Lars Östman towards a general theory of financial control

Being  attractive  and  convincing  ­  a  necessity  for  a  separate 

organisation  

 

In a way, relations to users of output are the most basic ones. Organisations, whether pay-

driven or function-driven, need to be attractive and need to convince people that they are. 

During the second half of the 20

th

 century, marketing, market strategies and marketing 

information systems developed. How do users think, how satisfied are they and to what 

extent do they have perceptions on what they want?  Gradually, considerable efforts have 

been made to identify the contexts of users and to adapt products, messages and systems to 

large or fragmented target groups. Products and commodified services have been developed 

to suit user contexts. Sometimes they are even tailor-made. Rather often, contexts as such are 

developed and communication with this aim may be as important as products in an original 

sense. Actually, for many organisations, marketing efforts of these kinds have no limits 

except costs. Investments in brands may be regarded in this perspective.       

Moreover, the shift upwards in vertical structures has induced a need to argue and 

convince. Those who supported the idea of so-called corporate governance have been 

successful, promoting such a development in stock markets. Similar tendencies have 

appeared in public administration due to developed systems and an increased need to 

prioritize.  

Mass-media processes have become a central governance and control issue. Organisations 

and their representatives adjust to this phenomenon partly by promoting ideas and concepts 

publicly, partly by developing defence strategies in case of threatening emergencies. Often, 

an essential part of both external and internal communication is a matter of convincing a 

professional observer successfully.