of supporting all the managers. There are also questions about where authority and
responsibility should reside. Here are two of many dilemmas:
- How should the sales force be organized?Should there be separate sales forces
for rayon, nylon, and the other fibers? Or should the sales forces be orga-
nized according to menswear, women’s wear, and other markets? Or should
the sales force not be specialized? (The marketing concept favors organizing
the sales force by markets, not product.) - Who should set the prices for a particular product or market?Should the nylon
product manager have final authority for setting nylon prices in all markets?
What happens if the menswear market manager feels that nylon will lose out
in this market unless special price concessions are made? (Product managers
nevertheless should retain the ultimate authority over pricing, in the author’s
opinion.)
By the early 1980s a number of companies had abandoned matrix management.
But matrix management has resurfaced and is flourishing today in the form of “busi-
ness teams” staffed with full-time specialists reporting to one team boss. The major
difference is that companies today provide the right context in which a matrix can
thrive—an emphasis on flat, lean team organizations focused around business
processes that cut horizontally across functions.^11
Corporate–Divisional Organization
As multiproduct–multimarket companies grow, they often convert their larger prod-
uct or market groups into separate divisions. The divisions set up their own depart-
ments and services. This raises the question of what marketing services and activities
should be retained at corporate headquarters.
Divisionalized companies have reached different answers to this question:
■ No corporate marketing:Some companies lack a corporate marketing staff. They
don’t see any useful function for marketing at the corporate level. Each division
has its own marketing department.
■ Moderate corporate marketing:Some companies have a small corporate marketing
staff that performs a few functions, primarily (1) assisting top management with
overall opportunity evaluation, (2) providing divisions with consulting assistance
on request, (3) helping divisions that have little or no marketing, and (4) pro-
moting the marketing concept throughout the company.
■ Strong corporate marketing:Some companies have a corporate marketing staff that,
in addition to the preceding activities, also provides various marketing services
to the divisions, such as specialized advertising services, sales-promotion services,
marketing research services, sales-administration services, and miscellaneous ser-
vices.
Do companies tend to favor one of these models? The answer is no. Some com-
panies have recently installed a corporate marketing staff for the first time; others
have expanded their corporate marketing department; others have reduced its size
and scope; and still others have eliminated it altogether.
The potential contribution of a corporate marketing staff varies in different stages
of the company’s evolution. Most companies begin with weak marketing in their di-
visions and often establish a corporate staff to bring stronger marketing into the di-
visions through training and other services. Some members of the corporate marketing
staff might be transferred to head divisional marketing departments. As the divisions
become strong in their marketing, corporate marketing has less to offer them. Some
companies then decide corporate marketing has done its job and proceed to elimi-
nate the department.^12
MARKETING RELATIONS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS
In principle, all business functions should interact harmoniously to pursue the
firm’s overall objectives. In practice, however, interdepartmental relations are often
chapter 22
Managing the
Total Marketing
Effort^689