M: Organizational Behavior 2nd Edition by Steven McShane, Mary Von Glinow

Exercise 106

Marketing specialists at Sarasota Beer Co. developed a new advertising campaign for summer sales. The ads were particularly aimed at sports events where Sarasota Beer sold kegs of beer on tap. The marketing group worked for months with a top advertising firm on the campaign. Their effort was successful in terms of significantly higher demand for Sarasota Beer's keg beer at sports stadiums. However, the production department had not been notified of the marketing campaign and was not prepared for the increased demand. The company was forced to buy empty kegs at a premium price. It also had to brew some of the lower-priced keg beer in vats that would have been used for higher-priced specialty beer. The result was that Sarasota Beer sold more of the lower-priced keg beer and less of the higher-priced products that summer. Moreover, the company could not initially fulfill consumer demand for the keg beer, resulting in customer dissatisfaction. Use the open systems perspective to explain what has occurred at Sarasota Beer Co.