Costco Wholesale in 2012 Essay Example for Free

Costco Wholesale in 2012 Essay Costco is one of United States’ largest retailers, serving over 3600 variants of convenience products at excellent quality with competent prices. Founded in 1983, Costco quickly expanded in its operations to over 598 stores worldwide. One of the unique selling propositions of Costco is the fact that they offer very low prices as compared to their competitors without requiring to compromise quality. This paper will analyze Costco’s key success factors in terms of its strategic management. Business Model Costco’s business model is simple and straightforward; they offer high quality products at affordable rates. The centerpiece of Costco’s model entails high sales volume and rapid inventory turnover. Costco enjoys high inventory turnover which means that they don’t need to stock a particular good for long period of time. Also, before they need to pay the suppliers, they are able to sell it. Which means, they are able to pay suppliers with the cash derived from sales, leading to low working capital. This shows significance in financial health and good financial management. This kind of business model is appealing for several reasons; low prices can generate high number of customers, indicates healthy operations, encourage rapid turnover, decrease warehouse costs and many more. However, in order to keep up with this business model, Costco needs to continually maintain overhead costs, which will be discussed further into the paper. Strategy Costco’s low pricing strategy highly depends upon several factors. In terms of pricing, they offer bargain products at low prices. Their earnings highly come from membership fees, over which members can join in an annual subscription and enjoy promotional rates as members. Even though Costco enjoys less profit margins, they have high number of annual members and earn their profit by membership revenues. In terms of product, their Kirkland Signature is also of good quality as a representation of their brand. They are also ready to experience loss of sales by customers who do not want to purchase in larger quantities. Treasure-hunt merchandising is also a smart  method to continually renew their product lines to encourage members to purchase the item right away in fear of not having them available at the next visit. Jim Sinegal and Core Values as CEO Jim Sinegal shows good examples of leadership as a CEO. He conducts an open-door policy which makes him accessible to staff, thereby increasing employee motivation. Jim also conducts regular store visits as opposed to working at a desk, which shows his willingness to step down to the field to help improve the store. The business environment is made to be causal and unpretentious, so employees feel sense of belonging and are often committed to the organization, in benefit of themselves and the company. Low employee turnover shows the compatibility of the employees and the company, which means that the corporate culture can be maintained or enhanced. Financial Perspective We have come to understand that Costco achieves much of their revenue from membership renewals. Observing the financial data, we see that Costco’s membership fees if four times over from 2000 up to 2011. This signifies their proficiency in making member packages attractive. Their actions in prioritizing members have been successful as we see that members are continually signing up. Therefore, membership is encouraged to be sustained. However, we see that sales also increase significantly over the years, almost 3 times over. Therefore, we can conclude that despite having less marketing activities, Costco is able to attract customers by emphasizing on price efficiency. Their working capital ration (current assets minus current liabilities) is kept at a low level due to high inventory turnover. Competitive Advantage over Competitors A key competitive advantage owned by Costco over its competitors is, without a doubt, their low prices. Although they do not invest much in store layout, store ambiance, labor and marketing, they have low overhead costs which contributes to being able to keep prices low. Also, they offer a wide array of product categories from food products to gasoline, although within a product category, they offer less brands than usual retailers (Llopis, 2011). Strategic Weaknesses in Comparison to Competitors The fact that Costco carries only 3600 selections of merchandises could potentially be a major flaw in their strategy. Generally, other stores carry over 10.000 selections. Customers may initially feel the thrill of shopping at cheap prices at Costco but could eventually dislike the lack of choices in terms of brands and may choose to shop at stores with larger varieties. Secondly, Costco spend less for advertisements and rely on word-of-mouth and certain campaigns. However, their competitors, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club spend much more on advertisements. Presently, Costco’s financial conditions show steady results in sales but the power of marketing is such that customers may choose to shop elsewhere for various reasons. It is also important to note that customers’ switching costs (from Costco to another) is relatively low. Compensations Policies Costco offers attractive compensations as compared to their competitors. The employee benefits covers all aspects such as fixed wages, health benefits, medicinal discounts, eligibility for company profits, counseling services and many more. At a quick glance, we notice that Costco spends much on compensation, despite the comparatively lower amount of labor, due to the vast varieties of compensations. In my opinion, it shows good corporate culture to take care of employees. In most companies, CEOs are the first ones to be rewarded with sky-high numbers. It is different in the case with Costco, where CEOs are paid enough without failing to reward employees appropriately. Conclusions and Recommendations Although from a management and operation point of view, Costco is doing everything to a tee, there are several recommendations provided to further improve its performance: Increase product lines to above 3600 in order to compete in terms of product choice with their competitors, especially after understanding that customers’ switching costs are low. Costco already has a big advantage in terms of prices and can do wonders when they also hold product advantage. Prepare some funds for marketing. Branding and brand awareness are two of the most important factors for warehouses to remain sustainable in the market to be seen as reliant. With more marketing, Costco can retain top-of-mind positioning as the â€Å"place to shop† in customers’ mindsets. Maintain membership fees at a fair rate. Currently, Costco’s membership fees are higher compared to their competitors. They can maintain their fees at this level only if they can provide more attractive member benefits to their customers compared to their competitors. Reference: Llopis, G. (2011, January 31). The Costco Factor: To Win The Business Game, You Need to Change How You Think. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2011/01/31/the-costco-factor-to-win-the-business-game-you-need-to-change-how-you-think/

