Second Language

Here we today interviewed each other asking a few question. Seating in this class next to Amy, I interviewed and discussed about her conflict and some of happiness. China is seen variously as an ancient  civilization  extending over a large area in  East Asia which is country that Amy from. Her native language is Chinese. Even she was nine years old when she moved to U. S. A. ; she started to learn English from basic didn’t even think how hard it is. Learning a foreign language takes time and dedication.While having a clear idea of why she learning English, Amy thought it can help to motivate her in her studies. Since she noticed that most of the students in her school speak in different language, Amy felt that learning English language it will help her to communicate with them. Also she though it will give her a better understanding of their culture and way of thinking. Wherever Amy was all people around her speaks in English. So that made her finds friends who might sp eak in her primary language. Although she learned English much more than when she was in her first in U.S. A. , she transferred to Newcomer high school. Newcomer high school was for an immigrant who has a poor language level. From there she easily started to learn English by asking help from who might speak in Chinese language. Unless English she was a good at math and other school subjects. In addition, she had fun learning a foreign language by sharing an interest with her friends. When Amy learned another language, she also learned the different titles and functions of sentence parts. Learning these things made her a better student and a more articulate person.She more likely mentioned that many of the root words used in foreign vocabulary will help her later on as her struggle to comprehend or analyze new words in Amy’s native language. â€Å"I was happy to learn new language. † said Amy with her smile which was full of her face. Adding â€Å"But sometimes English was weird and complicated to me† Amy tried to show me how she learned English like her native language. â€Å"Being able to play with other kids, she stayed away from this because of poor language† sadly added Amy.Hearing all of her trouble with language I was thinking how she proudly learned English now. I am proud of her. From now on she knows two languages: Chinese and English. The end of this conversation I strongly thought one language is never enough! Noticing someone who is fascinated by languages and enjoys learning them, then one language is never enough. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. (Nelson Mandela)

Course Project, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements Note 1 Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Principles (10 items) Description of Business The Open-Road Motorcycle Company is the largest online retailer of salvage title motorcycles. We are focused on bringing the customer the best value on entry level motorcycles by providing lower prices than our competitors. Our motorcycles are sold all over the United States, and we currently have 30 stores all across the country. Property, Plant and Equipment All property, plant and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated over their useful lives.All depreciation expense incurred is derived using the straight line method. We do not depreciate our land. We estimate our useful life for our assets accordingly; buildings have a 40 year life, computer equipment has a 5 year life and the repair equipment a 15 year life. The estimated lives of our assets are reviewed periodically to determine if any impairment is present so the useful lives and depreciation can be adjusted for accuracy. Short-term Investments All of our investments are comprised of trading securities comprised of debt instruments in different industries.The securities are reported at fair value with any unrealized gains and losses stated on net income. Securities that are still held at the end of the fiscal year are evaluated and are adjusted if necessary. Inventory Valuation All of our merchandise on our website is recorded at cost or fair value, whichever is lower. The salvage motorcycle inventory is recorded at cost. We value our inventory using the average method. If the motorcycle is considered â€Å"unsellable†, it becomes disassembled and sold for parts.All parts received from motorcycles that have been disassembled are not recorded because the cost has already been recorded from the original purchase. The motorcycle would be written off as a loss on net income and all sales from the parts are considered gains and are stated on net income. Re fer to Note 2. Costs of Goods Sold Our Costs of goods sold is the cost of the motorcycles purchased, direct labor and depreciation expense. It includes all shipping and handling costs, air freight, train, and truck costs in received the merchandise and or motorcycles. Revenue RecognitionAll revenue generated from sales of inventory are realized when it has been earned. Generally when the item purchased arrives and the ownership transfers. All shipping and handling costs are included in the sales price. Revenues earned from sales are stated net of tax. Sales from disassembled motorcycles are listed as gains or losses on net income. Advertising Costs All costs associated with the marketing our website, which include television and internet ads, are expensed when incurred. Typically our advertising costs stay the same every year at $4 million, since our beginning in 2006. Accounts ReceivablesWe record accounts receivables at net realizable value. This value is the remainder of the amou nt due on sales on credit less estimated uncollectable amounts. We calculate our estimated amount based on past write-offs. Our company credit policy extends a 30 day period in which the full payment is due upon completion of sale. The item must have a prepayment of at-least 50% of the motorcycle sales price before it is shipped. We believe that because of this policy the amount of uncollectable revenue is reduces and sales have increased. Contingencies Our company is currently involved in a lawsuit pending a settlement agreement.A former employee was injured in an accident involving improper handling of the shipment. The settlement is considered probable and the estimated cost is $2 million. This amount is stated in current liabilities. Refer to Note 4. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Our company contributes to pension and other postretirement health care plans for all of our employees. We contribute 3% of gross wages into a retirement fund specified by each employee . Refer to note 11. Note 2 Inventories Our inventory is comprised of salvaged motorcycles and fully repaired motorcycles.Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market. We base our cost on the average cost method. Repaired motorcycles have title and labor costs included in the basis of valuation. Inventories consisted of the following (in millions): December 31, 2011 2010 Salvage motorcycle inventory $ 300 $310 Repaired motorcycle inventory $250 $200Total inventories $550 $510 Note 3 Property, Plant and Equipment The following table illustrates our property, plant and equipment (in millions): December 31, 2011 2010 Land $ 600 $ 550 Buildings and garages 900 700 Machinery, repair and computers 00 350 1,900 1,600 Less: accumulated depreciation 350 300 Property, plant and equipment – net $ 1,550 $ 1,300 Note 4 Contingencies and LiabilitiesOur company is currently involved in a lawsuit that is pending a settlement. The approximate amount of the settlement is $2 million. We have determined that the contingency is probable and the amount of the settlement is accurate. This amount is stated on the consolidated balance sheet for the current period. Note 5 Changes in Accounting Principles or Estimates We are currently using the average cost method for inventory valuation in place of LIFO.We have determined this method is more accurate for valuation because prices tend to fluctuate and may skew net income unfavorably. Note 6 Post Balance Sheet Events Our company continually evaluates its motorcycle inventory to determine cost and its ability to sell. If a significant amount of inventory is deemed obsolete or â€Å"unsellable,† it is adjusted in the next period. The amount is deducted from inventory and written off as a loss.The motorcycles then become disassembled and all revenue generate from the parts are considered a gain. Note 7 Mergers and Acquisitions We recently acquired Pristine Paint Jobs Company during the year for $50 million. We acqui red all buildings, land, equipment and certain patents on paint jobs. We have decided to expand our operations by completely restoring salvage motorcycles for a lower price. The following table illustrates the assets and liabilities received from the purchase (in millions):Cash $ 3 Inventory 10 Equipment 35 Property, plant and Equipment 45 Total assets acquired 93 Accounts payable 40 Long-term debt 40 Total liabilities acquired 80 Total net assets acquired $13 Note 8 Lease Obligations We currently lease a special modification machine that restores the engine and parts to 95%. The lease agreement is based on a 5 year term for $500,000 a year. The following table illustrates our payments for the term of the lease.Years ending December 31, Lease Payments 2011 $500,000 2012 $500,000 2013 $500,000 2014 $500,000 2015 $500,000 Total cost of the lease $2,500,000 Note 9 EPS Our company has 200,000 shares authorized with 100,000 outstanding. We have no preferred stock or treasury stock. The following table will illustrate the current and previous earnings per share. 2011 2010Net Income (in millions) $ 5 $ 4 Number of shares outstanding 100,000 100,000 EPS $50 $40 Note 10 Long-Term Debt With the acquisition of Pristine Paint Jobs, we acquired $40 million in long-term debt. Our long term debt prior to the acquisition was $25 million. Our long term debt consists of a $25 million note payable at a fixed interest rate of 1. 5 percent due December 31, 2040.The following illustrates the long term debts acquired from the purchase of Pristine Paint Jobs. * $20 million total principal amount of notes due November 20, 2035, at a fixed rate of 1 percent; and * $20 million total principal amount of notes due November 20, 2035, at a fixed rate of 1. 5 percent. Note 11 Employee Pension Obligations We continue to contribute to employee retirement plans for all of our employees. These pension plans are funded and are based on salaries and years of service. The total contri bution for the year is $10 million. In 2010 our total contribution was $9 million. We contribute 3% of employee wages into the plan. The increase in contribution is due to the increase of our workforce.

