GAPS IN MARKETING COMPETENCIES BETWEEN EMPLOYERS ...€¦ · Gaps in Marketing Competencies between Employers’ . . . Research 128 Literature Review Marketing is a challenging and

PAKISTAN BUSINESS REVIEW APRIL 2015

Research Gaps in Marketing Competencies between Employersrsquo

125

Research

AbstractThis study was conducted to highlight the gaps in marketing

competencies that are required by employers and those thatgraduates learn at business school The existing literature wassurveyed to identify the knowledge skills and abilities required byemployers in the field of marketing and then contextualizedaccording to the requirements of employers in Pakistan A surveyof marketing graduates was conducted in two parts competencysurvey 1 was designed to identify the importance of differentcompetencies required in marketing jobs and competency survey 2was to make out the level of those competencies present in freshgraduates according to their (graduates) own perceptions Acomparison was made between the results of two cohorts and it wasfound that statistically significant gaps existed in required andactual level of few marketing competencies like lsquodesign andimplement marketing planrsquo lsquoconduct market researchrsquo andlsquoforecasting and budgetingrsquo

Keywords Competency Curriculum Marketing KnowledgeMarketing Practitioners Employability Traits

JEL Classification Z 000

GAPS IN MARKETINGCOMPETENCIES BETWEEN

EMPLOYERSrsquo REQUIREMENTS ANDGRADUATESrsquo MARKETING SKILLS

Kausar Saeed1

1-Dept of Marketing Institute of Business Management (IoBM) KarachiPakistan


Gaps in Marketing Competencies between Employersrsquo Research

126

IntroductionBackground of the study

In the last two decades Business Schools have grown rapidlyacross Pakistan There are approximately 60 universities and institutesthat are providing business education in the country (HEC list) Oneof the success factors of a business institute is the consistent highdemand of its graduates as mentioned by Salami (2007) in his reportldquoThe Challenge of Establishing World Class Universitiesrdquo He statesthat one factor which differentiates high ranking universities fromordinary ones is that they produce well qualified graduates who are inhigh demand Therefore in order to be one of the best business schoolsan institute has to maintain high standards in education by upholdinga future oriented approach and prepare the MBA graduates for thedynamic business world The stakeholders of business institutesinclude their management and faculty employers of graduates alumniand present students The input from all these stakeholders couldprove very valuable to augment the education curriculum and trainingin various business disciplines

In order to help the graduates make a smooth transition fromstudents to employees business schools today are offering a numberof courses keeping in consideration the employersrsquo job requirementsfrom fresh graduates who step into the professional world All thesecourses are offered to impart students the relevant subject knowledgeand to prepare students for the workplace by developing generic andspecific competencies that educators believe will be useful toemployers (Rainsbury et al 2002) Marketing is at the forefront of allbusinesses Obviously organizations prefer to employ people whoare proficient in marketing skills like description analysis andsynthesis presentation and reasoning also in teamwork andcommunication skills (Ellington 2005) It is therefore the job of thebusiness institutes to inculcate these skills in their MBAs to makethem valuable for companies It is in this regard that institutions arerigorously trying to identify gaps between what their academicsprovide and the required sets of knowledge and education in realpractice This study has been conducted to highlight and rank variousmarketing skills interpersonal skills and personal traits that are



127

considered important by early marketing practitioners and the presenceof those skills in fresh graduates

Research ProblemThe management of business schools constantly endeavor

to increase the employability2 of their business graduates becausethe corporate sector demands a lot of professionalism The moreknowledge and skills business schools incorporate in their coursesto address the competencies required by the marketing firms the betterthey would be preparing their students for corporate sector jobs Thefirst step is to identify the marketing skills that lack proper coveragethrough the curriculum One of the best sources in view of the authorto identify these aspects of marketing is by obtaining feedback fromgraduates graduated in the last five years and are employed by thecorporate sector

Research ObjectiveThe ultimate objective of this research is to contribute in

curriculum development for the marketing discipline to imparts theright knowledge and skills that would embed employability attributesin MBA (marketing majors)

The aim of the study is to identify competencies perceivedto be important by graduates of 2009-2010 who have spent 3-4 yearsin marketing jobs and then matching the presence of thesecompetencies in fresh graduates of 2011-2012 with 1-2 years of workexperienceThe outcome of the study covers several aspectsA)To identify important competencies in the field of marketing tofunction effectively as perceived by recent MBAsB)To point out those gaps where marketing students lack practicalknowledgeC)To identify perceptions of students toward the marketing coursesthat is most helpful in their jobs (Least helpful are also extracted)

