Essay on Management and Wolfgang Keller

1. Identify the key factors responsible for the success of Gordon Biersch to date. What concerns, if any, do you have as the company looks ahead?

A disconnect between what the owners, the Ivanovic’s, have installed and where the CEO, Mathew McRae, is trying to take the business as arose. Thus, the company’s culture and core values have begun to deteriorate and are moving away from the family “social” atmosphere to a solely financial based one.

1) What are the challenges that Ivan Guillen faces in his role as marketing manager of the RBG business?

In the Romano Pitesti case, Tickton-Jones’ Management Team is faced with a situation that is not altogether uncommon in the business world, in that some employees feel that members of the Sales staff are being given “special” treatment by the company. Romano’s actions have probably not been as bad as what has been described to Management, but due to the fact that employees are still trying to find their place in the new, combined company, any hint of “unfairness” is immediately put under a microscope by other employees, and therefore, Management will have to take some sort of action, in order to show the other employees that their concerns are being taken seriously.

Richard Hoffman, the Executive Vice President, could not have been more right when he acknowledged that Peter Browning had a difficult job in front of him. It was Peter’s job to revitalize a mature business in the face of serious competitive threats, but without discouraging the loyalty and morale of a family style culture. Under Continental’s management, Peter Browning was faced with several issues.

Wolfgang Keller is a 34 year old graduate of the Harvard Business School. After a fast moving career building a reputation for turning around failing businesses, Wolfgang Keller once again found himself facing the challenge of turning around a losing business. This time it was as managing director of the Ukrainian subsidy of the Konigsbrau Brewery. The company was experiencing €2.9 million per year with annual sales of €116 million, (Gabarro, 2008). Even though this was a bigger company that he was used to dealing with, he seemed to be well on his way to success after just three years. Sales had increased to €145 million and the company was finally turning a €7 million

Despite the fact that MGI had come up with a good idea for business, the lack of planning, organization, leadership and control presented a key management problem. When the time came to launch the product, the three friends were the only staff of the company. This presented a big problem for Sasha, as he was expected to handle the business operations by himself. The company was not adequately organized to hire more

The case deals with two major transformational organisational changes that take place within a span of 5 years in Marconi PLC. The first change process was under the leadership of Lord Simpson who took over this large diversified conglomerate in 1996 when the company was in a mature phase, already in decline. The company was under performing, had a rigid structure, lacked a clear vision and the employees had become change averse and complacent. To recharge the company Lord Simpson lead a change process with a clear vision with a growth oriented strategy, acquisition and a cultural change process for the employees. To motivate the employers to embrace the cultural change he introduced an attractive stock option plan.

After reading the chapter about Hanna Andersson, I noticed when the company discovered they had to continue to be competitive the Hanna Andersson company had to make a plan. Therefore, the company decided to promote from within to help lead the company (as cited in Principal of Management, Para 4). As well as, selling equity to gain capital in an effort to continue towards improving the business (para 5). Similarly, when having trouble staying competitive the Hanna Andersson company began selling product online (para 7). In addition, Hanna Andersson designed and implemented distribution through retail to facilitate the transformation of the company (para 7). While meeting the goals of the investors Hanna Andersson company held the same CEO that helped preserve the direction of the company that benefit the business goals and values (para 7). Ultimately, the planning when making changes or expanding to stay competitive helped Hanna Andersson reach a new goal without taking extraordinary risks.

This paper analyzes five great management theorists: F. W. Taylor, Max Weber, Mary Parker Follett, and Douglas McGregor. Each theorist will be compared by four management functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling as detailed in the textbook: The Essentials of Contemporary Management-Sixth Edition from Gareth Jones and Jennifer M. George. We begin by discussing commerce prior the industrial revolution and then we define the key management functions, followed by an examination of each theorist, applying a template of analysis and critique.

But I'm coming to believe that all of us are ghosts .... It's not just what we inherit from our mothers or fathers. It's also the shadows of dead ideas and opinions and convictions. They're no longer alive, but they grip us all the same, and hold on to us against our will.

George had brought in new investments for the company after his inauguration. After 16 months, the company’s revenue did not reach a satisfying level and the market share started to decline as competitions became more intense. George was very nervous and worried about the figures and he had no ideas of how to change the company’s fortune. On the other hand, Shelley Stern, the marketing director came into the company by the way of the chairman, Pete Dmitrijevich. George was asked by Pete to train and coach her since she had great

1. How difficult was the task facing Immelt assuming the CEO role in 2001? What imperatives where there to change? What incentives to maintain the past?

This case explores the roles of CEO Rudi Gassner and the 9-person executive committee in leading BMG International. BMG International is the international music subsidiary of Bertelsmann, a German company that is the second-largest media conglomerate in the world. In particular, the case describes a 1993 decision that Gassner and the executive committee must make about whether or not to change managers' business plans and bonus targets as a result of a newly negotiate reduced manufacturing cost. Some of the major and important issues discussed include: the complexities of managing and growing a large global business; the tensions between centralized corporate control and decentralized local management in a global organization; the impact

Over the past hundred years management has continuously been evolving. There have been a wide range of approaches in how to deal with management or better yet how to improve management functions in our ever changing environment. From as early as 1100 B.C managers have been struggling with the same issues and problems that manager's face today. Modern managers use many of the practices, principles, and techniques developed from earlier concepts and experiences.