People’ Attitude Towards Work Essay

People’s attitude to work varies a lot i.e. in relation to the individuals’ personal experience and their overall perception of others (employers, colleagues) and how they are actually perceived by other people. As emphasized by various key theorists (e.g. Frederick Taylor, Maslow, Douglas McGregor etc.) discussed in Behaviour At Work element 11.1, we (people) make assumption about other people based on our own experience in that, it is a way of making sense of relating to others. We each set ourselves certain standards and expect other people to adhere to them, even though they may not share our views and have different standards for themselves. Motivation is both individual and complex and there is a difference between what motivates people to perform above average and what leads to below average performance. Douglas McGregor emphasized that managers make either theory X or Y assumptions about the way others behave. Theory X assumption includes; * an average human being inherently dislikes work and will avoid it if possible hence, these types of people must be coerced, controlled, directed or even threatened with punishment to get them to put in adequate effort at work. * an average person prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above any other thing. Theory Y assumptions on the other hand stresses that; * people do not inherently dislike work and that the conditions of work reflects peoples satisfaction * people will generally exercise self direction and self control in pursuit of the objective to which they are committed * people mostly learn under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility * people are not being used by organisations to their full potential * in order to obtain commitment from employees rewards should fulfill an individuals self actualization needs Choosing either Theory X or Y has an overall effect on people, be it positive or negative i.e. there will be a tendency within an organisation for people to respond to the way they are managed thus, if employees feel that they are not being trusted, this may result in them behaving in a less trustworthy way. PEOPLE’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK (CONT.) Conclusion: Due to the fact that there is a range of reasons why people behave differently in work situations, hence, it is unrealistic to make generalized assumption about individuals attitude to work i.e. reasons for performing better or worse than average. Behaviour of each group is most likely to be unpredictable e.g. in the case of our Young business enterprise, GNVQ group A unlike group B spent a lot of time meeting despite the fact that there was conflict between individuals, thus we all had to put personal problems aside in order to achieve the same common goal which alternatively reflects on the successful trading carried out via high level of cooperation. Peoples attitude in a particular organisation can be measured by implementing techniques such as; * Preparation of questionnaires which is distributed to a certain number of selected individuals in a particular organisation. (Ref. example of questionnaire which may be used by organisations – appendix 1) * Face-to-face interviews – this refers to actually forming a one to one communication strategy which deals specifically with obtaining necessary information on employees general attitude towards their work and what motivates them to work harder and effectively. Face-to-face interviews are mainly used to obtain a direct response from the people affected by each policy thus, generating a more realistic subjective view of the employees involved as opposed to making an assumption. Some of the questions which can be included while carrying out an interview are as follows; (1) Can you describe any job you have held where you were faced with problems and pressures which tested your ability to cope? (2) Can you give me an example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree? (3) What stimulates you in your work and how does this motivate you? (4) Would you be willing to work in a position where you are expected to make decisions and how will you conduct yourself? (5) How do you feel about the way you are managed by your superior and what will contribute to you working even better? * Surveys – surveys takes different forms depending on the level of workers which are being examined. It can also be seen as a combination of the methods mentioned above i.e. in generating more response so as to obtain an overall result i.e. a more factual information regarding employees, which can obviously be relied on. (Ref. Example of a personnel performance indicator which can be used in highlighting peoples attitude to work – appendix 2) (Appendix 1) Questionnaire (1) Would you consider yourself satisfied with the level of responsibility your job involves? Yes[] No[] (2) What motivates you to work? Money[] Promotion[] Job security[] Other †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (3) How would you describe you working condition? V. good[] Good[] Average[] Below average[] (4) Do you like working as a group[] ; individually[] ; or both [] (5) Would you like to be included in decision making or quality circle? Yes[] No[] Don’t know[] (6) What do you enjoy most in doing your job? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (7) Have you had any complaint in relation to your level of participation in your job? Yes[] No[] If yes, how do you view this †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (8) How well do you deal with criticism? V. well[] Average [] Below average[] (9) Does criticism affect your overall performance? Yes[] No[] (10) Would you consider yourself Highly motivated[] Easily motivated[] Not easily motivated[] Don’t know[] FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION People’s level of motivation is affected by certain issues, which may lead to an extensive breakdown in communication within an organisation due to lack of cooperation between employees and employees or employees and employers. These factors includes; * Hierarchy of needs – this inter relates to Maslow’s theory of human behaviour i.e. that individuals have five level of needs which they sought to satisfy. The human needs as established by Maslow states that the lowest of our needs include the basic physiological need for food, drink and shelter, once it is satisfied, individuals then needs to protect himself/herself against danger, threat and deprivation thereafter the levels of needs rise through social needs, need for self esteem and status to the need for self actualization. This affects motivation on an individual basis i.e. an individual may focus on each step before actually moving towards self actualization thus, if he/she is not completely satisfy on any of the stages the person tends to struggle a lot in working to his/her best ability – this may not be the case for lots of other people. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self actualization (the need to do the work we like) Esteem (the need to feel worthy and respected) Social needs (the need to be liked/loved and to be a member of a given group) Security (the need to feel safe and secure) Survival (the need to stay alive, to eat, to drink, sleep and reproduce) FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION (CONT.) * Job Satisfaction – this affects the way in which people feel about their work in terms of achievement or recognition from others, the work involved, level of responsibility, opportunities for advancement, company policy and administration, supervisions, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. In the case where these are not dealt with in a constructive manner, it may give rise to a high level of dissatisfaction at work which may in turn lead to persistent lateness or absenteeism, below average performance and real or imagined illness on the part of workers i.e. due to a downfall in level of motivation. * Challenge – if the work involved is not challenging enough for certain employees, it may lead to low staff morale that is, workers may not feel the need to give the job their absolute best. On the other hand, if the job is too broad compared to a relatively low number of employees, it may also have the same negative effect in motivating the workers. * Motivators such as: reward, training, promotion etc. If these motivators lacks in an organisation, workers tend to feel that their needs are not being catered for, hence, developing a negative attitude towards employers which alternatively affect the level of work which is put into the organisation i.e. workers in this situation will only work because they feel the need to work not because they want to work. However, in order to get employees fully involved, various kinds of motivators e.g. shared ownership, cash bonuses etc. should be introduced to commend hard working employees thus, serving as a source of motivation in that people actually perform better when they are willing to work so as to meet a certain target rather than employers forcing work on them because they have to. * Career Development – this proves vital in maintaining or improving the level of staff motivation in that, people like to think that their hard work will pay off well as opposed to go unrecognized thus, if there is an opportunity for career development, workers tend to perform well so as to develop their individual skills and at the same time climb up the management ladder. In a situation where it is the opposite, it may lead to a wide spread low morale amongst employees. * Level of Expectancy – this may have an overall effect on an individual’s attitude towards work i.e. in relation to the expectancy theory developed by Victor Vroom, for example, an individual may respond in a positive way to a high level of expectancy from employers while another employee of the same calibre breakdown under pressure thus, it all boils down to an individual’s desire for something in relation to the person’s estimation of how likely it can be achieved. MOTIVATORS APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE As established by Frederick Taylor (1947) â€Å"what the workforce want from their employers beyond anything else is high wages and what employers want from their workforce most of all is low labour costs† – the existence or absence of these two elements forms the basis for either a good or bad management. The major factors which makes people feel satisfied with their job and motivates individuals to work effectively includes; high level of achievement, recognition, opportunities for advancement and responsibility as well as the actual content of the work which is being carried out. On the other hand, factors which affects employees adversely and which lead to high level of dissatisfaction with their individual tasks include negative company policy, low level of salary and benefits, interpersonal relations and the overall working conditions (as described earlier). The following motivators are required so as to encourage individuals to work harder thus, enhancing the workers individual performance; * Autonomy – this refers to the amount of freedom and discretion an individual can exercise over a certain job, this gives the worker a higher level of responsibility providing that the person wants and can cope with the responsibility. This will boost an individual’s self-reliance thus, being able to meet target more effectively. Although some people prefer jobs with low level of responsibility, this is often common when people have a highly complex and demanding life outside work. However they are not likely to be high achievers. * Praise – workers generally feel the need to be praised for hard work hence, serving as a motivator in encouraging the particular worker to keep doing a specific task to his/her best ability. Praise actually has an overall effect on the quality and quantity of goods and services produced, so therefore it is vital for employers to recognize and commend a high quality work. MOTIVATORS APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE (CONT.) Delegating – this motivates people to work harder in that, it also involves giving workers more responsibility for the tasks they carry out. Delegating is used in a situation where by the particular job holds certain responsibilities, but additional responsibility is giving through delegation, this may help in providing more time for more important tasks, thus, helping in increasing an individuals’ job satisfaction. Reluctant or poor delegation can be worse than no delegation at all, hence, this is why most employers tend to delegate trustworthy employees to carry out certain tasks. Delegation also helps in meeting target, improving cooperation between staff and employer, and improving the quality and quantity of work carried out. * Shared Ownership – shared ownership schemes proves to be very successful in motivating workers in that, employees handle tasks more efficiently due to the fact that they also have a stake in the company hence, people tend to work very well if there is some kind of benefit to derive from their hard work on the long run. The introduction of shared ownership enhances general individual performance i.e. people tend to be self reliance thus, meeting targets, encouraging and maintaining good relationship with co-workers and employers which in turn helps in developing and delivering good quality of work (high standard) as well as improving the quantity of work achieved. * Quality Circle – the implementation of quality circle serves as a motivator because it makes employees feel more involved in all the aspects of product development. Quality circle is usually set up to tackle a particular project where quality improvement is necessary therefore, making it easy to recognize each team’s ability and alternatively rewarding individual teams for the level of work they put in improving the quality and the amount of goods actually produced. EFFECTS OF MOTIVATORS ON INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE In an event whereby employees’ needs are catered for promptly and effectively, organisations can benefit a great deal. For instance, in order for quality circles to be successful, quality improvement programmes needs full commitment from employees. The motivators discussed earlier helps in; * enhancing employees commitment to a particular organisation thus, being more reliable in performing tasks individually as well as part of a team. * boost loyalty – the level of employees loyalty will be improved if they are being treated with respect they deserve e.g. if employees are offered shared ownership of an organisation as a reward for hard work, the employee will be willing to stay loyal for a long period in that, the employee will be obliged to support the particular organisations’ internal and external activities i.e. outside and within the organisation. On the whole, these motivators helps in providing opportunities for increased skills, flexible working and individual development. Motivators also provide social companionship and a sense of pride in the overall working relationship in regards to achievements derived from motivating workers in the correct manner. Further Analysis: GAINING EMPLOYEE COOPERATION THROUGH MOTIVATION It is essential that the reward strategy adopted by employers fulfills employees needs i.e. if motivation to work is to be maintained or increased, it is necessary that an individual is convinced that by putting in extra effort at work, his/her performance will be improved and that the reward he/she values will be forthcoming. In order to gain employee cooperation, employers’ focus on motivating employees in various ways depending on the organisation involved, some of the methods used in achieving this are as follows; * Job Security – by providing a secure job opportunity, workers will have the opportunity for career progression, therefore, they will feel motivated to work hard so as to get on. A major example of this relates to the Japanese economy that is, because employers often offer a job for life to potential individuals thus, they tend to expect a high degree of loyalty from their workers as well as commitment to work to the very best of their ability. * Merit Rating – this refers to recognizing an individuals’ performance and selecting personal qualities which an organisation believes to be important and assessing these qualities hence, giving the organisation an overall idea on how to reward individual performance effectively. (Ref. Merit rating form – appendix 3) * Appraisal – this is also used to pin point performance, appraisal is needed for assessing the performance of an individual in discharging specific responsibilities and/or the potential performance of the individual in other roles. Appraisal often involves assessing both job performance and personality characteristics relevant to the particular job. Performance appraisal is an extension and development of merit rating, it may or may not be used as a basis for increase in salary (performance related pay). GAINING EMPLOYEE COOPERATION THROUGH MOTIVATION (CONT.) An example of appraisal of an employee may take the form below; Job Knowledge and Technical Ability Comments Exceptional Good Satisfactory Marginal Inadequate Energy and Application Comments Exceptional Good Satisfactory Marginal Inadequate Organizing Ability Comments Exceptional Good Satisfactory Marginal Inadequate Overall Assessment 1. Reserved for employees whose distinguished performance is clearly obvious to all. 2. Seasoned employees whose performance is noticeable better than satisfactory. 3. Satisfactory 4. Performance close to being satisfactory but needs further development. 5. Performance clearly below the accountability level required for a certain task or set of tasks (this may include newcomers). 6. Totally unsatisfactory (Ref. Performance Appraisal by: T.L . Whisler and S.F . Harper, research and practice by: Holt, Rinehart and Winston) GAINING EMPLOYEE COOPERATION THROUGH MOTIVATION (CONT.) * Incentive Schemes – this may be used to gain cooperation due to the fact that it is a valuable motivator. Incentive schemes means the payment to employees of a regular bonus related to productivity, this is designed to encourage employees to cooperate with management in raising productivity and the overall performance of the organisation. This emphasizes the relationship between performance and payment, in that money remains a major motivator in enhancing growth in the level of work performed. * Management By Objectives – this focuses on increasing workers performance by agreeing individual objectives with managers and measuring progress by the degree of attainment of the objectives i.e. management by objectives involves setting specific organizational objectives for a future time period. This is a mutual setting of objectives between each position holder and his/her supervisor and the use of the objectives as standards for evaluating the employee’s performance. MBOs are used in gaining cooperation in regards to employee and employer relationship that is, employees will respond a lot better to discussions rather than orders/commands. POTENTIAL BENEFITS REGARDING GOOD COOPERATION As established by Frank Herzberg (1968), increased job satisfaction will not always result in increased performance but nevertheless increasing the level of job satisfaction within an organisation has lots of advantages i.e. in relation to the organisation, the managers and each individual employee. Potential benefits Potential benefits to employees to management * more interesting work Through better Through increased * scope for development working methods motivation * more autonomy * companionship and team pride * share in any benefits to employers * better quality * reduced absence * lower turnover * more flexibility * higher productivity Potential organizational benefits * high level of commitment to the organisation * improved industrial relations climate * organisation growth This table lays emphasis on – improving job design and work organisation to meet individual needs. (Ref. The effective manager, book 4, open university, 1990) POTENTIAL BENEFITS REGARDING GOOD COOPERATION (CONT.) Benefits which are derived from successful communication between employers and employees includes; Organizational Benefits: * In a situation whereby employees are satisfied with the work they perform as well as their working environment, employees tend to identify more closely with the actual organisation. * Employees who are committed to the organisation are likely to work harder towards organizational goals, seize opportunities, contribute new ideas and act as good public relations officers for their employer. * Effective communication within an organisation will also give rise to less chance of industrial disputes in that, employees will have little or no dissatisfaction and the organisation as a whole can therefore expect to survive competition and prosper. Management Benefits: * If workers are highly motivated, managers will be able to expect better quality performance. * The symptoms of dissatisfaction i.e. absenteeism and illness will be minimal or not present hence, the management will be able to discover that staff are willing and able to perform a range of tasks if their individual skills and abilities are fully developed. On the long run, this benefit will lead to improved productivity and better quality service. Individual Benefits: * If a person with certain skills and abilities finds his/her job suited to the qualities he/she possess, the work the individual participate in, will become more interesting and therefore less likely to produce stress or dissatisfaction. * A job which involves various source of motivation i.e. providing an individual with a scope for development, this will be encouraging to the individual, hence, the particular person will then be able to focus on opportunities for improvement and advancement. On the whole, the level of advantages of job satisfaction outweighs its disadvantages hence, in a situation whereby everybody works hand in hand with a view of a common interest i.e. putting aside personal differences, the organisation tend to survive on the long run – the young business enterprise group A is a perfect example to qualify this statement. CONCLUSION: Motivation in Regards to Group Development In order for people to get along well enough as a group so as to be able to benefit the business as a whole, motivators such as praise, autonomy, giving ideas, feedback and so on was implemented in that, for us to achieve each group development stage effectively before moving to the next important stage, it is vital for each group member to deal with the tasks given to the best of his/her ability. * Praise – this was used indirectly at regular intervals, so as to show an appreciation for a good level of effort put in by each group member. * Autonomy – enough opportunity was given to each group member to work on certain tasks as an individual thus, giving the person overall responsibility without too much questioning. * Giving Ideas – each group member was involved in the initial brainstorm for the product ideas as well as designs to be produced and each and every idea brought forward was welcomed and discussed in further depth hence, making each group member feel as part of the business which alternatively led to intense commitment. * Feedback – people need to know whether they are performing their jobs satisfactorily, they need praise for doing things well and they need help and advice if they are not performing up to standard, this is achieved through feedback during business meetings. This is used to the advantage of the business venture, in that, people who are not pulling their weight (contributing) were told directly by group members to do so, thus, giving rise to people actually performing much better in some cases and no apparent change in other cases. On the whole, the level of motivational skills applied to the business venture proves to be effective for the individuals within the group as well as in the general group development.