Interesting people in History: Bjork :: essays research papers

Bjà ¶rk first came to prominence as one of the lead vocalists of the avant-pop Icelandic sextet the Sugarcubes, but when she launched a solo career after the group's 1992 demise, she quickly eclipsed her old band's popularity. Instead of following in the Sugarcubes' arty guitar rock pretensions, Bjà ¶rk immersed herself in dance and club culture, working with many of the biggest names in the genre, including Nellee Hooper, Underworld, and Tricky. Debut, her first solo effort (except for an Icelandic-only smash released when she was just 11 years old), not only established her new artistic direction, but it became an international hit, making her one of the '90s most unlikely stars. Though the title of Debut implied that it was Bjà ¶rk's first-ever solo project, she had actually been a professional vocalist since she was a child. When she was in elementary school in Reykjavik, she studied classical piano and, eventually, her teachers submitted a tape of her singing Tina Charles' "I Love to Love" to Iceland's Radio One. After "I Love to Love" was aired, a record label called Falkkin offered Bjà ¶rk a record contract. At the age of 11, her eponymous first album was released; the record contained covers of several pop songs, including the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill," and boasted artwork from her mother and guitar work from her stepfather. Bjà ¶rk became a hit within Iceland and was not released in any other country. Bjà ¶rk's musical tastes were changed by the punk revolution of the late '70s; in 1979, she formed a post-punk group called Exodus and, in the following year, she sang in Jam 80. In 1981, Bjà ¶rk and Exodus bassist Jakob Magnusson formed Tappi Tikarrass, which released an EP, Bitid Fast I Vitid, on Spor later that year; it was followed by the full-length Miranda in 1983. Following Tappi Tikarrass, she formed the goth-tinged post-punk group KUKL with Einar Orn Benediktsson. KUKL released two albums, The Eye (1984) and Holidays in Europe (1986), on Crass Records before the band metamorphosed into the Sugarcubes in the summer of 1986. The Sugarcubes became one of the rare Icelandic bands to break out of their native country when their debut album, Life's Too Good, became a British and American hit in 1988. For the next four years, the group maintained a successful cult following in the U.K. and the U.S. while they were stars within Iceland. During 1990, Bjà ¶rk recorded a set of jazz standards and originals with an Icelandic bebop group called Trio Gudmundar Ingolfssonar.

