Negotiations

The purpose of this article is to review spirituality at work literature and to explore how spirituality improves employees’ performances and organizational effectiveness. The article reviews about 140 articles on workplace spirituality to review their findings on how spirituality supports organizational performance. Three different perspectives are introduced on how spirituality benefits employees and supports organizational performance based on the extant literature: (a) Spirituality enhances employee well-being and quality of life; (b) Spirituality provides employees a sense of purpose and meaning at work; (c) Spirituality provides employees a sense of interconnectedness and community. The article introduces potential benefits and caveats of bringing spirituality into the workplace; providing recommendations and suggestions for practitioners to incorporate spirituality positively in organizations.

2016 For companies where its capacity for effective governance has degraded slowly, but consistently over the course of a long chain of rhetorical excesses, guidelines corruptions, sentimental hyperbole and philosophical high-falutin…. They have basically abandoned traditional, well-designed and time-after-time tested project management tools and techniques in favor of distorted methods based on personal beliefs that challenge any existent fraud index to their core and by doing so they are inviting and finding contractual claim disputes on every corner of their business development.

Based on the recently proposed Interactive Model of Identity Formation, we examine how top-down deductive and bottom-up inductive identity formations influence intentions and behaviour in multiparty negotiations. Results show that a shared identity can be deduced from the social context through recognition of superordinate similarities. However, shared identities can also be induced by intragroup processes in which individuals get acquainted with one another on an interpersonal basis. Both top-down and bottom-up processes led to the formation of a sense of shared identity, and this in turn exerted a positive influence on behavioural intentions and actual behaviour in multiparty negotiations. The Interactive Model of Identity Formation (IMIF) suggests that there are two theoretically distinct pathways to the formation of a sense of shared (social) identity. The classic perspective on social identities is that they are inferred deductively from the broader social context within which the group members act. However, in smaller groups where members can readily interact and observe each others' actions, a sense of shared identity can also form inductively through a reconciliation of differences and the establishment of interpersonal relations (Postmes, Haslam, & Swaab, 2005a; Postmes, Spears, Novak, & Lee, 2005b). Although this theoretical framework has received some initial support in small group settings, several questions remain unanswered. One purpose of this paper is thus to provide direct evidence of the occurrence of these two processes. The setting in which this prediction is tested is that of multiparty negotiations. A key challenge to most negotiations is to align individual and group interests. Doing so requires individual negotiators to recognize some overarching commonalties leading them to pursue outcomes that benefit themselves as well as others. We propose that a shared identity may provide just this (see also Swaab, Postmes, Van Beest, & Spears, 2007), regardless of how this shared identity was formed (i.e. deductively or inductively). The second purpose of the present paper is therefore to examine whether different paths to shared identity formation produce essentially similar consequences for group members' collaborative behaviour in a multiparty negotiation.

Conflict is an one of the inevitable outcomes of any interaction between two or more parties who appear to be unable to mutually agree on the terms or conduct of a certain policy, undertaking or project. For high-stake projects such as forestry which often involve the handling, manipulation and utilization of the natural ecosystem and resources, a sound understanding of the conflict tree is of utmost importance, since its subsequent handling, resolution and mitigation may have far-reaching consequences on the resource as well as the stakeholders themselves.  Skills in negotiation and conflict resolution therefore are indispensable and should be mastered by future project planners and implementers.

People often do not realize they are being influenced by an incidental emotional state. As a result, decisions based on a fleeting incidental emotion can become the basis for future decisions and hence outlive the original cause for the behavior (i.e., the emotion itself). Using a sequence of ultimatum and dictator games, we provide empirical evidence for the enduring impact of transient emotions on economic decision making. Behavioral consistency and false consensus are presented as potential underlying processes.

