The Preparation of Future Marketing Managers

Abstract

Nearly 20, 000 marketing majors will this year approach the marketing managers of business firms and ask, in effect, "A re you ready for us?" The simple, but falla cious, answer of today's managers might be " Yes, there will be enough positions available to absorb a reasonable number of marketing graduates today and in future years. " Such an answer belies the true impact that those graduates are likely to have on marketing management in the future. The purpose of this article is to describe some of the discontinuities that are likely to occur as a result of changes in the preparation of today's marketing students and to suggest some practical ways business organizations can prepare for these changes.