2-Employability skills is a term that is used to mean lsquohellipkey skills core skills

life skills essential skills key competencies necessary skills and transferable

skills



128

Literature ReviewMarketing is a challenging and dynamic field To be effective

marketers need a variety of core competencies that are not onlytechnical ie marketing related but they fall into areas of hard as wellas soft skills Ellington (2003) work suggest that business educationin general must provide business and analytical skills societal valuesand ethics theories and models so as to make students effective insocial and organizational settings Marketing Education is responsibleto instill the marketing competencies that culminate into desirableperformance (ibid) Ideally marketing graduates should satisfy thedemand of the employers by meeting the job requirements (Dolnicarand Stern 2003) Relationship-driven model by Hilton et al (2008) ofmarketing education recommends that three parties marketing facultymarketing students and marketing practitioners must take part incurriculum development of marketing studies The outcome of suchwork integrated program is to satisfy the demand of the employers byidentifying the competencies that are believed to be needed byemployers and then inculcating them in marketing students

Much literature has been devoted to the employability skills ofmarketing graduates (Hefferman etal (2008) Wellman (2010))Employability refers to ldquoa set of achievements ndash skills understandingsand personal attributes ndash that make graduates more likely to gainemployment and be successful in their chosen occupations whichbenefits themselves the workforce the community and the economyrdquo(ESECT 2003) The most preferable employability skills found indifferent researches have been summarized in table-1

Most of the previous studies were conducted amongstemployers of different industries as they are the prime customers ofbusiness graduates (Yen et al 2009 Hodges amp Burchell 2003McClymont 2005 Lee 2009) All these studies provide lists of thedesirable marketing competencies preferred by employers of freshmarketing graduates Table 2 depicts the most preferable five marketingskills identified by each of the above mentioned studies on the subject

Well (nil) concluded that many entry level graduates wereengaged in operational and tactical roles such as promotions and



129

Table 1

Employability SkillsAuthor Methodology 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Wellman -2010 Meta analysis Leadership communica

tions Presentations Numeric and quantitative

analysis team work

Hefforman -2010

Interview with

employers

Communication Teamwork

Problem Solving Work

Ethic

Desirable persona

Customer focus

Wellman -2005

Analysis of job listing

Marketing research selling Internet

marketing promotion public relations

Schlee and Harich (2009)


Communication all types

Teamrelationalleadership skills

Customer behavior

Promotionadvertising

Marketing research

Sales management

Table 2

Competencies of Marketing Graduates

1 2 3 4 5

YenP etal Survey Ability to adapt to new technologies

Ability to work in team

Communicate effectively

Work independently

Demonstrate ethical practices

-2009 DolnicarS (2003)

Survey Communica tion skills

A hard working attitude

Time Management Willingness to learn continuously

Capable of teamwork

Hodges D and BurchellN (2003)

Survey of employers

Ability amp willingness to learn

Energy amp passion

Teamwork amp Cooperation

Interpersonal communication

Customer service orientation

McClymont Survey Analyse data understand statistics

Conduct situation analysis

Ability to implement a marketing plan

Determine strategies for targeting positioning

Prepare a marketing plan

-2005

BerryK etal Comparison of different majors in business

Understanding competitive environment

Communication skills

Work Ethics Teamwork Interpersonal skills

-2004

RainsburyE eta Survey of employers

Work planning Team-working Communications Problem solving and decision making

Leadership entrepreneurialism and negotiation -2001

Author of the Research

M ethodology Competencies

channel management It was less likely to get the chance to beinvolved in strategic marketing decisions Therefore most of marketingcurriculum that pertains to marketing education cannot be put intopractice soon after graduation Marketing-related work experiencewas also on the wish list of employers Dolnicar and Stern (2003)argues that 95 employers emphasize upon lsquoMarketing-related workexperience and appearancersquo Marketing experience was desired bymost of the employers and appeared to be an influential factor onhiring decision This substantiates the compulsory internship inbusiness education



