Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

28
According to Bernoux (1985) “En sociologie, une organisation est un système ouvert sur
l‟environnement, dont la fonction est de produire des biens ou des services” (Bernoux 1985).
Conventionally an organization is characterized by necessary features; authority, division of
labor, specified roles of all members/ agents, communication and contribution systems.
According to the oxford dictionary, organization is an organized group of people with a
particular purpose (Oxford Dictionary, 2010). Whereas Webster has defined it as “the act of
forming or arranging the parts of a compound or complex body in a suitable manner for use or
service (Webster, 2011). An organization can be a system as a unity, or a division of the bigger
system. It interacts within and outside of its boundaries with the actors.
All organizations have some common elements and traits; a group of actors with a well defined
governance structure, clearly identified roles and responsibilities of every person who is in the
organisation, a communication systems for coordination and control of activities to achieve the
set objectives. Bourricaud François (2008) has defined an organization as “the social sum, which
by application of a rule under the authority and leadership, ensures the cooperation of individuals
in a common task, which it determines the implementation and distributes fruit” (Bourricaud
2008).
In this framework international organizations mean institutions that have a formal system of
rules, objectives, and administrative structure, and which have an involvement of, interaction
between individuals, groups, other organizations or nations, generally beyond national
boundaries. One more simple and comprehensive definition is “international organizations are
legally constituted non-profit entities that operate across several nations” (EconomyWatch,
2010).
Clive Archer -in his book International organizations history- has defined an international
organization as “a formal, continuous structure established by agreement between members,
whether governmental representatives or not, from at least two sovereign states with the aim of
pursuing the common interest of the membership, covers a wide range of institutions even if
profit-making associations are excluded” (Archer, 2001). When such international bodies have
governments as members and interact at state levels through state representatives then these
bodies are called Intergovernmental Organizations or IGOs. The difference between IOs and
IGOs is slight, delicate and overlapped.