On Being a Marketing Academician: Some Personal Observations

1
On Being a Marketing Academician Some Personal
Observations

• Rajan Varadarajan
• Department of Marketing
• Mays Business School
• Texas AM University
• 4112 TAMU
• College Station, TX 77843-4112
• Varadarajan_at_tamu.edu Voice 979 845 5809. Fax
  979 862 2811
• PhD Project 2006 Marketing Doctoral Students
  Association
• Conference (Chicago. August 4, 2006)

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Being an Academician Multiple Roles and Role
Reversals

• Student Professor Professor Student
• Author Reviewer Reviewer Author
• Editor Author Author Editor
• Editor Reviewer Reviewer Editor
• Organizer Participant Participant Organizer
• Presenter Attendee Attendee Presenter
• PT Reviewer Candidate Candidate PT
  Reviewer
• -- --

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The Golden Rule

• Google Search 45, 300,000 links on July 26, 2006

4
The Golden Rule

• Treat others as you want to be treated.
• The golden rule is best interpreted as saying
  "Treat others only in ways that you're willing to
  be treated in the same exact situation.
• To apply it, you'd imagine yourself in the exact
  place of the other person on the receiving end of
  the action. If you act in a given way toward
  another, and yet are unwilling to be treated that
  way in the same circumstances, then you violate
  the rule.
• http//www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/goldrule.htm

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The Golden Rule

• Treat others as you want to be treated.
• To apply the golden rule adequately, we need
  knowledge and imagination. We need to know what
  effect our actions have on the lives of others.
  And we need to be able to imagine ourselves,
  vividly and accurately, in the other person's
  place on the receiving end of the action. With
  knowledge, imagination, and the golden rule, we
  can progress far in our moral thinking.
• The golden rule is best seen as a consistency
  principle.
• http//www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/goldrule.htm

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The Golden Rule in a World of Role Reversals

• As a marketing professor, treat your students the
  way you wish to be treated if you were to be the
  student.
• As a journal manuscript reviewer, treat
  manuscript authors the way you wish to be treated
  by reviewers whenever you are the author.
• As a journal editor, treat authors (reviewers)
  the way you wish to be treated whenever you are
  the author (reviewer) of a manuscript.
• As a co-author on a research study (manuscript),
  treat your co-author the way you wish him/her to
  treat you.

7
The Golden Rule in a World of Role Reversals

• As a department head (dean), treat your
  colleagues the way you wish to be treated if one
  of your colleagues were to be department head
  (dean) instead.

8
The Service Dimension of an Academicians Career

• Professional Service Pathways
• Leadership Role in Organizing Conference (e.g.,
  PhD Project MDSA Conference)
• Reviewer (manuscripts for journals and
  conferences, research proposals, submissions to
  doctoral dissertation competition and doctoral
  dissertation proposal competition )
• Editor / Associate Editor of a Journal
• Guest Editor of a Special Issue of a Journal
• Organizer of Special Sessions at a Conference
• Leadership Role in Organizing Doctoral / Faculty
  Consortium
• Office Bearer in a Professional Association
• External Reviewer (Promotion and Tenure
  Decisions)
• Member of a Task Force (e.g., a task force
  constituted by a professional association to
  draft a code of ethics for the members of the
  association)

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The Service Dimension of an Academicians Career

• Service to the Institution
• Member / Chair of a Departmental Committee (e.g.,
  Faculty Recruiting Committee)
• Member / Chair of a College Level Committee
  (e.g., Promotion and Tenure Committee)
• Member / Chair of a University Level Committee
  (e.g., Committee constituted to investigate
  allegation of plagiarism by a faculty member)

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Mindset Not Conducive to Making Service
Contributions

• P1, P2, P3, P4 f (P5, P6, P7, P8)
• Where
• P1 Academic position at a top-tier academic
  institution
• P2 Permanence of position (tenure)
• P3 Promotion to higher ranks
• P4 Annual merit pay raises
• P5 Number of publications in top-tier journals
• P6 Number of publications in second-tier
  journals
• P7 Number of presentations at major national
  conferences
• P8 Number of presentations at other forums

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On Research and Publishing

• Topics and Research Questions Deemed as Worthy
• of Scholarly Inquiry
• A good starting point would be to review the
  Marketing Science Institutes (MSI) Research
  Priorities -- the most recent as well as the past
  research priority statements dating back to 1984
  (www.msi.org)
• MSI Research Priorities is a valuable archive of
  broad research topics and specific research
  questions that reflects the collective consensus
  of distinguished marketing scholars and senior
  marketing practitioners.