130

Finally all competencies mentioned were merged andcategorized into Marketing Skills CommunicationInterpersonal Skillsand Personal attributes this categorization is the same as used byHagerP (1995) (Table 1-3) The most desirable qualities of marketinggraduates identified by employers can be categorized as lsquotechnicalattributesrsquo and lsquopersonal attributesrsquo Technical attributes come fromthe marketing knowledge and its application when required like lsquomakinga marketing planrsquo etc and personal attributes can be lsquoleadershipqualitiesrsquo and delivering work on timerdquo Different authors have useddifferent basis for grouping these competencies like Dolnicar and Stern(2003) divided the attributes and competencies in four categories Thefirst category was named lsquoFormal Qualifications (degree)rsquo lsquoSkillsrsquo(leadership and communication skills) lsquoAttributesrsquo like (hard-working)and ldquoWork related Personal Characteristicsrdquo (Confident Creative andSociable) Camuffo and Gerli (2004) evaluated the competencies ofMBA graduates and not particularly the marketing graduates in theform of managerial and functional skill profiles Yen et al (2009)provided the list of competencies without segmenting it in differentsections Hager (1995) grouped the vocational competencies in threegroups 1) task-based or behaviorist approach 2) general personalattributes and 3) integrated competency standards On the wholecompetencies remain more or less the same but labeled differently indifferent studies

In order to consolidate the list of competencies attributesand skills that could make them valuable for employers weak areas ofmarketing graduates requirement of employability skills andemployersrsquo wish list are compared and contrasted The result issummarized in Table 3

Finally all competencies mentioned in the three columns ofTable -3 were merged and categorized into Marketing SkillsCommunicationInterpersonal Skills and Personal attributes as usedby Hager (1995) Marketing Skills included i) Scan marketingenvironment ii) Comprehend Business Processes iii) Design andimplemented marketing plan iv) Identify marketing problems v)



131

Weak Areas EM PLOY ABILITY SK ILLS

EM PLOY ER Srsquo W ISH LIST

Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski

lls Tea mwork Teamwork Te amwork

Fle xibility Commun ication Comm unication Comm unica tion

Problem solving Problem solving

Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes

T im e Managemen t Time M anag ement

Willingn ess to learn

Leade rship motiva tion Organization Networking

Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills

Identifyin g opportunities

Iden tifying

oppor tun ities

Applying the ory to work place

Business process m ana gement

Promotion

Ma rket resear ch Ma rket re search A ccuracy Accu ra cy M erchandisin g Selling Internet ma rketing Budgetin g Custom er focus

Conduct Market Research vi) Make budgets vii) Design advertisingand promotion strategy viii) Manage promotional events ix) Performchannel management function x) Carry out merchandizing xi) Identifysales issues and opportunities and xii) Measure customer satisfaction

Interpersonal and communication skills containedpresentation and business language negotiation and persuasionskills conflict resolution networking building relationshipsteamwork interpersonal problem solving and leadership skills Finallythe short listed personal attributes were willingness to learn able towork independently commitment to work personal presentation andability to deal with pressure initiativemotivation and timemanagement

Table 3Consolidated List



132

Nearly all the studies which the author was able to explorewere relating to employersrsquo requirements They are the prime customerand their needs are important for business schools to tailor theirproducts (students) accordingly The researcher could find only onestudy that was focused on graduates to assess the relevance of theirwork to marketing courses they have studied The feedback of graduatesat entry level jobs could provide valuable insights for business schoolsto tailor their curriculum according to the market requirements (Hiltonet al 2008) The findings of Adams (2000) work provided strongempirical support to the notion that evaluation of marketing coursesby students based on three factors- Personal Relevance EducationalValue and Life Skills

Marketing Education is a process that is constantly evolvingCredibility and respect in marketing education can only be developedthrough the application and maintenance of high standardsndashformarketing teachers their courses programs and students Thereforeit must be continually examined for potential improvements Academiaemployers and graduates themselves must take the responsibility toflourish KSA required in marketing field

Research Methodology

Research DesignFocus Group To contextualize the extracted list of

competencies from literature review a focus group of local employerswas held These employers belonged to various sectors includingbanking FMCGs media and advertising Employers felt that theywanted to see aspirations not score sheets In terms of the profile ofthe prospective employee members of the focus group said that theyprefer those graduates who are willing to get involved in all processesof supply chain and have a customer orientation Preferred skillsrequired were conceptual analytical and interpersonal They wantedgood negotiators team players and adaptable hardworking dedicated



133

people willing to take initiatives Local knowledge and knowledge ofconcept of ROI in all marketing functions was preferred They preferredan all-rounder a generalist rather than a specialist Most of the requiredcompetencies by local employers matched the shortlistedcompetencies from literature survey

This research is descriptive and quantitative in nature Primarydata is collected through the questionnaire on the websiteldquokwiksurveyscomrdquo containing close ended questions

