SEEU Review vol. 6 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

Artan Limanirecruitment, orientation, and continued support for international students andscholars, as well as international hires for faculty and staff positions”. Theirvision also reflects their commitment to success as well as their promotion ofintercultural and international affairs at home and abroad. This positions theorganization as well as the university in the global educational arena.In order to more efficiently attend to the numerous and diverse servicesprovided, the system is divided into three subsystems: InternationalAdmissions, Services, and Study Abroad. Due to their interdependence, Iwill analyze all of them concurrently. The whole system is supervised andmanaged by the Director of the CIP.As mentioned above, these three subsystems are interdependently bound,which results in my viewing the CIP as an integrated whole. According toDaniels et al. (1997), “wholeness means that the effect of elements workingin relationship to one another differs from the effect of their isolated,individual actions taken collectively” (Daniels, Spiker, & Papa 1997). Byintegrating their efforts in support of the mission, the members of thesubsystems create synergy. Daniels et al. (1997), define synergy as “acondition in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Daniels,Spiker, & Papa 1997).Conversely, hierarchy generally illustrates the division of labor, the unityof command, and the unity of direction of the employees. Even CIP, whichdeparts from traditional ideas of organizing, can be characterized as ahierarchy consisting of elements (employees), subsystems (InternationalAdmissions, Services, and Study Abroad), a system (CIP), and theenvironment (the university). “Open systems are characterized by activeexchange with their outside environment” (Daniels, Spiker & Papa, 1997).Open systems are characterized by two kinds of processes: maintenance,which is regulatory, and adaptive, which promotes change and growth.These two processes depend on negative and positive feedback, the formerindicating deviations from desired conditions, and the latter reinforcingdeviations instead of signaling for corrections.The evolutionary metaphor that best describes the system is that of aliving system. Unlike the metaphor of the organization as a machine, theliving system is more susceptible and better able to adapt to change. Inaddition, the living system takes into account the welfare and the quality oflife of the employees. This adds to the feminist approach to organizationalcommunication since according to Fine (1993) the feminist approach rejectsresearch that is intended to further the economic goals of the organization86