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Research and Publishing Demystified

• Pluralism in Research and Teaching Passions
• Considerable diversity will always exist in
  topics that each of
• us are passionate about in the context of
  research and teaching.
• That is, topics that we view as
• Intellectually challenging
• Interesting
• Intriguing
• Invigorating
• Your Niche Topics in the discipline of 4Ps that
  meet the test
• of 4Is.

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Research and Publishing Demystified

• CQ PQ gtgt IQ
• Net Effect of / Performance Consequences of
• Curiosity Quotient Passion Quotient
• gtgt
• Intelligence Quotient
• Tom Friedman, New York Times Columnist

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Dr. Louann Brizendines Passion 1

• And nothing, she found, was more complex than
  the mind especially the female variety. Her
  professors, though, didnt share her passion.
  Throughout her medical-school years at Yale, she
  says, no one ever mentioned women and hormones in
  the same breath. When I asked about it, she
  says, the professors said women werent included
  in mental-health studies because their hormones
  would mess up the results.
• Source Tyre, Peg and Julie Scelfo (2006), Why
  Girls Will Be Girls, Newsweek, July 31, 46-47.
• 1 A renowned neuropsychiatrist and author of
  book titled, The Female Brain (2006).

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Reach Out and Work with Doctoral Students

• If you have an opportunity, reach out and work
  closely with doctoral students.
• When working with doctoral students, be
• R Receptive to doctoral students ideas and
  suggestions
• A Available
• J
• A Approachable
• N
• V
• A Accessible
• R
• A Affable (easy to talk to courteous
  pleasant)
• D
• A Amiable (friendly)
• R
• A Amenable (receptive to doctoral students
  suggestions)
• J
• A Accommodative and understanding of doctoral
  students commissions and omissions
• N

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Working with Doctoral Students The Authority of
Ideas

• But what is most special about the American
  research
• university is that it is a place where authority
  of ideas, rather
• than the idea of authority, reigns supreme. At
  Harvard, we
• consider it an extremely important accomplishment
  when a
• 25-year-old graduate student who has been here a
  mere 18
• months makes a discovery that disproves the pet
  theory of a
• 55-year-old professor who has been here 30 years.
  Indeed, the
• professor whose theory has been disproved might
  be the first
• to congratulate that graduate student.
• Source Lawrence H. Summers, President of Harvard
• University. In Harvard Business Review, August
  2003, p. 144.
• (Italics mine. Not in original source)

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Research and Publishing Demystified

• Publishing ones scholarly research in leading
  refereed journals is a long and arduous journey,
  but well worth it. The journey, for most of us,
  over an academic career spanning between 25 plus
  years would encompass a mix of
• R Rejects
• A Accepts
• J Journal Editorial Review Board Appointments
• A Accepts
• N N gt 1 Iterations of Revision Resubmission

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Research and Publishing Demystified

• Being Successful in Publishing Entails Paying
  Careful Attention to Matters of
• R Relevance of Research
• A
• J
• A
• N
• V
• A
• R Rigor of Research
• A
• D
• A
• R Readability of Manuscripts Intended to
  Disseminate Ones Research
• A
• J
• A
• N

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Rejects Notwithstanding, Research and Publishing
Has Payoffs

• V Visibility in the Field
• A Accept
• R Reject
• A Accept
• D Desk Reject
• A Accept
• R Review Board Appointment
• A Accept
• J Journal Editorship Appointment
• A Accept
• N N gt 1 Iterations of Revisions and Resubmissions

