Management and Wolfgang Keller
Questions for Wolfgang Keller Case
1) Who is Wolfgang Keller? What are his key strengths and weaknesses?
Wolfgang Keller is the Managing Director of Konigsbrau-TAK, which is the Ukranian subsidiary of a major premium beer brewer. Keller has previous experience in financially turning around a German food product manufacturer’s two subsidiaries (relatively smaller in scale than his current organization). Keller’s foremost strength is his ability to turn around an apparently difficult (for example, the economic turn-around of various subsidiaries) and at times apparent impossible situations (for instance, resolution of a distributor’s lawsuit, collection of payment from a near-bankrupt distributor, etc.). He has been successful in managing an organization in a foreign country for which he has made efforts to learn the language and understand the business culture. He has a hands-on management style and likes to be actively involved in the operational aspects of the business. He has the ability to build personal and, if needed, informal relationships with his staff and customers alike which has been instrumental in the better performance of his company.
As Dr Haussler has indicated, many of Keller’s weaknesses are “the other side” of his strengths. For example, his attempts at being hands-on can be perceived as over-interference by his sub-ordinates. Also, by trying to manage situations by himself he makes himself open to criticism over his team-working and proper delegation abilities. Keller himself recognizes that he can be impatient and may not give enough time for his ideas to settle in the minds of others. Another of his weaknesses, again as highlighted by his manager, seems to be his less than cordial relationship with corporate staff and infrequency of reporting to the corporate headquarters and his line manager. This is also something that may be construed as a problem with Keller’s working practices as a part of team.
2)
1) Who is Wolfgang Keller? What are his key strengths and weaknesses?
Wolfgang Keller is the Managing Director of Konigsbrau-TAK, which is the Ukranian subsidiary of a major premium beer brewer. Keller has previous experience in financially turning around a German food product manufacturer’s two subsidiaries (relatively smaller in scale than his current organization). Keller’s foremost strength is his ability to turn around an apparently difficult (for example, the economic turn-around of various subsidiaries) and at times apparent impossible situations (for instance, resolution of a distributor’s lawsuit, collection of payment from a near-bankrupt distributor, etc.). He has been successful in managing an organization in a foreign country for which he has made efforts to learn the language and understand the business culture. He has a hands-on management style and likes to be actively involved in the operational aspects of the business. He has the ability to build personal and, if needed, informal relationships with his staff and customers alike which has been instrumental in the better performance of his company.
As Dr Haussler has indicated, many of Keller’s weaknesses are “the other side” of his strengths. For example, his attempts at being hands-on can be perceived as over-interference by his sub-ordinates. Also, by trying to manage situations by himself he makes himself open to criticism over his team-working and proper delegation abilities. Keller himself recognizes that he can be impatient and may not give enough time for his ideas to settle in the minds of others. Another of his weaknesses, again as highlighted by his manager, seems to be his less than cordial relationship with corporate staff and infrequency of reporting to the corporate headquarters and his line manager. This is also something that may be construed as a problem with Keller’s working practices as a part of team.
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