Abstract This paper reports on the positives and negatives Russia has experienced while attempting to change into a democratic society, the corruption that is a part of the Russian political system, Russia's economy and policies towards civil rights and its relationship with the United States.
Table of Contents
A Brief Review of Why Russia Needed to Become Democratic
Switching from Communism to Democracy Putin's Corruption
Putin's Reforms
Women's Movement
Human Rights
Russia's Economic Hard Times
Conclusion
From the Paper "Meanwhile, Russia has had a good recent track record when it comes to economic growth, which is reflected in a 7.3% increase in Gross National Production (GNP) in 2003, Sleivyte explains (65). That rise in GNP is largely due, though, to the sale of oil internationally; indeed, energy accounted for "50% of Russia's total export earnings in 2003," and Putin's government also looked good economically because the price of oil was high. But overall, there are fewer freedoms in Russia than five years ago, partly because Putin has launched an "anti-terrorism" campaign - a "state of war" against international terrorists "bent on destroying Russia" - which, in reality, Sleivyte writes, "has no relation to the fight against terrorism," but rather a trade-off of "less freedom for more security.""
Abstract This paper takes a look at conflict management. The paper defines conflict management as a difference in view or opinion or the variance in choices that can occur between two or more people. The paper discusses how conflict in the workplace can be detrimental, with dire consequences. The paper further discusses how the art of conflict management is essentially the ability to consistently turn conflict situations into opportunities for development and growth.
Outline:
Introduction
What is Conflict and Conflict Management?
Some Central Causes of Conflict in the Workplace
Brief Overview of Theoretical Perspectives
Why is Conflict Management Important?
Managing Conflict Conclusion
From the Paper "This aspect would also be beneficial when dealing with a difficult customer or staff member. Through listening and being attentive the to nuances of what is being said, aspects and areas of concern may be revealed which can be used to defuse the conflict situation. Listening also tends to prevent an unthinking over-reaction to the situation. This method is very simple but they also can have a profound effect on a difficult client or staff member. In effect not reacting in a provocative and hostile way may reduce the other party's hostility and make him or her calmer and more amenable to discussion. "
An examination of empowering communities through decentralization and enlisting participation for capacity building for sub-national governance in developing countries.
Abstract This paper explores critically and comprehensively strategies that enhance empowerment of communites within a framework of sub-national governance through some techniques of decentralization and quality participation. Developing countries are the main units of analysis. However, the role of the International Development Community is examined and the discourse is concerned with creating a special legal, economic, social, political, geographic and fiscal space for sub-national groups that act autonomously, though in association with the state, private sector and other factors in society.
From the Paper "Since the 1970s and 1980s, the character and form of public service delivery has extended far beyond provision through central government towards the empowerment of local governments, hence, sub-national groupings involving much decentralization for empowering particularly communities. The idea has been the growing focus on not only, political and economic development, but also, and more importantly, social and human development where it has been recognized that central government alone, within the vortex of globalization cannot promote development in all respects. The United Nations Development programme (1998) has noted that decades of development assistance have countenanced the notion that economic development alone will not bring about equitable and lasting development because there was much focus on the economy, which meant an exclusion of political, social, environmental and cultural factors. As the report noted, ?"in the face of continued and devastating poverty and rapid environmental deterioration, more and more policy-makers are acknowledging that development progress must be people-centered, equitably distributed and environmentally and socially sustainable" (UNDP, ibid, 1998, p. 1). Nevertheless, the implementation, activity and even the concept of sub-national governance have been problematic and have developed a distinct set of formidable concerns. This is so, as some of the very problems found with central governments that propelled the idea and practise of decentralization and empowerment for sub-national groups, in particular communities, have again and have continually resurfaced and in some ways just as and even more troubling. Problems relate in part to information asymmetry, institutional deficiencies, and problems of targeting technical, managerial, professional and otherwise resources in addition to problems of accountability and capacity generally, as some would argue (Turner and Hulme 1997 : World Bank Report, June 2001 )."
Abstract This article discusses the conflict between Islam, women's rights, and democracy. The writer looks at several examples in this regard from different countries. Relevant fundamentalist views and liberal views are examined in this paper. The writer also discusses the cultural values of Islam.