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• My Track Record Under Different JM Editors
• Editor Rejected My Submissions Accepted My
  Submissions
• Jerry Wind (78-81) Yes No
• Bill Cunningham (81-84) Yes Yes (1/2)
• Shelby Hunt (84-87) Yes Yes
• Roger Kerin (87-90) Yes Yes
• Tom Kinnear (90-93) Yes Yes
• Rajan Varadarajan (93-96) N/A N/A
• Bob Lusch (96-99) Yes Yes
• Dave Stewart (99-02) Yes Yes

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Striving for P gt .10 at Journals With Acceptance
Rates Lower than 10

• Dont give up when faced with manuscript
  rejections, and invitations to revise and
  resubmit that initially appear to be a daunting
  and impossible task.
• Reviewers comments viewed in positive light can
  be an extremely valuable instructive tool that is
  conducive to becoming a better researcher over
  the long-term.
• One can learn a lot about the nuances of
  scholarly research by carefully and critically
  reading the reviewers comments regardless of
  whether the outcome on a particular submission is
  reject, revise and resubmit, or accept.

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Striving for P gt .10 at Journals With Acceptance
Rates Lower than 10

• Some reviews are bound to be superficial and
  uninformed. However, most editors soon learn
  about the competence and conscientiousness of
  individual reviewers. They may often overwork
  conscientious reviewers who provide objective,
  constructive, comprehensive and timely reviews.
  But they also will take the time to write the
  most glowing letters when asked to in contexts
  such as promotion and tenure, awards, etc.
  Reciprocity is a two-way street.
• Train your mind to view the reviewer as your
  teacher and anonymous co-author, rather than as
  an adversary.

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On Research and Publishing

• Purpose of Scholarly Research Knowledge
  Creation
• Publishing in Scholarly Journals A Mechanism
  for Knowledge Dissemination
• Focus therefore on the more fundamental issue
  Hallmarks of good scholarly research

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On Teaching and Research

• The Twin Missions of Universities
• Knowledge Generation (Scholarly Research) AND
• Knowledge Dissemination (Teaching, Publishing,
  Presenting, ...)
• When done well, research and teaching are two
  sides of the same coin ... That is why our
  faculty members frequently draw from their latest
  research in classroom ... The two stories that
  follow highlight some ways that these endeavors
  -- the development and dissemination of knowledge
  -- join to create an educational experience that
  engages students and exposes them to live
  research issues that they will be able to put to
  use in the workplace (Johnson Graduate School of
  Management MBA Program Brochure, 1997).
• Mindset
• This semesters research notes, next semesters
  teaching notes.
• This semesters teaching (particularly in MBA,
  EMBA and Exec. Ed. programs), a potential source
  of ideas for next semesters research initiatives.

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On Teaching

• I need to get better at it.

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Cherish Your Academic Freedom

• It is not a subset of the general freedom of
  Americans to say anything they like (so long as
  it is not an incitement to violence or is
  treasonous or libelous). Rather, academic freedom
  is the freedom of academics to study anything
  they like the freedom, that is, to subject any
  body of material, however unpromising it might
  seem, to academic interrogation and analysis.
• Academic freedom means that if I think that
  there may be an intellectual payoff to be had by
  turning an academic lens on material others
  consider trivial golf tees, gourmet coffee,
  lingerie ads, convenience stores, street names,
  whatever I should get a chance to try. If I
  manage to demonstrate to my peers and students
  that studying this material yields insights into
  matters of general intellectual interest, there
  is a new topic under the academic sun and a new
  subject for classroom discussion.
• In short, whether something is an appropriate
  object of academic study is a matter not of its
  content but of its availability to serious
  analysis. (Fish, Stanley, Conspiracy Theories
  101, New York Times, July 23, 2006)

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Cherish Your Academic Freedom

• Louann Brizendine, author of The Female Brain
  (2006)
• describes her book as a kind of owners manual
  for women.
• She states
• I know that it is not politically correct to
  say this. But I believe that women actually
  perceive the world differently than men. If women
  attend to those differences, they can make better
  decisions about how to manage their lives
  (p.46).
• Her conclusions will seem like common sense to
  some and nothing short of heresy to others. She
  not only discusses the biological reasons girls
  gravitate to dolls instead of trucks and hormonal
  imperatives at play when a teenage female becomes
  obsessed with text messaging and shopping
  (p.46).
• Source Tyre, Peg and Julie Scelfo (2006), Why
  Girls Will Be Girls, Newsweek, July 31, 46-47.