The present study examined my relations with students when I went back to the classroom as an elementary teacher during my sabbatical as a university teacher educator. The data consists of journal entries and reflections on those entries. My interpretation of the data reflects interactionist and critical perspectives. The goal of this research was for me to more deeply understand the complexity of teacher-student relations and, then, to use these ideas in my work as a teacher educator. My thesis is that teacher-student relations are characterized by a negotiative process that reflects the situational nature of the teacher-student relationship in the context of the larger political, historical and structural contexts of the teaching situation. r

The article introduces the special issue of International Trends dedicated to the current tendencies in the evolution of statecraft. It sets the analytical agenda for other special issue contributions by discussing the meaning of the term “statecraft” and illustrating the concept through several dilemmas that policymakers commonly face when choosing foreign policy toolkits. The authors posit that, at base, a meaningful definition of statecraft subsumes the ends, means, and ways embraced by a government in its attempt to exert influence over another state short of the resort to brute military force, either directly or via pressures on key non-state stakeholders. The article goes on to highlight how a clear-cut formulation of a country’s “national interests” may, on one hand, serve as lodestars for the national bureaucracy and draw “red lines” for the country’s adversaries, but on the other hand, entail a difficult and politically costly choice between mutually exclusive priorities fo...

The term "ancient wisdom" evokes powerful imagery-the influences of great philosophers and religious icons, ideas, values and spiritual traditions that have withstood the test of time. And yet, its meaning is also ambiguous, and its impact on our day-today lives and actions can be difficult to articulate. Is "ancient wisdom" for each of us the same "ancient wisdom" for us all? More specifically, as negotiation teachers and scholars with cultural connections to and work experience in Hong Kong, India, Singapore, China, the European Union institutions, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom and United States, the authors of this Essay were curious whether "Eastern" and "Western" conceptions of ancient wisdom differ as popular belief might suggest, or whether they are really closer than they appear-perhaps one and the same?

This study examines the factorial structure of a new instrument to measure engagement, the hypothesized 'opposite' of burnout in a sample of university students (N = 314) and employees (N = 619). In addition, the factorial structure of the Maslach-Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) is assessed and the relationship between engagement and burnout is examined. Simultaneous confirmatory factor analyses in both samples confirmed the original three-factor structure of the MBI-GS (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) as well as the hypothesized three-factor structure of engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption). Contrary to expectations, a model with two higher-order factors-'burnout' and 'engagement'did not show a superior fit to the data. Instead, our analyses revealed an alternative model with two latent factors including: (1) exhaustion and cynicism ('core of burnout'); (2) all three engagement scales plus efficacy. Both latent factors are negatively related and share between 22% and 38% of their variances in both samples. Despite the fact that slightly different versions of the MBI-GS and the engagement questionnaire had to be used in both samples the results were remarkably similar across samples, which illustrates the robustness of our findings.

We propose that making a series of decreasing concessions (e.g., $1,500-1,210-1,180-1,170) signals that negotiators are reaching their limit and that this results in a negotiation disadvantage for offer recipients. Although we find that most negotiators do not use this strategy naturally, seven studies (N=2,311) demonstrate that decreasing concessions causes recipients to make less ambitious counteroffers (Studies 1-5) and reach worse deals (Study 2) in distributive negotiations. We find that this disadvantage occurs because decreasing concessions shape recipients' expectations of the subsequent offers that will be made, which results in inflated perceptions of the counterparts' reservation price relative to the other concession strategies (Study 3). In addition, we find that this disadvantage is particularly large when concessions decrease at a moderate rate (Study 4a) and when decreasing concessions takes place over more (vs. fewer) rounds (Study 4b). Finally, we find that recipients can protect themselves against the deleterious effects of decreasing concession by thinking of a target before they enter the negotiation (Study 5).

"Block Printing is the process of using an object to make an inked impression upon a plain surface. It is one of the oldest and most enjoyable of all the crafts and has given color and pattern to paper, cloth, and other surfaces for nearly 4,000 years.
Today the process is essentially the same. As it is simple and impressive, it is ideal for the beginner. "

The purpose of this article is to respond to the lack of consistency in the academic and practitioner literature regarding the construct of employee engagement and to offer a platform for the research and use of a refined construct called employee work passion. This article analyzes the differences between the concepts of engagement of the two groups of writers and proposes a new definition and framework based on social cognitive theory. Three recommendations are made for human resource development researchers and practitioners who seek to improve both the data and the strategies used in constructing engagement or work passion surveys. Engagement or passion surveys should (a) specifically and convincingly assess the affective components of the appraisal process, (b) differentiate descriptive cognitions and intentions, and (c) separate and corroborate intentions from behaviors.