From the Paper "Both democracy and Islam are abstractions with vague definitions since each word has been applied to contradictory practices. When we speak of democracy do we mean ancient Athens the United States or Europe or India or Israel or Uzbekistan? Let us grant that there are no pure democracies and that when we use the word, we are referring to tendencies. Our critique of any given society depends on our analysis as to how far and in what way it is fulfilling the ... "
Abstract This paper discusses the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) as it emerged following the Second World War, from 1949 to 1989. It looks at how this was a pivotal time for the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union and how East and West Germany were significant fronts in the Cold War. The paper looks briefly at the end of the conflict, with the peaceful revolution of 1989.
From the Paper "After five decades of international conflict, waged between the imperial champion of the communist ideology and the frontrunner for western democracy, the latter prevailed in the peaceful revolution of 1989. With the reunification of Germany, and two years later, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cold War had ended with little violence or resistance. And from the perspective that the invasive and draconian presence of Soviet supported regimes had fallen in Hungary, Romania, Czechloslovakia and Poland, the end of the Cold War certainly appeared to light the way toward the pervasion of civil liberty, capitalist evolution and democratic policy representation."
Abstract This paper discusses rational and abstract communication in social systems via a review of several articles. It reviews the law model and studies the works and theories of the modernization of the world, of Michel Foucalt, Nancy Love, Niklas Luhmann and John Hagan. The review is conducted through an analysis of several articles written by these famous thinkers. The paper then compares and contrasts these views and reviews where the individual stands in the system.
Outline:
Article Summaries
Michel Foucault: Spaces of Security: The example of the Town. Lecture of 11th January
Michel Foucault: About the Beginning of Hermeneutics of the Self
Nancy Love: Foucault and Habermas on Discourse and Democracy Harro Muller: Luhmann's Systems Theory as a Theory of Modernity
Niklas Luhmann: Differentiation of Society
John Hagan: Parameters of Criminal Prosecution
Niklas Luhmann: "What is the case?"
Linking the articles - Compare and Contrast
Links between Luhmann's Differentiation and Foucault's Example of the Town
Links between Foucault's hermeneutics of the self and Love's Discourse and Democracy Links between Luhmann's differentiation of society and Hagan's study on the criminal court
Links between Luhmann's Differentiation of Society and Love's Discourse and Democracy Links between Luhmann's Differentiation of Society and Foucault's hermeneutics of the self
Examining the Problem
Relate Subjectification to the Systemic Account: Where the Individual Stands in the System
From the Paper "We would now like to analyze this in terms of the legal system. With influence from Hagan's study on criminal court and its influences, we are able to analyze the legal system. In this article, Hagan asserts that there are some connections on final disposition in the trial with the circumstances of the trial such as initial plea, presence of defense counsel, and even to a certain extent race and socio-economic class. These connections may be obscure but they are still real. In knowing that there are connections between these elements of the trial and the final decision, we must realize that the judge and jury's decision is not only based on the facts of the case. There must be some sort of contribution outside of these facts. This contribution is the abstract communications that the jury has unconsciously accepted as social norms and attributed to the case."
Examining the reasons for one party being in power in Russia for several terms, despite the economic depression that has existed since the fall of Communism and the installment of democracy.
Abstract This paper examines the factors that have contributed to the election of the same political party in Russia since the fall of Communism. Russia has been in an economic depression since the fall of the Soviet Union, yet the same party is re-elected through democratic vote. The reasons for this puzzling outcome are discussed in this paper and identified as using democracy to purge the conservative communists of their rank, old elites regaining state control and loyalty of those counting the votes. Each factor is discussed in great detail along with its contribution and impact on the electoral outcome. This paper is ideal for anyone, from a Russian politics expert to a curious novice.
From the Paper "Mikhail Gorbachev, along with the Soviet leaders was the first to introduce semi competitive elections into the USSR and then later Russia. Although elections are a focal point of a democracy, they were not initiated by Gorbachev for this use. "The goal of these elections was to purge the conservative ranks of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from their positions of power within state structures as a way to liberate these state institutions and thereby make them available as instruments by executing Gorbachev's economic reforms" (McFaul and Petrov, 24). The existing powers of the Soviet Union at the time of the introduction of democracy were all communists, who held high political ranks. In order for Gorbachev to implement his reformation of the economy, these political figures needed to be removed from their ranks, otherwise there would be great opposition to the changes planned. When these leaders were removed, the state organizations were free from communist control and could be used in any way that Gorbachev desired."
Examines the impact that democracy and respect for human rights are having upon the principle of sovereignty on which international relations is based.
Abstract The influence of democracy and respect for human rights on sovereignty is analyzed by their status as international norms, their roles in the recognition of new states and their impact in regards to interventionary practices. Specific and extensive examples are used in each of these dimensions of the analysis. Case studies referred to include Somalia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Nagorno-Karabakh, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Haiti and East Timor.
