The Reason is that marketing is so interrelated with other functional areas of the business that on one say clearly and unequivocally that one man is responsible for it all. For this very reason some management authorities say that the real marketing manager of any business is the chief executive. The marketing manager cannot be given full authority to aestablish the product line or even to say that the quantities needed to meet sales estimates will be produced. This is because such decisions involved production costs and may involve capital investment in new equipment and facilities -one, the clear responsibility of the production manager, the other, a responsibility of top management.

Rarely can a marketing manager be given full authority over pricing. Pricing is in reality a top-management function, although it is entirely feasible for a marketing manager to administer a pricing programme within parameter established by the chief executive. Management theory holds that a man must be given the authority to carry out the duties and responsibilities assigned to him. The fact is that in marketing management clear-cut authority cannot always be granted for each responsibility, and some must be shared. One thing Victor P. Buell have learned in his years of management experience: Authority is carried by the man as well as by position. This isn`t supposed to happen under good management theory, but it does. No amount of the spelling out of authority seems to change the fact.

The situation is illustrated in one highly succesful company where the marketing vice-president carried tremendous authority. This man had grown up in the company, was close to the president, and was senior in years and status to the other executives. He got whatever he wanted, as no one was willing to meet him in a showdown. When this man retired, the man who succeeded him carried much less authority although the position hi filled was the same. The replacement was younger than many other executives and did not hold senior status of his predecessor. The new marketing executive had to rely more on winning cooperation from other functional executives.

But there is no reason to avoid spelling out authoriy in a position description or to rely on statements of principle such as “The marketing manager hold authority commensurate with his responsibility”.