While a significant amount of research has examined the more traditional budgetary and procedural controls used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure, very little research has examined the more obscure formal social controls used to achieve the same purpose. The primary aim of this study was to fill this research vacuum by examining both the formal and informal mechanisms used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure and to achieve longer-term public policy appropriation. In particular the study focused on the payment of Job Newstart and Youth Allowances and how the social control discourse of marginalisation was used to achieve such control. The study was undertaken in two stages. In stage one, an e-mail questionnaire was distributed to Job Network consultants (n = 739) employed at 66 not-for-profit Job Network Providers throughout Australia. In stage two, focus group interviews were conducted to expand on the responses previously obtained from the e-mail questionnaire survey. The study produced several significant findings from the views of Job Network consultants. Most significantly the results support Foucault's discourse on marginalisation. That is the results help to explain how consultants identify and single out people who do not fit the norm and therefore represent a case for special treatment. The effect of this marginalisation process is that governments are able to assert power and authority over welfare claimants and that the process is justified from the government's viewpoint. It would also seem that society and the individual accept such institutional arrangements. The techniques of marginalisation are disciplinary in their nature and relate to the multiplication of social security rules and procedures and a correlative division of the claimant population in accordance with constitutive criteria of status and entitlement. The study also concluded that Job Network consultants recognised that the breaching regime should be modified longer-term to take account of the i nformal ethical and moral criteria of fairness, justice and the rights of individuals. Having said this however, the same group of consultant's indicated in very strong terms that recipients' of Newstart and Youth Allowances should comply with their mutual obligation requirements and that they should be penalised in those instances where they do not comply with these requirements.

While a significant amount of research has examined the more traditional budgetary and procedural controls used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure, very little research has examined the more obscure formal social controls used to achieve the same purpose. The primary aim of this study was to fill this research vacuum by examining both the formal and informal mechanisms used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure and to achieve longer-term public policy appropriation. In particular the study focused on the payment of Job Newstart and Youth Allowances and how the social control discourse of marginalisation was used to achieve such control. The study was undertaken in two stages. In stage one, an e-mail questionnaire was distributed to Job Network consultants (n = 739) employed at 66 not-for-profit Job Network Providers throughout Australia. In stage two, focus group interviews were conducted to expand on the responses previously obtained from the e-mail questionnaire survey. The study produced several significant findings from the views of Job Network consultants. Most significantly the results support Foucault's discourse on marginalisation. That is the results help to explain how consultants identify and single out people who do not fit the norm and therefore represent a case for special treatment. The effect of this marginalisation process is that governments are able to assert power and authority over welfare claimants and that the process is justified from the government's viewpoint. It would also seem that society and the individual accept such institutional arrangements. The techniques of marginalisation are disciplinary in their nature and relate to the multiplication of social security rules and procedures and a correlative division of the claimant population in accordance with constitutive criteria of status and entitlement. The study also concluded that Job Network consultants recognised that the breaching regime should be modified longer-term to take account of the i nformal ethical and moral criteria of fairness, justice and the rights of individuals. Having said this however, the same group of consultant's indicated in very strong terms that recipients' of Newstart and Youth Allowances should comply with their mutual obligation requirements and that they should be penalised in those instances where they do not comply with these requirements.

Inledning: Svensk e-handel är under kraftig tillväxt. Att försäljningen har ökat kraftigt beror bland annat på att privatpersoner under de senaste 10 åren blivit bekvämare med att handla på Internet. I takt med att följningen ökat, har även konkurrensen ökat. För att företag ska kunna överleva och växa sägs MCS därför vara av stor betydelse. E-handeln innebär en relativt ny situation för företagen och innebär stor osäkerhet i form av snabba beslut, hög konkurrens och pressade priser. Formella styrmedel gör att företagen snabbt kan anpassa sig efter specifika situationer och uppnå ett bättre resultat. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att kartlägga förekomsten av formella styrmedel i e-handelsföretag för att se om de används och vilken betydelse de har. Vidare är syftet att identifiera kritiska situationsfaktorer inom e-handeln och utifrån dessa analysera hur de påverkar e-handelns formella ekonomistyrning. Genom att göra detta vill vi utveckla kunskap kring relationen mellan ekonomistyrning och situationsfaktorer inom e-handeln. Metod: Utifrån fyra faktorer; tillväxt, storlek, resultat och bransch, har vi valt ut tio stycken e-handelsföretag att göra en komparativ intervjustudie på. Med varje företag har en halvstrukturerad intervju genomförts. Slutsats: Några av de situationsfaktorer som påverkar den formella ekonomistyrningen är tillväxt, hög konkurrens, snabba beslut, strategi och storlek. Vidare påverkar även de olika faktorerna till stor del varandra. Formella styrmedel som används är planering och budgetering på kort sikt, både finansiella- och icke-finansiella mått och kalkyler till viss del. Strukturen och kultur påverkar även hur dessa används och vilken betydelse de har. / Introduction: Swedish e-commerce is in rapid growth. Sales have increased substantially due to individuals in the last ten years has become more comfortable to online-shopping. As the growth increases, the competition also becomes fiercer. For companies to survive and grow MCS is of great importance. E-commerce is a relatively new situation for companies and involves uncertainty in the form of quick decisions, high competition and price pressure. Formal controls enables companies to quickly adapt to specific situations and achieve better results. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the existence of formal controls in e-commerce companies, to see if they are used and what impact they have. Furthermore, the purpose is to identify critical situation factors in e-commerce and from these analyse which impact they have on e-commerce formal controls. By doing this, we want to develop knowledge about the relationship between management control and situational factors in e-commerce. Methodology: Based on four factors; growth, size, performance and industry, we have selected ten e-commerce companies to make a comparative interview study on. With every company a semi-structured interview was conducted. Conclusion: Some of the situational factors that affect the formal controls are; growth, intense competition, rapid decisions, strategy and size. The situational factors also affect each other. Formal controls are used for planning and budgeting in the short term, both financial and non-financial measurements and also cost accounting to some extent. The structure and culture affects how they are used and what impact they have.