Conditioning and Learning Essay

â€Å"Learning, acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives. † (Gregory, 1961) Conditioning is the term used to designate the types of human behavioral learning. Since the 1920s, conditioning has been the primary focus of behavior research in humans as well as animals. There are four main types of conditioning: ? Classical Conditioning ?Operant Conditioning ?Multiple-Response Learning ?Insight Learning. Conditioning and Learning 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Classical Conditioning â€Å"Classical conditioning, also called associative learning, is based on stimulus-response relationships. A stimulus is an object or situation that elicits a response by one of our sense organs, like how a bright light makes us blink. Associative learning allows us to associate two or more stimuli and change our response to one or more of them as a result of simultaneous experience. † (Moore, 2002) â€Å"According to classical conditioning, learning occurs when a new stimulus begins to elicit behavior similar to the behavior produced by an old stimulus. Studies into classical condition began in the early 1900s by the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov. † (Klein, 1998) Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in response to two stimuli: noise or light, and food or a sour solution. The dogs’ salivation is automatically elicited by the food and sour solution, so these were called the unconditional stimulus. However, when the noise or light (conditional stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the food or sour solution over an extended period of time, the dogs would eventually salivate at the noise or light alone. This is a prime example of a conditioned response. Unconditional stimuli, such as the food and sour solution, allow the learning to occur, while also serving to reinforce the learning. Without an unconditional stimulus in his experiment, Pavlov could not have taught the dogs to salivate at the presence of the noise or light. Conditioning and Learning 3 Classical conditioning is particularly important in understanding how people learn emotional behavior. For example, when we develop a new fear, we have learned to fear a particular stimulus, which has been combined with another frightening stimulus. Operant Conditioning. â€Å"Operant conditioning is goal-directed behavior. We learn to perform a particular response as a result of what we know will happen after we respond. † (Blackman, 1975) For example, a child may learn to beg for sweets if the begging is usually successful. There is no single stimulus that elicits the begging behavior, but instead it occurs because the child knows that this action may result in receiving treats. Every time the child receives sweets after begging, the behavior is reinforced and the tendency of the child to beg will increase. During the 1930s, American psychologist and behaviorist Burrhus F.Skinner performed several important experiments into operant conditioning. Using what is now termed a Skinner Box, he trained rats to press levers to receive food. A hungry rat would be placed in a box containing a special lever attached to concealed food. At first the hungry rat would wander around the box, investigating its surroundings. Eventually it would accidentally press the lever thereby releasing a food pellet into the box. At first the rat would not show any signs of associating the two events, but over time its exploring behavior becomes less random as it begins to press the lever more Conditioning and Learning 4  often. The food pellet reinforced the rat’s response of pressing the lever, so eventually the rat would spend most of its time just sitting and pressing the lever. This type of learning is based on the idea that if a behavior is rewarded, the behavior will occur more frequently. There are four main types of operant learning: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Punishment and Omission Training. Observational Learning â€Å"When we learn skills, we must first learn a sequence of simple movement-patterns. We combine these movement-patterns to form new, more complicated behavioral patterns with stimuli guiding the process. † (Domjan, 1995) For example, efficient typing requires us to put together many finger movements, which are guided by the letters or words that we want to type. We must first learn to type each letter, and then learn to put the movements together to type words and then phrases. To investigate this type of learning, psychologists have observed animals learning to run through mazes. An animal first wanders aimlessly through the maze, periodically coming to a choice-point, where it must turn either left or right. Only one choice is correct, but the correct direction cannot be determined until the animal has reached the end of the maze. By running through the maze numerous times, the animal can learn the correct sequence of turns to reach the end. It has been found that the sequences of turns near the Conditioning and Learning 5 Two ends of the maze are learned more easily than the parts near the middle. Similarly, when we try to learn a list of items, we usually find the beginning and the end easier than the middle. Insight Learning Insight refers to learning to solve a problem by understanding the relationships of various parts of the problem. Often insight occurs suddenly, such as when a person struggles with a problem for a period of time and then suddenly understands its solution. Therefore insight learning is solving problems without experience. Instead of learning by trial-and-error, insight learning involves trials occurring mentally. â€Å"In the early 1900s, Wolfgang Kohler performed insight experiments on chimpanzees. Kohler showed that the chimpanzees sometimes used insight instead of trial-and-error responses to solve problems. When a banana was placed high out of reach, the animals discovered that they could stack boxes on top of each other to reach it. † (Schwartz, 1983) They also realized that they could use sticks to knock the banana down. In another experiment, a chimp balanced a stick on end under a bunch of bananas suspended from the ceiling, then quickly climbed the stick to obtain the entire bunch intact and unbruised (a better technique than the researchers themselves had in mind). Kohler’s experiments showed that primates can both see and use the relationships involved to reach their goals. Conditioning and Learning 6 CONCLUSION There are many differences and similarities between each of these learning processes. For example, classical conditioning involves only involuntary or reflex responses where as operant conditioning involves both involuntary and voluntary reflexes. These diverse learning processes can be used independently in many different situations. Where classical conditioning may be extremely effective in one situation it might be ineffective in another. For this reason each of these learning processes, classical and operant conditioning and observational and insight learning are each as important and effective as the other. Conditioning and Learning 7 References. Kimble, Gregory: (1961) Conditioning and Learning, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. John W Moore: (2002) A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Classical Conditioning. Stephen B. Klein: (1998) Contemporary Learning Theories: Pavlovian Conditioning and the Status of Traditional Learning Theory, Chap. 5 (Perceptual and Associative Learning). Derek E. Blackman: (1975) Operant Conditioning: Experimental Analysis of Behaviour (Manual of Modern Psychology). Michael Domjan: (1995) The Essentials of Conditioning and Learning. Tighe, Schwartz: (1983) Modern Learning Theory, Psychology of Learning and Behavior 2nd edition.

