| For decades, business leaders have openly inferred higher education fails to prepare graduates to perform job duties successfully. An unprepared workforce makes it difficult for businesses to compete and produce a profit. The discipline of marketing experiences the most rapid changes due to technology advances and marketplace needs. Marketers play a critical role in the financial success of a business. A descriptive, comparative study was used to determine the efficacy of college marketing program curriculum and tested the assertions from industry leaders concerned about skills gaps related to the field of marketing. Multiple university marketing programs throughout the Midwest United States were investigated to determine what the required courses included. Additional reports from LinkedIn job recruitment sites offered current marketing employment skill requirements and employer preferences. Survey recruitment encompassed a random sampling of academic business dean's, marketing instructors from two-year, and four-year universities across the Midwest United States. Business participants comprised of small to large Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, business alliances and chambers of commerce within the Midwest United States. Groups completed survey questions self-ranking marketing courses for job relevancy and rated communication attributes judged essential to succeed as a marketing practitioner. Participants agreed digital marketing and social media ranked as the most relevant courses to master for job success. There existed significant differences for the remaining ranked courses between educators and practitioners. Practitioners placed greater emphasis on analytical skill attainments such as accounting, micro, and macroeconomics over educators. Principles and practices of selling, public relations, and strategic marketing courses topped requirements marketers desired for proficient job performance. Academics ranked business ethics, international marketing, new product development, and supply chain logistics, as critical courses graduates should master. Groups revealed verbal and written communication were the top two communication attributes determined necessary to perform job duties effectively. Educators perceived attire illustrated a practical element towards job success whereby practitioners placed less emphasis on appearance. The findings of this study contribute tactical knowledge towards the discipline of marketing, for it promoted curriculum relevance within university programs designed to supply a pipeline of workforce talent. This investigation uncovered several established collaborations between academia and business as of 2017. The study recommends consistent, standardized industry and academic partnerships nationwide as accreditation criteria from the Higher Learning Commission, which may also serve as a supplemental foundation for workforce talent development. |
