About the Department

What is Marketing?
What is International Business?

What Is Marketing?

A marketing major "includes study of the demographic, social, economic, technological, environmental and cultural factors influencing the demands for consumer and industrial goods and services, so that appropriate polices and procedures may be undertaken to meet these demands. Contemporary marketing managers must understand not only the traditional areas of marketing channels, sales management, advertising and research, but must also be familiar with consumer and dealer motivation. The process requires an understanding of both buyer and seller behavior within the context of the overall marketing environment." (MyMajors.com)

As stated in Chapter 1 of Evans and Berman's Marketing, Marketing in the 21st Century:
Marketing is a fast-paced, contemporary, seldom-boring business discipline. We engage in marketing activities or are affected by them on a daily basis, both in our business-related roles and as consumers. Okay, but what exactly does "marketing" mean? Well, it is not just advertising or selling goods and services, although these are aspects of marketing. And it is not just what we do as supermarket shoppers every week, although this, too, is part of marketing.

"Marketing" is involved with anticipating, managing, and satisfying demand. As such, marketing encompasses all facets of buyer/seller relationships. Goods and service providers ("sellers") make marketing-related decisions like choosing who customers are, what goods and services to offer, where to sell these goods and services, the features to stress in ads, and the prices to charge. They also determine how to be ethical and socially responsible, and whether to sell products globally in addition to domestically. Marketing-related activities are not limited to large corporations or people called "marketers." They are taken on by all types of companies and people.

As consumers ("buyers"), the marketing practices of goods and service providers impact many of our choices, as well as those made by our parents, spouses, other family members, and friends and associates. For virtually every good and service we purchase, the marketing process affects whom we patronize, the assortment of models and styles offered in the marketplace, where we shop, the availability of knowledgeable sales personnel, the prices we pay, and other factors. Marketing practices are in play when we are born (which doctor our parents select, the style of furniture they buy), while we grow (our parents' purchase of a domestic or foreign car or sports utility vehicle, our choice of a college), while we conduct our everyday lives (the use of a particular brand of toothpaste, the purchase of status-related items), and when we retire (our consideration of travel options, a change in living accommodations).

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What Is International Business?

The international business major "is designed for those who wish to prepare themselves to mange in businesses that cross national boundaries and to function in the global business environment. Students may choose to specialize in a particular region - Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Americas, or Africa. Skills acquired in the major may be used in providing management and professional expertise to businesses, the government, and various not-for-profit organizations" (MyMajors.com).
As stated in Chapter 1 of Griffin and Pustay's International Business:
International business consists of business transactions between parties from more than one country. Examples include buying materials in one country and shipping them to another for processing or assembly, shipping finished products from one country to another for retail sale, building a plant in a foreign country to capitalize on lower labor costs, or borrowing money from a bank in one country to finance operations in another. The parties involved in such transactions may include private individuals, individual companies, groups of companies, and/or governmental agencies.

International business can differ from domestic business for a number of other reasons, including the following:

• The countries involved may use different currencies, forcing at least one party to convert its currency into another.
• The legal systems of the countries may differ, forcing one or more parties to adjust their practices to comply with local law. Occasionally, the mandates of the legal systems may be incompatible, creating major headaches for international managers.
• The cultures of the countries may differ, forcing each party to adjust its behavior to meet the expectations of the other.
• The availability of resources differs by country. One country may be rich in natural resources but poor in skilled labor, while another may enjoy a productive, well-trained workforce but lack natural resources. Thus, the way products are produced and the types of products that are produced vary among countries.