share to offset the margin loss due to price harmonisation. Shareholder is also benefit if sales are promoted by lowering the price. 4. Community Positive: Mobile apps and website will facilitate the communication with the community and provide more business opportunities to benefit the society. Introducing more products of choice to society and encouraging employment rate. Negative: refurbishment and new stores increase greenhouse gas emission and wastes. ​The new strategies have both positive and negative impact on stakeholders. The above analysis gives us a picture that customer is clear winner and supplier is loser in these new strategies. DJS has a lot of works to do in order to create the links of interest between all stakeholders and shareholders. Suppliers’ benefit will be captured in long term if DJS can achieve the goals of these strategies and increase sustainable sales.

Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine - Essay Example Antique civilization contributed a lot to our modern science and laid foundation of modern scientific conceptions of the world inside and outside of us. Rhetoric is just one point of ancient heritage. Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine went through the phase of its origin and becoming when fundament of this art was laid. 2. Rhetoric in Greece was one of the three liberal arts. So it was a very important art. In Homer days rhetoric was not widely developed yet, but it is possible to say that Homer's contribution to rhetoric is obvious. His epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were full of poetic dialogues, argumentations and word exercises for achieving different goals. His poetry influenced further poetic and rhetoric development in Greece. But in 5th century B. C. rhetoric became known for wide people through sophists. They thought people skill of argumentation. Sophists' work was valued rather high as they helped people to defend their personal interests, not always fair. So this form of teaching soon declined. Plato's teaching was another significant step to rhetoric development. He was an opponent for the sophists. ... Aristotle developed Plato's ideas and went further. He introduced rhetoric as a system of particular skills necessary for an orator. It was the next step of rhetoric development. Aristotle identified three main elements of rhetorical art: character of an orator, his emotions and his language. It is very important to feel the character of the audience, its structure - it will help to choose correct ways of influence on it. Orator's character and emotions must be directed to the goals of the speech - his speech must be emotionally-colored, bright and address everybody's hearts and feelings. The choice of appropriate language is also important. It in turn depends on the audience structure and goals to be achieved. So Aristotle's system influenced rhetoric very much and prepared fertile ground for its further rise and development.3. Rhetoric in Ancient Rome took much from that of Greece, but there were its own features. The main figures of Roman rhetoric were Cicero and Quintilian. Cicer o was one of the most brilliant orators of the ancient world. His speeches were full of expression, his influence on the audience was great, his oratorical methods were much imitated in his days and by later orators. Cicero's works on rhetoric were influenced this art in Rome and for further rhetoric development in general. Quintilian's treatise "Institutes of Oratory" was the next step of rhetorical skills systematization. He wrote about five main rhetorical canons. These are: development of an argument; its arrangement and organization for achieving an appropriate effect; definition of the speech style for a determined audience; speech delivery methods; orator's memory needed to keep in mind all elements of the speech. Quintilian's

The Aesthetic as well as Economic Characteristics of the 'Film Europe Essay

The Aesthetic as well as Economic Characteristics of the 'Film Europe Movement, - Essay Example Nations felt an urge to create long term bilateral relations with this humungous political blitzkrieg. There after gradually & quite naturally, the ‘American influence’ begun to overflow in diverse domains. It slowly initiated to engulf spectrums such as art, theatre, culture, music, films. The next step was to classify those apparently ‘non political’ artistic components at par with the lines of the grand old American maneuver. This cultural autocracy created a stir amongst the enlightened & elitist in Europe. Film corporations like the Metro Goldwyn Mayer had already infiltrated the economies of third world nations like India by 1920 (Thomas, 1987, pp.1-2). While American film corporations’ encashed rich dividends from colonial markets, the European heavy weights were coerced to remain at a bay. This naturally sprouted a furor across the cultural horizon. The European mavericks & thespians felt that a cultural reincarnation was long overdue. German filmmakers like Dupont, Eichberg & Bolvary, plunged into the galaxy of filmdom, with the aim to break the American jinx (Thomas, 1987, pp.1-2). Their unbridled apathy against US monopoly led them to the shores of Britain, from where they churned out numerous path breaking films. This unique film movement came to be known as the ‘Film Europe Movement’, & gained massive popularity throughout the European peninsula. The noble ideals of combating capitalist aggression with socialist principles augured magically with the masses. ‘Film Europe’ managed to successfully batter up American aggression, intertwined with egalitarian theologies. The concluding research deals with the FILM EUROPE MOVEMENT with E.A. DuPont’s English film ‘Piccadilly’ juxtaposing the centre stage. The Birth of the ‘Film Europe Movement’ The culmination of the First World War had precisely ravaged up the economies of France & Italy. They were in no position t o stifle or even stand a chance against the ever expanding ‘American menace’. The calculating American theorists embarked on their global economic conquest, & by 1917, had South America, Australia, Asia Minor & vast territories of Africa amidst their grasp. The birth of the ‘Film Europe Movement’ was hence not just a united cultural Endeavour, but a collaborated strategy of economic survival. These Siamese goals gave birth to quintessential cinematic forms, the German ‘expressionism’, the French ‘impressionism’ & the Soviet schooling of ‘montage’. Interestingly, as time stroked away, films began to emerge which contained a profuse blend of two or more cinematic schooling. For example, Marcel L’Herbier’s French saga, ‘Don Juan et Faust’ borrowed extensive German expressionism throughout its making, while Karl Grune’s 1923 German biopic ‘Die Strasse’, successfully utilized F rench impressionism in its narration (Thomas, 1987, pp.2-5). Later of course, hoards of films were created blending two or more cinematic ideologies. This pan European cinematic outburst not only created an upheaval in the European domain, but also proved to be cinematically superior to its American counterparts. The unique ideas, bold subjects, & timeless concepts gave birth to films that would change the course of history itself. Geniuses like Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevold Pudovkin & Lev Kuleshov made films which enthralled film voyeurs throughout the planet. Films began to be created with an international appeal. This continental outlook started to

