n open system view can be used to analyze the situation at Napanee Beer Co$.$ An open system is a system that interacts with its environment and receives inputs from it$.$ The environment in this case includes the marketing specialists, production department, customers, and suppliers.

Input: The marketing specialists at Napanee Beer Co$.$ developed a new advertising campaign for summer sales, which was aimed at sports events where Napanee Beer sold kegs of beer on tap.

Throughput: The marketing campaign was successful in terms of significantly higher demand for Napanee Beer's keg beer at sports stadiums.

Output: 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 and brew some of the lower$-$priced keg beer in vats that would have been used for higher$-$priced specialty beer.

Feedback: The result was that Napanee Beer sold more of the lower$-$priced keg beer and less of the higher$-$priced products that summer. Moreover, the company could not initially fill consumer demand for the keg beer, resulting in customer dissatisfaction.

The open system view highlights the importance of communication and coordination between different departments within an organization. In this case, the lack of communication between the marketing and production departments led to increased costs, decreased sales of higher$-$priced products, and customer dissatisfaction.

Problem $2$:

The MARS model of individual behavior can be used to diagnose the possible reasons why salespeople may be engaging in "lateness" behavior. The MARS model stands for Motivation, Ability, Role Perception, and Situational Factors.

Motivation: The salespeople may not be motivated to arrive at the office on time. This could be due to a lack of incentives or consequences for arriving late.

Ability: The salespeople may not have the ability to arrive at the office on time. This could be due to personal circumstances, such as transportation issues or family responsibilities.

Role Perception: The salespeople may not perceive arriving at the office on time as part of their role. They may view their role as primarily focused on visiting clients, rather than being present in the office.

Situational Factors: The salespeople may be influenced by situational factors, such as traffic or weather conditions, that make it difficult to arrive at the office on time.

The MARS model highlights the importance of understanding the individual factors that may be contributing to a behavior. In this case, the vice president of sales should consider the motivations, abilities, role perceptions, and situational factors that may be influencing the salespeople's behavior.

Statement:

I agree that hiring and keeping talented employees is an important task for managers. However, I would argue that it is not the most important task. Managers have many responsibilities, including setting strategic goals, allocating resources, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Hiring and keeping talented employees is one aspect of these responsibilities, but it is not the only one.

Furthermore, the importance of hiring and keeping talented employees may vary depending on the context. In some cases, the success of an organization may depend more on factors such as market conditions, technology, or competition. In these cases, hiring and keeping talented employees may be less important than other tasks.

In summary, while hiring and keeping talented employees is an important task for managers, it is not the most important task. Managers have many responsibilities, and the importance of each responsibility may vary depending on the context.