ABSTRACT
There is a degree of inherent ambiguity in this title, for it marks an important threshold between economics and management. Economists tend to be preoccupied with demand as it actually exists and the conditions which have given rise to its manifestation. Managers are also interested in this but must go beyond the point where economists begin to lose confidence, namely, forecasting and acting upon future demand. Patterns and levels of demand which are ostensibly hidden must be made manifest by the decisions which the manager chooses to implement. Managers do not simply react to the wisdom of hindsight, they are proactive; they must create success. Economists may speculate about future demand while enterprising managers must make it happen. In doing so, managers cannot rely on intuition and luck; as a famous golfer once said when told he was a ‘lucky’ player ‘it’s funny, the more I practise the luckier I seem to get’. Managers need a proper awareness of their own vulnerability and must appreciate the extent to which they are master or mistress of their own destiny.
