In many companies, a product manager— {{U}}(9) {{/U}}--is responsible for planning related to new products as well as to established ones. A large company may have many product managers who report to higher marketing executives.
In many large firms--Procter ＆ Gamble, Pillsbury, and General Foods, to name a few-- the product manager's job is quite broad. {{U}}(10) {{/U}}. Responsibilities may include developing new products along with improving established products. Setting marketing goals, preparing budgets, and developing plans for advertising and field selling activities are some of the product manager's tasks. At the other extreme, some companies limit product managers' activities essentially to the areas of selling and sales promotion. Probably the biggest problem in the product-manager system is that a company will saddle these executives with great responsibility, {{U}}(11) {{/U}}. They must develop the field selling plan, but they have no line authority over the sales force. Product managers do not select advertising agencies, {{U}}(12) {{/U}}. They have a profit responsibility for their brands, yet they are often denied any control over product costs, prices, or advertising budgets, Their effectiveness depends largely on their ability to influence other executives to cooperate with their plans.
Most firms that achieve success in product innovation seem to use one of these four organizational structures for new-product development: product-planning committee, new-product department, venture team, or product-manager system.
Interestingly enough, there are some indications that {{U}}(13) {{/U}}. The product-manager system was widely adopted and thrived during the period of economic growth, and market expansion in the 1950s to 1970s. In the 1980s, however, {{U}}(14) {{/U}}, coupled with a trend toward strategic planning that stressed centralized managerial control. Because of these environmental forces, one study concludes that the product-manager system is being modified in many companies and eventually will be abolished in some firms.
A. the product-manager system may change considerably in the 1990s
B. who reports to marketing director
C. yet they don't have to make advertising plans
D. many industries experienced slow economic growth in maturing markets
E. yet it may not give them the corresponding authority
F. sometimes called a brand manager or a merchandise manager
G. this executive is charged with planning the complete marketing program for a brand of group of products
H. yet they are responsible for developing advertising plans