Sample Size and Sampling Method

The population for this cross sectional study was marketinggraduates from the year 2009- 2012 of the three Business Institutes ofKarachi The Business Schools selected were Institute of BusinessManagement (IBA) College of Business Management (CBM) andShaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Technology (SZabist) Namesand contacts were compiled from Graduate Directories of years 2009to 2012 of the selected institutes

The sample for this study was 137 marketing graduates ofthe last four years that are employed by national or multinationalcompanies The sampling method was non-probability conveniencesampling to be exact it was a voluntary sample

QuestionnaireTwo similar questionnaires were designedompetency survey 1 (CS 1) was for graduates 2009-

2010 and competency survey 2 (CS 2) was for recent graduates2011-2012 The questionnaires consisted of 5 introductoryquestions 29 items under constructs of marketing skillsinterpersonal communication skills and personal attributesFor competency survey 1 five point Likert scale ranged fromlsquoLow importancersquo lsquoHelpfulrsquo lsquoDesirablersquo lsquoImportantrsquo andlsquoEssentialrsquo was defined with the assumption that graduates



134

having few years of marketing experience could rate generalrequirements of different marketing competencies Incompetency survey 2 recent marketing graduates were askedto rate the level of proficiency of competencies of survey 1within themselves Therefore same competencies were listed inthe questionnaire with a different scale ranging from lsquoPoorrsquolsquosatisfactoryrsquo lsquoFairrsquo lsquoGoodrsquo lsquoExcellentrsquo because now theintensity of a particular marketing skill was to be evaluated Thenext two questions were identical in both questionnaires Inone graduates were requested to rate their agreement ordisagreement on statements related to CGPA and jobperformance effect of marketing majors on job performancepractical knowledge gained during Internship and businessethics The other question was to evaluate the courses inmarketing during MBA program that are most helpful inmarketing careers of graduates respondents were asked to checka dichotomous response category of yes in case the learningof the course has positively influenced their jobs or no otherwise

Online questionnaires were sent to all marketing graduates from2009-2012 Email addresses were obtained from the graduate directoriesof IBA CBM and Szabist The response rate of both surveys wasmuch lower than the expectations of the author The obvious reasonwas that the e-mail addresses and mobile numbers of many graduateshad changed since they graduated making it difficult to trace themThe invitation was originally sent to all graduates CS1 was sent to299 and CS2 was sent to 379 graduates

Analysis of Data

A sample of 137 graduates participated in the survey Out of these57 respondents formed the sample of competency survey 1 and 80formed the sample of competency survey 2



135

According to CS1 which it can be seen in Table 4 that the meanrating of the importance of almost all marketing skills lies between293 and 418 A mean of more than 30 was interpreted by the authoras being important and essential Therefore all marketing competenciesidentified that were listed in the survey seemed imperative to besuccessful in early stage of marketing profession In order to fulfillthe second objective the comparison of competency level which thefresh graduates believe that they possess was checked against thelevel of importance mentioned by MBAs having 3-4 years ofexperience In 11 out of 13 marketing skills identified the mean valueof marketing skills of CS2 was less than CS1 To check its statisticalsignificance (via a t-test of equality of means) the differences in thesemeans were tested Three competencies lsquodesign and implementmarketing planrsquo lsquoto conduct market researchrsquo and lsquoforecastingbudgetingrsquo were found to be statistically significant (table 4) Thisimplies that faculty of marketing may need to concentrate on bringingin additional resources from the ldquoreal-worldrdquo to energize their teaching

Figure 1Comparison of between desired and actual level of marketingskills



136

Table 4

T-test for Equality of Means of Marketing Skills

t Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference Lower Upper

Analyze the organizationrsquos marketing environment

1431 0155 0242 0093 0577

1386 0169 0242 0104 0589 Compreh end Business

Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508

156 0122 0225 0061 0511 Design an d implemented

marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746

209 0039 039 002 076 Identify marketing problems 0326 0745 0058 0292 0408

0313 0755 0058 0308 0423 Conduct Market Research 2046 0043 035 0012 0689

2027 0045 035 0008 0693 Creative an d critical thinkin g in

Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539

1003 0318 018 0175 0535 ForecastingBudgeting 3968 0 0798 04 1195

414 0 0798 0417 1179 Design advertisingpromotion

strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578

Manag e promotional events -1272 0206 -0264 -0675 0147

-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014

Perform channel management functions

0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404

Carry out Merchandizing -0152 088 -0033 -0459 0393

-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399

Iden tify sales issues and opportun ities Manage

promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266

Monitormeasureevaluate customer satisfaction

0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505

Similarly the next section of the questionnaire consisted ofCommunicationInterpersonal skills Figure 2 shows the comparisonof the mean importance of skills and actual level of expertise on thatskill can also be seen in fig 2 A comparison of the mean importance ofskills and actual level of expertise on that skill can also be seen in fig2 The differences in these means were tested with t-test of equality ofmeans and lsquobusiness language and expressionrsquolsquonegotiationpersuasionrsquo lsquoconflict resolutionrsquolsquonetworkingrsquo lsquobuilding relationshipsrsquoand lsquointerpersonal problem solving skillsrsquo found to be statisticalsignificant This finding is in line with much of the previous researchfocusing on generic skills of entry-level positions which suggested