Critically examine Essay

The four items from the book all say that women have the majority of the expectation to do more of the domestic tasks. These tasks include such things like caring for the children emotionally, washing clothes and making sure the house is tidy etc. The man is seen to be the main breadwinner and has little to do with such domestic tasks. There are views that say, however, that men are getting more actively involved, for example item D from M. Denscombe says that â€Å"The amount of time fathers’ spend with their children has increased fourfold over a generation between 1961 and 1995. † But it is very hard to do research within a family unit unless you are in the unit already and can research from within. Item B from M. Jones suggests that the domestic division of labour is not in proportion to the division of employed work, even though there is evidence to suggest that this is sometimes the case, â€Å"generally studies indicate that inequality rather than symmetry is the defining characteristic of the majority of present day marriages. † There are many different sociologists that believe that the division of labour in the home is getting more equal in the present day. Item A involved a huge survey of 543 parents and found that working mothers spend more time on housework than on their full time job. It says that mothers in full time employment spend 56 hours on housework compared to men’s 31 hours a week. This shows that even when the mother is working there is still the expectation for her to be the main carer and house worker; this sort of division of labour, which is expected, is called the â€Å"dual burden†. Item C is from M. Leonard and suggests that women accept the role of the housewife because they want to be seen as a good wife and mother. For this reason they are more likely to accept an unequal division of labour. Willmott and Young (1973) introduced the idea of symmetry, which basically meant that the roles of the husband and wife were equal and balanced. They still agreed that women would take the main responsibility for the childcare and domestic tasks, but said that men were spending about the same amount of time as the women in the home doing home-related activities. The idea of symmetry meant that the domestic tasks would be shared equally, but this would not be strictly true as men were still seen to do the practical jobs such as â€Å"do it yourself† tasks or decorating, while the women would wash up. This meant that they did about the same amount of time on domestic tasks, but they were not shared completely equally. This â€Å"symmetrical† division of labour made the relationship more â€Å"home-centred† and they would spend more of the leisure time together, providing a stronger relationship. Willmott and Young would agree that the domestic tasks have become more equal between the husband and wife. This sort of marriage is called the egalitarian marriage where the tasks are more joint. Burghes would agree with Willmott and Young who say that fathers are more active in childcare these days than they were in the 1960’s. Benston, a Marxist-feminist argues that women are used as reserve army of labour and that the work that they do and the way they work benefits the capitalist system because they are easily employable and can be let off work easier than men. The capitalist system promotes the traditional nuclear family where the man is the breadwinner and the wife is the carer and looks after the house this is because of the capitalist system that treats women as slaves, â€Å"women are the slaves of wage slaves† Rosser and Harris agree with Wilmot and Young’s theory and say that nowadays the husband is expected to help with the household chores, to stay at home or go out for the evening with his wife, to help with the children, to push the pram, to share the major family decisions. The case studies of young married couples confirmed this marked change in the conjugal relationship and the marked contrast within the recent past. This is a big change from years past as the husband is getting more involved with the children and helping out more within the home. Elizabeth Bott argues that the conjugal roles in the home are both segregated and joint. This means that the jobs round the house are shared in terms of time doing them, but they are segregated because the wife would do different tasks to the man. The man would do such jobs like looking after the car and getting things fixed around the house, while the woman would do jobs which are associated with the mother figure, these are such tasks as making sure there is a dinner on the table and looking after the children while they are playing. Bott also argues that the norms and beliefs of the middle class would eventually filter down into the working class. At the moment the middle class has a different system when it comes to domestic division of labour, they tend to have the joint domestic task system, where as the working class have a segregated division of labour. By saying that this will filter down means that eventually the working class will change their division of labour so that the tasks between the husband and wife are joint. In conclusion I think that the roles within the family are being a lot more shared, so are becoming more symmetrical. The husband and wife are beginning to share their domestic tasks and this will bring them closer to each other, this point agrees with that of Willmott and Young when they say that more of the leisure time that they have will be spent together in the home. I also agree with the view from Beck who says that fathers need an identity, which in this modern world is not provided by their work anymore so they look to other places to provide it. More and more fathers are taking an active role in the development of their children, which provides them with the identity, which they need. The involvement should not be exaggerated though because compared to the mother they still don’t play a huge role in the care of the children. This view agrees with Item D, which is the Item that I agree with most as it describes the change of involvement of fathers with their children form the 1960’s to the 1990’s.