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Academic Freedom and Accountability

• The university ought to be viewed in terms of a
  fundamental interdependence between the
  liberality of its intellectual life and the
  conservatism of its methodological demands. We
  permit almost any idea to be put forward -- but
  only because we demand arguments and evidence to
  back up the ideas we debate and because we set
  the bar of proof at such a high level.
• These two components, tolerance for unsettling
  ideas and insistence on rigorous skepticism about
  all ideas -- create an essential tension at the
  heart of the American research university. It
  will not thrive without both components operating
  effectively and simultaneously (Cole, J. R.,
  Academic Freedom Under Fire, Daedalus, Spring
  2005, p.13).
• Daedalus Skillful, ingenious.

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General Colin Powell Chairman (Ret), Joint Chiefs
of Staff A Leadership Primer
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Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than
the science of management says is possible.
31
LESSON 1
"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people
off."
Good leadership involves responsibility to the
welfare of the group, which means that some
people will get angry at your actions and
decisions. It's inevitable, if you're honorable.
Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of
mediocrity you'll avoid the tough decisions,
you'll avoid confronting the people who need to
be confronted, and you'll avoid offering
differential rewards based on differential
performance because some people might get upset.
Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult
choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by
treating everyone equally "nicely" regardless of
their contributions, you'll simply ensure that
the only people you'll wind up angering are the
most creative and productive people in the
organization.
32
LESSON 2
"The day soldiers stop bringing you their
problems is the day you have stopped leading
them. They have either lost confidence that you
can help them or concluded that you do not care.
Either case is a failure of leadership."
If this were a litmus test, the majority of CEOs
would fail. One, they build so many barriers to
upward communication that the very idea of
someone lower in the hierarchy looking up to the
leader for help is ludicrous. Two, the corporate
culture they foster often defines asking for help
as weakness or failure, so people cover up their
gaps, and the organization suffers
accordingly. Real leaders make themselves
accessible and available. They show concern for
the efforts and challenges faced by underlings,
even as they demand high standards. Accordingly,
they are more likely to create an environment
where problem analysis replaces blame.
33
LESSON 6
"You don't know what you can get away with until
you try."
You know the expression, "it's easier to get
forgiveness than permission." Well, it's true.
Good leaders don't wait for official blessing to
try things out. They're prudent, not reckless.
But they also realize a fact of life in most
organizations if you ask enough people for
permission, you'll inevitably come up
against someone who believes his job is to say
"no." So the moral is, don't ask.
Less effective middle managers endorsed the
sentiment, "If I haven't explicitly been told
'yes,' I can't do it," whereas the good ones
believed, "If I haven't explicitly been told
'no,' I can." There's a world of difference
between these two points of view.
34
LESSON 10
"Never let your ego get so close to your position
that when your position goes, your ego goes with
it."
Too often, change is stifled by people who cling
to familiar turfs and job descriptions. One
reason that even large organizations wither is
that managers won't challenge old, comfortable
ways of doing things. But real leaders
understand that, nowadays, every one of our jobs
is becoming obsolete. The proper response is to
obsolete our activities before someone else does.
Effective leaders create a climate where
peoples worth is determined by their
willingness to learn new skills and grab
new responsibilities, thus perpetually
reinventing their jobs. The most important
question in performance evaluation becomes not,
"How well did you perform your job since the last
time we met?" but, "How much did you change it?"
35
LESSON 17
"Have fun in your command. Don't always run at a
breakneck pace. Take leave when you've earned
it Spend time with your families. Corollary
Surround yourself with people who take their work
seriously, but not themselves, those who
work hard and play hard."
Herb Kelleher of Southwest Air and Anita Roddick
of The Body Shop would agree Seek people who
have some balance in their lives, who are fun to
hang out with, who like to laugh (at themselves,
too) and who have some non-job priorities which
they approach with the same passion that they do
their work. Spare me the grim workaholic or the
pompous pretentious "professional I'll help
them find jobs with my competitor.
36
LESSON 12
