CMD: Marketing Director

Author: Qin Zhihua, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: "Frontier Series for Managers" Writing Instructions: There are many documents on enterprise management, some exploring specific fields such as marketing and financial management, some discussing specific issues like channel integration and reasonable tax avoidance, and others examining certain methods such as marketing strategies and auditing techniques. However, literature that explores enterprise management from the perspective of job roles is scarce. Is this exploration unnecessary? Not at all. It is not only necessary but also very important, especially for professional managers. This is because professional managers rely on their operational management capabilities to establish themselves in society, and this capability is not a certain knowledge system but a quality of analyzing and solving management problems. In practice, operational management capabilities are always reflected through specific job activities. Whether a professional manager can combine general theories and methods with specific job requirements to solve job-related problems, achieve job goals, and improve job performance is the key to their success. In this sense, successful professional managers are also successful job performers. So why is there so little literature exploring enterprise management from the perspective of job roles? The reason lies in the unique difficulties of this exploration. First, job activities are situational, and they must be grasped in the context of the specific position they are in: the same marketing management may be applied differently by a marketing manager in different companies; the same company's marketing director and specific account manager may focus on different things. Second, job activities are task-oriented, and they must be grasped in the context of the specific problems they face. In a rapidly developing high-tech company and a stable, mature manufacturing company, the same financial department manager faces different financial management requirements and concerns different aspects of financial work. nally, job activities are collaborative, and they must be grasped in the context of the specific relationships they rely on. The same performance evaluation task may present different challenges for an experienced manager with a strong team foundation and a newly appointed manager, requiring different performance evaluation skills. This list of difficulties could go on, but even this much already shows that exploring the laws of enterprise management from the perspective of job roles is not an easy task. However, since there is such a practical need, this problem must be addressed. In fact, efforts have been made in this direction in recent years. The key to achieving this breakthrough lies in finding the connection point between the abstract nature of the knowledge system and the specificity of job activities. Most existing teaching materials on enterprise management focus on the systematic nature of subject knowledge, starting from concepts and principles, and gradually expanding according to logical relationships, introducing relevant content in a layered and multi-faceted manner. The strength of this approach lies in its ability to introduce the overall structure of the knowledge system and comprehensively explain the relevant content of a professional field. However, its weakness is that readers often find it difficult to directly apply this knowledge to specific work. This is because the knowledge system is always a result of theoretical abstraction, with a specific logical structure, and in a certain sense, it is self-contained. But practical work is not a one-dimensional logical activity but a comprehensive process influenced by various factors, often requiring the flexible application of multiple methods from different angles. This creates a contradiction between the one-dimensional rigor of the knowledge system and the multidimensional complexity of practical work. This contradiction is reflected in practice as the fact that no specific work problem can be solved by relying on the support of a single field of professional knowledge, but rather requires the flexible application of knowledge from multiple disciplines. How can this problem be solved? One possible approach is to shift from a theoretical-concept-based thinking approach to an actual-problem-based one. In the context of enterprise management, this means starting from the specific work problems faced by different job roles to explore and analyze solutions. This way of thinking has the following characteristics: , Specificity. The starting point of thinking is not how to understand the abstract meaning of a certain concept but how to complete the practical tasks at hand. This task always comes from the specific requirements of a specific role in a specific context and must be considered within specific conditions. Second, Comprehensiveness. The thinking process must not only comply with the requirements of formal logic but also reasonably apply the knowledge of a specific discipline but also reflect the laws of dialectical logic, seeking solutions to problems from multiple contradictions. Third, Operability. The dialectical thinking carried out for specific problems is directly serving practice, aiming to propose practical and feasible solutions to different work problems. Therefore, it is not only necessary to consider the necessity of solving problems but also the possibility of solving them, determining operational work plans under the constraints of actual conditions. Such a way of thinking can integrate professional knowledge from different aspects to serve the vivid and specific practice. By thinking in this way over time, a unique thinking habit can be formed, namely, facing actual problems and solving them. The formation of this habit can improve one's intuition and insight in capturing and solving problems at work. This intuition and insight are the elevation of experience from theory to quality, forming the fundamental characteristics of a manager's professional capability. This series of books is written from this perspective. The basic idea of writing is to select the most representative management positions in enterprises, starting from the work needs of these positions, to lock in the objects and scope of the exploration, to extract typical problems, and to analyze and discuss them around these problems, forming a content system centered on problem exploration. This series of books has the following characteristics: , The selection of topics is based on specific management positions in operational management. Practical work problems are often job-related problems. Starting from different positions, different problems will be encountered, and different problem-solving approaches will be needed. Therefore, basing the selection on job roles can make operational management problems more situational and practical. Based on actual work needs, this series of books primarily selects high-level management positions in enterprises, such as CEOs, CFOs, Marketing Directors, and Human Resources Directors. In addition, it also involves some important and universal middle-level management positions, such as line department managers and project managers. Second, The selection of content is based on the characteristics of different job roles. Managers at different levels have different focuses in the same field of operational management. For example, regarding corporate strategy, the CEO is concerned with how to establish the core competitiveness of the enterprise and how to combine the corporate mission with resource allocation methods, while the COO is concerned with how to implement the corporate strategy in actual operations, ensuring that the business plan is reasonably formulated and effectively implemented.