Date:13/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/07/13/stories/2006071302251002.htm

Back Levitt's passing

This is with reference to "Managers' marketing myopia" (Business Line, July 10): The passing away of emeritus Professor Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School was under-reported in the business press. Prof Levitt by coining two status quo breaking terms — `marketing myopia' and `globalisation' — made a powerful impact on the way managers think.

One can detect a common thread in these concepts. The underlying theme relates to the `scope of one's business.' It won't be an exaggeration to say that he was instrumental in making managers think about their markets in a broader global market context.

In essence, Prof Levitt is probably the first management thinker to define business and market in an `expansive' mode.

Those who heeded his advice reaped the benefits.

S. Gnanaharan

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