137

that as a novice in the marketing field graduates were placed mostlyin support roles they were required to develop workplace knowledgeand learn internal communication methods (Walker 2009)

Figure 2Comparison between Desired and Actual Level ofCommunicationInterpersonal Skills

Table 5

t-test for Equality of Means of CommunicationInterpersonal Skills

InterpersonalCommunicatio

n Skills 95 Confidence

Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc

e Lower Upper Presentation skills 1398 135 164 179 128 -074 432

1337 100057 184 179 134 -086 444 Business language and

expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390

Negotiating and persuading 3528 135 001 446 126 196 696 3526 120575 001 446 127 196 697

Conflict resolu tion 2273 135 025 353 155 046 660 2245 115095 027 353 157 041 664

Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712

Building relationships 2280 135 024 336 147 045 628 2235 111689 027 336 150 038 634

Working cooperatively within a group

-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222

Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills

2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603

Leadership sk ills -751 135 454 -115 153 -418 188

-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138

An interesting observation can be made that in two competencies ielsquo Leadership skillsrsquo and lsquoworking cooperativelyrsquo the level of skillsfresh graduates perceive to have is more than the importance givento these interpersonal skills Here the assumption can be drawn thatfresh graduates being over ambitious rate themselves higher thanwhat actually their capabilities are Just because someone took a classin negotiations doesnrsquot mean they are any good at it rather it couldcause a number of problems Confidence is good but not when itovershadows the inability (Slater 1995) Moreover experience withleadership comes working under the leadership of others Lack ofexperience seems to show up the most when someone is put in chargeof managing and leading others Therefore MBAs need to have realexperience with good results in management either before or aftergetting their masterrsquos degree

Figure 3

Comparison between Desired and Actual Level of Personal

Attributes

In the same way comparison of two surveys on the basis ofmean ratings identifying desired and actual level of personal attributescan be seen in figure 3 Out of listed personal attributes lsquoability todeal with pressurersquo lsquoinitiativemotivationrsquo and lsquotime managementrsquo was



139

Table 6

t-test for Equality of Means of Personal Attributes

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference

Std Error Difference Lower Upper

Willingness to learn -2201 135 029 -315 143 -597 -032

-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027

Able to work Independently

-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210

Personal presentation Dressing up etc

-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147

Ability to deal with pressure

2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571

InitiativeMotivation 2085 135 039 268 129 014 523

2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701

Figure 4 represents mean importance of all the competencies

under three constructs It can be seen that soft skills or non-technicalskills are ahead of hard skills or technical (marketing) skills Much ofthe literature emphasizes the critical importance of developingmarketers those who are all-rounders (Heffernan et al 2010 Welmannil) This is supported by the respondents of the competency survey

found to be statistically significant (Table 6) In two traits lsquowillingnessto learnrsquo and lsquocommitment to workrsquo fresh graduates rated themselvesquite high The reason can be cited in the words of SlaterJ (1995) thatldquoThis is more of an issue with people who have had very little realwork experiencerdquo Although MBA programs offer good content butsimply being exposed to a lot of great ideas doesnrsquot say much aboutability to implement those ideas in real life In previous researcheslsquowillingness to learnrsquo was considered to be the most important attribute(Rainsbury etal 2002 WellmanN 2010) but in the present study itcame on fifth position out of seven attributes listed



140

1 which placed equal importance on marketing communication andinterpersonal skills in the workplace Personal attributes were rankeda little less than the aforesaid competencies

Figure 4

Ranking of Workplace Competencies

The perception of graduates from 2009-2012 was gauged ondifferent aspects like CGPA utility of marketing majors internshipexperience and work ethics The scale used was 5- point liker scaleranging from ldquostrongly disagreesrdquo to ldquostrongly agreerdquo