Innovation - PAYPAL make the life more easier Essay

Innovation - PAYPAL make the life more easier - Essay Example In 2002, PayPal was acquired by EBay Inc. and made the official payment channel of the worldwide sites of EBay electronic commerce business wing. PayPal is chosen as the innovation topic for the essay because the establishment of PayPal was followed by huge success and popularity of the same in the international financial services and online payments domain. The essay would include a discussion of why PayPal can be considered to be a radical innovation in the electronic commerce and financial services domain. A review of the different literary works presented on the topic of innovation is done to link the theories of innovation to the practical example of PayPal as a breakthrough innovation. A section of the essay would include a discussion of the conditions and background which led to the establishment and success of PayPal in the global business platform. The essay would be suitably concluded with a summary of the findings from the report and with a small discussion regarding the future strategies that are likely to be used by PayPal for continued success and sustainability. PayPal was initially set up as a technology push innovation and later ensured continued success through sustainable innovative practices. This technological innovation was a result of the combination of technological advances and improvement in the use of materials and processes within different businesses. The innovation was fuelled and supported by the boom of electronic commerce activities across the globe. The cross border electronic commerce transactions conducted by millions of people across the globe created the need for a unique, safe, secure and globally usable online payment transfer domain. The innovators of PayPal tapped in this market need and used the advances in technology like access to internet, development of financial services domains and electronic commerce businesses to create the online

Eye-witness testimony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Eye-witness testimony - Essay Example According to these researchers, other types of circumstantial evidence, such as fingerprints or DNA, are more reliable in identifying criminals. This essay argues that eyewitness identification is not only can get the murder, but also it has unreliable. The heart of the American criminal justice system is the honesty and reliability of eyewitnesses. The testimony of eyewitnesses can very much influence the decision of the judge or the members of jury. The jury tries to identify the reliability or honesty of the eyewitness secretly, without telling the basis of its final decision. Considering the weakness of the human memory, therefore, is very crucial to the criminal and legal justice system, because a lot of trials are focused on honest identifications (Wise et al. 2). Reaching a fair decision and a right identification is hard without the chance that eyewitnesses may not know wrongness in their identification or testimony. Without strong physical evidence, testimony of eyewitnesses is important every time prosecution tries to prove that the criminal and the defendant are the same. The correctness of an eyewitness testimony or identification is shaped by two types of variables, which are ‘estimator’ and ‘system’ (Cutler & Kovera 54). System variables are things that the criminal justice system can control, like directions taught to eyewitnesses before they go into a lineup. Estimator variables, on the other hand, are things that the criminal justice system cannot control and their effects can be studied. These variables could be the lightning in the place where the crime took place, how long the eyewitnesses saw the face of the criminal, and so on (Cutler & Kovera 54). But, still, eyewitnesses cannot be sure that their memory is right. Researchers say that weaknesses of the human memory negatively affect the truth of eyewitness testimony. Human memory is very hard to understand and study. Eyewitnesses can have a

Engineering design Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Engineering design - Research Paper Example The ease of accommodating the power source can also be increased by carefully selecting a location for installing the source. The largest dimensions are of Honda GX 35 i.e. 7.8† ? 9.8† ? 12.7†. The calculations of the resistive forces are very simple because the only resistive force to the motion of the bicycle is the frictional force (Wormell). The frictional force can be coupled with the gravitational force while the bicycle is travelling on an inclined surface. For an inclined surface we can assume an angle of 4-8 degrees at the tourist resort at roads where the bike can travel. We will do the calculations for 8o inclined plane. Pr =  µs FN + W sin ? Where Pr is the total resistive force  µs is the coefficient of friction taken as 0.005 for bicycle tyres FN is the normal force equal to the weight (mg) of the bicycle and the driver W is the combined weight of the bicycle and the driver = mg (mass ? gravitational acceleration) ? is the angle of inclination of t he road = 8o Assuming the driver mass to be 80 kg and the total mass of the bike to be 20 kg we can calculate the total resistive force: Pr =  µs FN + W sin ? = 0.005 ? 100 ? 9.81 + 100 ? 9.81 ? sin 8o Pr = 141.43 N In order to calculate the torque required by the motor/engine to produce we have to assume the diameter of the tyre of the bicycle. The average diameter ranges from 55cm to 70 cm. Taking d =70 cm Tr= Pr ? 0.35 m Tr= 49.5 N m The power rating required will be Power = Tr ? 2?N/60 (N = 50) Power = 260 W The power rating of motors and engines provide a factor of safety of more than 5 as the power required is 260 W. The power rating of the battery can be computed by employing the following calculations: Average speed of the bike = 15 mph Maximum Distance to be travelled = 50 miles Discharging time of the battery = 3.3 hrs Power rating of battery = 45 A ? 3.3 hr = 150 Ahr 7. Produce a detailed PDS based on quantified data The manufacturing process is based on a detailed PDS (Musharavati). The various relevant elements of PDS for the product are mentioned below: 1. Function and Performance: The function of the product is to provide an environment friendly means of transport for tourists in a countryside resort. The performance is enhanced by proposing solutions which can provide means of transport with minimum exhaust. 2. Environment: The product is environment friendly because there is no exhaust and thus no addition of harmful chemical compounds to the environment. The design will be in accordance with the emission standards like euro 3 and USEPA. 3. Ergonomics: While developing the product ergonomic principles are kept in mind according and the design will be carried out according to the ergonomics principles. The ergonomics are mainly concerned with the position of the seat, foot rest and paddles and the convenience in the operation of control mechanism. The overall weight of the bicycle should not be greater than 30 kg. 4. Safety: The safety is ver y important and the safety and protection guidelines according to the manufacturing standards provided by ASME and ASTM. 5. Materials: The selection of materials should be done according to the ease of use and feasibility of manufacturing according to the local conditions. The proposed materials are aluminium and iron. 6. Competition: The product under consideration i.e. the environment

