In this article we will discuss about the role of marketing organisation in taking marketing decisions.
An organisation structure in any business is most essential for its survival and prosperity. A wrong organisation can weaken a company whereas a good organisation contributes to its success. A sound organisation clarifies and perfects the duties, responsibilities, and authority of managers at all levels and in all departments, and thereby establishes accountability and controls for results.
In marketing decision making, an organisation structure, its evolution and development is of great importance. In fact, the success of marketing depends largely on the sound organisation structure.
In the past when ‘selling-concept’ (i.e. production orientation) was the rule rather than exception, there was no marketing manager. There was only sales manager who used to manage sales force, advertising, sales promotion, pricing, channels of distribution, etc.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The organisation looked very primitive as shown below:
By looking at the evolution of the thought of marketing management, we find that a sales manager around the thirties of the century was concerned with ‘selling concept’. In same companies abroad, around 1940 or so, the sales manager was being assisted by a marketing manager each having the same organisational status and the sales manager was concerned with the sales force as shown below.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Even this did not reflect marketing concept since the sales manager had an equal status with the marketing manager. Whereas, in the late fifties when the selling concept was replaced by the marketing concept in the U.S.A. and later on in other advanced countries, the organisation structure was entirely changed.
The sales manager was made subordinate to the marketing manager who became the head of all marketing functions and activities. These two positions were integrated in a way so that the total marketing management was able to consider the consumers, their wants and needs and so on.
Thus, product planning and development, pricing, promotion and channels of distribution which require decisions from the broader perspectives of marketing concept and management were integrated to satisfy the needs and wants of the consumers effectively and efficiently.
The diagram given, explains this:
The diagram clearly shows the new functions relating to marketing. These new marketing functions, which are based on specialisation and considered essential for achieving greater efficiency than before, are controlled and managed by the marketing manager. The head of each function is a specialist and he is a professional man.
The sales manager may have regional manager, zonal manager, and district manager and hundreds of sales persons under the district manager.
The new product manager has come to occupy a key place in the new organisation because of importance of product development. He harmonises product development with marketing mix, reacts quickly to environmental changes and makes improvements in the existing products and keeps marketing department profit-oriented.