Organisation of International Affairs in Finnish Universities
Helskyaho, Irina (2008)
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Organisations are in many ways the basis for the modern society and they relate to most spheres of life. Public, private and social organisations have long been objects of research in the field of commercial and administrative sciences as well as sociology. A distinguished character of organisations, since the last decades, has been internationalisation, brought about by globalisation. As in many organisations, internationalisation has also become a fundamental function of universities and other institutions of higher education. In recent years the study of internationalisation of higher education institutions has gained more interest and the field is established as a theme of research.
The aim of this research was to discover the different ways international affairs are organised in Finnish universities and to find out the factors affecting the organising. Also the challenges and their effect on international affairs were examined. The research subject was approached through exploring the core functions of organisations: coordination, control, decision-making and communication. These four became evident in studying organisation theories as well as the objectives of the organisations within universities promoting internationalisation.
The research is qualitative in nature since it examines emergence of certain processes, aims at describing things and looks for patterns and diversity. The study was conducted by examining literature on organisation theories, publications and previous research on internationalisation of higher education institutions, general and internationalisation strategies of Finnish universities as well as by interviewing directors of international affairs of 16 universities.
The central findings of the study were the types of coordination, control, decision-making and communication as well as the major factors and challenges effecting the organisation of international affairs. Internationalisation can be coordinated in four ways: as centralised, decentralised, with tendencies to centralise or with tendencies to decentralise. It became evident that there are several internal (structural and procedural) and external control systems in use. Decision-making in universities is juridical-administrative in nature, functionaries make proposals and the rector is the official decision-maker. The different means of communication in international affairs are formal and informal in nature and used in the communication with the exterior and interior of the organisation. The main factors affecting organisation of international affairs are: size and complexity, restricted resources, networks, laws and regulations, and the nature of the organisation and the field. Fundamental challenges in the field were related to decrease in numbers of outgoing exchange students, housing issues in some cities, and balancing between the workload and resources. Also administrative changes such as coalescence of universities and changes in the Universities Act create challenges in organising international affairs.
Internationalisation can be organised in different ways depending on the factors affecting the organisation. The field is dynamic, growing and changing, therefore it is essential to explore different ways of organising the international affairs and acknowledge the influential factors.
The aim of this research was to discover the different ways international affairs are organised in Finnish universities and to find out the factors affecting the organising. Also the challenges and their effect on international affairs were examined. The research subject was approached through exploring the core functions of organisations: coordination, control, decision-making and communication. These four became evident in studying organisation theories as well as the objectives of the organisations within universities promoting internationalisation.
The research is qualitative in nature since it examines emergence of certain processes, aims at describing things and looks for patterns and diversity. The study was conducted by examining literature on organisation theories, publications and previous research on internationalisation of higher education institutions, general and internationalisation strategies of Finnish universities as well as by interviewing directors of international affairs of 16 universities.
The central findings of the study were the types of coordination, control, decision-making and communication as well as the major factors and challenges effecting the organisation of international affairs. Internationalisation can be coordinated in four ways: as centralised, decentralised, with tendencies to centralise or with tendencies to decentralise. It became evident that there are several internal (structural and procedural) and external control systems in use. Decision-making in universities is juridical-administrative in nature, functionaries make proposals and the rector is the official decision-maker. The different means of communication in international affairs are formal and informal in nature and used in the communication with the exterior and interior of the organisation. The main factors affecting organisation of international affairs are: size and complexity, restricted resources, networks, laws and regulations, and the nature of the organisation and the field. Fundamental challenges in the field were related to decrease in numbers of outgoing exchange students, housing issues in some cities, and balancing between the workload and resources. Also administrative changes such as coalescence of universities and changes in the Universities Act create challenges in organising international affairs.
Internationalisation can be organised in different ways depending on the factors affecting the organisation. The field is dynamic, growing and changing, therefore it is essential to explore different ways of organising the international affairs and acknowledge the influential factors.