Marketing is essential to the business world
but students sometimes do not realise that they can study Marketing
as a discipline in its own right. They are also often not aware
that they can commence their studies at a variety of levels, including
Master’s.
What is Marketing?
One of the best known definitions of marketing is that adopted
by the UK based, Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). It defines
marketing as "The management process responsible for identifying,
anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably".
Put in straightforward terms, this means that the customer’s
needs and wants always have to be put first. Phrased even more succinctly,
it means "no customer, no business"!
This simply concept of customer orientation has profound implications
for all types of organisation. It requires firstly that organisations
must continually research both customer requirements and what is
going on in the external environment, including competitors’
activities. Secondly, it means that organisations must have appropriate,
customer orientated aims and objectives and must plan strategically
for the future. Thirdly, in order to achieve implementation of the
marketing concept, appropriate organisational structures and resources
must be in place. Finally, and most importantly of all, everybody
within the organisation, from the Managing Director downwards must
be completely committed to serving customers and to building long
term, mutually beneficial relationships with them.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that Marketing can only
be applied by large companies operating in fast moving consumer
markets, such as food and drink. Nothing could be further from the
truth. The marketing concept and marketing techniques are equally
appropriate for small firms, services, industrial goods and business
to business situations as well as publicly owned and non-profit
organisations.
Marketing Based Courses in UK Higher Education
In the UK, Marketing has long been accepted as an integral component
of higher education business courses, such as BA Business Studies,
BA Business Administration, BA International Business and Master
of Business Administration (MBA). Marketing is also taught within
undergraduate degrees as diverse as Sports Studies, Business Information
Technology, Corporate Communications, Fine Art Evaluation and Electrical
Engineering.
Most importantly, within the last five years, specialised degree
courses have been introduced, signalling the growing importance
of marketing as an academic discipline. At undergraduate level,
these courses have titles such as BA Marketing, BA Marketing Design
and BA International Marketing. At postgraduate level, titles such
as MA Marketing Management, MA Marketing and MSc International Marketing
are common. Most master’s courses also offer the possibility
of exiting with a lower level, but nevertheless extremely valuable,
Postgraduate Diploma, a qualification which meets the CIM criteria
for membership (MCIM) status.
A further development at postgraduate level has been the introduction
of so-called ‘Pathway MBA’s’, for example the MBA
(Marketing), which is an MBA with a strong bias towards marketing.
Such pathway courses also offer the opportunity to achieve the lower
level Diploma in Management Studies (DMS) qualification, for example,
DMS (Marketing).
Many master’s courses (both MA and MBA) are offered in both
full-time and part-time study modes. Most full-time master’s
courses are one year in duration.
Entry to a Master’s Course in Marketing
For students who have successfully studied marketing within an
undergraduate programme, progression to a master’s course in
Marketing should be relatively straight forward. However, there
are often many graduates of non-business disciplines who would like
to study marketing at postgraduate level but who may feel inhibited
from doing so, due to their lack of existing marketing knowledge.
The good news is that many Masters in Marketing courses are designed
flexibly and allow those with little or no previous marketing knowledge
or experience to ‘start from the beginning’. That is,
no previous marketing knowledge is assumed.
Such flexibly designed courses also often include the facility
to credit previous learning and/or work experience, under so-called
‘accreditation of previous learning and/or experiential learning’
(APL/APEL) arrangements.
Assessment and Content of a Master’s Course in Marketing
UK master’s courses are usually assessed via a combination
of coursework and examination. Coursework, normally consisting of
practically based assignments and/or presentations, enables students
to develop marketing skills and to demonstrate understanding. Examinations
(often not a requirement of all units) allow knowledge and its application
to be checked and assessed. The essential characteristic of a master’s
course is that it encourages debate and critical analysis.
Typical units on an MA Marketing Management or MA Marketing course
would include or be based upon, Marketing Concepts and Applications,
Market Analysis (including financial appreciation), Marketing Communications,
Global or International Marketing, Marketing Information Systems,
Strategic Marketing Management and various optional topics, such
as Services Marketing Management and Marketing Logistics. The better
designed courses will also offer units on Contemporary Issues in
Marketing and Marketing Implementation.
Some courses include a Consultancy Project, in which students carry
out a marketing consultancy assignment for a real client in a real
organisation, and have to produce a final report and presentation.
The emphasis, here is on practical, implementable recommendations.
The final and essential element of most master’s courses is
the Dissertation. This requires individual research into a marketing
topic, usually of the student’s choice. This is a serious piece
of academic research, albeit often in an organisational context.
It could ultimately form the basis for further postgraduate study
to achieve either a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy
(PhD).
Marketing Based Careers
Successful study of marketing leads to a wide range of career prospects.
These include: Marketing Management, Product or Service Management,
Advertising, Public Relations, Direct Marketing, Export/Import,
Marketing Research and Selling / Sales Management. A large number
of organisations now seek employees with marketing qualifications
and knowledge.
It should be pointed out that most students thoroughly enjoy their
studies in marketing and find the knowledge and skills gained to
be of permanent benefit in their future careers.
Author: Dr Geoff Settatree, MA Marketing Management
Course Leader, Southampton Institute U.K.
This article first appeared in Studying Abroad (WW4)