Since gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine has regularly espoused a willingness to participate in greater European integration. Despite initiation of a political dialogue between the European Union and Ukraine, however, and the signing of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in 1994, Ukraine did not adopt legislative reforms or undertake concrete structural changes that would have brought it closer to European Union norms and values. In addition to the poor performance of Ukraine's economy and a perceived lack of democracy, relations between the European Union and Ukraine suffered because of an unwillingness of the European Union to expand into the post-Soviet space. Consequently, Ukraine remained ambivalent about its foreign policy goals: supportive of European Union membership, yet lacking societal pressures and the political will to pursue a more assertive policy of Europeanization. The Orange Revolution of late 2004, and the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy, significantly improved Ukraine's European prospects. This thesis examines Ukraine's efforts to undertake the process of Europeanization since the Orange Revolution. Economic integration, energy cooperation and judicial reform serve as case studies. Successful progress in implementing the economic and energy provisions of bilateral agreements, such as the Joint European Union-Ukraine Action Plan and the European Union-Ukraine Association Agenda, indicates Ukraine is Europeanizing its economic and energy sectors. Recently concluded negotiations culminating in the drafting of an Association Agreement are further evidence of Ukraine's Europeanization efforts. On the other hand, judicial reforms aimed at guaranteeing an independent judiciary devoid of political interference, remains a significant challenge. Council of Europe recommendations on draft legislative reform measures intended to fulfill European standards are inadequately implemented by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada. The European Union's critical reaction to the October 2011 trial and conviction of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is further evidence of Ukraine's lagging efforts to Europeanize its judiciary. Absent strong incentives from the European Union to adopt concrete judicial reforms, Ukraine's record of Europeanization, though much more promising compared to what it had been before the 2004 Orange Revolution, remains ultimately mixed.

Bushuev A.S., Tagirov I.R. Politicheskoe razvitie postsovetskogo Tatarstana: ot sovetskoy avtonomii k sovremennoy modeli [Political development of the post-Soviet Tatarstan: from Soviet autonomy to the modern model]. IN: Gasyrlar avazy – Eho vekov, 2020, no. 4, pp. 6-21.

В статье исследовано политическое развитие Республики Татарстан в период от принятия Декларации о государственном суверенитете 30 августа 1990 г. до заключения 15 февраля 1994 г. двустороннего договора с Российской Федерацией о разграничении предметов ведения и взаимном делегировании полномочий. В работе не только подробно рассмотрены внутренние процессы, происходившие в самой республике в этот сложный исторический период, но впервые показано влияние общероссийских тенденций и процессов федеративного строительства и становления новой российской государственности на развитие региона. Авторами определена роль института президентства в стабилизации политического поля в республике и характер взаимодействия различных общественных сил с республиканской властью. Подробно рассмотрен ход конституционного строительства в Республике Татарстан, показано значение этого процесса для законодательного оформления суверенного статуса и нахождения оптимальной модели взаимодействия различных политических сил, власти и общества. Охарактеризована динамика переговорного процесса с Российской Федерацией. Установлено, что переговорный процесс, начавшись с попытки Татарской АССР повысить свой статус до уровня союзной республики в ходе подготовки нового Союзного договора в 1990 г., завершился заключением двустороннего договора с федеральным центром в 1994 г., что способствовало не только снятию напряженности в двусторонних взаимоотношениях, но и уходу от внеполитических методов решения конфликтов при взаимодействии центра с другими регионами страны. Показано, как заключение Договора 1994 г. и иных межправительственных соглашений способствовало успешному социально-экономическому развитию республики в последующий период.

The article examines the political development of the Republic of Tatarstan during the period from the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty on August 30, 1990, to the conclusion of a bilateral agreement with the Russian Federation on February 15, 1994, on the division of jurisdictions and delegation of powers. The paper examines in detail the internal processes that took place in the Republic during this difficult historical period, and for the first time, it shows the influence of the all-Russian tendencies and processes of the federalism construction and the establishment of a new Russian statehood on the development of the region. The authors determined the role of the institution of the presidency in stabilizing the political field in the Republic and the nature of the interaction between various social forces and the Republican authorities. The course of the constitutional construction in the Republic of Tatarstan is considered in detail, the significance of the legislative registration processing of the sovereignty status and finding an optimal model of interaction of various political forces, authorities and society are shown. The dynamics of the negotiation process with the Russian Federation is characterized. It is established that the negotiation process, which began with an attempt of the Tatar ASSR to raise its status to the level of the Union republic during the preparation of the new Union Treaty in 1990, ended up with the conclusion of the bilateral treaty with the Federal Center in 1994, which contributed to the relaxation of tension in bilateral relations and avoiding non-political methods of resolving conflicts during the centre’s interaction with other regions of the country. It is shown how the conclusion of the 1994 Treaty and other intergovernmental agreements contributed to the successful social and economic development of the Republic in the subsequent period.