Graduates disagreed with the notion that a high CGPA is aprerequisite to perform well in the job Graduates showed positiveattitude towards courses offered in MBA as they perceived themworthwhile The statement ldquoInternship experience enhanced myknowledge about working in the organizationrdquo showed a generalpositive experience with internships Most employersrsquo prefer that itwas important for graduates entering business roles to have somebusiness work experience prior to completing their Masterrsquos degree asmentioned by Schlee and Harich (2010) ldquoMost employers seek to hireapplicants with skills and experience rather than new collegegraduatesrdquo



141

lsquoStrong moral and ethical valuesrsquo was one of the requirementsof employers in the focus group that was conducted to contextualizethe identified competencies For the statement ldquoUniversity hasinstilled strong work ethics in merdquo the mean value is (M=364) whichis more than neutral but for the characteristic that has been spelledout specifically by employers the mean value of perception ofgraduates should have been higher The author believes thatbusinessmarketing ethics is another area where business schoolsshould concentrate as the overall values of society are on decline

To address the last objective of the research that was toidentify all those marketing courses that was helpful to the graduateswhile performing their jobs The methodology used to evaluate themarketing courses is simply dichotomous question of lsquoyesrsquo or lsquonorsquoaccording to the experience whether the listed marketing courseswere helpful or not Figure 5 shows the frequencies of yes meaningthe knowledge gained from the course was applicable in professionallife of graduatesFigure 5

Graduatesrsquo Perception towards Practical Importance of

Marketing Courses



142

Summary and Conclusions

The motivation to undertake this research was to identify andbetter understand the perceptions of marketing graduates about theskills knowledge and competencies that are essential to obtain andprogress in a marketing positions Once these competencies areidentified business schools could design their curricula to inculcatethese competencies in their MBAs Developing tomorrowrsquos marketingprofessionals is not an easy task because of the rapid changes in themarketplace fierce competition and the world truly becoming a globalvillage In this scenario marketing employers are expected to developpartnerships with universities to prepare individuals for the challengesahead and they should expect that nearly all marketing graduateswould have acquired a set of common competencies This study foundout that both technical (marketing) skills as well as non- technicalskills are important for fresh graduates to start in their marketingprofession According to the sample the three most requiredcompetencies were Presentation skills Building relationships andNegotiationpersuasion skills All of them belong to the construct ofcommunication and interpersonal skills Therefore it can be establishedthat from new graduatesrsquo employers expect less marketing skills andmore non-technical skills This does not undermine the importance ofmarketing related Knowledge Skills and Abilities they are essentialto provide a holistic approach in professional outlook but might bevery initially after employment fresh graduates need to display morecommunication interpersonal skills to perform in a support job role

The general perception among graduates is that CGPA cannot betaken as the basis of good performance in marketing jobs Althoughgraduates conformed to the idea that marketing majors provided themwith solid marketing background they felt that there was room forimprovement in curriculum and its delivery to raise them to the best oftheir potentials



143

An important aspect in designing marketing curriculum for MBAs isthat subjects offered in the program should be helpful in making newgraduates settle down in the job The study findings are positiveabout majority of marketing courses taught in most of the businessschools ie they are relevant to marketing jobs Mix of marketingcourses offered seems to be appropriate Courses like brandmanagement and consumer behavior were found to be very helpfulwhile stepping in practical world and it was also recommended byemployers in focus group to make them as core courses Other courseslike marketing management advertising and strategic marketing gavepractical knowledge to students However marketing educationrsquosability to remain viable in this new millennium will be dependent uponmarketing educatorsrsquo abilities to stay in tune with their graduatesrsquoand employersrsquo of graduatesrsquo perceptions as well their abilities todeliver quality courses and programs

The data collected is based on a small sample of graduates andno attempt has been made to evaluate whether the subjects thestudents said were helpful corresponded to job roles or not It isnevertheless held that the findings send strong messages to themarketing faculty regarding the application of subjects graduates aremost likely to encounter in their first and early career posts

To conclude it is suggested that the standardsrsquo knowledgeand understanding component could be used to form the basis of amarketing curriculum that is recognized by employers as being relevantto the workplace The outcomes and behaviors of effective performancecould be used as the basis of development of learning outcomes andassessment criteria which go beyond testing knowledge alone

Limitations

Initially four of the top business schools of Karachi on the HEClist namely IBA CBM Szabist and Iqra were selected However



144

graduates from Iqra were not included as only 2012 directory wasavailable for that institute

Another problem faced was that e-mail addresses and cell numbersof many graduates specially the batches of 2009-2010 were no longerin use so it was not possible to contact them Another handicap facedwas the tendency of people to discard e-mails from anonymouscontacts