Physiotherapy Treatment Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Physiotherapy Treatment Plan - Assignment Example There are moments that deficiencies are experienced in the performance of daily roles, causing problems with mobility, functional ability, and movement potential. As seen in the case, engaging in physical exercise is a common cause of all forms of impairments and disabilities that are recorded against mobility functions (Morillas et al., 2007). Once such impairments and disabilities come about, the work of physical therapists is very much needed in fostering quality of life. Quite importantly, physical therapists do not go about their roles as an event but a process that normally involves other multi-disciplinary team members. The following treatment plan is therefore prepared from a systematic and cross-functional perspective to redeem Mrs. Seddon from her current state of distress. Schoenenberger et al (2011) noted that the clinical features of a patient’s disease are basically the signs and symptoms that are manifested through physical examination and other medical procedures such as laboratory or x-ray workups. With this said, there are a number of clinical features of Mrs. Seddon that can be identified from her case that have direct reference to the etiology and pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease. The following can be listed as part of the etiology and pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease: Any other signs and symptoms are given above and as manifested in the activities and body functioning of Mrs. Seddon makes her prone to the etiology and pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease. These thus account for her clinical features. There are a number of postoperative problems that may be faced by the patient in the first three days of the postoperative period. Whiles some of these problems are potential problems, others are acute problems. Also importantly, these some of these problems may not be immediate but may develop in the nearest future if the most rapid steps are not taken.

Corporate Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Crime - Essay Example They have often been identified as restructuring the economy and their shareholders and the political institutions of a country. Therefore, it is crystal clear that the corporate firms control the important sectors of a country and as such, any change or issues affecting the corporate companies will certainly distress public life. Considering this context, the study of corporate crimes has an elite role in determining the dominant factors that channelize human life. What is Corporate Crime? When one attempts a study on the topic; Corporate Crimes, one has to keep in mind the fact that it is topic which needs a broad research and a systematic study. Even a mere observation will unveil various types of corporate crimes which really makes the study extensive. As the study is extensive, many have attempted to define corporate crime. Sally S. Simpson (p.6.) of University of Maryland, in Corporate Crime, Law and Social Control, identifies â€Å"corporate crime is [as] a type of white-coll ar crime.† Simpson also acknowledges Edwin Sutherland who regarded corporate crime as the â€Å"criminal activity by persons of high social status and respectability who use their occupational position as a means to violate the law† (Sutherland, 1949). ... Corporate crimes have been identified as the deliberate attempt of the companies aimed to injure the public more than street crimes in many ways: economically, socially, physically and environmentally (Corporate crime). But the notable thing regarding corporate crimes is that these criminal violations come under civil and administrative law, and as such, penalties include fines but not imprisonment. Various industries have formed and implemented their own laws and they control their employees by themselves. Corporate crimes are many and varied that one can find it negatively affecting the proper growth of a corporate firm. As it is committed by individuals for their personal gain corporate crimes may cause great loss for the employers. Many have identified the most common form of white collar crime as the employee steals from the employer who cheats customers and pockets the difference. An overview of the corporate crime reveals three types of crimes namely; corporate violence, econo mic corporate crimes and white collar crimes (Corporate crime). Corporate crime involves various kinds of crimes. Corporate violence includes three types of crimes such as, violence against workers, violence against consumers and corporate pollution. This is quite alarming to note that â€Å"6 million workers injured on the job in the US and 10,000 people die in the workplace from injuries and 10,000 from long term effects of occupational diseases† (Corporate crime). Violence against workers is irresponsibility of the corporate executives in arranging occupational health and safety standards which are inevitable for assuring the life security of the workers. Deaths of thousands of workers as an after effect of such kind of reckless

Logistics and Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Logistics and Supply Chain Management - Essay Example y method to achieve successful results in business performance, since it offers the basis for improving flexibility and maximizing the degree of firms’ responsiveness to external influences and changes in markets and demands. Finally, the issue of logistics in terms of functional and cross-functional organizational structure will be additionally discussed in order to reach conclusions upon the benefits attached to each case. The increased competition along with the globalization effect have undoubtedly set new grounds for conducting business. This situation actually urges corporations and organizations throughout the world to acquire and maintain competitive edges and core competencies that will eventually provide the basis for success. Around the globe companies are striving for profitability; a fact that logically tests and underlines the necessity for cost-cutting, innovative solutions and higher margins or returns to be achieved. Markets are expanding and constantly developing, creating new needs and opportunities for revenues. Nonetheless, the â€Å"price-wars† and the intense rivals among major players in all industries constitute a business environment that requires strategic approach on the part of corporations in order to maintain and sustain competitiveness. Supply chain management is a business area that has gained the attention of virtually all companies that attempt to increase efficiency gains through flexibility and responsiveness to changes in the market and the demand levels. For this very reason, strategic approach to SCM (supply chain management) has become integral part of the organizational planning. Voss (1987) defines JIT as a disciplined approach that eventually aims at improving business performance through increasing productivity and eliminating waste. In more details Just-in-Time actually targets maximization of production in a cost-effective manner, on the one hand, and delivery of sufficient quantity of products/parts on the other