"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."
The ripple effect of a leader's enthusiasm and
optimism is awesome. So is the impact of
cynicism and pessimism. Leaders who whine and
blame engender those same behaviors among their
colleagues. I am not talking about
stoically accepting organizational stupidity and
performance incompetence with a "what, me worry?"
smile. I am talking about a gung-ho attitude
that says "we can change things here, we can
achieve awesome goals, we can be the best."
Spare me the grim litany of the "realist," give
me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist
any day.
37
LESSON 9
"Organization charts and fancy titles count for
next to nothing."
Organization charts are frozen, anachronistic
photos in a work place that ought to be as
dynamic as the external environment around you.
If people really followed organization charts,
companies would collapse. In well-run organizatio
ns, titles are also pretty meaningless. At best,
they advertise some authority, an official status
conferring the ability to give orders and induce
obedience. But titles mean little in terms of
real power, which is the capacity to influence
and inspire. Have you ever noticed that people
will personally commit to certain individuals who
on paper (or on the organization chart) possess
little authority, but instead possess pizzazz,
drive, expertise, and genuine caring for
teammates and products? On the flip side,
non-leaders in management may be formally
anointed with all the perks and frills associated
with high positions, but they have little
influence on others, apart from their ability to
extract minimal compliance to minimal standards.
38
LESSON 3
"Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites.
Experts often possess more data than judgment.
Elites can become so inbred that they produce
hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they
are nicked by the real world."
Small companies and start-ups don't have the time
for analytically detached experts. They don't
have the money to subsidize lofty elites, either.
The president answers the phone and drives the
truck when necessary everyone on the payroll
visibly produces and contributes to bottom-line
results or they're history. But as companies get
bigger, they often forget who "brought them
to the dance" things like all-hands involvement,
egalitarianism, informality, market intimacy,
daring, risk, speed, agility. Policies that
emanate from ivory towers often have an adverse
impact on the people out in the field who are
fighting the wars or bringing in the revenues.
Real leaders are vigilant, and combative, in the
face of these trends.
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LESSON 4
"Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in
their own backyard."
Learn from the pros, observe them, seek them out
as mentors and partners. But remember that even
the pros may have leveled out in terms of
their learning and skills. Sometimes even the
pros can become complacent and lazy. Leadership
does not emerge from blind obedience to anyone.
Xerox's Barry Rand was right on target when he
warned his people that if you have a yes-man
working for you, one of you is redundant. Good
leadership encourages everyone's evolution.
40
LESSON 5
"Never neglect details. When everyone's mind is
dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly
vigilant."
Strategy equals execution. All the great ideas
and visions in the world are worthless if they
can't be implemented rapidly and efficiently.
Good leaders delegate and empower others
liberally, but they pay attention to details,
every day. (Think about supreme athletic coaches
like Jimmy Johnson, Pat Riley and Tony La Russa).
Bad ones, even those who fancy themselves as
progressive "visionaries," think they're somehow
"above" operational details. Paradoxically, good
leaders understand something else an obsessive
routine in carrying out the details begets
conformity and complacency, which in turn dulls
everyone's mind. That is why even as they pay
attention to details, they continually encourage
people to challenge the process. They
implicitly understand the sentiment of CEO
leaders like Quad Graphic's Harry Quadracchi,
Oticon's Lars Kolind and the late Bill McGowan of
MCI, who all independently asserted that the Job
of a leader is not to be the chief organizer, but
the chief dis-organizer.
41
LESSON 7
"Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't
shrink from doing so (just) because you might not
like what you find."
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the slogan
of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared.
It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms.
It's a mind-set that assumes (or hopes) that
today's realities will continue tomorrow in a
tidy, linear and predictable fashion. Pure
fantasy. In this sort of culture, you won't
find people who pro-actively take steps to solve
problems as they emerge. Here's a little tip
don't invest in these companies.
42
LESSON 8
"Organization doesn't really accomplish anything.
Plans don't accomplish anything, either. Theories