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Two quantitative meta-analyses examined how the presence of visual channels, vocal channels, and synchronicity influences the quality of outcomes in negotiations and group decision making. A qualitative review of the literature found that the effects of communication channels vary widely and that existing theories do not sufficiently account for these contradictory findings. To parsimoniously encompass the full range of existing data, the authors created the communication orientation model, which proposes that the impact of communication channels is shaped by communicators’ orientations to cooperate or not. Two meta-analyses—conducted separately for negotiations and decision making—provide strong support for this model. Overall, the presence of communication channels (a) increased the achievement of high-quality outcomes for communicators with a neutral orientation, (b) did not affect the outcomes for communicators with a cooperative orientation, but (c) hurt communicators’ outcomes with a noncooperative orientation.Tests of cross-cultural differences in each meta-analysis further supported the model: for those with a neutral orientation, the beneficial effects of communication channels were weaker within East Asian cultures (i.e., Interdependent and therefore more predisposed towards cooperation) than within Western cultures (i.e., Independent).

Książka pokazuje, jakimi narzędziami możemy posługiwać się przy rozwiązywaniu sporów. Przedstawia trzy modele negocjowania – argumentacyjny, topiczno-retoryczny i ekonomiczny. Odwołują się one do różnych kryteriów negocjowania – słuszności, skuteczności i efektywności ekonomicznej – a każdy z nich może być zarówno stosowany samodzielnie, jak i wspólnie. W książce znaleźć też możnakrytyczną analizę najpopularniejszych dziś metod negocjowania, zarys logiki negocjacji, obronę erystyki negocjacyjnej i uwagi na temat psychologii negocjacji.

Michael Mintrom (2003). "Policy Analysts and People Skills." Published as Chapter 1 in People Skills for Policy Analysts (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press).

Effective policy analysts need both sound technical skills and superb people skills. Over many years of teaching courses in public policy analysis, i typically have augmented my lectures on applied microeconomic analysis and other topics relevant to policy analysis with workshops on topics such as interviewing informants, working in teams, and giving presentations.  The popularity of these workshops among students led me to solicit ideas for additional topics to cover.  It was through this process of offering workshops and inviting student feedback that I struck upon the idea of writing this book.

    This chapter serves as an introduction to the book. The book has much to offer individuals seeking to increase their effectiveness as policy analysts. Just as many textbooks lay out how to analyze policy issues appropriately, here I provide guidance on how policy analysts might present themselves and their work so as to improve the likelihood that they will produce quality advice and receive a good hearing from others in the policymaking community.  By placing the spotlight on people skills for policy analysts, I also hope this book will contribute to a rethinking of what we mean when we say someone is an excellent analyst and of how policy analysts are trained.

Relatively little is known about the youth labour market in Mongolia. This paper studies returns to education of 15-29-year-olds by taking advantage of a recent ad hoc School to Work Transition Survey. Based on augmented Mincerian earnings equations, education and work experience appear to be important determinants of earnings. Vocational does not provide higher wages than compulsory education. Factors bearing wage gains include: living in the capital city and in urban areas in general. Factors bearing wage penalties include: gender, informal work, training, using informal job search networks, herding. Union membership, being a migrant, the civil status are wage neutral.

This is a rather intriguing work that doesn't deliver on its promise of espionage and state power in the information age. And while the structure of this thin volume touches upon all the important topics (COIN and covert action, conventional and irregular warfare, and the principals and agents that make up them all), it is hard to ignore what the author himself calls the 'entirely ineffective conclusion.' The author offers the argument that the liberal tradition has deemphasized espionage as a dark endeavor not becoming of the human existence. But that is the liberal academic tradition. It is not the tradition in formal Intelligence Studies, which this book on intelligence oddly works around but not with. He also holds a threshold for 'analysis' that is unrealistic. Any system of intelligence that has 100% reliability and forecasting as the goal is a fantasy. Intelligence can 'fail' and still overall be highly effective. Finally, offering up the idea that the key to power is a 'standard of goodness or badness beyond the results , rather than obtaining knowledge,' is not only difficult to comprehend, it borders on being a platitude.