Paper Outline:
Democracy Democracy as an International Norm
Democracy and the Recognition of New States
Democracy and Intervention
Democracy Conclusion
Human Rights
Respect for Human Rights as an International Norm
Respect for Human Rights in the Recognition of New States
Humanitarian Intervention
Human Rights Conclusion
From the Paper "The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, signed in December of 1933, established the criteria that a state must meet as a person of international law: a permanent population; a defined territory; a government; and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. These criteria entail two aspects of sovereignty: an internal one referring to a government's authority over a defined territory and the population within, and an external dimension referring to a state's recognition by other states. Since 1933, however, the international system has undergone many changes: WWII, the rise of the United States, the creation of the United Nations, decolonization, the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, the growth of democracy, the birth of the European Union, and the emergence of an active international community."
Abstract This book analyzes the book "Democracy in America", which was written in the middle of the nineteenth century by French traveler, Alec de Tocqueville. The author of this paper maintains that de Tocqueville's portrayal of his vision of the character and future of American society was practically prophetic. The paper reviews within a modern context de Tocquevill's references to the entrenched materialism and commercialism; class conflict; separate spheres for men and women; and of a confusion between freedom and equality. The paper illustrates how most of de Tocqueville's observations and analyses of the United States remain relevant today, more than a hundred years later.
From the Paper "For instance, in Chapter One of the second book of Democracy in America, the author states, "...equality, pushed to its furthest extent, may be confounded with freedom, yet there is good reason for distinguishing the one from the other. The taste which men have for liberty and that which they feel for equality are, in fact, two different things," (para. 5). The difference between liberty and equality, which is rarely vocalized as bluntly as it is in de Tocqueville's work, has been one of the underlying themes running throughout the course of American history. Whether class conflict, racial division, or gender role differentiation, American society has fulfilled de Tocqueville's image: "for equality their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible; they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery." Similarly, de Tocqueville summed up the nature of American materialism: "The heart of man is of a larger mold; it can at once comprise a taste for the possessions of earth and the love of those of heaven; at times it may seem to cling devotedly to the one, but it will never be long without thinking of the other," (Book 2, Ch. 15). Regarding most matters of American society and ideology such as gender and race relations; class conflict; political climate; and material culture, de Tocqueville hits the nail on the head; only a few of De Tocqueville's observations were off the mark."
This paper discusses that the United States and the international community should refrain from intervention into ethnic conflicts within sovereign nations except in the cases of extreme violence.
Abstract This paper defines international ethnic conflicts as disputes between communities within a sovereign nation that see themselves as having distinct rights over the power relationship between these communities, such as in Bosnia. The author believes that such ethnic conflicts should be monitored to identify a point at which it appears peace is deteriorating; and, at that time, substantial diplomatic effort should be expended to prevent further deterioration. The author concludes that only in cases of extreme violence should the United States and the international community rely on a military intervention to end the conflict.
From the Paper "The ambivalence in the American public's reaction to the international community's recent military intervention in Bosnia reveals a general ambivalence toward the use of military force where no tangible strategic interests are at risk. However, Milosevic did offer a tangible target against which the military force could be directed. The international community was able therefore to generate support against a common, identifiable enemy. Unfortunately, as Richard Betts points out, intervention in a civil war usually becomes an issue only when the sides are closely enough matched that neither can defeat the other quickly. Thus, in many cases, the international community may be unable to identify an enemy against whom they can rally support or they may be forced to wait until the situation deteriorates until choosing the better side becomes only a matter of degree. Unfortunately, the latter can often be the case in ethnic conflicts."
Tags: clinton, bosnia, community, deterioration, military
An examination of organizational communication at Saudi Aramco Aviation Department, based on concepts from Katherine Miller's text, "Organizational Communication" and Ronald C. Arnett's text, "Communication and Community."
Abstract This paper discusses developing and sustaining effective organizational communication at Saudi Aramco Aviation Department. It examines the need to effectively manage the human resources component and potential conflicts, and to ensure smooth communication throughout the organization among others. The paper uses insights, observations and guidance from Katherine Miller's text, "Organizational Communication" and Ronald C. Arnett's text, "Communication and Community."