of management don't much matter. Endeavors
succeed or fail because of the people involved.
Only by attracting the best people will you
accomplish great deeds."
In a brain-based economy, your best assets are
people. We've heard this expression so often
that it's become trite. But how many leaders
really "walk the talk" with this stuff? Too
often, people are assumed to be empty
chess pieces to be moved around by grand viziers,
which may explain why so many top managers
immerse their calendar time in deal making,
restructuring and the latest management fad. How
many immerse themselves in the goal of creating
an environment where the best, the brightest, the
most creative are attracted, retained and, most
importantly, unleashed?
43
LESSON 11
"Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest
management fads. The situation dictates which
approach best accomplishes the team's mission."
Flitting from fad to fad creates team confusion,
reduces the leader's credibility, and drains
organizational coffers. Blindly following a
particular fad generates rigidity in thought and
action. Sometimes speed to market is more
important than total quality. Sometimes an
unapologetic directive is more appropriate than
participatory discussion. Some situations
require the leader to hover closely others
require long, loose leashes. Leaders honor their
core values, but they are flexible in how they
execute them. They understand that management
techniques are not magic mantras but simply tools
to be reached for at the right times.
44
LESSON 13
"Powell's Rules for Picking People Look for
intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a
capacity to anticipate, to see around corners.
Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy
drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get
things done.
How often do our recruitment and hiring processes
tap into these attributes? More often than not,
we ignore them in favor of length of resume,
degrees and prior titles. A string of job
descriptions a recruit held yesterday seem to
be more important than who one is today, what
they can contribute tomorrow, or how well their
values mesh with those of the organization. You
can train a bright, willing novice in the
fundamentals of your business fairly readily,
but it's a lot harder to train someone to have
integrity, judgment, energy, balance, and the
drive to get things done. Good leaders stack the
deck in their favor right in the recruitment
phase.
45
LESSON 14
"Great leaders are almost always great
simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate
and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can
understand."
Effective leaders understand the KISS principle,
Keep It Simple, Stupid. They articulate vivid,
over-arching goals and values, which they use to
drive daily behaviors and choices among competing
alternatives. Their visions and priorities are
lean and compelling, not cluttered and
buzzword-laden. Their decisions are crisp and
clear, not tentative and ambiguous. They convey
an unwavering firmness and consistency in their
actions, aligned with the picture of the future
they paint. The result clarity of purpose,
credibility of leadership, and integrity in
organization.
46
LESSON 15
Part I "Use the formula P40 to 70, in which P
stands for the probability of success and the
numbers indicate the percentage of information
acquired. Part II "Once the information is in
the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut."
Don't take action if you have only enough
information to give you less than a 40 percent
chance of being right, but don't wait until you
have enough facts to be 100 percent sure, because
by then it is almost always too late.
Today, excessive delays in the name of
information-gathering breeds "analysis paralysis."
Procrastination in the name of reducing risk
actually increases risk.
47
LESSON 16
"The commander in the field is always right and
the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved
otherwise."
Too often, the reverse defines corporate culture.
This is one of the main reasons why leaders like
Ken Iverson of Nucor Steel, Percy Barnevik of
Asea Brown Boveri, and Richard Branson of Virgin
have kept their corporate staffs to a bare-bones
minimum - how about fewer than 100 central
corporate staffers for global 30 billion-plus
ABB? Or around 25 and 3 for multi-billion Nucor
and Virgin, respectively? Shift the power and
the financial accountability to the folks who are
bringing in the beans, not the ones who are
counting or analyzing them.
48
LESSON 18
"Command is lonely."
Harry Truman was right. Whether you're a CEO or
the temporary head of a project team, the buck
stops here. You can encourage participative manag
ement and bottom-up employee involvement, but
ultimately the essence of leadership is the
willingness to make the tough, unambiguous choices
that will have an impact on the fate of the
organization. I've seen too many non-leaders
flinch from this responsibility. Even as you
create an informal, open, collaborative corporate
culture, prepare to be lonely.
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