Theodore Levitt

Theodore Levitt (b. March 1 1925, Vollmerz, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Germany – d. June 28 2006, Belmont, Massachusetts) was an American economist and professor at Harvard Business School. He was also editor of the "Harvard Business Review" and an editor who was especially noted for increasing the Review's circulation and for coining the term globalization. In 1983 he proposed a definition for "corporate purpose:" The purpose he said is to create and keep a customer. His words are an authoritative and insightful statement about the purpose of an enterprise. They go far beyond the hackneyed belief that business exist only to make money. who

Early life

Levitt was born in 1925 in Vollmerz and in 1959, he joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School. Later that year, he became world renowned after publishing "Marketing Myopia" in Harvard Business Review where he asks "What business are you in?", a phrase that purports the significance behind the job one does.cite journal |last=Mullman |first=Jeremy |title=An 'original mind' of marketing dies. | work=Advertising Age | date=July 10, 2006 | volume=77 | accessdate=2006-10-26 | language=English | pages=8 ]

Role in developing the term "globalization"

He is widely credited with coining the term globalization through an article entitled "Globalization of Markets", which appeared in the May-June 1983 issue of Harvard Business Review. However, as a NYTimes article notes, the term 'globalization' was in use well before (at least as early as 1944) and had been used by economists as early as 1981. However, Levitt popularized the term and brought it into the mainstream business audience. Between 1985 and 1989, he headed the Harvard Business Review as an editor.

He is the author of "The Marketing Imagination", a best-selling author whose works have been translated into eleven languages. He is also the author of numerous articles on economic, political, management, and marketing subjects.

Honors and accolades

He is a four-time winner of the McKinsey Awards competitions for best annual article in the Harvard Business Review; winner of Academy of Management Award for the outstanding business books of 1962 for Innovation in Marketing; winner of John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business Journalism in 1969; recipient of the Charles Coolidge Parlin Award as "Marketing Man of the Year," 1970; recipient of the George Gallup Award for Marketing Excellence, 1976; recipient of the 1978 Paul D. Converse Award of the American Marketing Association for major contributions to marketing and recipient of the 1989 William M. McFeely Award of the International Management Council for major contributions to management.

Death

Books and articles

* "Creativity Is Not Enough", "Harvard Business Review", 1963.
*"Thinking about management, 1991, New York : Free Press"
*"Levitt on marketing, 1991, Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press"
*"The marketing imagination , 1986, New York : Free Press (New, expanded ed.)"
*"After The Sale Is Over", "Harvard Business Review", September-October 1983, p. 87-93.
*"The marketing imagination, 1983, New York : The Free Press"
*"The Globalization of Markets", "Harvard Business Review", May-June 1983.
*"Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles", "Harvard Business Review", May-June 1981, p. 94-102.
*" [http://www.dallascap.com/pdfs/MarketingMyopia.pdf Marketing Myopia] ", "Harvard Business Review", 1960.
*"Marketing for business growth, 1974, New York : McGraw-Hill, First ed. published in 1969 under the title: The marketing mode."

ee also

*Globalization
*Harvard Business Review

References

Additional

* [http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jun2006/bs20060629_5211_bs001.htm Theodore Levitt Dead at 81 JUNE 29, 2006 Businessweek online]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/business/06levitt.html?ex=1309838400&en=959815b0e89ed1c2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Theodore Levitt, 81, Who Coined the Term 'Globalization', Is Dead New York Times July 6, 2006]
* [http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=%22Globalisation%27+inventor+dies+at+81%0D&id=89886 'Globalisation' inventor dies at 81, Friday 7 July 2006, NDTV.com]