MARKETING
Is The Marketing
Profession Endangered?
By Dr. Mary Mugo (PhD, MMSK, MIHRM)
T
he Cambridge Dictionary defines
Profession as any type of work,
especially one that needs a high
level of education or a particular skill. A
profession is an occupation that requires
mastery of some knowledge and skills
gained through either formal education
and/or practical experience.
A Profession is ordinarily regulated by a
Professional Body which ensures that the
members follow the laid down rules of
engagement. I believe those professions
that are highly regulated automatically
become prestigious and there is some
pride that comes with being associated
with such professions. Interestingly most
professions in Kenya are regulated with
the latest one being the Human Resource
profession. The question therefore is who
regulates the Marketing Profession.
Unfortunately in Kenya, the attitude
and thinking towards marketing is that
anybody can practice it irrespective of
their training. In fact the perception is
those that pursue marketing as an option
in the university are those that are not
very bright.
This reminds me when I was in the
University of Nairobi students were
fighting to do other options which they
had not qualified for and the Dean of
Faculty was amazed that I had qualified
to do those other options but chose to
do marketing. You can be sure that I
and many other Marketers I know are
intelligent and I managed First Class
Honors meaning Marketing is not for the
daft.
The thinking that marketing is a profession
for any one has led to many companies
recruiting and placing people with no
formal education in the area in marketing
positions. In fact some people holding
high profile marketing positions cannot
tell the difference between Marketing,
Public Relations and Advertising and
It is also becoming difficult to find PhD
holders in marketing who have a marketing
related background both in undergradu-
ate and Masters Level. Some lecturers even
think that anyone can teach marketing even
without having the undergraduate ground-
ing in the area. This can only mean that if
nothing is urgently done to the marketing
profession in terms of regulation and posi-
tioning then we can as well forget about it
and watch it die a natural death.
56 MAL30/19 ISSUE
many equate Marketing to Sales and
Advertising.
It is no wonder when an organization
wants to cut costs or is struggling they
do away with their Marketing budget
yet any organization in the dynamic and
competitive environment that we operate
in requires Marketing to survive.
The situation on the ground in institutions
of higher learning in Kenya could be an
indication that the Marketing Profession
is indeed in danger and could face
extinction if nothing is urgently done.
In almost all universities the number of
those pursuing Marketing as an option
have continued to dwindle. In some
universities the situation is so dire that
the option is no longer on offer for those
pursuing Bachelor of Commerce Degree
since no one has shown interest for the
marketing option since 2013.
In our time majority of students in the
universities pursued Marketing Option.
Today in a class of 200 students, 70 %(
140) of the students will opt for Finance,
20% (40) Accounting option and only 5%
(10) will opt for Marketing or Human
Resource Management Options. If this
trend continues it will be difficult to find
well trained marketers in many years to
come.
Asking a couple of students why they
opt for the finance option, the answer is
always it’s marketable and everyone is
doing it. It is however worth noting that
those that pursue the so called marketable
and prestigious options end up being
recruited to do the marketing they never
studied in the first place. Others go ahead