Commonwealth of Independent States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Commonwealth of Independent States - Essay Example The initial goals of CIS creation were as follows. First, it was made to initiate a close economic cooperation between members through establishing a so-called 'common economic space'. Second, coordination of policies between allied states with mutual respect for interests was proposed. The third main objective of CIS was to create a unified military-strategic space under a joint command. Thus, the CIS was devised as a regional union, based on the concept of a state, complete with a centralized economy and cross-border ties at the macro and micro levels. Newly acquired independence meant little for post-soviet countries, as their economies were interdependent. In particular, membership in CIS meant the delay of energy crisis for every former Soviet republic. Despite the potential benefits CIS members could gain every of them understood the price they had to pay for using Russia's abundant energy resources. "The Soviet experience constantly reminds the new elites of the CIS that Russia could effectively usurp their independence in any supranational body in which it is the only major power center." (Aslund et al 1999, p.19). Indeed, it was never a secret that Russia uses CIS to influence the policies of regions, which were subjects of domestic policy just a few years ago. To put it simply, every CIS member except Russia faced a dichotomy: on the one hand they had to secure their newly proclaimed sovereignty, on the other - they were unable to survive without external economic help. Although allies behaved differently from each other in this complex situation, they can be divided into three general groups. The first group, which may be called extremely pro-Western, refused from as much cooperation with Russia as possible. Three Baltic regions, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania refused to enter CIS and decided to seek help from other neighbours. Politically, Lithuania is headed towards Poland, and Estonia along with Latvia favour toward Finland and Scandinavian region. The main reason for turning back on Russia was the fact that since their forced incorporation into the Soviet Union they've never acknowledged the legality of that claim. Still, even politically independent, Baltic States remain under Russian economic influence, as it remains their main trading partner. The second group, the most numerous one, tries to balance between Western help and alliance with Russia. Since Russia perceives CIS as a tool to hinder if not stall the movement of NATO towards East, these members of CIS try to gain as much use as possible from this confrontation. For instance, in spite of membership in the Council of Europe and some if not frequent calls for economic help from United States (e.g. during electoral campaign of Viktor Yuschenko), Ukraine has clearly stated its attitude to Russia as "the most important strategic partner", according to words of Leonid Kuchma. Other countries that can be referred to this group are Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and

Conflict Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Conflict Management Styles - Essay Example Prevention of conflicts can have dire consequences on productivity. This is because it is through conflict resolution that underlying issues affecting the employees are resolved. It is also through conflict that eventually people get to understand each other and hence work better together in future. There are many approaches that are used by organizations to deal with conflict at the workplace and of course each approach yields different outcomes. Some of these conflict management approaches include avoidance, negotiation, arbitration, litigation or dismissal and transfer of irreconcilable employees. In most cases organizations will apply a combination of two or more conflict management tactics. In my workplace the popular conflict management approach used is avoidance. This approach takes the form of simply ignoring conflicts among employees in the hope that the issues of contention will disappear. Needless to say this approach only suppresses conflict and aggravates the problems. With time the conflicts become irrepressible and erupt to scandals. Disgruntled employees sabotage office resources and in case the conflict is among co-workers the scenario may take to physical confrontation. This tarnishes the image and reputation that an organization takes so much to build. Another approach used at my workplace is instant transfer of one or both parties to the conflict and in some cases dismissal. This approach has its pros and cons in that transfers can have an adverse effect on the employee and the same for dismissal. However, other times it has been used to dilute tension betwee n worker with bad blood. Separation thus seems to be very logical. Management at the workplace should ensure that it refrains from using such a technique. The techniques used at my workplace contradict with my personal conflict management preferences at varying degrees. I highly believe that avoiding a problem in the hope that it goes away does not help. Communication is crucial to conflict management. It is important to note that conflict mounts slowly from simple arguments then accumulates to intolerable tensions culminating to conflicts. Management can contain and dissolve these arguments and tensions before it translates to conflict. This is possible by monitoring employee relations and identifying potential conflicts. (Nelson & Quick, 2006). In addition, frequent open discussions among the employees and the management can help to quell discontent felt by the workforce before it matures to conflicts and scandal. Further, proper channels and policies that clearly outline the organization's stance on conflict and the expected code of conduct at the organization can help to alleviate conflict. For example, harassment is popular at th e workplace because the organizations lack clear cut rules and regulations to govern relationship among people in the workforce. Women especially fall victim to sexual harassment from their bosses and managers and in most cases feel helpless and turn to conflict in order to grab attention of others. If proper codes of conduct are placed then conflicts at the workplace can be managed. Another shortfall of transfers and dismissal of parties to conflict is that it assumes that only main participants are