Future researchers may consider the study from all theemployers hiring university graduates



145

References

BerryK BryanD and CummingsM (2004) Secondary SchoolBusiness Educatorsrsquo Perceptions of the Knowledge Skillsand Abilities Needed by Information Systems MajorsRelative to Other Business Majors Journal of InformationTechnology Education Volume 3

DolnicarS and D Stern(2003) What Do Australian Practitionersrsquo Expectfrom Marketing Graduates Proceedings of the Australianand New Zealand Marketing Academy ConferenceANZMAC

EllingtonR (2003) What Is Missing from Business EducationMeeting the Needs of Emerging Market Business EducationThe Business Education and Emerging Market EconomiesTrends and Prospects Conference

ESECT Are your Students Employable National Union of StudentCouncils(httpwwwpalatineacukfilesemp1247pdf Access 2752010)

Hager P (1995) Competency StandardsmdashA Help or a HindranceVocational Aspect of Education no 2 volume 7 141-151

HeffernanT FengW AngellR FangY (2010) Employability andMarketing Education Insights from the United Kingdomhttpanzmac2010orgproceedingspdfanzmac10Final00140pdf

HiltonT BhatR Hyde K and YingziX (2007) The future-proofedpractitioner A service-centered marketing curriculum 3RrsquosReputation Responsibility amp Relevance The Proceedingsof the Annual ANZMAC Conference December OtagoUniversity Dunedin

HodgesD and BurchellN (2003) Business Graduate CompetenciesEmployersrsquo Views on Importance and Performance Facultyof Business Asia- Pacific Journal of CooperativeEducation



146

Lee Y(2009) A Comparison Study of HRD Masterrsquos DegreeCompetencies Human Resource Development Quarterly bullDOI 101002

McClymontH VolkovM and GardinerM (2005) Employer(Dis)Satisfaction With Australian Marketing Graduates TheDevelopment Of A Research Framework MarketingEducation no 5 volume7 Fremantle Western Australia

RainsburyE HodgesD BurchellN(2002) Ranking WorkplaceCompetencies Student and Graduate perceptions Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education

Salami J The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities httpportalunescoorgeducationenfiles5582512017990845SalmipdfSalmipdf)

SchleeR and Harich (2010) Knowledge and Skill Requirements forMarketing Jobs in the 21st Century Journal of MarketingEducation 32(3) 341ndash352

WalkerI TsarenkoY and WagstaffP(2009) The Development ofCompetent Marketing Professionals Journal of MarketingEducation Volume 31 Number 3

Wellman N (2010) lsquoRelating the curriculum to marketing competencea conceptual frameworkrsquo The Marketing Review 10 (2) 119-134 doi 101362146934710X505735

WellmanN (nil) An empirical investigation to identify the attributesand qualifications requirements of employers for early careermarketers

WellmanN (2011) Job Profiles of Early-Career Graduate Marketers anAnalysis of Marketing Duties and Job roles httpsmibvuwacnz8081wwwanzmac2005cd-sitepdfs8-Mktg-Edn8-McClymontpdf

YenP Ng KamariahS Abdullah HwaP HuongN Tiew(2009)Employersrsquo Feedback On Business Graduates An ExploratoryStudy In Curtin Sarawak International Review of BusinessResearch Papers Vol 5 No 4 Pp 306-321



126

IntroductionBackground of the study

In the last two decades Business Schools have grown rapidlyacross Pakistan There are approximately 60 universities and institutesthat are providing business education in the country (HEC list) Oneof the success factors of a business institute is the consistent highdemand of its graduates as mentioned by Salami (2007) in his reportldquoThe Challenge of Establishing World Class Universitiesrdquo He statesthat one factor which differentiates high ranking universities fromordinary ones is that they produce well qualified graduates who are inhigh demand Therefore in order to be one of the best business schoolsan institute has to maintain high standards in education by upholdinga future oriented approach and prepare the MBA graduates for thedynamic business world The stakeholders of business institutesinclude their management and faculty employers of graduates alumniand present students The input from all these stakeholders couldprove very valuable to augment the education curriculum and trainingin various business disciplines