According to Paul Cezanne Essay Example for Free

According to Paul Cezanne Essay Paul Cezanne’s paintings are regarded today as being of considerable importance to the development of modern art. Cezannes use of colour as tone and his heavy interest in the formal elements of composition paved the way for artists following on from him to question what they were perceiving and their ability to visually represent what they saw through painting. This essay will be examining the influence that Paul Cezanne had on Cubism and how this elevated the picture into an autonomous object rather than a mere representation of nature. The French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, although heavily ignored by the mainstream art sphere centered within Paris, had a considerable impact on Cubism as he laid out the fundamental ideas from which the cubists would create their works. One of the main key points that was central to the cubists was faceting, this reduction of form within the external world and transforming them to geometrical facets, ‘Nature should be treated as cylinders, spheres and cones.’. See more: Examples of satire in adventures of huckfinn essay Cezanne’s manner of depicting reality with inaccuracy and multiple viewpoints divorced itself from the laws of perceptive construction and allowed him to interpret what he saw in a subjective way, he wasn’t interested in merely imitating what he saw onto the canvas but rather to re-think the conventions which restrict traditional painting. A clear departure from traditional painting as a representational phenomenon has taken place, it’s no longer mimetic of nature or reality but rather holds its own reality within itself and painting and art in general is made autonomous through Cezanne’s unique approach. Where other painters saw transient effects of light Cezanne had the ability to perceive geometric structures and thus from his search for underlying structure of composition came Cubism and then Abstraction. In the impressionist movement, and other predecessors to cubism and post-impressionism, artists weren’t concerned in dealing with matters of inner meaning within their paintings, they were simply responding to what they saw which in turn gave little for the viewer to think about. It is here that we see Cezanne’s more conceptual manner of depicting reality by breaking things into obscure shapes and abstracted form, he projects his inner emotion and consciousness onto the canvas to represent a state of mind, ‘The painter’s idea cannot be conceived apart from the means he uses, for it is meaningful only so far as it is embodied in those means, and the deeper his idea the more complete they must be. I am unable to distinguish between my feelings for life and my way of transposing it. A painting must carry all its meanings within itself, and impose it on the viewer before he identifies the subject matter.’. This parallel of representing nature and self by use of facets and high-keyed colour (colour as a subjective device) is something that’s echoed throughout the works of the cubists, specifically the initial stages of this movement. It seems from this point onwards the painting has become a picture object, it’s removed from the shallow confines of our perception and begins to contribute to reality by adding other aspects and elements, ‘ He was, in fact, the first Post-Impressionist to make, as did the Pointillists and eventually the cubists, as structural analysis of nature, producing an art of the mind concerned with emotional apprehension of formal qualities in mountains, women or onions and totally unconcerned with the evanescent effects of light, shade and atmosphere.’ . This manner of painting had seeped into the consciousness of Pablo Picasso and George Braque, although they had obviously added their own elements to form their own individual styles Ceza nne had laid out the basis from which the cubists could build upon. Although Cubism can be categorised into three key phases: Analytical, Hermetic and Synthetic, it is all somewhat representational of reality. Pushed and stretched to its very limits reality has been distorted and forms are no longer instantly apparent, the viewer must project apart of themselves in order to make sense of what is happening within the painting. From the painters view the cubists applied an aspect of analysis in their paintings by which forms became increasingly fragmented, this way of depicting objects, landscapes and people was similar to Cezanne’s work in the way he represented nature. He was looking beyond the mere surface and impressions which met his gaze and focussed on the inner structures that made up things around him, this of course implies careful consideration and a process of analysis. This is something which resonated with Picasso’s work and contributed to his painting Demoiselles d’ Avingon 1908, ‘He took his cue in this partly from Cezanne’s efforts to fashion a way of painting that would lay bare – or at least open up for exploration by the viewer – the complex process of pictorial representation’. Upon looking at the works of Picasso’s Demoiselles d’ Avingon 1908 and even George Braque’s Houses at L’Estaque 1908, we can indicate a clear influence that is derived from Cezanne’s style of this alignment of nature and the artist. In Braque’s painting we note a visible colour palette which has been simplified and the use of structure that has been used in order to re-create nature, all of which is comparable to Cezanne’s painting Mont Sainte-Victoire 1902-04. However, Braque has accentuated certain elements resulting in a more systematic , clean and simplified style, ‘Yet unlike Cezanne, Braque pushes the juxtaposition of different perspectives to the point of contradiction, and underscores it with a quite arbitrary distribution of light and shade; rooflines fail to meet walls, spaces and solids are elided, buildings are stacked up against one another like playing cards, and in the absence of a horizon the landscape is compress ed into the space of a low relief.’. (FOOTNOTE: Movements in Modern Art Cubism, David Cottington, pg. 22)We notice a clear direction towards further abstraction in terms of form and colour and as cubism progresses these abstractions are further emphasised until reality is barely visible and only signals and indications of things are implied to the viewer. In addition, Picasso’s painting held similar elements of Cezanne’s style and although his painting Demoiselles d’ Avingnon is regarded as more of a proto-cubist artwork in a way it planted the seeds of his style which would later blossom and carry the cubist movement. He is still referencing Cezanne in terms of geometric shapes, limited colours, the fusions between negative and positive shapes and also the arbitrary use of light as he sees fit. Moving away from Demoiselles d’ Avingnon and focussing on Cottage and Trees (La Rue-des-Bois) 1908, again we see a direct correlation in terms of style to Cezanne’s and even Braque’s painting Houses at L’Estaque, in terms of subject matter it’s quite similar; fragmented shapes are used to signify a landscape with houses and contorted trees, however this use of shapes is further abstracted from that of Cezanne’s and Braque’s and again we see the use of colour being completely redundant in terms of imitating the world. The painting has become a complex of invented forms, singular viewpoints, accurate proportions and visual representation are no longer necessary, ‘Picasso independently emphasises each elemnt – volume, line, plane, light and shade – even at the expense of compositional unity. The effect is to maximise the dynamic effect of the painting.’. The emancipation of pictorial elements of line and colour elevated the painting to the picture object, as these elements no longer needed to be used objectively to depict the reality in which we are all submitted to, rather the artists can form the basis of a painting from reality and meet it halfway through his use of representing the internal reality which he is mentally experiencing. Cezanne used a process of analysis and reflection in creating his work which then influenced the cubists to constitute their own individual reality and project it onto the canvas. The result being fragmented geometric shapes which accentuate certain elements of figures, subjective and limited use of colour and an overall less naturalistic representation of what is directly being observed, this in turn helped painters like the cubists to re think what they were painting and also to think of what painting in general could be.

Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) System

Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) System Chapter 1. Introduction Nowadays, in the most of areas it is necessary to work with large amounts of growing visual and multimedia data, at the same time, the number of image and video files on the web is quite big and is still rising very rapidly. Searching through this data is absolutely vital. So, there is a high demand on the tools for image retrieving, which are based on visual information, rather than simple text-based queries. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) consists of retrieving the most visually similar images to a given query image from a database or group of image files. It is a quite useful thing in a lot of areas such as Photography which may involve image search from the large digital photo galleries; Medicine it is used to assist in diagnosis. In most of diseases, their visual characteristics carry diagnostic information and visually similar images correspond to the same disease category. The output of a CBIR system can help to make a decision (Tahmoush, 2007); Military detection of e nemy soldiers or vehicles from screen photographs; Crime prevention it helps police in suspicious peoples identification from large image databases and in image retrieval of crime scene photos (Wen, 2005); Geography frequently used in Geographical information systems (GIS) (Hafiane, 2006) and many others. CBIR has been a subject of intense research over the last 15 years. It is one of the most difficult research areas in multimedia computing and information retrieval. During the research history many different image matching, indexing and retrieval algorithms have been tried. Practice shows that user queries described by visual information are more effective and more precisely meet user needs, than standard text search queries. It is because visual information is closer to the humans perception of the world. 1.1 CBIR Systems Many CBIR systems and tools have been developed to make queries based on visual content. During the 90-ies several notable commercial systems were introduced. IBM developed Query By Image Content (QBIC) system, which lets user to make queries of large image databases based on visual image content properties such as Example images; User-constructed sketches and drawings; Selected color and texture patterns. (Flickner, 1995) Soon after that â€Å"Virage Image Search Engine† of Virage Inc. was developed, which provides an open framework for building systems that explicitly manages image assets by directly representing their visual attributes. (Bach, 1996) Several online content-based web search engines can also be mentioned. â€Å"WebSEEk† developed by Image and Advanced Television Lab, Columbia University. It allows making queries by example and by desired color composition. â€Å"Chabot†, Developed by Department of Computer Science, University of California, which allows to search by colors, but offers limited options such as choosing one dominant color. (Veltkamp, 2002) Global Memory Net (GMNet) was launched for public access in late June 2006. It is a digital library of cultural, historical, and heritage image collections. Among other text-based searching types this web library has a possibility to search by image content. It has two basic options for content based searching. Search by example image, based on its color and shape and by user drawing. For CBIR, GMNet uses SIMPLIcity developed by Prof. James Z. Wang of Penn State University. (Chen 2006) Different CBIR systems use different types of user queries. Typically tools for the content-based image retrieval consist of query statement and a result presentation; this query can be done by providing an example image a sketch, or by choosing desired colors for the image. Results are presented by the top several similar images based on the similarity measure. 1.2 Research Questions Despite the large number of CBIR systems developed, there are still a lot of challenging problems in this area. The important sides that still need to be improved are speed of retrieving, when working with the large databases, accuracy and effectiveness of the retrieved results. So the researchers from multiple disciplines are deeply concerned with these aspects. Comparisons by image content are much more complicated task than by textual data. Generally, content-based image retrievals are based on comparison of image content descriptors that represent visual features of the image. Different features can be used to obtain the image descriptor. To meet specific user needs and in various cases some of them are more effective than others. Sometimes the implementation simplicity is as important as retrieval accuracy and effectiveness. Based on the previous discussion, research questions are the following: What are the basic retrieval techniques? What kind of features are usually used? How the features are obtained from the image? How these features are matched? How the retrieval results are presented to the user? How accurate can be the algorithms, which are relatively easy to implement? 1.3 Objectives The CBIR research often involves two areas computer vision and database systems. The database systems part studies database indexing, searching and retrieval techniques and computer vision part is about image processing, obtaining the image descriptors and image matching. In order to answer the research questions this dissertation focuses on a computer vision part. Image processing and image transformations are used by CBIR systems in order to extract image descriptors. CBIR systems are based on different image features descriptors matching. Some of these systems perform image comparison by multiple features at the same time and some of them use only one feature. In this dissertation we are going to investigate what are the basic techniques used in CBIR systems, which are based on different feature descriptors. We will make a detailed overview of these basic methods. We are also going to implement one of the most effective algorithms in the CBIR field. This is Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm (Lowe, 2004) and see how effective and accurate it can be. Chapter 2. Literature Survey 2.1 CBIR systems typical architecture Typical CBIR system has two main functionalities. This is Data insertion and query processing. Data insertion procedures are performed independent of user interaction.   They are applied to all the data. The purpose of this process is to extract visual features from the images in the database. These features are obviously smaller than the actual image and they are then stored for easy comparison reasons, as a characterizers of each image. Query processing starts with user specific request. Request can be done in several ways: By an example image, by giving desired pattern or object, color distribution and etc. Query processing module obtains the visual features from the given request, metric is defined. Then similarity is measured based on the chosen metric and some set of the most similar images are . Features extraction itself involves, selecting the features that have to be extracted, it depends on the type of user query. The feature extracting algorithm is chosen to create the feature vector from the selected features. Eventually, image descriptor is formed which are then used to compare the images. (Torres, 2006) 2.2 Semantic Gap Basically, similarity searching between the images is based on low-level and higher-levels of queries. (Eakins, 1996) Low-Level Similarity in this case visual features to describe the image are primitives such as color, texture and shape. Higher-Levels, Semantic Similarity at higher levels, similarity searching is not based on a simple features. In this case images are described by higher level of semantic attributes. This involves identification of the object types depicted in the image. These two levels of queries form the problem called semantic gap. Semantic gap can be defined in the following way: â€Å"The semantic gap is the lack of coincidence between the information that one can extract from the visual data and the interpretation that the same data has for a user in a given situation.† (Datta, 2008) In another words, images with high low-level feature similarities may still be different in terms of user perception. So similarity by low-level features, not always mean semantic similarity of these images. 