“Marketing is about the interplay between the company and its customers within the context of competition,” according to Richard Tedlow (Harvard Business School). Marketing is the management function most representative of society at the outset of the 21st century.

he New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought (1999: 504) describes marketing in flamboyant terms: “Now widely held to be the most important of industrial and commercial disciplines.” It is a core activity of all types of organization—and fundamental to success—yet it remains misunderstood.

MN206,1 as suggestive of the course title, seeks to introduce the core concepts associated with contemporary marketing management. In the main, a capitalist-friendly (think pink!) position is adopted. Incidences of whimsy will arise, however, there is nothing outré about the course. A fulsome effort is exerted so that you are encouraged to engage in a critical assessment of marketing thought and the application of marketing in the marketplace.