Essay about Politics and Right

Essay about Politics and Right Essay about Politics and Right Politics and what is Right It is impossible to discuss a platonic statement without first examining its context. Each word is carefully placed and should therefore be taken as a whole group rather than as individual parts. Accordingly, in order to analyze Plato’s declaration in Apology 32a, we must also look at Apology as a whole as a reference to this sample. Several significant dialogue advancements evolve Socrates’ reasoning towards this statement, each pertaining to his own life. Personal experience, therefore, is the driving force behind, if not the solitary reason for, his assertion. The first two experiences that lead to this revelation are contained in his first and second rebuttals. When the first group accuses him of â€Å"[being] a criminal . . . prying into things under the earth and up in the heavens, and making the weaker argument the stronger, and teaching these same things to others,† he responds by explaining the negative opinions towards him - which led to these accusations – by narrating his divine enlightenment. (Apology, 19b) The oracle at Delphi had prophesized that he was the wisest of men. Socrates, therefore, concluded that his wisdom must stem from the fact that he understands that he knows nothing and considered this to be a calling to expose the â€Å"false wisdom† of others. As is customary with self-concept, these men blamed Socrates for their uncovered shortcomings and responded by â€Å"repeat[ing] the stock charges against philosophers, ‘underground lore and up-in-the-air lore, atheists, making the weaker argument the stronger,’† thus validating the aggravating nature of the Socratic Method. (Apology, 23d) As for his second accusers, their contestation is that â€Å"Socrates is a criminal who corrupts the young and does not believe in gods whom the state believes in, but other new spiritual things instead.† (Apology, 24b) In response, Socrates cross-examines Mel etus, as he is accustomed to doing in private circles. He is marginally more focused on embarrassment than arriving at the truth here but this dialogue still further illustrates the legitimacy behind his claims that his method upsets those who encounter its revealing nature. His defense is succeeded by the regression and the third occurrence that brings about his revelation. Here, Socrates affirms his willingness to defy authority of any form. He disregards the jurors’ power by minimalizing their greatest penalty, death, by not only showing fearlessness regarding it but also saying that â€Å"to fear death †¦is only to think that you are wise when you are not,† thereby calling them fools for thinking that this was a power at all. (Apology, 29a) He goes on to say that if they release him on the condition that he cannot practice philosophy he would rather die than conform to it, both showing his absolute commitment to the his cause and confirming that he would no t respect any determination that would force him to cease the behavior that his accusers claim is unlawful. This shows that he has an irrational non-fear of the government as an entity that has power over him. These three developments contain the relevant details that Apology gives its readers that can be used in order to formulate a reasonable understanding of the roots of Apology 32a, in which he argues: â€Å"It is necessary that one who really and truly fights for the right, if he is to survive even for a short time, shall act as a private man, not as a public man.† (Apology, 32a) This statement comes in a few parts and is derived from Socrates’ personal experience. First is â€Å"the man who really and truly fights.† Socrates’ unwillingness to forgo his disputed actions, despite any consequence or penalty, communicates that he relentlessly or â€Å"really and truly† fights. Furthermore, his complete dedication to his cause, his belief that it was divinely inspired, and his assertions that his actions are a gift to the state imply that he believes himself to fight â€Å"for the right.† Lastly, it