The purpose of this article is to question some basic assumptions regarding reconciliation after wars and mass atrocities. Indeed, how can numerous policy-makers, practitioners, and scholars contend that reconciliation is necessary while it is often distrusted and rejected by victims? Are there not cases where calls for reconciliation would prove to be fruitless and even detrimental for peace and/or democracy? To answer these questions, it is worth looking at the interactions between reconciliation and negotiation. Beyond a theoretical interest, this question has a direct impact for practitioners; a better understanding of the issue is actually a sine qua non condition for more efficient interventions. In terms of methodology, this study refers to various examples as illustrative cases (Afghanistan, Rwanda, South-Africa, and the Franco-German case). Its objective is not to capture the complexity of each case study but to determine to what extent reconciliation can be considered as negotiable.

This paper discusses and examines trust building in the remote-digital negotiations. More specifically, the paper focuses on international trade negotiations aimed at being integrative, and how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the way they have been conducted over the years, mainly relying in face-to-face meetings. Information exchange and knowledge sharing is essential part of negotiations, occurring in interactive processes between actors involved. Trust is a prerequisite for effective information exchange and knowledge sharing and creation. Trust creates openness, willingness to collaborate, and freedom to be productive, and is a foundation for integrative negotiations. Trust manifests in different ways, affecting time, intensity, process, and results of the overall negotiation process. Remote working and remote-digital meetings have become prevalent these days, especially due to the disruption caused by Covid-19. Remote communication necessarily carries inescapable restrictions compared to face-to-face encountering and discussion. Therefore, the technology mediated (TM) remote context highlights the meaning of trust, as interaction and collaboration emerge more restricted than in face-to-face contacts. This paper builds on previous research on integrative negotiations, role of trust, and meetings. By analysing and discussing the academic literature, the purpose of the paper is to provide theoretical views and insights for further research, and practical implications for negotiators and professionals in general. The exploratory research questions are: i) what challenges did the Covid-19 pandemic pose to international trade negotiations? ii) how do virtual-TM meetings may affect trust building for integrative negotiations? iii) how does country culture and technology mediate the impact of virtual meetings in trade negotiations? By responding to these research questions, the paper focuses on intangible factors that may contribute to trust building or trust destroying in virtual meetings and how they may affect information exchange, knowledge sharing and knowledge dynamics leading to successful integrative negotiations.

Besides its economic aspect, the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the world of diplomacy deserves academic interests. The existing studies have not so far sufficiently covered ongoing tendencies in diplomacy during the pandemic, specifically focusing on possible changes of the means and ways of its conduct. This empirical research considers six major trends in the diplomatic practice caused by the pandemic, namely: (1) acceleration of ICTs penetration; (2) reappraisal of information security; (3) ensuring the reliability of public diplomacy; (4) further diversification of responsible duties; (5) the growing role of psychology; and, (6) the emergence of the hybrid diplomatic etiquette and protocol. This paper will discuss those trends in which the first trend covers the tendencies of ICTs' increased penetration rate, which temporarily made them the leading communication tool. In turn, the second trend is considered in light of the first trend's triggered factor, which calls for a reevaluation of information security in the period of an increased digital set of activities. The third trend captures the need for proper work with information by making public diplomacy more reliable. The growing intensity of diplomatic work during the pandemic is embodied in the fourth trend, which is about increasing diplomats' responsibilities. The growing role of psychology, as the fifth trend, raises the problems of building a common area between negotiators and also its impact on tourism promotion efforts. In its turn, the sixth trend mentions the reevaluation of diplomatic etiquette and protocol for online and offline activities.