2.3 Content Comparison Techniques This dissertation is concerned with low-level similarity features extraction .CBIR for low-level similarity queries needs techniques which can be used to obtain the image content descriptors to compare images based on their color, texture and shape. Color Image content comparison by color is based on matching images by their color distribution. In this case image feature identifies the proportion of pixels of specific color or colors within an image. So one can make color searches by indicating desired concentration of colors or by an example image with desired color distribution and get similar images. Color histograms are widely used to extract the color distribution descriptors from the image. It is a statistic of the color of pixels in the image. First color distribution is represented by appropriate color histogram, and then color vector is formed from that histogram. Lets discuss several color feature extraction histograms. Conventional Color Histogram (CCH) This histogram consists of occurrences of each color in the image. Each pixel is associated to only one its own histogram bin only on the basis of its own color. This color histogram uses the probability mass function of the image pixel intensities. (Suhasini, 2009) Fuzzy Color Histogram (FCH) as an opposite to CCH, in FCH each pixel is associated to all bins of histogram with different degrees of membership depending on color similarity of the pixel. This is done by fuzzy-set membership function. (ferone, 2008) Color Correlogram (CC) color correlogram of an image is a table which is indexed by color pairs, where the d-th entry of (i,j) cell shows the probability of finding the color j at a distance of d from a pixel of color i in the image extracting. Such a feature from the image is tolerant to the changes in appearance of the same scene which can be caused by changing the viewing positions, but color correlogram is more difficult to compute than color histograms. (Huang, 1997) Texture Retrieval by image texture in a similar to color-based feature extraction, but it looks for visual patterns in images rather than colors. So it looks at homogeneity that is not a result of a single color presence or intensity of a pixel value. Sometimes it also provides more spatial information. The most basic method used to extract the texture descriptor from the image is based on Fourier Transform. The initial image is transformed by the Fourier function. As the method works on digital images, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) is used. DFT converts images from the spatial domain into the frequency domain, where all the spatial frequencies of the original image are represented. In another words this transformed image shows intensity variations over a number of pixels. Transformed data is grouped to obtain several measures from it. Then descriptor is formed of these measures and is used for comparison. (Nixon, 2007) Shape Shape-based image retrieval comparison looks at shapes of regions within an image and searches for the shapes similar to given as in a query image. Edge and blob detections are important parts for the shape feature extraction. These edges and blobs are points or regions in the image that are either brighter or darker than the surrounding. Several methods are used for shape-based image retrieval, which involve different kind of image filtering and image transformations. One of the most effective algorithms for shape-based image retrieval is Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm, which was first developed by David Lowe in 1999, at the University of British Colombia. It takes a single image as an input and returns a set of detected image features. In SIFT algorithm image filtering is based on Gaussian function. After image filtering SIFT uses Difference of Gaussian (DoG) pyramid for blob (keypoint) detection. The image feature descriptor, which is called keypoint descriptor is 128 element feature vector and formed of gradient magnitudes and orientations computed for the area around the identified keypoints. (Lowe, 2004) Chapter 3. Research Method 3.1 Research approach Mathematical methods play key role in the most of CBIR algorithms. Often mathematical solution of the problem is difficult or impossible to implement practically, therefore it is important to assess the method in practice. Thats why Experimental approach will be used in this dissertation. This method of primary research forces to experience and overcome all the difficulties that can appear during the practical implementation of theory. It requires focusing on the details of algorithm and clearly shows advantages and disadvantages of the particular algorithm. It also gives possibility to assess the instruments used in experiment, which are not less important than algorithm itself. In this dissertation, one of the CBIR algorithms for shape-based image retrieval will be implemented for a number of images and the results will be assessed 3.2 Tools and Technologies used This study focuses on the algorithm which involves image processing. It will be implemented under the Microsoft .net framework platform and using GDI+ and C# programming language. .Net framework provides managed interface for GDI+; therefore its relatively easy to process images using this platform. Microsoft Visual Studio .Net will be used as an IDE. This experiment will also show how useful can be .net framework library and C# language for image processing purpose. References: Bach J., Fuler C., Gupta A., Hampapur A., Horowitz B., Humphrey R., Jain R., Shu C., (1996) The virage image search engine: An open framework for image management SPIE Conference on Storage and Retrieval for Image and Video Databases; Chen Ch. Ch. (2006),Using Tomorrows Retrieval Technology to Explore the Heritage: Bonding Past and Future in the Case of Global Memory Net; available at: http://ifla.queenslibrary.org/IV/ifla72/papers/097-Chen-en.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009 Datta R., Joshi D., Li J. and Wang J. Z. (2008) Image Retrieval: Ideas, Influences, and Trends of the New Age. Eakins J.P. (1996) Automatic image content retrieval are we getting anywhere?Department of Computing, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, available at: http://www.cs.uu.nl/docs/vakken/mir/materials/literature/eakins.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009 Ferone A., Maddalena L., Petrosino A., (2008) The Enhanced Color Histogram: a way for dealing with uncertainty in CBIR systems, University of Naples Parthenope, Department of Applied Science; Flickner M., Sawhney H., Niblack W., Ashley J., Huang Q., Dom B., Gorkani M., Hafher J., Lee D., Petkovie D., Steele D. and Yanker P.(1995) Query by Image and Video Content: The QBIC System, IBM Almaden Research Center; available at: http://www2.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~nicolast/courses/cs422/ReadingProjects/qbic.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Hafiane A., Chaudhuri S., Seetharaman G., Zavidovique B. (2006) Region-based CBIR in GIS with local space filling curves to spatial representation Huang J., Kumar S. R., Mitra M., Zhu W. J., Zabih R. (1997) Image Indexing Using Color Correlograms, Cornell University; Lowe D. G. (2004), Distinctive Image Features from Scale-Invariant Keypoints, Computer Science Department University of British Columbia; available at: http://people.cs.ubc.ca/~lowe/papers/ijcv04.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009 Nixon M. S., Aguado A. S. (2007) Feature Extraction and Image Processing, Academic Press; Suhasini P.S., Dr. K. Sri Rama Krishna, Dr. I. V. Murali Krishna (2009) CBIR Using Color Histogram Processing; VR Siddhartha Engineering College; available at: http://www.jatit.org/volumes/research-papers/Vol6No1/13Vol6No1.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Tahmoush D.   Hanan S. (2007)A Web Collaboration System for Content-Based Image Retrieval of Medical imag;available at:http://www.cs.umd.edu/~hjs/pubs/medicalimagepapers/TahmoushSPIE07a.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Torres R. S., Falcà £o A. X. (2006)Content-Based Image Retrieval: Theory and Applications; available at: http://www.dcc.unicamp.br/~rtorres/artigos/journal/torres06rita.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Veltkamp R. C., Tanase M. (2002) Content-Based Image Retrieval Systems: A Survey; Department of Computing Science, Utrecht University; available at: http://give-lab.cs.uu.nl/cbirsurvey/cbir-survey.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Wang J. Z. (2001) SIMPLIcity: Semantics-Sensitive Integrated Matching for Picture Libraries; available at: http://infolab.stanford.edu/~wangz/project/imsearch/SIMPLIcity/TPAMI/wang2.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009; Wen Ch. Y, Yu Ch. Y., (2005) Image Retrieval of Digital Crime Scene Images, Forensic Science Journal; available at: http://fsjournal.cpu.edu.tw/content/vol4.no.1/06-95-04.pdf last accessed on 24th September 2009.

