To the Student:<br >Welcome to Marketing Skills MKTG 3154. This is a unique course in the development<br >of concepts and skills that will assist you with preparation for 4000 level courses in<br >Marketing Management and beyond.<br >I have designed this course with you， the undergraduate， in mind. As you begin your<br >course work in the marketing field， certain procedures for analyzing and solving<br >problems must be explored and understood for they are the fundamentals from which the<br >ability to make sound business decisions will evolve. Additionally， from my professional<br >experience， I recognize several vacancies in the traditional University program that 1<br >would like to eliminate.<br >Until now the majority of your education has involved individual work. However， in the<br >professional environment， most decisions are made with input from a variety of people<br >and sources. Often it is the diversity of individual points of view and research resources<br >that make the difference between good and bad business decisions. In the next few<br >sections of this book， you wilt learn methods for developing functional teams that<br >complement each other， how to negotiate effectively， and how to handle leadership and<br >followership roles within teams. These skills will be important in your advanced course<br >work due to the amount of teamwork required in the 4000 level courses.<br >