Muslims and Arabs in American Society Coursework - 2

Muslims and Arabs in American Society - Coursework Example Steps have been taken to alter American perceptions about Muslim and Arab community in order to strengthen mutual interests and respect, and crack the code for understanding and communication with the Muslim and Arab groups. Now, by abandoning unpopular policies and with a difference in manner and style, focusing on the priorities of Muslim and Arab groups has become highly important for US public diplomacy department (Greco). Arabs and Muslims in America have been subjected to prejudice and hate crimes following the post 9/11 conflict between US and Muslim world. Mysteriousness, religious extremism, and cultural backwardness are the characteristics of orientalism, which are associated with American Muslims and Arabs (Jayne). Orientalism and prejudice together foment crime and hate between Muslims and Christian community in America. It should be understood on individual level that not all Muslims hold the same negative grudges against Americans, so they should be spared from hate cri mes targeted at American Muslim groups, and children should also be taught how to tolerate different religions and cultures.

Semco Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Semco Company - Essay Example What would be the likely consequences of the changes in the short and medium term? It may help your answer if you consider key differences between your chosen case and Semco. One of the most important characteristics of the firm’s human resources management is the freedom related with the participation of employees in the organizational projects. Employees can choose the type of work that suits better to their needs and their time – referring to the time available on a daily basis for work, an issue particularly important for women with children. Furthermore, the firm’s top management is not accurately informed on the personal details of employees – a fact that could be criticized negatively by theorists and practitioners in the HR management sector. In accordance with the comments of the firm’s owner, R. Semler, ‘we could decide to find out which is which and who is who, but for two good reasons we never bother; first, the employment and contractual relationships are so complex that describing them all would take too much time and trouble; second, we think it’s all useless information’ (case study, p.64). The structure of the firm’s HR management can be compared to the open-source software – everyone can enter the firm and participate in its profits – the performance of each employee is depended on his/ her own ambitions and targets. Rather than trying to monitor employees in all their activities within the organization managers in Semco try to communicate with them quite often and give them the chance to participate actively in the firm’s key strategic decisions. The structure of the firm’s HR framework is not similar with others in the market. In fact, people with limited time or those that were working for the firm in the past have equal chances to participate in the development of the firm’s projects. The firm supports the development of industrial democracy giving the chance to

How Different Stakeholder Groups Build Brand Value Research Paper

How Different Stakeholder Groups Build Brand Value - Research Paper Example The concept of brand building has witnessed a striking change from the last decade. Traditionally the role of brands was just to provide a name or an identity to a product (Baehrens, 2012). Apart from being an identity is also the association which satisfies emotional and functional needs of the consumers (Glynn, 2009). A brand also helps to distinguish one company from the other (Dunn, 2004). However the modern concept of branding is a step of the entire marketing and selling process. According to Kotler (2008) branding is defined as the name which is associated with the product line of the companies and is used to recognize the product (Kautish, 2011). Apart from this American Marketing Association (AMA) defined brand as symbol, term, name, sign or design, or an amalgamation of all which are proposed to recognize the products and services of one company to that of the other. In other words brand helps to distinguish a product of a company from that of another company. However many authors have specified that brands are much more than just a mere mark of identification. Brands also act as the element which enhances the societal value of a company and the communal value of the user of a branded product. Kotler also mentioned brands as the major area of concern in the context of the product strategy. Since brand was only a part of the product strategy, the communication strategy also worked with it in the process of exploring the brand value and creating brand awareness. The brand development process is lengthy and there are a number of factors associated with it. Also there are a number of people starting from the employees and customers, who help in the process of creating brand. Hence there is a part played by the stake holders towards the... In this turbulent business environment creation of brand value is not an easy process and is mainly created due to active participation of the stakeholders. The situation worsens for the new companies who enter into a market. To cite an example it took many years for Pepsi, Coca Cola, Volkswagen, and Toyota, to get them established and to become renowned brands of the world. Thus, brand equity and brand value are the essential factors towards the success of an organization. Brand value is mainly used to define the association during the process of value creation, while on the other hand brand equity is imperative for the evaluation of the brand value that is also termed as the result for the relationship. After conduction the research about the impact of stakeholders on the creation of brand value, it can be concluded that the stakeholders plays the most essential role towards the development of a brand. The study also revealed that customers are an important group of stakeholder, bu t are not the sole responsible group for the development of a brand. Other stakeholders such as suppliers, distributors, business partners, other channel members, government, banks, Ngo’s, media and also competitors plays a major role in the process of brand value creation. The null hypothesis holds true for the project.

