A Career In Marketing - Case Study Example

A Career In Marketing Q1) Does the Mission Statement or Vision of the firm in question reflect the company’s focus on customers and consumers? For the firm that I have chosen, Zara, what was unique about the firm is that its vision statement and/or corporate mission statement did not reflect the fact that the firm was ultimately focused on the consumer. Rather, the firm chose instead to focus upon the environmental sustainability aspect of it product lines. In fact, so much so was the focus on the environmental sustainability of the firm that little if any noticeable attention was paid to the consumers who ultimately drive the profit margins for the firm. This was a noted drawback within both the vision and mission statements. As such, without a clear focus on the consumer, for those interested parties who review the mission and or vision statement, the emphasis that the firm places n achieving a degree of customer loyalty and/or customer satisfaction is something that is not referenced at all. In this way, the firm could most certainly benefit from a recalibration of the mission statement and vision that it currently displays. Although it is heartening to see the that the firm pays such a great deal of attention to the environment and environmental concerns, completely ignoring the role and importance that the customer plays with relation to the business model is perhaps shortsighted. Q2) Description of the career you considered and why you found it attractive. Choose one describe what academic degrees, business experience, language skills etc that you will need to be successful. After reviewing the great diversity of careers that are available to the individual interested in a career in marketing, I was particularly drawn to a career in public relations. Public relations and market outreach is a field that interests me because it goes beyond merely marketing a product and directly incorporates elements of social interaction and company representation. In such a way, the individual who works within such a career is ultimately responsible for seeking to challenge public opinion and represent the firm/organization in time of difficulties and in times of success. Ultimately, it is the challenge of such a position that is attractive due to the fact that many individuals employed in public relations type marketing jobs have had the distinct ability to fundamentally alter the means by which the public views the firm and the ultimate product or service offerings they represent. Such is not the norm however but it is a possibility for the individual that works in such a field. With respect to the particular type of skills and knowledge that is required for such a job, the website that was analyzed to inform his report stated that a degree in good standing from a four year university or college was ultimately a requirement. Furthermore, although there was no experience requirement for beginning within such a career, ultimately representing the firm to the public would be something that would most certainly require much experience as well as supreme command of verbal and written skills and exceptionally high quality people skills. Q3) What kinds of jobs are available, where are the jobs available, what types of skill sets are required for international marketing jobs For the most part, the types of marketing jobs that were represented were entry level with the remainder being upper level management positions. As such, there were very few offerings for individuals within the middle of their career with a reasonable modicum of experience. Moreover, the types of jobs centered on promotions and individual store marketing. When building the search query for this particular part of the assignment I wanted to have one that was as broad as possible so that it would be certain to capture even the international opportunities that exist within the field. Almost without exception, the greatest number of international job openings was with relation to the Asian market. This of course makes sense as it is the market in which many Western firms are experiencing a great deal of success even as the rest of the world economy beings to cool off. Furthermore, the jobs that existed internationally required fundamental knowledge, a degree (usually 5-10 years) of work experience, and language skills with respect to the country or region in question. Naturally, the level of experience was no surprise due to the fact that if they could hire an entry level person for such a position, they would look within-market to do this. Q4) The Trip to China The first and most important aspect that was impressed upon the participant was the fact that one should not necessarily consider “China” as a single market. Rather, the fact of the matter is that China is in fact made up of multiple markets which the marketer and the firm he/she represents must seek to integrate with on different levels. Furthermore, the game helped to illustrate the fact that unlike many of the other markets that businesses have sought to integrate with over the years, the Asian or specifically Chinese market is one that is ultimately dictated by a wealth of cultural determinants. Although the reader should not understand this to mean that cultural determinants do not have an effect within the other markets in which firms have traditionally operated and expanded within the fact of the matter is that the level of cultural determinants and the way that they impact on the formulation and procedure of business within China and other Asian countries is exponentially greater than can be witnessed in say France or elsewhere abroad. As for citing a specific case of cultural impact on business, the reader should consider the precept of “saving face” as it exists within Chinese culture and by extension the business environment. Although this is not a determinate that the Western concept of business would p[lace a high level of emphasis upon, the fact of the matter is that “saving face” as defined by a traditional understanding of Chinese culture is a process whereby an individual can either “gain face” or “lose face” based upon the specific actions that they take within the business cycle and the preliminary steps leading up to a business agreement or cooperation of one form or another (Kermeliotis 2011). By a marketing manager being visible, attending meets, providing a level of input, showing sensitivity to the culture and other determinants, a level of face is saved. Conversely, by being disrespectful, showing a lack of tact, not honoring the tradition of giving of gifts during the preliminary process of interaction etc, a level of face is lost. In a similar vein as the first determinant that was listed, the firm or organization should seek to keep a market-minded approach. What this means is that regardless of the level of success that a particular good or service experienced elsewhere in the world, the likely fact of the matter is that if one seeks to pitch such a product or service within the Chinese market(s) without seeking to do the preliminary background research necessary to prove what changes should be made in order to make the product or service appealing, the overall likelihood is that the product or service will ultimately flop. Many times this level of advice is ignored; however, it is ignored at the peril of the marketing team and the firm in general due to the fact that product/service launches are extraordinarily expensive and do not have a margin of error which can be accepted. References Kermeliotis, T. (2011, October 21). Doing business in China: Five tips for success - CNN.com. CNN.com International - Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News. Retrieved February 3, 2013, from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/21/business/china-business-investors-culture Read More