The Role of Marketing in General Management Orientation - Essay Example

"Discuss and critically assess the assertion that the role of marketing, vis--vis Strategic Planning, has diminished as a general management orientation, and that marketing has taken on a very functional, narrow specialist role, not the broad, conceptual philosophy predicated by the marketing concept". Abstract: In this report there has been an attempt to explain if there is a "new wave" concept of marketing (as compared to strategic planning) which has boiled down to something perhaps more practical yet narrower than the very broad, conceptual philosophy marketing is based on. The essay will go on to compare whether marketing has a more functional rather than strategic role in the era of modern marketing and how this is reflected in modern marketing strategies in the modern corporate world. Introduction: The Marketing concept entails the philosophy that firms should be able to analyse consumer needs and then make any decisions to satisfy those needs (Nakata.C.2002). The concept is fairly new and only found its way into modern business philosophy after the Second World War. (Nakata.C.2002). However even in the 18th century economists like Adam Smith in his book the wealth of nations 1776 were of view that needs of the producers should only be viewed in sync with the needs of the consumers (Nakata.C.2002). The narrow and the wider perspective There has been much academic consensus that the role of marketing is often viewed from too narrow a perspective. (Anttila 2002, Anderson 1982).This assertion then begs the question as to what is the comprehensive perspective of the marketing concept. From a review of literature on marketing it would seem that the wider perspective should embrace marketing as business philosophy at corporate level, as strategy at business level, Business tactics (marketing mix) at functional level.(Attila 2002) Thus it would seem that the wider role of marketing synthesizes a variety of particular skills and practices learned as well as resources created "translating the philosophy into specific business strategies in order to achieve competitive advantages and superior performance".Antilla 2002). Evolution and importance of marketing Strategic planning, is how an organisation defines its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. (Schultz 1994).The concept of marketing on the other hand has come a long way. As long back as 1910 there was "a period of conceptualization" for marketing and it was celebrated as "matter in motion". (Robert 1976) During the following decades the concept of marketing then integrated and developed and it was given agreed that the functional institutional commodity analysis of marketing was unsatisfactory and a definition of marketing evolved (Robert 1976). Marketing as a necessity for all stages of production Selling gets differentiated from marketing by the fact that selling is only done when a product is made available on the shelf within a retail outlet while marketing starts right at the beginning as early as the idea is conceived or being developed (Orpen, 1985).This contention above alone would demonstrate how marketing has penetrated the earlier stages of production and how it has become indispensable for making the strategies succeed. (Anderson 1982)All this however also entails that the narrow, specialist approach to marketing would weaken the strategic planning itself.(Anderson 1982,Shiner 1998) Marketing as an integral and strategic part of the general management orientation In the understanding of the role of marketing vis a vis strategic planning a much seasoned approach would be to assess the relationship between the two before passing a judgment on the role of modern marketing. As I have mentioned before strategic planning concerns the "direction of business"(Robert 1976) as regarding its production, output finance and operations. Where does marketing fit in then Marketing will fill in the gap and solidify the strategic planning where a link has to be maintained between the business and the environment.(Antilla 2002) The problem is less complicated within one geographical market and limited products. Yet on the international pitch strategic planning and marketing would walk hand in hand over aisle of challenging marketing management in a multinational business.(Shiner 1998) Marketing would ensure the ability of the business in a hostile and increasingly complex environment to achieve profitable sales while countering the cultural and environmental factors which are connected to any major business decision making. (Ashill et al. 2003) Marketing Planning therefore brings "strategic" sense to your "strategic planning". Marketing pinpoints the direction of strategic planning (Ashill et al., 2003)). Implications of assigning a diminishing functional approach to marketing Recent academic opinion has shown that modern marketing is being Perceived narrowly and therefore it has poor contribution to business success.(Denison Mc Donald 1995) SOURCE This rather functional approach seems to be ignoring major changes experienced in the business environment as evident from the British Industry Denison Mc Donald 1995)SOURCE There is academic consensus by Ashill(2003) and Denison (1995)that the future of marketing depends on recognizing these trends and responding to them. (Denison,Mc Donald,1995). Infact it has been reiterated academically again and again that; "Marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered a separate function on a par with others such as management or personnel. It is a first central dimension of the entire business It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is from the customers point of view". (Wilson,Gilligan 2005) Academics have even warned against letting marketing become susceptible to the hierarchical nature of the planning process which would bring marketing. Since marketers provide the interface between the firm and its markets and customers, they must provide the essential strategic and tactical planning direction to the firm's overall strategic planning process. (Shiner 1988) Mc Donald (1992) and Ashill (2003) agree that this "new-wave" narrow approach to marketing is one of the principle barriers which hamper the introduction of strategic marketing planning, or serve to reduce its effectiveness. Trustrum (1989) has also pointed out that marketing might have a functional approach yet the marketing concept in its traditional form should be retained and allowed to guide and lead market orientation. Svensson 2005 has taken the rather interesting approach