The Controversy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

The Controversy Analysis - Essay Example When this got to the department of criminal justice, they complied and eliminated to provision of last meal in Texas. By examining some of the various article about the matter, I will discuss what various individuals think about the last meal and the strategies writers have used to strengthen their argument on the subject such as foreshadowing, pathos and logos. In Molly Hennessey’s article, it is evident that the writer wishes to appeal to the readers’ emotion and outrage by describing in vivid detail the quality and quantity of food that was requested by the prisoner as his last meal. The menu which has been described in other quarters as having been enough to feed a family reads like something out of a fives star hotel rather than the content of prison kitchen (Johnson). â€Å"two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeà ±os; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers (Johnson). The first thought that comes to one’s mind is how much did it cost to make that much, and that good food? In addition, why would they make so much food simply because a condemned man requested when it is illogical that even he could not have eaten even a quarter of it? The description easily appeals to the reader’s pathos and likely makes them feel a sense of outrage even before they have read the essay. Furthermore, the writer has foreshadowed a scenario where the prisoner either did not finish or refused to eat the food creating anticipation of more conflict. However, this was not the first application of pathos, from a logical point of view, it would be unfair to blame the prisoner solely for what happened

Journal #4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journal #4 - Essay Example The functions enumerated by the author are: creating an identity, organization of time and management of feelings (Frith). Based such sociological approach, Frith concludes that value and preferences of pop music both derive from social identities and contribute their development. This gives reasons to consider popular music and the notion of its aesthetic tightly connected with social environment it evolves in. 2. Unlike the previous article, this article â€Å"Music and Morality† written by Roger Scruton, a professor of moral philosophy, raises awareness of non-critical nature of our modern culture in terms of music, relying on Plato’s perspective of music and society (the property of music to evoke and foster both moral virtues and moral vices instead of being neutral). Keeping in mind moral effect music can produce, Scruton stresses musical, i.e. rhythmic and instrumental aspect of music, distancing himself from vocal and lyrics. The key concern of the article is drawn through description of previous ‘sociable’ patterns of dancing to the music with others and the modern way of dancing at others imposed by the contemporary nature of beat and rhythm pulsations created in music. Submitting to the rhythms completely deprives one of critical evaluation of moral properties held by music, while listening to the music critically is stated to enable identifying moral i mplications of musical pieces. 3. Venise Berry in the article â€Å"Redeeming Rap Music Experience† explains the peculiar nature of rap music, viewing it from the perspective of urban experience of the black community and realia it comes across. Asserting rap to be the original means of cultural communication and proclamation of racial identity for black people in American society and drawing the line between assimilated pop-crossover rap and ‘raw’ cultural

Digital Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Digital Business - Assignment Example the businesss life-cycle, though it may comprise a wider array of proficiency such as e-mail, cellular procedure, societal medium, and handsets as well. Digital trade is typically considered to be the business aspect of e-business. It can comprise of the switch of data to facilitate the advancing and recompense aspects of industry relations. This is an proficient and competent way of associating within an organization and one of the utmost valuable and useful ways of conducting trade. If you have a position store, you are limited by the geographical zone that you can serve. With an ecommerce location, the whole world is your playing arena. Additionally, the influx of mcommerce, i.e., ecommerce on mobile phone appliances, has scattered every remaining control of geography (Safko and Brake, 2012). Physical skill is driven by brand and relations. In addition to these two compounds, online trade is also motivated by passage from exploration mechanisms. It is not peculiar for consumers to track a connection in exploration mechanism consequences, and resolve on an electronic trade site that the people have not learnt of. This extra supply of traffic can be the tip plug for some ecommerce businesses (Safko and Brake, 2012). . In this venture we wish to set up an e Commerce website that will be involved in the renting or hiring of cars. The website in mind is similar to zipcar.com. This venture involves putting up cars around the busy areas of life for example shopping malls and Airports. The rationale behind the venture is as follows. First and foremost it is cheaper than buying a car. Secondly it is more convenient to have a car waiting for you where you land than having it shipped to you in the case of travelers. It is convenient to use since you are going to be responsible for the car only when you have it. You have a wide selection of cars to choose from: meaning you are not limited with only the ones present in your drive way. I chose the ecommerce platform to

Academic degree Essay Example for Free

Academic degree Essay After the SPM examination,many students have to decide their future on which education to pursue. Some of my friends chose to enrol in college. I decided to study in matriculation college as a Pre-U qualification to enter university. My reason is university education is better than college education. This is because university has a better education system,more dedicated lecturers and better facilities. First,university education provides a better education system than college does. A SPM certificate is enough for you to enrol in a college but to enter a university you need a Pre-U qualification such as STPM or A-level. This simply shows that it is harder to study in university as you need some qualifications in which the college does not demand. Besides,the grading system in university is stricter than that of college. So,students have to work harder to get a good result. On the other hand,most college change their grading system,according to the overall result of their students. Moreover,the the syllabus in university is well designed. Besides giving knowledge,it helps to develop the social skills of students. For example,Students have to do survey on public about topics related to their study. This ensures that the graduates can have critical thinking skill and communication skill. Universities usually hire more experienced lecturers with better knowledge. According to a research, these lectures possess a Master or PhD degree and some even graduated overseas. Thus,they have higher level of of knowledge which benefits the students. Besides,Most of them have years of teaching experience and so they know how to guide their students,developing their skills and exploring their potential. For instance,a Physics lecturer does not only talk on theories. Instead,he teaches the students to analyse a problem logically. They are also more caring and responsible to their students. These qualities are hard to seen in college lecturers,who are mostly bachelor degree holder and work just for money. (very serious generalisation here!) Last but not least,university usually has better facilities,for example,the state-of-art computers. Unlike those college such as Inti College which are run by private companies,university has a better management. Thus every single thing in the university,including the infrastructure is planned and developed well. This is beneficial to students. For instance,university with advanced laboratories is beneficial to students as they can learn science better by being explored to the real situation while conducting experiments. Besides,university with better sports facilities can help the students to relax their mind. In other words,better facilities means a more conducive environment for university students. In a nutshell,university education is better than college education for its better education system,lecturers and facilities. Despite the growing number of college in our country,I advice fellow friends to choose university education so that when you graduate,you are competitive enough to survive in this ever developing world.

Changing roles of men and women in Australia

Changing roles of men and women in Australia Right, role, freedom for women and changing role between men and women was questioned in today society. Especially in Australia a very multicultural nation where one in four of its 22 million people were born overseas, have a parent who was and four million speak a language other than English. This essay will point out shifting roles of men and women by examining womens rights in different aspects of that multicultural society such as Health, Work, Politics, Popular culture, Home family and Education. Let go back to the 1930s. At that time, the men worked and earned money. The fathers were usually far away from their children. Whereas, the women just stayed at home and took care of home and children. It was generally accepted that womens roles were as Kindergartener and home-keeper. In the other words their destiny were getting married, having Childs and dedicating their lives to the requests of their husbands and children. This was part of the culture that men and women understood their places in society and accepted it. Furthermore, it was believed that if women work after the marriage, they were slack in their responsibility to their husbands and children. It also could be seen as being lax their obligation to the nation. This is because at those days evolving the number of the nations population was one of the most important problems. Therefore, people believed that settling the countrys population was womens duty. For these reasons just unmarried women often had good jobs. A working married woman was considered to be taking a mans job, however they were paid less than men. In addition to, Marriage and divorce laws favored men in terms of custody of children and rights to property. All of those were these sorts of inequalities. In the Second World War shortages of labour caused by so many men joining the armed forces opened the door for many more women to work. That was the beginning of change. Many women took up jobs that had previouslydominated by males such as Politics, military affairs, scientific research. Moreover standards of living changed. Technology has developed and it was reforming peoples lifestyles and domestic roles were altered by the invention of washing machines, vacuum cleaners and electricity. For many women this helped to save a lot of time in housework. Therefore since they have more great opportunities to study and contribute for society and following their interest. Many women have now reached higher situations within politics, the occupations and even business in Australia. Further more the introduction of the contraceptive tablet allowed people to more easily plan their families and decide to space their children. That brought a decrease in the number of children in each family. It also allowed married women to pursue careers without the worry of pregnancy interfering with their plans. In addition, much laws has been put in place that purpose to make equal opportunities for women in the workspace, such as good pay, childcare, anti-discrimination and rules against sexual harassment. For example during the 1980s women took leading roles in the nations affairs. In 1981 Senator Janine Haines became the first woman leader of a major political party-the Australia democrats. In 1986 Justice marry Gaudron was the first women to become a judge of the High court and 1989 Rosemary Follett became the first female chief minister of the ACT (Bereson 2001, p.3). And recently Julia was first sworn as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia on 24 June 2010. She was not born in Australia but she is a migrant. This event does not only mean but also confirms the great role of women in Australian society. As a results Australia has become one of the first nations in the world giving women the rights to vote and to be seated in parliament. From that the women in Australia now achieved higher positions within politics. It is no longer considered that these opportunities are not available to women. Indeed Besides politics, women also more successful in many different fields such as art and culture, sports, even in business. For example Louise Sauvage won a gold medal in Sydney Olympic Games 2000 (Costain 2003, P.4). Robin Archer-a woman of many talented she is a singer, writer and a director. She was artistic Director at Melbourne festival art in 2003 (Costain 2003, P.12). Even very traditional organizations such as religion, churches have changed their attitudes towards women, for example the Anglican Church in the mid-1980s in Melbourne accepted women to be ordained as ministers. Today in secondary schools and universities more women than men educated, and more women than men advanced in bachelor degrees in university. In 2006, women make up for 54.8 per cent of all tertiary education students and 47.5 per cent of all students enrolled in training courses and vocational education. The common were joined in society and culture, management and commerce, hospitality, food indust ries, and personal services courses. Also there are more than 30 per cent of small business operators in Australia are women. Women hold 57 per cent the Australian public service workforce and 36 per cent of senior executive situations. (Women-towards equality) The changing roles of women and greater participation in all levels of society, has led to the role of men to change. Men are now expected to be part of a household management team. In the other word they are ready to share domestic work with their wife. That never ever happened in 1930s. This has caused anxiety in men with traditional backgrounds. They are not sure of their roles any more. However In fact, women are still in a tougher situation than men when it approaches to vocations and work in general. Child care can be difficult to secure and is often too costly. For example if a child is ill it is usually the mother who will be likely to take their time off work to take care them. The greater responsibilities of teaching children, which are still considered womens responsibilities, mean that it is so tough for women to get full-time work especially in jobs requiring overtime. Because of this, instead of full time women usually have to do casual jobs or part-time. Most of these works are not career-orientated positions, so it is not realizable for women to reach higher positions in their work. Furthermore womens attendance is especially strong throughout common culture. Womens image in film clips, movies, magazines, television shows, newspapers and even news programmers is often as a sexualized decoration. There for Women have often been discriminated against, esp ecially on sexual harassment, even at work. Ultimately, any change also has two sides. Although the position of women in Australia society has been confirmed, it also means their responsibility is heavier. Especially in some fields that require physical strengths, superior skills and health. These things women are inferior to men. However all string of success mentioned above helped to break down traditional ideas about what women could or could not do. It made women more visible in public society and enabled them to lead lives that were much nearer to mens lives in standings of liberty and selection.

Conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh Analysis Dissertation

Conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh Analysis Dissertation This dissertation focuses on the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh; the origins of the conflict, its present state and the possible future. Throughout the dissertation several key aspects and theories of International relations are analysed, such as: peoples right to self determination, the concept of nation-state and conflict resolution. Firstly, the relevant theories of International relations are explored and an attempt is made to compare them with reality and to show their use in the real world. Secondly, a historical background of the conflict is described, followed by a description of the conflict from 1988 to 1995 and the peace talks. Thirdly, an analysis of the future of NK is examined, pointing out possible solutions and forms of reconciliation. Moreover, relevant questions are individually looked at. For over ten years NK has been on a path of nation-state building. NK sees itself as an independent republic, even with lack of international recognition. NK has a population of 141,000 and an area that covers 11,458.38  km2. (Official website of the President of NK, http://www.president.nkr.am/en/nkr/statePower/ , accessed on March 2, 2011). The map below show the situation of NK, they show both the NK Autonomous Oblast and the present NK state boundaries that include the occupied territories of Azerbaijan: THEORY: RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION As this dissertation deals with the de facto state of Nagorno-Karabakh, it analyses and explores International Law concerning peoples right to self determination and the consequent recognition of their state. Chapter 1, Article 1, part 2 of the United Nations Charter created in 1945 states that the aim of the UN is to: Develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace?. Article 1, part 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 states the following: All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development?. (United Nations Charter 1945, available at: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/ [accessed March 2 2011]) Moreover, the Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations of 24th October 1970 declares that: By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine, without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.? (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm [accessed march 2 2011]) The establishment of a sovereign and independent State, the free association or integration with an independent State or the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people?. (UN General Assembly, Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, 24 October 1970,  available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3dda1f104.html  [accessed March 2 2011] ). These legal statements show the core understanding and acceptance of the international community regarding the idea of peoples right to self determination. Even though some core aspects of these declarations can be vague in their practical sense, their overall message is not contested. By taking into account these and other declarations, the case for the people of NK becomes clearer. Presently, the problem lies with the idea that NK peoples right to self determination collides with Azerbaijans right to sovereignty, so what is the solution? According to Dr. Otto Luchterhandt, the director of East European Research Department (University of Hamburg): The right to self-determination is not only a political principle but a rule of existing international law. The people of Nagorny Karabakh are the subject of the right to self-determination. The people of Nagorny Karabakh can claim for the highest level fulfilment of the law of self-determination â€Å" secession from the state of Azerbaijan because on the one hand its restriction to the status of a national minority stands in no reasonable relation to its legitimate interests in development and protection, and on the other hand the measure of its oppression has reached such unbearable proportions, that remaining in the federation of Azerbaijan has become unacceptable and it has announced it will for self-determination in an unmistakable and convincing manner.? (Luchterhandt, Nagorny Karabakhs Right to State Independence According to International Law, Boston, 1993) To use international law in a discussion in the case for NK, specific proof has to be shown. There is also the argument that juridical legitimacy of borders and territorial integrity works against the self-determination principle, however this cannot be taken into account in the case of Azerbaijan SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic). Firstly, it must be stated that NK was an autonomous oblast (an administrative unit) within the Azerbaijan SSR, and that Azerbaijan SSR was not defined by state borders, it was defined by administrative borders, therefore the Helsinki Agreement Final Act in 1975 concerning territorial integrity cannot be applied. As Francois Mitterrand said: Why should the interior administrative borders of a state be automatically recognised as international ones? (Zargarian,1999). Secondly, on the 31st August 19941 the Azerbaijan SSR confirmed the restoration of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan that had been created from 1918 to 1920. This declaration leaves to question the legality of the present Azerbaijans borders, including the territories of NK, territories surrounding NK and Nakhijevan, as none of these were part of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, it is well documented that in December 1920, Azerbaijan SSR accepted the territories of NK and Nakhijevan as belonging to Armenia. These declarations were later altered by Stalin, which at the times was Commissar of Nationalities. To further analyse, the value of state sovereignty of Azerbaijan should be graded as lower than the importance of sovereignty of a state in a normal situation, with reference to the system of states in the League of Nations, therefore it is lower than the NK peoples right to self determination. (Raschhofer, 1960) This notion gives support to the national right to self-determination of NKs people in right to secession over Azerbaijans state sovereignty. (Luchterhandt, 1993). To conclude, as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was founded after a referendum on state independence on 10th December 1991, resulting in a 98% acceptance, and in agreement with international and Soviet law, it should ultimately be acknowledged as genuine under international law. Moreover, precedent of Eritrea can be used, which showed that self proclamation leads to be under the power of international law. NK relationship with other countries, international organisations, and treaties such as the Geneva Convention, all give power for self-determination. HISTORY The name Nagorno-Karabakh has a mixture of 3 languages; Nagorno is in Russian meaning mountainous?, and Karabakh is in Turkic and Farsi meaning Black Garden?. However, the Armenians call it Artsakh, as it was one of the provinces of Greater Armenia, and it is mentioned as early as second century BC: the ancient provinces of Artsakh and Utik, situated between Lake Sevan, river Kara and river Araxes. (Strabo, 1st century BC.) During the centuries, NK has been mainly populated by ethnic Armenians, however there were periods in which during conquests other ethnic groups would settle, such as Caucasian Tatars, Caucasian Albanians (no connection to Albanians in Balkans), Persians and Turkic tribes. The recent conflict with Azerbaijan has unleashed a historical fact finding war, where the Azeris lay historical claims to these lands, and the Armenians refute them. The people living in NK point out to the obvious evidence, such as hundreds of ruins, ancient monuments, religious building, churches and monasteries. (Tchilingirian,1999). As one farmer said in regard to this: This monastery (Monastery of Gandzasar) kept us Armenian, the writings on these walls made us know who we are. There is a khachkar (cross-stone), the size of a car, on top of this mountain; our ancestors placed it there to indicate that this is Armenian land? (Martakert, 1995). To review the history of Artsakh a new dissertation can be written, therefore to keep in line with this dissertation, a review of more recent history is made. After 1918, when the Georgians, Armenians and Azeris took advantage of the chaos of the Russian Revolution to establish independent states, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, however by 1921 all three republic were under the rule of the Red Army. (Swietochowski, 1985) Originally, the Bolsheviks determined NKs problem: The Chairman of the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee (Azrevkom), Narimanov declared: The government of Workers and Peasants of Azerbaijan, having heard the news of the proclamation in Armenia in the name of the insurgent peasantry of the Soviet Socialist Republic, salutes the victory of the fraternal Armenian people. From this day forward, the former borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan are suspended. Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur, and Nakhichevan are recognized as integral parts of the Socialist Republic of Armenia. Long live the fraternity and union of workers and peasants of Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan.? (L. Chorbajian, P. Donabedian, C. Mutafian, 1994) The decision by Narimanov was acclaimed by the ethnic Armenians which thought that it was a fair decision. Moreover, Narimanov declared: no territorial conflict will cause bloodshed between these two age-old neighbourly peoples?. ( Chorbajian, Donabedian, Mutafian, 1994). Yerevans central authority henceforth declared: Based on the declaration of (Azrevkom) ¦it is hereby declared that Mountainous Karabagh is henceforth an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia? (Libaridian, 2004) This announcement was never realised, even if it was at the beginning supported by Stalin. Stalins view was that Karabagh should be given to Azerbaijan, in an effort to increase friendly relations with Turkey, which by then had aspirations to be a communist state. (Lane, 1992) It must be understood that Turks and Azeris are ethnically the same people. Even though the decision over NK was reached on July 4th 1921 in the Kavburo (Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party): Based on the declaration of (Azrevkom) ¦it is hereby declared that Mountainous Karabagh is henceforth an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia? (Libaridian, 2004) The Kars and Moscow treaties were signed in October, giving Azerbaijan the control of NK. Thus, NKs Armenian populations (90% of NK) desire to unite with Armenia was ignored, creating ethnic tensions that would eventually end in full scale war. The Armenians tried to relocate NK to Armenia SSR in 1929, 1935, 1963, 1966, 1977 and 1987. The main reasons were the anti-Armenian discrimination, demographic shifts and economic underdevelopment. (Ulubabian, 1994) The Armenian population had declined by 25% from 1920 to 1979, due to hardships created by these discriminatory attitudes. The modern conflict started on February 1988, when due to the glasnost policy created by Gorbachev and its subsequent openness, the NK authorities asked to transfer the NK Autonomous Oblast to Armenia SSR. The reaction in Azerbaijan SSR was negative, as in 13th June it rejected this demand, on the other hand Armenia SSR on 15th June gave acceptance to this request. Due to the argument between Azerbaijan SSR and Armenia SSR, Moscow had to decide, and since Articles 73 and 78 of the 1977 USSR Constitution states that borders may only be changed if both republics agree on the change, NK stayed under Azerbaijans SSR authority, until the Soviet Union broke down in 1991. The conflict itself started with violence and ethnic-cleansing, with guerrilla warfare. Pogroms against Armenians started in Sumgait (near Baku) in February 1988 and in January 1990 in Baku. The Armenians of Baku (approximately 220,000) and from other parts of Azerbaijan were forced to flee, except in areas of NK. In return, Azeris in Armenia (160,000) were forced to leave, however no pogroms and mass violence was recorded, unlike in Baku. It was not until Yeltsin came to power that Russia sided with the Armenians, as before the USSR broke down the USSR Army was helping the Azeris. The Russians helped the Armenians with weapons, fuel and logistical support. The reason the Russians sided with the Armenians was because it was against Azerbaijans pro-Turkey and pro-Western positions. (Betts, 1999). Russias view was that Armenia was its only ally in the South Caucasus, and due to its geopolitical situation in regard to Turkey in Iran, help should be given. Full scale war broke out between 1991 and 1994 among the Azeri Army and the irregular Armenian guerrilla fighters. At the beginnings of 1992 the Azeris were in control of nearly half of NK, forcing out Armenian civilians as they advanced. Spring 1992 was when the advantage turned towards the Armenians, as their offensive pushed the Azeris to retreat. Once the city of Shushi was captured in May 8 1992, the Armenians had control of NK and the surrounding territories. It must be noted that the Armenian side was mostly fought by guerrilla fighters, which did not respond to any central authority in NK or Armenia. Most of the fighters or Fedayeen (Freedom Fighters), as the Armenians call them, were ordinary people without training or military weapons. The Armenians were helped by the Diaspora, which sent money, weapons and volunteers to help. The Azeri side brought mercenaries from Chechnya and mujahedeen from Pakistan and Afghanistan (approximately 3,000 fighters). (Taarnby, Michael. 