In order to help the graduates make a smooth transition fromstudents to employees business schools today are offering a numberof courses keeping in consideration the employersrsquo job requirementsfrom fresh graduates who step into the professional world All thesecourses are offered to impart students the relevant subject knowledgeand to prepare students for the workplace by developing generic andspecific competencies that educators believe will be useful toemployers (Rainsbury et al 2002) Marketing is at the forefront of allbusinesses Obviously organizations prefer to employ people whoare proficient in marketing skills like description analysis andsynthesis presentation and reasoning also in teamwork andcommunication skills (Ellington 2005) It is therefore the job of thebusiness institutes to inculcate these skills in their MBAs to makethem valuable for companies It is in this regard that institutions arerigorously trying to identify gaps between what their academicsprovide and the required sets of knowledge and education in realpractice This study has been conducted to highlight and rank variousmarketing skills interpersonal skills and personal traits that are



127









skills



128








129

Table 1




analysis team work

Hefforman -2010

Interview with

employers



Ethic

Desirable persona

Customer focus

Wellman -2005








Customer behavior


Marketing research

Sales management

Table 2


1 2 3 4 5




Work independently






Capable of teamwork


Survey of employers


Energy amp passion









-2005





-2004









130






131



Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski




Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes




Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills


Iden tifying

oppor tun ities



Promotion







132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













127









skills



128








129

Table 1




analysis team work

Hefforman -2010

Interview with

employers



Ethic

Desirable persona

Customer focus

Wellman -2005








Customer behavior


Marketing research

Sales management

Table 2


1 2 3 4 5




Work independently






Capable of teamwork


Survey of employers


Energy amp passion









-2005





-2004









130






131



Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski




Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes




Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills


Iden tifying

oppor tun ities



Promotion







132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













128








129

Table 1




analysis team work

Hefforman -2010

Interview with

employers



Ethic

Desirable persona

Customer focus

Wellman -2005








Customer behavior


Marketing research

Sales management

Table 2


1 2 3 4 5




Work independently






Capable of teamwork


Survey of employers


Energy amp passion









-2005





-2004









130






131



Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski




Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes




Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills


Iden tifying

oppor tun ities



Promotion







132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













129

Table 1




analysis team work

Hefforman -2010

Interview with

employers



Ethic

Desirable persona

Customer focus

Wellman -2005








Customer behavior


Marketing research

Sales management

Table 2


1 2 3 4 5




Work independently






Capable of teamwork


Survey of employers


Energy amp passion









-2005





-2004









130






131



Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski




Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes




Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills


Iden tifying

oppor tun ities



Promotion







132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













130






131



Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski




Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes




Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills


Iden tifying

oppor tun ities



Promotion







132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













131



Com

mun

ica

tion

amp

Inte

rper

sona

l Ski




Pers

onal

A

ttrib

utes




Mar

ketin

g Sk

ills


Iden tifying

oppor tun ities



Promotion







132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













132








133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













133










134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













134



Analysis of Data




135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













135





136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













136

Table 4


t Sig (2-tailed)



1431 0155 0242 0093 0577


Processes 1574 0118 0225 0058 0508


marketing plan 2167 0032 039 0034 0746




Branding 0992 0323 018 0179 0539



strategy 1043 0299 02 -0179 0579

1047 0297 02 -0178 0578


-1292 0199 -0264 -0668 014


0093 0926 0018 -0375 0411

0095 0925 0018 -0367 0404


-015 0881 -0033 -0465 0399


promotional events

-0676 05 -0136 -0534 0262

-0671 0504 -0136 -0538 0266


0639 0524 0121 -0255 0497

0627 0532 0121 -0262 0505




137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













137



Table 5




Interval

t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e

Std Error Differenc



expression 1299 135 196 156 120 -082 394 1319 126876 190 156 118 -078 390



Networking 2734 135 007 408 149 113 704 2669 109692 009 408 153 105 712



-363 135 717 -049 135 -317 218 -359 115325 720 -049 137 -320 222


2358 135 020 326 138 052 599 2325 114462 022 326 140 048 603


-721 101471 473 -115 160 -432 202



138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













138


Figure 3


Attributes




139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













139

Table 6


t df Sig (2-tailed)

Mean Difference



-2168 113920 032 -315 145 -602 -027


-2777 135 006 -400 144 -685 -115

-2743 115224 007 -400 146 -689 -111

Commitment to work

-278 135 781 -034 121 -274 206

-274 114235 784 -034 123 -278 210


-1069 135 287 -172 161 -491 146

-1068 120258 288 -172 161 -492 147


2588 135 011 323 125 076 571

2583 119927 011 323 125 076 571


2101 123972 038 268 128 016 521

Time management 2790 135 006 408 146 119 698

2763 116356 007 408 148 116 701






140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













140


Figure 4






141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













141




Marketing Courses



142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













142






143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













143




Limitations




144






145

References











146













144






145

References











146













145

References











146













146











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