Sammanfattning  Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet - Controller, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö, vårterminen 2023.  Titel: Blir ett plus ett verkligen två?  En kvalitativ fallstudie om hur en privat organisation hanterar spänningar i styrningen efter företagsförvärv   Bakgrund & problem Företagsförvärv har blivit ett populärt tillvägagångssätt för att uppnå snabb och hög tillväxt. Trots detta har det visat sig att merparten av företagsförvärv leder till misslyckanden på grund av svårigheten med att integrera företagens strukturella samt kulturella och strategiska skillnader. För att kunna hantera dessa skillnader är det avgörande att utforma ett styrsystem som tar hänsyn till det förvärvande och förvärvade företagens styrning. Den befintliga forskningen har däremot inte belyst hur företag bör konstruera sin styrning efter ett genomfört företagsförvärv. Bristen på samverkan mellan de två företagen leder så småningom till interna konflikter, även benämnt styrspänningar.  Syftet Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka en organisations styrning både under och efter ett företagsförvärv. Särskilt uppmärksamhet har lagts på att identifiera och illustrera vilka styrspänningar som uppstår efter företagsförvärv samt att undersöka de underliggande orsakerna till deras uppkomst. Slutligen siktar undersökningen även på att finna och förklara hur dessa styrspänningar hanteras inom en privat organisation.  Metod Studien har undersökt en privat organisation som genomför företagsförvärv. Utgångspunkten för denna undersökning har varit genom en kvalitativ forskningsansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer, där en fallstudie med förklarande karaktär har tillämpats. Den empiriska insamlingen har inhämtats från både det förvärvande och förvärvade företagens anställda. Dessutom har interna dokument samt årsredovisningar använts för att komplettera studiens empiriska underlag. Slutsats Studien har identifierat fem styrspänningar som har uppstått efter genomförda företagsförvärv;“Makt till de anställda vs Formella strukturer”, “Gamla system vs Nya system”,“Gamla uppföljningsrutiner vs Nya uppföljningsrutiner”,“Gamla förmåner vs Nya förmåner”, “Gammal identitet vs Ny identitet”. Uppkomsten av dessa styrspänningar förklaras utifrån att det finns kontraster i det förvärvande och förvärvade företagets styrning. Dessutom beror det på att de förvärvade anställda hade förväntningar som inte uppfylldes efter förvärvet. Utöver det har institutionella logiker varit en annan bidragande faktor, där den ena logiken försvagar den andra. Hur dessa fem styrspänningar har hanterats beror på omständigheterna och är därmed situationsanpassade.   Nyckelord: Företagsförvärv, integrationsprocessen, formell styrning, informell styrning, institutionella logiker, styrspänningar / Abstract  Master's thesis, Master of Science in Business and Economics - Controller, Linnaeus University School of Business, Växjö, spring semester 2023.  Title: Does one plus one really equals two?  A qualitative case study on how a private organization handles management control tensions after an acquisition.  Background & problem Acquisitions have become a popular approach to achieve fast and high growth. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the majority of acquisitions fail due to the difficulty of integrating the structural, cultural and strategic differences of the companies. To address these differences, it is crucial to design a management control system that considers the systems of the acquiring and acquired firms. However, existing research has not shed light on how firms should construct their control systems following a completed acquisition. The lack of interaction between the two firms eventually led to internal conflicts, also known as management control tensions.  Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine an organization's management control system both during and after a business acquisition. Particular attention has been given to identify and illustrate the tensions that have arisen in management control and to investigate the underlying reasons for their emergence. Finally, the investigation also aims to find and explain how these tensions in management control are handled within a private organization.  Method The research has investigated a private organization that carries out corporate acquisitions. The starting point for this investigation has been through a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews, where a case study with an explanatory character has been applied. The empirical collection has been obtained from both the acquiring and acquired companies' employees. In addition, internal documents and annual reports have been used to complement the empirical material of the study.  Conclusion The study identified five management tensions that have arisen after acquisitions; "Power to employees vs Formal structures", "Old systems vs New systems", "Old monitoring procedures vs New monitoring procedures," "Old benefits vs New benefits", "Old identity vs New identity". The emergence of these management control tensions is explained on the basis that there are contrasts in the management control systems of the acquiring and acquired company. Moreover, it is because the acquired employees had expectations that were not met after the acquisition. In addition, institutional logics have been another contributing factor, with one logic weakening the other. How these five management control tensions have been tackled depends on the circumstances and is thus context dependent.  Keywords: Mergers and acquisitions, integration process, formal controls, informal controls, institutional logics, management control tensions