，，。 These different focuses reflect different levels and perspectives of analytical thinking. Therefore, this series of books emphasizes content directly related to the work of the specific position. Third, The writing of the book is guided by the problems faced by job roles. Job activities are based on job tasks, and starting from tasks can help identify the problems of enterprise operational management, thereby developing the for analyzing and solving problems. Therefore, each chapter in the book starts with a case, using the scenario in the case to clarify the operational management tasks and practical work problems to be solved, as the starting point for the development of the chapter's content. On this basis, the and methods for solving the problem are explained step by step, which are the main content of this series of books. nally, a summary of the chapter content is provided at the end of each chapter, offering basic analytical conclusions. In this way, the purpose of starting from job activities to provide problem-solving is fully implemented throughout the selection of topics for the entire series of books, the content structure of each book, and the writing style of each chapter. Clearly, the key to the success of this writing style lies in whether the problems are raised with quality. To this end, the compilers have made significant efforts in collecting and refining practical problems. First, in-depth communication was conducted with a large number of professional managers working at the forefront of operational management. These professional managers mostly have an MBA degree, with rich practical experience in enterprises and direct experience from MBA studies, enabling them to well connect theory with practice in raising and analyzing problems. Many of these professional managers, including company presidents, directly participated in the writing. In addition, with the assistance of many graduate students, research results and nformation in many fields were widely collected and organized, ensuring that the compilation work was synchronized with similar series of books and research progress at home and abroad. During this process, graduate students not only engaged in in-depth and comprehensive communication and dialogue with professional managers but also organized special enterprise surveys to verify the scientificity and rationality of the content of the series. The compilation of this series of books was completed under the efforts of several editors at China Renmin University Press. Everyone aimed to provide professional managers in China with a set of continuing education materials that combine theory with practice and reflect Chinese characteristics, while also aligning with international standards on the basis of domestic realities. Only by being Chinese can one be international. Therefore, the problems, methods, and cases proposed in this series of books are mostly derived from the current enterprise practices in China. The compilation and publication of this series of books are the results of teamwork. The work on compiling the series of books started from the topic selection in 2000, gradually determined the writing plan, collected and organized materials, to the formal writing, lasting four years in total. Each manuscript was revised many times, with some such as "CEO--Chief Executive Officer," "COO--Chief Operating Officer," and "CHD--Human Resources Director" being revised more than eight times, with each revision involving substantial additions and deletions, and the workload was immense. Even today, after printing, there are still many aspects that are not entirely satisfactory. The professional managers who participated in the compilation of this series of books in chronological order are: Li Manwei (Chinese Representative of American Xihu Company, MBA), Zhang Jianjun (Senior Management Specialist of Beijing Zhongkexi, MBA), Yang Hongxun (Deputy General Manager of Henan Zhulin Shengzhi Pharmaceutical Company (Stock Code: 600222), MBA), Jiang Chun (General Manager of Anhui Xinkang Materials Co., Ltd. (Stock Code: 600255), MBA), Zhang Qiuli (General Manager of Shanxi Angsheng Pharmaceutical Company, MBA), Zhao Xiaoping (Deputy Director of the Vice Factory of Shanxi Taiyuan Polyester Factory, MBA), Song Weibo (Department Manager of China Chemical Import and Export Corporation, Master of Business Administration), n addition, the collection and organization of materials during the specific writing process, as well as the drafting of many chapters, were carried out with the cooperation and assistance of graduate students such as Jiang Shaohua, Hao Yanli, Huang Shudan, Chen Xuefen, Liu Jianhua, Qian Lan, Zhu Yan, Yang Xuecheng, Li Hua, Wu Xingwei, Cao Zhengning, Zhang Junhai, Wang Li, Zhang Litong, Li Ling, Liu Ying, Wei Li, Deng Guangxia, Xu Xiaojun, and Liao Guamin, as well as Huang Jiaxin and Wei Ni from Sun Yat-sen University. Some chapters were revised and adjusted by multiple people before they were finally completed. These students, with solid professional foundations, good theoretical literacy, a high sense of responsibility, and strong teamwork, made significant contributions to the successful compilation of this series of books. Four years passed, and the memories were vivid. The motivation that attracted everyone to this effort was their passion for the cause of enterprise management. Whether it was a theoretical exploration of enterprise problems or an actual participation in enterprise operations, it reflected the common aspiration of the compilers of the series of books, that is, to make enterprises, as the micro-subjects of the market economy, vibrant in the historical opportunity of China's reform and opening-up, and to enable the Chinese nation to revive in the tide of global economic integration. This is a great cause, an inspiring cause. The road is long and the journey is arduous, attracting countless people to seek and explore. The marketing director mentioned in this book refers to the main person in charge of the marketing system entering the enterprise's decision-making level, who is a senior management personnel of the enterprise. The marketing director must carry out marketing work from the height of the survival and development of the enterprise, must communicate with the senior management and other relevant departments, so that the enterprise's strategy and plans can start from market demand and adapt to market changes. In the work of the marketing director, it is necessary to focus on solving the following problems: (1) How to combine market needs with enterprise capabilities; (2) How to combine short-term benefits with long-term development; (3) How to combine cost reduction with variety increase. The above three aspects of problems constitute the main thread of the work of the marketing director. This book analyzes and solves problems from the perspective of senior management, focusing on the marketing director position, combined with the practice of enterprise management in China, starting from specific work scenarios to analyze and solve problems, which has practicality, strategicity, and localization.