Page 59 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Sh. Bayramov:Continuing to build a “global penn state”

Global Programs (23 March 2016); Jennifer Campbell, Director of Student
Engagement and Operations (04 April 2016); Dr. Sylvester Osagie, Director of
Campus Engagement (11 April 2016); Dr. Martin Trethewey, Director of Global
Engagement Network (19 April 2016); Brian Brubaker, Director of Education
Abroad (22 April 2016) ] at UOGP, whom I interviewed for writing this paper, made
me completely agree with Scott and Davis (2007) who argue that ―a structure is
formalized to the extent that the rules governing behavior are precisely and
explicitly formulated and to the extent that roles and role relations are prescribed
independently of the personal attributes and relations of individuals occupying
positions in the structure‖ (p. 37).
However, Penn State‘s organization model of global affairs includes goal
complexity when we take it into account as a general system covering UOGP, all
commonwealth campuses and colleges. This point adds more natural system
approach. Of course, all academic units intend to address global affairs related
challenges that incorporate combination of Penn State‘s general goals defined in
UOGP framework and the goals based on particular unit‘s own development
strategy. It can be explained by referencing to Scott and Davis (2007) who note the
importance of paying more attention to behavior and ―the complex interconnections
between the normative and the behavioral structures of organizations (p. 60).
This approach is more relevant and vivid for academic units that do not have a
separate formal international programs office. It adds informal structure perspective
to entire global affairs system, and Scott and Davis (2007) also mention these
informal structures are mainly based on personal characteristics and relations of the
specific participants (p. 62). I think this was the main reason for the different
responses from staff members working in the same unit to my questions about their
college‘s priorities in terms of global affairs.
Population ecology
Universities have always been affected by international trends and to a certain
degree operated within a broader international community of academic institutions,
scholars, and research. A Report prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference
on Higher Education defines internationalization in higher education as the variety
of policies and programs that universities and governments implement to respond to
globalization (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2009).
These responses mainly include sending students to study abroad, setting up a
branch campus overseas, or engaging in some type of inter-institutional partnership. In
other words, internationalization in higher education created completely new
environment within universities that motivated different departments, centers and
institutes ―scan the relevant environment for opportunities and threats, formulate

59