Different conceptions of justice are often employed during negotiations by states looking for an ethical anchor for their postures or trying to signal their commitment to prevail in a conflict. Major powers often support their claims of upward adjustment of their status by reference to useful conceptions of justice. For the purposes of this article, justice is defined as a fit between benefits and entitlements. The article avoids falling into the trap of contested entitlements by only considering claims of entitlement and justice based on widely recognized universal ethical principles and/or salient points. The article classifies justice conceptions relevant for international politics by source and target and groups them into dyads, or “justice dilemmas.” These dilemmas include reciprocity vs. restraint; parity vs. proportionality; status quo vs. accelerated progress; effectiveness vs. procedural justice, and others. A concept may be advanced by and/or targeted at individual actors (states) or the international community as a whole, represented by activist groups or political entrepreneurs. The positions of different sides in major international disputes as well as in the global and regional order debates may often be described and sometimes modeled as a competition between basic conceptions of justice championed by the sides. The outcome of these conflicts and debates may depend on the prevailing concepts of justice as much as on the balance of forces between the conflicting sides.

The main objective of this study is to analyze track 1 and 2 diplomacy as a diplomatic procedure in conflict resolution. There were three case studies in which the study shall focus its analysis on. The first case tackles track 1 diplomacy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the United State's almost a century's mediation. Later on, the study questions whether or not there should be a change with the mediating third party; or a shift from track 1 diplomacy to track 2 diplomacy. Next, the study tackles the Indo-Pakistani conflict over Kashmir, on how the two nations handle the conflict through track 1 diplomacy bilaterally, without involving a third mediating party. Third, and lastly, is the rising tension in the South China Sea. This study tried to forecast the outcome of the dispute.

Decision-making in the European Union is subject to the risk of negotiation failure, because of governments’incentives to conceal their true preferences. This article argues that the EU Presidency possesses a set of informational and procedural resources that can help unlock incompatible negotiating positions and secure efficient agreements, while simultaneously allowing the government in office to shape distributional outcomes. Drawing on general bargaining theory and rational choice institutionalism, it presents a theory of the demand for, and supply of, brokerage by the chair. The explanatory power of this theory is demonstrated through two case studies: Germany's chairing of the Agenda 2000 negotiations, and France's chairing of the IGC 2000 negotiations.

Strategic recruitment is of vital importance in recruitment planning now a day. We also found the usefulness of Generation X approach in identifying the differences between the old generation and the young new Generation x and the different needs and attitudes of both the generations. This gives us an idea that the old recruitment practices might not be enough in today’s competitive environment. The Rank and Yank approach shows just how intense the competition is in the corporate world today and the fact that this approach is so successful is astounding. Although the benefits of Internet recruiting exceed its drawbacks but even then we found that Internet recruiting is still more useful for computer related business sector. We would also conclude that despite all other recruitment testing methods Interviews still stand out as one of the best ways to identify and recruit the right person for your organization.
Keywords: Recruitment, 21st Century, Human Resource, Generation X, Rank and Yank Approach, Internet Recruitment.

This paper concentrates on the Court Based Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as the popular formal litigation process in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It seeks to find out the efficacy and usefulness of court based ADR at present context. Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Dhaka Judge Court in addition with Family Court has been examined to conduct the research. The paper focuses on the structure of ADR system in these courts as well as the laws used while practicing ADR. The existing methods have been thoroughly analyzed while keeping the focal point on population, costs and the nature of the disputes. It also provides a comparative analysis on the system of the following courts. The impact and shortcomings of ADR system in the court system have been depicted in this paper. This paper concludes with suggestion of some reformations in the system to turn it into a more effective and sustainable system in the legal process.

This paper suggests that as the world becomes more globalized, the problems associated with negotiating across cultures are most likely to decline based on three inter-connected precepts:  due to increased cross-cultural interactions brought by globalization, nations have realized (or will if haven’t yet)  the need for cross-cultural literacy in order to avoid misunderstandings and facilitate cooperation, which in turn  will increase (or already have) their efforts in public diplomacy, partly in order to assure access to the economic benefits globalization has and is fostering.

This Master's thesis was written as part of a Master of mediation at the Fernuniversität in Hagen. It examines the effects of various cognitive biases on interpersonal conflicts, negotiations and mediations and addresses intervention measures in the context of mediations on the basis of studies on de-biasing published up to 2018.

The Caspian Project is a weekly digital magazine organized by the online analytical resource, Modern Diplomacy. Dr. Matthew Crosston is the Senior Editor of the project, which aims to acquaint people with this critically undervalued region of the world. The analyses go far beyond the standard issue of energy and encapsulates economics, politics, culture, religion, global affairs, conflict and peace.

