Reading Notes - Article Example

Marketing Myopia Introduction Every business entity must be in a position of identifying the exact type of business they are involved in. Theodore Levitt (1975) courageously speaks out on why most big organizations fail along the way. It is all because they fail to understand what they are dealing with, overlook competition in the future, ignore customer needs and instead direct all the strength in selling off their products. The idea is, a successful company, in order to succeed has to concentrate more on delivering customer satisfaction than solely selling services.

Management accounts for either decline or growth of any business. It is quite easy to transfer blame and attribute to other causative agents, the ideology remains. From Theodore’s description, it is evident the railway industry is at the edge of falling because the management failed to plan ahead (Levitt, 1975). There was no clear definition regarding the type of industry they were in. while the management was quick to overlook customer needs, the car manufacturers took up the challenge and listened to customers.

Therefore, the railway industry did not fail because cars, airplanes or telephones came into existence, but because the management’s myopia was to blame. In the same line, Hollywood’s fame declined because it thought it was good at producing films instead of listening to what customers wanted; being entertained. It went ahead to reject television offers, which would have instead been a good avenue in promoting its content.Some assumptions form worst ideas for any business entity. A good number of dying organizations exhibit such conditions.

Most of them have a common belief in business growth in relation to population growth, have no belief in substitutes, capitalistic in mass production and are often preoccupied with products that follow the fashion wave.ConclusionClearly as seen in Theodore’s explanation, businesses, just like human beings, gain stability by understanding and listening to the inner self. A contradiction to this sets in the downfall and permanent death to business entities. It is always good to set and foresee future barriers instead of enjoying the current situation.

From the reading, big companies like Hollywood and Railroad organizations failed to make accurate forecasts. This was the onset of downfall. It is essential for the management to propel success and be ready for accountability should businesses fail. Work citedLevitt Theodore. (Sep-Oct 1975). Marketing Myopia. New York: Harvard Business Press.