BTVET in Uganda

BTVET in Uganda AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING ENROLMENT AND COMPLETION RATES IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING (BTVET) IN UGANDA Introduction This study attempts to conduct an investigation of the factors affecting enrolment and completion rates within the Business, Technical & Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) institutions in Uganda. The study covers a period of ten years (between 1999 to 2009), rationally decided upon as it was during this time when the government Implemented major reforms within the education system of the country, as a result of the Education Review Commission (1989). It will be noted that 1999 falls two years short of the actual time (1997) when the government implemented Universal Primary Education (UPE) free to four children of every Ugandan family in the country a step towards meeting Education for all (EFA) by the year 2012 as one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in the country. The study takes place more than ten years down the line since t he inception of UPE and three years after Universal Secondary Education (USE) programmes. Whilst many primary schools are still struggling with the influx of pupils who would otherwise have had no chance of getting a formal elementary education if it were not for UPE and USE, this author seeks to investigate whether the implementation of these programmes has in any way made a difference to people’s attitudes towards education in general and vocational education in particular. The study seeks to investigate the trend of enrolment and completion in institutions of higher learning and in particular those in the Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) sector during the time when Education For All (EFA) by the year 2012, has been on top of the agenda as one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for developing countries. The UPE programme took off amidst a barrage of problems including widespread public criticism resulting from the initiall y poor performance of typical UPE schools in the country. Among the problems that pledged this programme from the very start was the issue of congestion of the available classrooms. Because of the UPE programme many schools reported overwhelming enrolments leading to an influx of the hitherto non school going children. This became a cause for concern as a result of the overstretched existing facilities within schools. In spite of the inadequate conditions under which some of the schools operated, and whilst some schools were still lamenting the lack of space and inadequate facilities, it was about this time that the government made good its second promise regarding free education and introduced the Universal Secondary Education, (USE) free for all. The programme, which started in 2007, was introduced in a similar way to UPE ten years earlier. Similar in a sense that the programme was ill prepared for as it was started within the existing school infrastructure and with the same manpo wer. Three years down the line however, reports from the media and evidence from schools seem to suggest that the USE programme has produced increased rates of enrolment in secondary schools by the year since it was started. It is the assumption of this author that if these reforms in the education sector have so far been a success story they could have a similar impact on people’s attitudes regarding education in general and vocational education in particular, and it is from the results of this study that this fact will be fully established. It is on this basis among other factors that this author is to conduct a study of the rates at which students enroll and complete their courses paying particular attention to such factors as cause them to drop out and what to do about it.

For The Sake Of Harmonising Asylum And Refugee Policy In Europe Is The Essay

For The Sake Of Harmonising Asylum And Refugee Policy In Europe Is The Returns Directive Fit For Purpose - Essay Example In other words the Returns Directive aims to harmonize asylum and refugee policy among the Member States. However, the Directive has been the subject of criticism, particularly from Non-government Organizations and human rights groups internationally. A major concern as expressed by the UNHCR is the Returns Directive mandate that Member States recognize return decisions made by other Member States. Such a mandate means that harmful decisions on asylum will have application across the EU. Therefore if the purpose of the Returns Directive is to ensure the harmonization of refugee and asylum policies relative to the protection of the interest of the concerned, it would appear that the Returns Directive fails in this regard. If decisions that are harmful to the individual refugee and asylum seekers are to receive common recognition, the Returns Directive is going to achieve an unintended and diametrically opposite purpose. In general, the Returns Directive sets out the rules for the proc edure to be adopted relative to returns. This includes the return decisions,4 bans on entry,5 and provides that nationals from third countries who stay on an irregular basis ought to be permitted between a week and a month to organize their own departure prior to forced exile.6 In many ways these procedural guidelines do not deal with substantive issues and as such do not provide for a harmonious method for exacting asylum and refugee policies. To begin with there are no guidelines for regulating how forced departure should be practiced and whether or not refoulement should be denied in cases where return could result in serious consequences for the asylum seeker or refugee. The emphasis therefore appears to be security and border control in Europe.7 Secondly, the requirement that a refugee or asylum seeker be released without more after being held in detention for 6 months appears to have some practical difficulties.8 Mole and Meredith explains the difficulty with Article 15. Artic le 15 provides that once a detainee has been held for the maximum period, he/she must be released regardless of any justifications on the part of domestic authorities for the refugee or asylum seekers’ continued detention. This means that a refugee or asylum seeker could be released without valid documentation, or in circumstances where he or she is violent, has no methods by which to support himself/herself and certainly has no place to live.9 It is difficult to imagine how Article 15 purports to achieve harmonization of European policy on asylum and refugee policies that seek to protect the interest of those individuals. Article 15 effectively ensures that the asylum seeker and the refugee are placed into the general population once the detention reaches a 6 months at his/her own peril and in circumstances that are burdensome to the wider community. It would appear that the only method by which Article 15 can achieve the main purpose of the Returns Directive is to encourage Member States to forcibly return the asylum seeker or refugee to their country of origin as quickly as possible. As previously noted, this practice is also inconsistent with the Returns’ harmonization of policies intended to protect the interest of the individuals concerned. In fact the Returns Directive, thus far reflects the opinion of Schain’s, that the Returns Directive is more concerned with border control and security.10 Moreover, Article 15(5) which provides for a limited period of detention, contradicts Article 15(4) which provides: When it appears that a reasonable prospect of removal no longer exists for legal or other considerations or the conditions laid down in