This edition of the Caspian Project testifies to the enormous wealth of analytical opportunity seen all across the region. While in the past we have enjoyed producing single-issue specializations (which we did over the past two weeks with The Russian Debate and The Persian Gambit, to great fanfare and applause), the true essence of the Project is to have great diversity for the readers every issue. No. 11 as it turns out is something of a hybrid of these two aspects: readers with this issue get quite a bit of diversity while also getting to enjoy a mini-specialization, as a number of the articles inside deal with different aspects of the Russian intelligence community, namely, the Federal Security Service or FSB.

So, on top of some very thought-provoking and hard-hitting articles dealing with the ethics, surveillance, and transnational activities of Russian intelligence, readers ALSO get to learn more in this issue about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Turkmenistan’s human rights record, and Kazakhstan’s entrance into the WTO. It is an issue, therefore, that cuts across domestic politics, global affairs, security, economics, and international organizations. This is something we at Modern Diplomacy hold dearly when it comes to the Caspian Project: so much that is happening in the world today, affecting so many countries, transects in one way or another the greater Caspian sea region. It shall always be a hub of activity and importance, far beyond the standard call about energy and natural resources.

Strategic decision making is perceived as a crucial component of organizational development and change management. Consultants and managers are expected to make strategic decisions that affect organizational performance. This analytical paper weighs the strategic decision making processes and their effectiveness in organizational cultural context.

The history of war and conflicts is as old as human history itself. Along with it always existed attempts to find ways and means to reconcile conflicting parties and reach peace. In today's world, more than ever, where war and conflicts are everyday occurrence is imperative to find faster and reliable ways how to resolve conflicts. Reaching a constructive compromise is extremely difficult (as often even implementation phase creates additional hitches) as the parties involved pretend or believe that all of their demands for peace deal are rational and thus should be fulfilled. While one party may have expertise in negotiation process itself, the other may be unwittingly unprepared, and believing that honesty and fairness will result in impartial peace deal. This is, unfortunately, not always so. The aim of this paper, besides targeting these types of naïve perceptions, is to inspire others to be fully prepared prior entering negotiation process. The negotiation strategy and along with steps and tactics is the fundament of this research. History of negotiations teaches us that often the strong and more prepared side tends to win more in a negotiation process than the weak and unprepared one. Yet studying and exploring the approach to reach a constructive compromise is essential and conducive even if you happen to find yourself weaker party vis-à-vis stronger opposing rival. The purpose of this study is to analyse the implications of negotiating strategies in the course of reaching the eventual constructive compromise. Throughout, this paper has endeavoured to answer numerous but distinct issues related to the topic and offer a balanced analysis on the arguments explored. The study also delves into some international conflicts (resolved and unresolved) 120 examining them in light of potential constructive compromise. Finally the study ends up by concluding that constructive compromise strategy that focuses, above all, on creativity, analytical ability and rationality requires often enormous time and efforts to reach desired result, but ends fully justify means.

This paper is a review of a case study in human resource management with a slant towards the legal aspect of contract of employment and renegotiation of contracts. As none of the authors is a lawyer, the paper is reviewed from the managerial rather than from the legal point of view. Cindy is the lady employee in question who worked for a company for many years and never thought that a time would come when her employer would transfer her to a far off and forlorn place in the midst of nowhere. Her relocation puts her off and she thought she had been unfairly treated by her employer.  In the analysis of the issues at stake in the scenario, the authors came to the conclusion that both Cindy and her employers had merit in their case should they go to court for adjudication and pronouncement of a verdict. Cindy on her part did not follow due process at the onset to ask questions about her job. It seemed also that her employers on their part did not do full disclosure about the nature of the job and the need to relocate staff when necessary.  The authors decided to use the exploratory approach methodology in this case study review as there was not much information in the scenario to go by. The case study method has been found to be a suitable method of research that enables a phenomenon to be examined closely at a micro level so that knowledge from a small sample can be extended to cover generalizations of all similar cases, using the deductive and inductive approaches. Therefore the authors made some assumptions and used the deductive and inductive approach to arrive at logical conclusions. This article is therefore a narrative article and a commentary that does not include any primary research material. Readers are free to come to their own conclusions on the merit of the case as the main objective of the authors of this article is  to generate knowledge for academic discourse. Human Resource practitioners and theoreticians will hopefully find the article stimulating food for thought and pertinent to their work.