Consider How Changes In Political Ideology Impact Social Work Essay

Consider How Changes In Political Ideology Impact Social Work Essay Social policy is about social well-being and its policies are designed to promote this, social well-being is for everyone and its to ensure that everyone gets treated impartially and according to their needs. This may include areas such as housing, education and social care. According to the HM Treasurys spending review 2010-11 the vast majority of money was spent on Welfare and Health this illustrates that these two sectors especially welfare are major factors within our society and are a priority. However some political ideology can have impact on social policy in regards to how money is spent and in what ways. Social welfare and policy is provided by the government and social policies are developed for the public and certain groups who need them. Social welfare on the other hand is given to people who are seen to be in need and may be seen as people who need a public service. Welfare services and healthcare are the key services in social policy. Social services and the healthcare system are in place and are provided to give a service to help aid with peoples well-being. For example these include people who are going through a crisis or serious personal issues to do with their health or personal lives. Social policy is incorporated with social welfare provision; social welfare provision is about the needs of the people. The government plays a big part in social welfare because they decide on what to spend on such as housing and education. Social Policy is made by the government which are made up of partys politicians and parties that deliberate and decide on how to manage the country and it s political needs. Politically speaking Social policies work together with employees of social welfare such as social workers as well as healthcare and the law. All these organisations help to make up social policy and work on and for the state. Local Government are councillors which have been locally elected for example a local MP and also local authorities, these may include people such as school governors and members of the community health councils, these selected people work together to govern and implement what key policies are needed locally, and these are tailored policies specifically for their local communities. The local government may make decisions on housing and other local factors such as developments that may be needed and transport. The private sector is made up of businesses individuals, local and central government who purchase welfare services such as private care homes and employ carers privately to care for service users. Social workers as well as the healthcar e workers are involved in social policy for the reason that they will be putting whatever is decided in social policy in practice. Central government is the political party who is elected nationally in the UK. At the last national election the conservative party were voted in with this came their own political ideology in running the country and many changes were made. Political Ideology is a range of ideas and thoughts which can range from social wellbeing to laws being made it is also beliefs on society and social welfare. This can come from a right left wing approach of thinking politically. This affects social policy and how social policy is approached because the decisions that is made effects peoples lives. For example when new labour was elected in 1997 its approach to social policy was a mix and right and left wing perspectives. The new right perspectives to social policy consist of views such as distinguishing between the deserving and underserving poor. What is known as the deserving poor are those who are thought to deserve to receive welfare, an example of this is someone being poor through no fault of their own, while an undeserving poor is someone who may be poor due to their laziness such as not wanting to work. The title of deserving and undeserving varies from one individual to another, this is because everyones circumstances are d ifferent therefore it is harder to determine who is deserves to receive benefits from who does not. The new right approach suggests that the welfare system was making people depend on benefits and making them lazy. This was also referred to as the nanny state, however those who are welfare such as single parent families struggle and what is given is actually only enough to live on because benefits are accessed on what the government believes is enough for individuals to live off. David Cameron the current Prime minister stated that he wanted to end the culture of entitlement and a bigger debate into welfare would be needed as the wrong signals were being sent out to unmarried and single parent families. This suggests even more cuts for those who are dependent on benefits as a way to get people off benefits and back into employment. Political ideology affects social work because these values affect practice. Ideas of political ideology shape practice and action, these actions can als o influence ideas of ideologues which respond to the environmental pressures which surround them. (Marquand 1996,6.) Marxist had the view that the welfare state was biased and favours the working class to prevent a revolution. For the modern day welfare state this couldnt be any truer as we have seen with the conservatives party that the biggest spending cuts have hit the poor the worst.it seems as though especially to those who are worse off, for example families who receive benefits such as tax credits etc. These are the people who are feeling the cuts the most while the rich have had far fewer cuts being made. Last year we saw that most of the changes being made were affecting the poor and working class the most, while the rich had their tax reduced. This is indeed an unfair change in regards to welfare because the changes seem to favour the rich more. The Guardian newspaper online reported that the poorest households would be hit the worst by benefits cuts, in reported government plans and the Department of Work and Pensions. It also stated that in a bid to save 3.1 billion working benefits wou ld rise to 1% hitting the poor hardest. The guardian online featured a letter by MP Michael Meacher who pointed out that the recent welfare benefits reports bill and its percentages on cuts leaving the rich richer by paying less percentages in tax while the unemployed receiving benefits such as the job seekers allowance were being cut. It also argued ministers had failed to realise that the 20% cut that was going to be imposed would work out as less money