Chapter 4: The academic discipline of Marketing
4.3 LCT analysis of the academic discipline of Marketing
4.3.4 Temporality
criteria, such as teaching and research experience and skills – another indication that the ways of working in the Marketing discipline are drawn from academia, rather than from other fields.
Thus there is strong relational autonomy (RA+) in the discipline of Marketing at UKZN. The combination of the two dimensions shows the high overall autonomy enjoyed by the discipline (PA+, RA+) at UKZN.
4.3.4 Temporality
(-Ft) has been a feature of the academic discipline of Marketing since its earliest days.
Witkowski‟s analysis of Marketing journals from the mid-1930s shows that “(t)he tenor of this writing, its use of language, was forward-looking”; he also refers to the “academic premium put on recency in referencing and contextualisation” in the discipline (2010, p.382).
The emphasis placed on the future in the discipline may be because marketing managers are expected to be „forward thinking‟ (Brownlie & Saren, 1997, p.156), especially in the context of rapidly changing markets. An important competency for marketing managers working in such environments is “a visionary strategic thinking orientation” (Melaia et al 2008, p.243). Thus, in order to prepare for meeting workplace demands, Marketing students need to be able to “critically analyse the position of a firm and envision where future value can be created for customers”
(Ackerman et al, 2003, p.46, emphasis in original).
The combination of the age and orientation of Marketing give a code of neo-prospective (-Ct, -Ft).
Marketing at UKZN
In terms of orientation, both students and lecturers claimed that Marketing was a forward-looking discipline (-Ft), and that it was therefore important to keep abreast of contemporary developments so to be able to consider the implications of such developments for future marketing practice.
Students reported that they were expected to be “up to date with everything that‟s happening.
Like trends and stuff” (Nothando). Lecturers noted that they encouraged students to “(v)isit these fun sites like YouTube or blogs and you pick up contemporary areas that are under discussion and…we feed from that – we feed that into how this actually impacts on [subject]” (Nisha). When working on case studies, it was expected that students “should propose what the strategy should be going forward – not what it is”, because in Marketing “you‟ve got to change things, things have to be different” (Michael).
A forward-looking orientation was also represented in the assessment tasks for both modules.
This is clearly evident in the following extract from the Consumer Behaviour assignment question:
“In your assessment also include an analysis of any new trends that have arisen in consumer consumption patterns and what suggestions would you as a group make to prospective businesses in future, on ways to service this segment of the population profitably?” The Marketing Research assignment also required students to make recommendations for the future.
In fact, the ability to adopt a forward-looking orientation was an aspect that some lecturers weighted very heavily:
I told them I wanted three things covered in their [assignments]…and the third thing is the recommendations going forward and that’s what I really looked at the most (Michael).
However, Michael also felt that students “generally struggle” with proposing future strategies and that “(t)he difficulty they have with Marketing is that moving from…from the present to the future”.
As with the discipline in general, the combination of age and orientation in the context of Marketing at UKZN results in a code of neo-prospective (-Ct, -Ft).
Rate of change
The interaction of age and orientation gives the rate of change of the discipline. For both the discipline in general, and Marketing at UKZN, the combination of a young discipline with a forward-looking orientation points to a rapidly changing discipline.
The discipline in general
It has been said that Marketing is prone to transitory knowledge, fads and „gurus‟ (Macfarlane, 1997b; Tapp, 2004). In fact, “(o)f all the business disciplines, marketing may be the most influenced by changing fads and fashions” (Zinkhan & Hirschheim, 1992, p.83).
Thus it is not surprising that even the definition of marketing is subject to change. As noted in Section 4.2.1, the AMA periodically reviews its definition of marketing, revising it when necessary in light of shifts and developments in the marketing world. The original definition, developed in 1935, has since been revised in 1985, 2004 and 2008, as follows:
o 1935: “(Marketing is) the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers” (AMA, in Wilkie & Moore, 2007, p.269)
o 1985: “(Marketing is) the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives” (AMA, in Wilkie & Moore, 2007, p.269)
o 2004: “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders” (AMA, in Wilkie & Moore, 2007, p.269)
o 2008: “(Marketing is) the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (AMA, 2008, p.2).
These definitions reflect a progressive shift over the years away from considering Marketing solely from a narrow business perspective towards adopting a broader stakeholder and societal perspective. (The relevance of this for moral density will be outlined in Section 4.3.5).
Marketing at UKZN
Evidence of the rapid change that characterises Marketing is apparent at UKZN in the offering of Special Topics in Marketing, a module designed to allow for the inclusion of contemporary marketing issues and developments in the curriculum, as one of the required level-three undergraduate modules. Similar modules are also included in the postgraduate Marketing curriculum.