Context and Marketing Communications

Organisations can be seen as open social systems (Katz and Kahn, 1978) in which all components of the unit or system are interdependent and interactive (Goldhaber, 1986). Modify one part of a system and adjustments are made by all the other components to accommodate the change. This effect can be seen at both the macro and micro levels. At macro level the interdependence of organisations has been noted by several researchers.

Stern and El-Ansary (1995) depict distribution channels as 'a network of systems', and so recognise organisations as interdependent units. At micro level, individual parts of an organisation accommodate each other as organisation adjusts to its changing environment. By assembling decisions associated with development and delivery of a marketing communications strategy (Figure below), it becomes possible to see complexity and sensitivity of each of decision components.