for people to live on. The cut was argued to be applied because it was seen to be unfair that those unemployed had had a 20% rise while the lowest paid only had a 10% pay rise. Even so those who are in less paid jobs are still financially better off than those on JSA, so again why are cuts being made to the poorest people in need. It was also pointed out that the richest that are on over  £3000 a year had their income tax cut to almost 3bn a year, also the very richest increased their income and wealth over the last year according to the Sunday Times Rich List. With cut s being made and bills rising how is people going to afford to eat and live? There is a struggle for the currently unemployed to get back in employment due to the lack of jobs. People are being pressured into either living a very poor life financially or working for wage which they may again struggle to live on and then being given a very low pension when they retire. This affects social work practice because more people will be in crisis and in a vulnerable state which may lead to intervention by professionals such as social workers being needed for well-being and support. The cuts to social care have seen only the ones who can afford to pay for care being able to receive care. The reason for this is budgets being cut for social care leaving those without financial security in need of support. According to ADASS in their budget survey (2011) councils were reducing their budgets by 991 million. They were also reducing their spending by 169 million for support for people. The implications and consequences of these cuts are that some council will have to make cutbacks to services in order to balance out their budgets. For those who cannot afford services this can serious implications as well as on impact on social work practice because of the intervention that may be needed. It also affects social work in the sense of how it is implicated as well as using the best methods for service users. According to this survey it increases more gaps within Social Care funding. The care and Support Bill 2012 abolished the local authorities right to remove a person in need from their homes. The reason for this could do with the cuts being made with in social care and as a way to save money have abolished this to save funding which would otherwise be spent on giving care to service users. The Just umbrella gives an insight into austerity the coalition and policy. The just umbrella pinpoints many actions the government at the moment and the way in which society is handled in regards to spending welfare etc. It also talks about the London riots and how they may have been an underlying factor as to why the riots took place. The riots stemmed from a man of ethnic minority who was shot and killed by the police, as a result the family wanted answers as to what happened and as to why their family member was shot. There was many speculation as to if the victim was armed or not or whether it was to do with racism. A peaceful march began by the family demanding answers which soon escalated to the riots. The riots were blamed on gang culture and people taking advantage of an unfortunate situation. However nothing of unfair treatments of people and tension between the youths and the police were addressed. The riots may have been a cry for help and that may have been the chance fo r many more deprived members of society to have their say. Also the riots may have been due to frustrations built up as well as other underlying social factors which were not addressed. Such as most of the people who were involved were part of less privileged communities who were worse off in terms of employment and housing. The finding s of the riot research found that over half 59% of rioters were from the 20% most deprived areas in the UK. The riots seem to have had much more of meaning than just that of the shooting of Mark Duggan. According to the Reading the riots report (2011) its findings were very interesting in regards to its contents. The study was to find out what have driven individuals in the riots and who were responsible of which came these findings of the analysis. 87% of the people who were interviewed out of 270 said that policing and tensions between the police and public were to blame because of the treatments they had from officers. This shows that policing and public frustrations were indeed key contributing factors as to why the riots happened. This combined with anger and frustrations in regards with the relationship between the police also added more fuel to the riots. The Blackwell companion to social work, social work and politics focuses on social work and ideology and the role in which social workers have. It argues that social workers have a power struggle with family and service users and these are due to political ideology and that social service and workers are political activists. Both the Just Umbrella the Backwell companion discuss changes and the state moving away from the neo-liberal economics in regards to Labour and Margaret Thatchers approach to politics. Both stated that the new right approach to social policy was focused on making the welfare state in particular better in regards for what works. However Blackwell argues that this gives room for politicians to pass difficult subjects to professionals to suggest solutions. The just umbrella also comments on what is known as the Big Society and that of the effects it has on society as well as the coalition policy. According to the Cabinet Office the big society is about giving more p ower to the people to help improve their lives, Transferring power from Whitehills to Local Communities. While the just umbrella recognises failings in the big Society and its local ideas, Blackwell points out ideology behind this and how it affects social work practice. It aims to put the point across that social work is heavily driven by politics and ideology. The social worker who claims to be above or beyond politics is one who has denied him or herself access to a set of conceptual tools which are directly necessary to a properly informed conduct in todays complex world of practice. What is exactly meant by this statement is that social workers cannot fulfil their full potential of practice without accepting they are a part of politics. Accepting this gives social workers the knowledge and power to practice effective service. This is a matter of opinion however because it takes away from the social workers individual core beliefs. If a social worker does not agree with some asp ects of political ideology this does not mean they do not have the tools to properly practice social work.