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Review and Analysis
Human Relations Approaches
Human Resources Approaches
Cultural Approaches
Conflict Management Approaches
Organizational Change and Leadership Processes
Organizational Diversity Processes
Technological Processes
Communication and Community in Crisis
Communication Limiting Community Inviting Dialogue in Community Connections across Content
Conclusion
From the Paper "The research showed that effective leadership and organizational performance have been the focus of an increasing amount of attention from researchers in recent years and for good reason. Indeed, understanding employee motivation continues to be of concern to managers at every level of an organization simply because management is all about getting things done through others. Therefore, knowing how to motivate others can help improve the effectiveness of managers in virtually any organizational setting. These issues have particular relevance for Saudi Aramco's Aviation Department today as well, since this organization has changed in fundamental ways over the past several decades to emerge as a world-class organization that is comprised of a highly diverse employee base. In this setting, identifying opportunities for improvement and better ways to communicate with employees represents a worthwhile endeavor that will pay large dividends in the future."
Abstract This paper explains that conflict is an inevitable reality in any organization whenever there are a group of people who come from varying backgrounds attempting to work together to achieve a common goal. The author points out that nonverbal communication is essential because it allows organizations to detect deception in interviews and makes managers aware of the messages they are sending to employees. The paper relates that one of the positive attributes of conflict within an organization is that it allows the organization to fix the problems that have caused the conflict and one negative impact is that tasks often get left undone, decreasing productivity and hurting the company.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Definition of Organizational Communication "Conflict can be a Negative or Positive Force in an Organization"
Positive and Negative Impact of Conflict on an Organization
Discussion and Conclusion
From the Paper "Indeed, when managed effectively conflicts can be pivotal to the growth of an organization. When conflicts are handled appropriately, employees will have the ability to communicate what they feel with managers. In turn, they will know that their opinions matter and are taken into consideration by management. The ability to communicate and formulate solutions in this manner will lead to greater employee satisfaction. Greater employee satisfaction will lead to increased productivity and the ability to meet organizational goals. Once employees and managers understand the benefits of effective communication they can work together to develop better communications skills."
Abstract The paper discusses the importance of teamwork and team-building and provides the history of team development. The paper explains that if any conflict exists among employees, this will become a barrier in reaching the company's desired strategies. The paper examines conflict resolution that can be addressed through team efforts that lead to increased communication, consensus decisions and positive results. The paper discusses the role of a leader in managing conflict in a positive way and in building strong, successful teams.
Outline:
Introduction
History of Team Development
Conflict Resolution
Building Effective Teams
Types of Internal Conflicts Leadership and Communication Conclusion
From the Paper "The interactions of small groups have been of interest to social psychologists for sometime. However, it has only been in recent years that they began to look at teams and how they function within the organizational setting. The term "sociometry" first appeared in the Psychological Abstracts index in 1940 with references to the work of individuals such as psychiatrist Jacob Levi Moreno, and the term "group dynamics" was listed in 1945 with reference to the work of Kurt Lewin and his colleagues. The first use of "small groups" and "group interaction" was in 1950 in conjunction of researchers such as Robert Bale."
Abstract This paper shows how, in his article, "Democracy," Robert D. Putnam quotes from Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America', who noted that the key to making American democracy work has been the tendency of Americans to form civic associations. Putnam shows that one way that people can find out about what's going on in their region of America is through the Internet.
From the Paper "This type of information is very important for the citizens of any town to be able to access, Putnam says. He stresses the value of "social capital," that is, the collective value of all social networks, and the way these networks foster reciprocity, trust, information sharing, and cooperation. He writes that the growing disaffection of citizens from their public institutions may be related to a decline in civic engagement, and contrasts with earlier periods when Americans had an abundance of social capital. Putnam says that the way that information flows (such as learning about jobs, learning about candidates running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depends on social capital."
A look at how interpersonal communication skills can be used to address the challenge of maintaining family structure that is supportive to family members.
Abstract This paper relates that the greatest challenge to family communication in American in this day and age is maintaining a family structure that provides sufficient support and stability for individual family members.
The paper further relates that healthy conflict free interaction maintains the family structure and provides the most effective support and stability to individuals within the family. The paper then
demonstrates a three part clinical resolution technique for interpersonal conflict that involves first drawing direct attention to the conflict, simulating role reversal and experiencing empathy, and then offering an apology.
From the Paper "Another technique is role reversal and empathy (Blatner, 2002). This is also an essential process for the committed family members: it requires imagining what it is like to be in the other person's shoes. The empathy reaction is a direct alternative to the conflict causing reaction of repeating one's own opinion or attacking the other person's position within the interpersonal conflict. Thinking about the others feelings will remove that whole level of obstacle. "
