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collaboration by reducing the need for formal agreements and control, is essential for formation and sustainability of cooperation”
Clases and colleagues
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noted that shared bonds and shared experience in the practical realization of projects are keys to trust in virtual organizing. In order to do so, Handy
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argued that members must meet face-to-face to develop trust.
III. Discussion 3.1 GDLN – Connecting the World Through Learning
To adapt with today’s trend of maximal usage of internet and technology, in 2000, The World Bank Institute has taken initiative to establish an Information, Communication and
Technology ICT network under name the Global Development Learning Network GDLN. GDLN is a worldwide partnership of learning centers GDLN afiliates that use
technologies and distance learning techniques innovatively to connect organization and people working in development around the world.
GDLN was launched as partnership in June 2000. Up to present, the GDLN afiliates consist of 120 recognized organizations located in more than 80 countries {further throughout
this article refer as Distance Learning Center DLC}. The network is aimed in providing and designing of blended-learning solution, which is focuses to provide individuals and organization
working in development in today’s most pressing issues, such as challenges of climate change, labor migration, Telemedicine in Asia, Global South-South Learning Forum, Microinance,
China-Africa partnership, Post-conlict, Paciic leader’s Virtual Forum, Women’s Dialogue, Food Crisis, HIVAIDS and Water Expo
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GDLN provide range of services from: 1 Designing of learning programs and events; 2 Management and coordination of learning events; 3 Development of learning and support
materials; 4 Event promotion and marketing service. The above activities are delivered through a combination of learning techniques, such
as expert panels, case based learning and action plans, as well as advance information and communication technological tools, used in face-to-face, videoconferencing and e-learning
events. Through these technologies enable client of GDLN center to communicate with each
other for consultation, coordination and training events. Typical clients of GDLN include universitiesacademic institutions, municipalities, non-government organizations, and private
sector entities and others who interested in knowledge sharing activities.
The GDLN organizational structure can be drawn as below:
Source : www.gdln.org At global level, GDLN network is managed by the World Bank Institute from headquarter
in Washington, United States. It serves as network’s central hub, which provide communication, coordination and the setting of network policies, strategies, and system.
From the structure above, the regional level operation in Africa, Asia Paciic, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America The Caribbean, Middle East North Africa and South Asia;
perform as the front line operations. Each regional ofice has their own mission and structures for decision making, oversight, and direct participation in decisions and responsibilities.
And in order to provide connectivity to the most remote areas, GDLN afiliates build a partnership in country-level organization, which is typically national research and education
network to enrich the partnership with their institutional knowledge and communities of experts. In other cases, some belong to public sector and often connect municipalities across
country.
From the structure of the organization above, GDLN can be categorized as having modern organizational strategies. It requires more interaction among employees of different functional
background who might be widely differ from their own in term of nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, education, social class etc. and energized by technological development. It is also
a service-oriented and project-based organization.
3.2 Communication activities Communication and personal relations are crucial aspect in sustainability of cooperative
network
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. The communication within the inter-organizational relationships, are ‘expect to be highly communication intensive. This is especially true for global network organizations, which
depends on sophisticated communication linkages between its partnering organizations”
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. There are three levels of inter-organizational linkages, they are: 1 Institutional linkage,
refers to exchanges of information or materials between organizations without the involvement of speciic organizational role or personalities. For example routine data transfer between
banks; 2 Representative linkage , is when an oficial representative of one organization has
contact with an oficial representative of another organization; 3 Personal linkage, takes place when an individual from another organization in a non-representative capacity.
Communication at GDLN network, most of the time, are across countries and, even, across continent. It is essential for coordinating activities or projects; since “coordination is
fundamental to organization”
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. English is used as the common language for the oficial project business. Due to geographical and cost-effective reason, thus the communication between
GDLN centers, most of the time, is conducted through mediated communication tools such as email, face-to-face communication through video conference, and telephones. Contact and
communication among member of the network is conducted by an oficial representative of one center to another, either by the DLC manager or ProgramEvent Coordinator representative
linkage.
3.3 Challenges
Although communication technology has made people easier to have contact with anyone at anytime to anywhere in the world, but still it remain a big challenge for organization to
organized communication across large distance, with different time zone and within limited periods.
In the context of global workplace, awareness of intercultural communication is needed. People should understand how to deal with different way of people communication in term
of either verbal or non-verbal, manage, work together, approach deadlines, negotiate, meet,