of the "spherical marketing concept" which tries to reconcile "the distinct upstream and downstream levels of marketing channels, as well as reconnecting their indistinct subsequent and preceding levels". This means that marketing has in fact become indispensable to the planning process whether it is manufacturing or retail based strategic planning.. Cultural impact on the importance of marketing. With the changing global regimes, one has to understand the geographical location of the market and thus has to comprehend the cultural settings, values and beliefs before marketing could be deemed as significant to the whole scheme of things. (Mills, 2002) Thus the cultural and geographical considerations should adhere to the marketing and planning strategies which run the different processes, tasks and activities of the business in the long run. Culture is an essential ingredient of the marketing concept since it gives out a quintessential meaning to the whole process of selling, buying and the role of middlemen is also highlighted as a result of the same. (Deeks, 1993).In the light of this marketing can no longer be assigned a narrow functional role especially in the global business arena. This is particularly true for carrying out businesses in Muslim and Asian countries where the strategic planning totally hinges on the type of marketing "pitched" in line with the cultural differences.(Butterfield 1997).Infact the more diverse and complicated the conditions and cultures of business the more difficult it is to even mentally accept a functional rather than strategic role of marketing.(Butterfield 1997) Case Study: the Pepsi Vs Coke Saga in China In a bid to defeat its arch enemy Pepsi, Coke has made an excellent use of its marketing strategies to capture some of the most lucrative markets around the world. (Jian Wang 1996) The purpose of mentioning this marketing war is to show how the two Cola Giants, Coke and Pepsi have used the broad purpose of marketing instead of following the narrow, functionalist approach to actually carry out strategic marketing planning to tilt the profits in their favour. For example the Chinese soft drink market is very promising in terms of growth and profit. Coca-Cola's long time strategy has been to keep its prices low and availability very high. (Jian Wang 1996) However their strategic planning involved heavy marketing in the form beverage festivals and the like to advertise and research through many drinks to suit the Chinese tastes. At these festivals the Chinese folk artists were invited to make paper-cuts and mold clay dolls, in order to better combine traditional Chinese art with a foreign brand. In this way the the Coca-Cola Company knew exactly how to further make and implement their strategic plans. To counter this in China, Pepsi also spent huge amounts of money to invite famous singers, stars and soccer players to promote its products. This was known as the "soccer & music" promotional strategy and very obviously based on a heavy amount of marketing! (Jian Wang 1996) All the marketing and strategic planning therefore required an understanding of the unique problems of the Chinese market. The majority of the soft-drink bottlers are state-owned and they formed an oligopoly. Therefore keeping the costs in mind and the prices very low, a strategy of marketing through the local bottlers was adopted by both the Cola giants for an easier and politically safer bet.Apart from pricing and strategic planning, marketing was the main tool through which these Cola Giants have achieved the status they wanted in China. (Jian Wang 1996) So is there a way forward The role of marketing and more so with the changing of trends and cultural attitudes has become pertinent. Also strategic planning has taken on a very vital role in the related scheme of things since it is a tenet of the marketing concept in essence. (Brown, 1996). The strategic planning process is undoubtedly linked with the issue of careful marketing formulation.(Brown, 1996). It is argued that greater progress will be made in understanding marketing's participation in strategic planning if marketing's role in the goal formulation process can be explicated(Brown, 1996). It has been pointed out that the existent theories of the management of the firm are inadequate in varying degrees for this purpose. A new theory of the firm has to evolve which takes into account the role of marketing and the other functional areas in the goal setting and strategic planning process. (Anderson 1982). Also as can be seen from the above case study these Cola Giants are practicing social marketing in rural India and interior China. (Jian Wang 1996) It can therefore be observed that International Marketing is indeed very complex. Any attempt to carry out business in diverse culture like in Asia or Africa entails a complex and comprehensive market strategy based on market structure as well as cultural norms. (Jian Wang 1996) Conclusion On a lighter note I would like to conclude with some wise words by the late Lewis Carroll in his very famous work "Alice in the Wonderland", Would you tell me, please Which way I ought to go from here" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where -" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat (Alice in the wonderland/adopted from the article by Anderson (1982) This verse itself sums up the Role of Marketing in relation to strategic planning (Anderson 1982).Marketing is an integral part of strategic planning. Much can be gained without marginalising it as purely functional. The sound management of any company should be able to untilise and embrace marketing as not only a business philosophy but also as a business strategy with its requisite business tactics at a functional level (Attila 2002). If Strategic Planning ignores marketing or gives it less importance then like the character Alice, in Alice in the Wonderland the company would really not know much about where its going and where it ends up! ________________________________________________________________ Bibliography 1. Bartels, Robert (1976) "The History of Marketing Thought," 2 edition 2. Nakata c,2002,Activating the marketing concept in a global context: International Marketing Review, Volume 19, Number 1, Emerald Group Publishing Limited 3. Jian Wang 1996, Foreign Advertising in China: Becoming Global, Becoming Local 4. ASHILL, Nicholas J, Mark & Davies, John. (2003). Strategic Marketing Planning: A Grounded Investigation. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37, Issues 3 and 4 5. DEEKS, John. 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