2008 ) In May 1994 a cease fire was signed with Russia as intermediary in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The ceasefire was signed by the Azerbaijani authorities and General Babayan from the NK Armed forces. The result of the war was that the Armenians ended up controlling 20% of Azerbaijans territory. An estimated 4,500 people died and 25,00 wounded from the Armenian side, and an estimated 30,000 died and 60,000 wounded on the Azeri side. (De Waal, 2003). CEASE FIRE AND PEACE TALKS Before the ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia, several attempts were made to find a solution. The first attempt was by Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev on September 1991, it gave no fruit. Next mediation was by Iran on February 1992. Since Irans historical relationship with both the Armenians and the Azeris was close, it attempted to increase its dominance in the region, especially to push Turkey aside. The Tehran conference did not reach to any agreement. After this, CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) started to arbitrate, it also pressed Iran out of the negotiations, as the latter was not a member of CSCE, On August 1992, Nazarbayev tried again, but the mediation led to nowhere. CSCE tried on several occasions from 1992 until December 1994 to reach an agreement for both sides, but its inexperience and Russias parallel involvement made it fail. From May 1994, when the ceasefire was signed, several propositions were laid on the negotiation table, but NK was only to agree to a complete package?, while Azerbaijan pushed for a step by step? approach. ( Mooradian, 1999) To date, there has been no concrete agreement between the two parts. The main mediator is the Minsk Group, created in 1993 by the CSCE (now OSCE), even though the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met on various occasions, NKs government is still left out of any negotiations. CAN KOSOVO BE USED AS AN EXAMPLE? After the recognition of Kosovos independence, many other de facto states looked closely to see if it would set an example. Even though the states that have recognised Kosovo state that Kosovo cannot be used as a precedent, others may argue that it can and has. The main reason the international community uses to implicate the uniqueness of Kosovo is that it has been under UN and international control, while other de facto states like NK, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have not. To analyse the relevance of Kosovo, a comparison is made. The similarities with NK are various: both consist of a minority that sees itself discriminated, both conflicts started in an era of transition brought by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, both held referendums and used the peoples right to self determination idea. The differences must also be noted: NK can argue that before the transition era, it already was an Autonomous Oblast. NK has existed for longer, with relative better stability, and has made more progress on state-building, even though it received less international attention and financial support. (Murinson, 2004) Other differences are that NK is not accepted as a negotiating part in the peace process, Armenia acts as its representative. It can be argued that the Kosovo can be used as an example of a state gaining independence, however, the international community argues that it is a unique case, however this does not limit the political ramifications it has brought. Kosovos independence has given hope to other de facto states, who argue that in all, they should have a better chance in gaining independence than Kosovo. As the former President of NK stated: If the world community is ready to recognize the independence of Kosovo, I think it will be very hard for them to explain why they do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh? (Yakubyan, 2006) And as the Speaker of NK Parliament said: A serious basis for the international recognition of our sovereignty, we have held free elections for 16 years, law-enforcement bodies are formed, powers are divided, [the] army is under civil control? (Karabakh Has Serious Grounds for International Recognition of Sovereignty «, in: Karabakh Open, 20 February 2008) To explain why Kosovo deserves international recognition and other de facto states in very similar positions do not is very hard, even by the same international community that accepted Kosovos independence. The reasons can vary from the official statement that Kosovo has been under international control, while other have not, but it is also correct to assume that other factors such as mutual interests among regional powers. Russias involvement in the NK peace process has many times thrown the Minsk Groups propositions away, as Russia can benefit from the no peace no war? situation over NK: it sells arms and heavy weaponry to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, arming both sides. WHY HAS ARMENIA NOT RECOGNISED NKS INDEPENDENCE? This question is very interesting in the sense that it would be logical that Armenia should be the first country in recognising the independence of NK, however there is one main reason of why it has not. The official Armenian response to these questions is that since Armenia has started: An international legal process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, and this is why Armenia has still not recognized the enclaves independence? It  is for  the  same reason that Armenia has not recognized the independence of Kosovo, Oleg   Yesayan,   Armenian   ambassador   to   Belarus. (Alima Bissenova. (2008). Armenia links issue of Abkhazia, S. Ossetia to N.-Karabakh. Available: http://www.cacianalyst.org/?q=taxonomy/term/4page=6. Last accessed 20th January 2011.) However, due to the recent statements by Azerbaijan of taking NK back by force has made the Armenian side declare that it would recognise NK if war started: Armenia is categorically against a military resolution of the problem. In the event Azerbaijan unleashes a new military venture, Armenia will have no other choice but to recognize de jure the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and provide for the safety of its population through all means,? President of Armenia, Serge Sarkisian Astana, Kazakhstan, December 2010. EuroAsia. (2010). Armenia Says Will Recognize Karabakh In Case Of War. Available: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62556. Last accessed 20th January 2011 One could argue that Armenia should recognise NK, in the same manner as Russia has recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The recognition of NK would give Armenia legal right to aid NK in case war started with Azerbaijan. Moreover, some argue that if Armenia does not recognise NK in the foreseeable future, the status and issue of NK could be forgotten to history, as it would lose its momentum in the pursuit for recognition. RECOMENDATIONS From the overall analysis of the NK conflict and other similar conflicts around the world, some basic and concrete to the NK case recommendations can be made: OSCE and other international peace organisations should look to include NK in the negotiation process as an independent actor, like they did with the ceasefire agreement. International organisations should pave the way to stipulate better assurances for non resumption of armed conflict. The line of fire should be closely observed for ceasefire violations. Programs should be developed in order to teach both societies about tolerance, reconciliation and mutual respect. International organisations should look to integrate the public in debates and discussions, and rely less on top-down approaches. (Faber, 2005) International organisations should push for a peacekeeping force to be deployed on the contact line, it should also try to organise a new referendum under the eyes of international observers, henceforth push for a lawful democratisation and a peace settlement. (Freizer, 2006) Governments in Armenia, NK, and Azerbaijan should start to include conflict resolution and prevention, peace building and peacekeeping, human rights programmes at schools and universities, in order to increase public awareness. NGOs should create projects along with the civil society to educate the population about the conflict and conciliation for peace. Finally, an international recognition of NK would ensure a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and would make NK answerable to international law. Moreover, NK would have access to loans from the IMF or the WB, thus being able to develop better as a state. Open borders with Azerbaijan would bolster trade, and maybe bring trust between the people. CONCLUSION The conflict of NK is very complicated to be able to analyse without going into much detail. There are many arguments for and against certain strategies, using international law, international recognition, state sovereignty, refugees, and many others, but one thing is being ignored; the fact that NK has been acting like any other recognised democratic state for over 15 years. NKs human rights violations, degree of democracy and transparency and corruption are all better than Armenia or Azerbaijan, (Freedom House, 2011) yet still there is little advance among the international community in recognising NK. Some may add that the West uses double standards: Weve got used to the double standards of the West. I believe that the people of South Ossetia have much more reason for gaining independence than the Kosovan Albanians.? (Yuri Morozov, Prime Minister of South Ossetia). In my opinion, the West does not fully use double standards, but approaches the question very surgically, since it un derstands the uniqueness of every conflict, and that it could be disastrous to use one peace settlement in another area, as every conflict has its own inimitable dynamics. I think that NK pace to independence is correct, as sooner or later it will have to be recognised, it should continue developing its government in order to set an example. In the near future two outcomes are possible, either an international recognition of NK or war will break out, it is inevitable, as both sides continue arming themselves, therefore it in my opinion it is in the best interest that of the international community to prevent such hostilities by recognizing NK. As Chekov said: If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise dont put it there. (A. P. Chekhov, in Teatr i iskusstvo 1904, No. 28, 11 July, p. 521) Conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh Analysis Dissertation Conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh Analysis Dissertation This dissertation focuses on the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh; the origins of the conflict, its present state and the possible future. Throughout the dissertation several key aspects and theories of International relations are analysed, such as: peoples right to self determination, the concept of nation-state and conflict resolution. Firstly, the relevant theories of International relations are explored and an attempt is made to compare them with reality and to show their use in the real world. Secondly, a historical background of the conflict is described, followed by a description of the conflict from 1988 to 1995 and the peace talks. Thirdly, an analysis of the future of NK is examined, pointing out possible solutions and forms of reconciliation. Moreover, relevant questions are individually looked at. For over ten years NK has been on a path of nation-state building. NK sees itself as an independent republic, even with lack of international recognition. NK has a population of 141,000 and an area that covers 11,458.38  km2. (Official website of the President of NK, http://www.president.nkr.am/en/nkr/statePower/ , accessed on March 2, 2011). The map below show the situation of NK, they show both the NK Autonomous Oblast and the present NK state boundaries that include the occupied territories of Azerbaijan: THEORY: RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION As this dissertation deals with the de facto state of Nagorno-Karabakh, it analyses and explores International Law concerning peoples right to self determination and the consequent recognition of their state. Chapter 1, Article 1, part 2 of the United Nations Charter created in 1945 states that the aim of the UN is to: Develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace?. Article 1, part 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 states the following: All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development?. (United Nations Charter 1945, available at: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/ [accessed March 2 2011]) Moreover, the Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations of 24th October 1970 declares that: By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine, without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.? (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm [accessed march 2 2011]) The establishment of a sovereign and independent State, the free association or integration with an independent State or the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people?. (UN General Assembly, Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, 24 October 1970,  available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3dda1f104.html  [accessed March 2 2011] ). These legal statements show the core understanding and acceptance of the international community regarding the idea of peoples right to self determination. Even though some core aspects of these declarations can be vague in their practical sense, their overall message is not contested. By taking into account these and other declarations, the case for the people of NK becomes clearer. Presently, the problem lies with the idea that NK peoples right to self determination collides with Azerbaijans right to sovereignty, so what is the solution? According to Dr. Otto Luchterhandt, the director of East European Research Department (University of Hamburg): The right to self-determination is not only a political principle but a rule of existing international law. The people of Nagorny Karabakh are the subject of the right to self-determination. The people of Nagorny Karabakh can claim for the highest level fulfilment of the law of self-determination â€Å" secession from the state of Azerbaijan because on the one hand its restriction to the status of a national minority stands in no reasonable relation to its legitimate interests in development and protection, and on the other hand the measure of its oppression has reached such unbearable proportions, that remaining in the federation of Azerbaijan has become unacceptable and it has announced it will for self-determination in an unmistakable and convincing manner.? (Luchterhandt, Nagorny Karabakhs Right to State Independence According to International Law, Boston, 1993) To use international law in a discussion in the case for NK, specific proof has to be shown. There is also the argument that juridical legitimacy of borders and territorial integrity works against the self-determination principle, however this cannot be taken into account in the case of Azerbaijan SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic). Firstly, it must be stated that NK was an autonomous oblast (an administrative unit) within the Azerbaijan SSR, and that Azerbaijan SSR was not defined by state borders, it was defined by administrative borders, therefore the Helsinki Agreement Final Act in 1975 concerning territorial integrity cannot be applied. As Francois Mitterrand said: Why should the interior administrative borders of a state be automatically recognised as international ones? (Zargarian,1999). Secondly, on the 31st August 19941 the Azerbaijan SSR confirmed the restoration of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan that had been created from 1918 to 1920. This declaration leaves to question the legality of the present Azerbaijans borders, including the territories of NK, territories surrounding NK and Nakhijevan, as none of these were part of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, it is well documented that in December 1920, Azerbaijan SSR accepted the territories of NK and Nakhijevan as belonging to Armenia. These declarations were later altered by Stalin, which at the times was Commissar of Nationalities. To further analyse, the value of state sovereignty of Azerbaijan should be graded as lower than the importance of sovereignty of a state in a normal situation, with reference to the system of states in the League of Nations, therefore it is lower than the NK peoples right to self determination. (Raschhofer, 1960) This notion gives support to the national right to self-determination of NKs people in right to secession over Azerbaijans state sovereignty. (Luchterhandt, 1993). To conclude, as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was founded after a referendum on state independence on 10th December 1991, resulting in a 98% acceptance, and in agreement with international and Soviet law, it should ultimately be acknowledged as genuine under international law. Moreover, precedent of Eritrea can be used, which showed that self proclamation leads to be under the power of international law. NK relationship with other countries, international organisations, and treaties such as the Geneva Convention, all give power for self-determination. HISTORY The name Nagorno-Karabakh has a mixture of 3 languages; Nagorno is in Russian meaning mountainous?, and Karabakh is in Turkic and Farsi meaning Black Garden?. However, the Armenians call it Artsakh, as it was one of the provinces of Greater Armenia, and it is mentioned as early as second century BC: the ancient provinces of Artsakh and Utik, situated between Lake Sevan, river Kara and river Araxes. (Strabo, 1st century BC.) During the centuries, NK has been mainly populated by ethnic Armenians, however there were periods in which during conquests other ethnic groups would settle, such as Caucasian Tatars, Caucasian Albanians (no connection to Albanians in Balkans), Persians and Turkic tribes. The recent conflict with Azerbaijan has unleashed a historical fact finding war, where the Azeris lay historical claims to these lands, and the Armenians refute them. The people living in NK point out to the obvious evidence, such as hundreds of ruins, ancient monuments, religious building, churches and monasteries. (Tchilingirian,1999). As one farmer said in regard to this: This monastery (Monastery of Gandzasar) kept us Armenian, the writings on these walls made us know who we are. There is a khachkar (cross-stone), the size of a car, on top of this mountain; our ancestors placed it there to indicate that this is Armenian land? (Martakert, 1995). To review the history of Artsakh a new dissertation can be written, therefore to keep in line with this dissertation, a review of more recent history is made. After 1918, when the Georgians, Armenians and Azeris took advantage of the chaos of the Russian Revolution to establish independent states, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, however by 1921 all three republic were under the rule of the Red Army. (Swietochowski, 1985) Originally, the Bolsheviks determined NKs problem: The Chairman of the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee (Azrevkom), Narimanov declared: The government of Workers and Peasants of Azerbaijan, having heard the news of the proclamation in Armenia in the name of the insurgent peasantry of the Soviet Socialist Republic, salutes the victory of the fraternal Armenian people. From this day forward, the former borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan are suspended. Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur, and Nakhichevan are recognized as integral parts of the Socialist Republic of Armenia. Long live the fraternity and union of workers and peasants of Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan.? (L. Chorbajian, P. Donabedian, C. Mutafian, 1994) The decision by Narimanov was acclaimed by the ethnic Armenians which thought that it was a fair decision. Moreover, Narimanov declared: no territorial conflict will cause bloodshed between these two age-old neighbourly peoples?. ( Chorbajian, Donabedian, Mutafian, 1994). Yerevans central authority henceforth declared: Based on the declaration of (Azrevkom) ¦it is hereby declared that Mountainous Karabagh is henceforth an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia? (Libaridian, 2004) This announcement was never realised, even if it was at the beginning supported by Stalin. Stalins view was that Karabagh should be given to Azerbaijan, in an effort to increase friendly relations with Turkey, which by then had aspirations to be a communist state. (Lane, 1992) It must be understood that Turks and Azeris are ethnically the same people. Even though the decision over NK was reached on July 4th 1921 in the Kavburo (Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party): Based on the declaration of (Azrevkom) ¦it is hereby declared that Mountainous Karabagh is henceforth an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia? (Libaridian, 2004) The Kars and Moscow treaties were signed in October, giving Azerbaijan the control of NK. Thus, NKs Armenian populations (90% of NK) desire to unite with Armenia was ignored, creating ethnic tensions that would eventually end in full scale war. The Armenians tried to relocate NK to Armenia SSR in 1929, 1935, 1963, 1966, 1977 and 1987. The main reasons were the anti-Armenian discrimination, demographic shifts and economic underdevelopment. (Ulubabian, 1994) The Armenian population had declined by 25% from 1920 to 1979, due to hardships created by these discriminatory attitudes. The modern conflict started on February 1988, when due to the glasnost policy created by Gorbachev and its subsequent openness, the NK authorities asked to transfer the NK Autonomous Oblast to Armenia SSR. The reaction in Azerbaijan SSR was negative, as in 13th June it rejected this demand, on the other hand Armenia SSR on 15th June gave acceptance to this request. Due to the argument between Azerbaijan SSR and Armenia SSR, Moscow had to decide, and since Articles 73 and 78 of the 1977 USSR Constitution states that borders may only be changed if both republics agree on the change, NK stayed under Azerbaijans SSR authority, until the Soviet Union broke down in 1991. The conflict itself started with violence and ethnic-cleansing, with guerrilla warfare. Pogroms against Armenians started in Sumgait (near Baku) in February 1988 and in January 1990 in Baku. The Armenians of Baku (approximately 220,000) and from other parts of Azerbaijan were forced to flee, except in areas of NK. In return, Azeris in Armenia (160,000) were forced to leave, however no pogroms and mass violence was recorded, unlike in Baku. It was not until Yeltsin came to power that Russia sided with the Armenians, as before the USSR broke down the USSR Army was helping the Azeris. The Russians helped the Armenians with weapons, fuel and logistical support. The reason the Russians sided with the Armenians was because it was against Azerbaijans pro-Turkey and pro-Western positions. (Betts, 1999). Russias view was that Armenia was its only ally in the South Caucasus, and due to its geopolitical situation in regard to Turkey in Iran, help should be given. Full scale war broke out between 1991 and 1994 among the Azeri Army and the irregular Armenian guerrilla fighters. At the beginnings of 1992 the Azeris were in control of nearly half of NK, forcing out Armenian civilians as they advanced. Spring 1992 was when the advantage turned towards the Armenians, as their offensive pushed the Azeris to retreat. Once the city of Shushi was captured in May 8 1992, the Armenians had control of NK and the surrounding territories. It must be noted that the Armenian side was mostly fought by guerrilla fighters, which did not respond to any central authority in NK or Armenia. Most of the fighters or Fedayeen (Freedom Fighters), as the Armenians call them, were ordinary people without training or military weapons. The Armenians were helped by the Diaspora, which sent money, weapons and volunteers to help. The Azeri side brought mercenaries from Chechnya and mujahedeen from Pakistan and Afghanistan (approximately 3,000 fighters). (Taarnby, Michael. 2008 ) In May 1994 a cease fire was signed with Russia as intermediary in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The ceasefire was signed by the Azerbaijani authorities and General Babayan from the NK Armed forces. The result of the war was that the Armenians ended up controlling 20% of Azerbaijans territory. An estimated 4,500 people died and 25,00 wounded from the Armenian side, and an estimated 30,000 died and 60,000 wounded on the Azeri side. (De Waal, 2003). CEASE FIRE AND PEACE TALKS Before the ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia, several attempts were made to find a solution. The first attempt was by Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev on September 1991, it gave no fruit. Next mediation was by Iran on February 1992. Since Irans historical relationship with both the Armenians and the Azeris was close, it attempted to increase its dominance in the region, especially to push Turkey aside. The Tehran conference did not reach to any agreement. After this, CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) started to arbitrate, it also pressed Iran out of the negotiations, as the latter was not a member of CSCE, On August 1992, Nazarbayev tried again, but the mediation led to nowhere. CSCE tried on several occasions from 1992 until December 1994 to reach an agreement for both sides, but its inexperience and Russias parallel involvement made it fail. From May 1994, when the ceasefire was signed, several propositions were laid on the negotiation table, but NK was only to agree to a complete package?, while Azerbaijan pushed for a step by step? approach. ( Mooradian, 1999) To date, there has been no concrete agreement between the two parts. The main mediator is the Minsk Group, created in 1993 by the CSCE (now OSCE), even though the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met on various occasions, NKs government is still left out of any negotiations. CAN KOSOVO BE USED AS AN EXAMPLE? After the recognition of Kosovos independence, many other de facto states looked closely to see if it would set an example. Even though the states that have recognised Kosovo state that Kosovo cannot be used as a precedent, others may argue that it can and has. The main reason the international community uses to implicate the uniqueness of Kosovo is that it has been under UN and international control, while other de facto states like NK, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have not. To analyse the relevance of Kosovo, a comparison is made. The similarities with NK are various: both consist of a minority that sees itself discriminated, both conflicts started in an era of transition brought by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, both held referendums and used the peoples right to self determination idea. The differences must also be noted: NK can argue that before the transition era, it already was an Autonomous Oblast. NK has existed for longer, with relative better stability, and has made more progress on state-building, even though it received less international attention and financial support. (Murinson, 2004) Other differences are that NK is not accepted as a negotiating part in the peace process, Armenia acts as its representative. It can be argued that the Kosovo can be used as an example of a state gaining independence, however, the international community argues that it is a unique case, however this does not limit the political ramifications it has brought. Kosovos independence has given hope to other de facto states, who argue that in all, they should have a better chance in gaining independence than Kosovo. As the former President of NK stated: If the world community is ready to recognize the independence of Kosovo, I think it will be very hard for them to explain why they do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh? (Yakubyan, 2006) And as the Speaker of NK Parliament said: A serious basis for the international recognition of our sovereignty, we have held free elections for 16 years, law-enforcement bodies are formed, powers are divided, [the] army is under civil control? (Karabakh Has Serious Grounds for International Recognition of Sovereignty «, in: Karabakh Open, 20 February 2008) To explain why Kosovo deserves international recognition and other de facto states in very similar positions do not is very hard, even by the same international community that accepted Kosovos independence. The reasons can vary from the official statement that Kosovo has been under international control, while other have not, but it is also correct to assume that other factors such as mutual interests among regional powers. Russias involvement in the NK peace process has many times thrown the Minsk Groups propositions away, as Russia can benefit from the no peace no war? situation over NK: it sells arms and heavy weaponry to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, arming both sides. WHY HAS ARMENIA NOT RECOGNISED NKS INDEPENDENCE? This question is very interesting in the sense that it would be logical that Armenia should be the first country in recognising the independence of NK, however there is one main reason of why it has not. The official Armenian response to these questions is that since Armenia has started: An international legal process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, and this is why Armenia has still not recognized the enclaves independence? It  is for  the  same reason that Armenia has not recognized the independence of Kosovo, Oleg   Yesayan,   Armenian   ambassador   to   Belarus. (Alima Bissenova. (2008). Armenia links issue of Abkhazia, S. Ossetia to N.-Karabakh. Available: http://www.cacianalyst.org/?q=taxonomy/term/4page=6. Last accessed 20th January 2011.) However, due to the recent statements by Azerbaijan of taking NK back by force has made the Armenian side declare that it would recognise NK if war started: Armenia is categorically against a military resolution of the problem. In the event Azerbaijan unleashes a new military venture, Armenia will have no other choice but to recognize de jure the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and provide for the safety of its population through all means,? President of Armenia, Serge Sarkisian Astana, Kazakhstan, December 2010. EuroAsia. (2010). Armenia Says Will Recognize Karabakh In Case Of War. Available: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62556. Last accessed 20th January 2011 One could argue that Armenia should recognise NK, in the same manner as Russia has recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The recognition of NK would give Armenia legal right to aid NK in case war started with Azerbaijan. Moreover, some argue that if Armenia does not recognise NK in the foreseeable future, the status and issue of NK could be forgotten to history, as it would lose its momentum in the pursuit for recognition. RECOMENDATIONS From the overall analysis of the NK conflict and other similar conflicts around the world, some basic and concrete to the NK case recommendations can be made: OSCE and other international peace organisations should look to include NK in the negotiation process as an independent actor, like they did with the ceasefire agreement. International organisations should pave the way to stipulate better assurances for non resumption of armed conflict. The line of fire should be closely observed for ceasefire violations. Programs should be developed in order to teach both societies about tolerance, reconciliation and mutual respect. International organisations should look to integrate the public in debates and discussions, and rely less on top-down approaches. (Faber, 2005) International organisations should push for a peacekeeping force to be deployed on the contact line, it should also try to organise a new referendum under the eyes of international observers, henceforth push for a lawful democratisation and a peace settlement. (Freizer, 2006) Governments in Armenia, NK, and Azerbaijan should start to include conflict resolution and prevention, peace building and peacekeeping, human rights programmes at schools and universities, in order to increase public awareness. NGOs should create projects along with the civil society to educate the population about the conflict and conciliation for peace. Finally, an international recognition of NK would ensure a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and would make NK answerable to international law. Moreover, NK would have access to loans from the IMF or the WB, thus being able to develop better as a state. Open borders with Azerbaijan would bolster trade, and maybe bring trust between the people. CONCLUSION The conflict of NK is very complicated to be able to analyse without going into much detail. There are many arguments for and against certain strategies, using international law, international recognition, state sovereignty, refugees, and many others, but one thing is being ignored; the fact that NK has been acting like any other recognised democratic state for over 15 years. NKs human rights violations, degree of democracy and transparency and corruption are all better than Armenia or Azerbaijan, (Freedom House, 2011) yet still there is little advance among the international community in recognising NK. Some may add that the West uses double standards: Weve got used to the double standards of the West. I believe that the people of South Ossetia have much more reason for gaining independence than the Kosovan Albanians.? (Yuri Morozov, Prime Minister of South Ossetia). In my opinion, the West does not fully use double standards, but approaches the question very surgically, since it un derstands the uniqueness of every conflict, and that it could be disastrous to use one peace settlement in another area, as every conflict has its own inimitable dynamics. I think that NK pace to independence is correct, as sooner or later it will have to be recognised, it should continue developing its government in order to set an example. In the near future two outcomes are possible, either an international recognition of NK or war will break out, it is inevitable, as both sides continue arming themselves, therefore it in my opinion it is in the best interest that of the international community to prevent such hostilities by recognizing NK. As Chekov said: If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise dont put it there. (A. P. Chekhov, in Teatr i iskusstvo 1904, No. 28, 11 July, p. 521)