Wolfgang Keller

Highly skilled workforce with monotonous behavior is difficult to pursue and change. One needs to find ways to tackle this problem in innovative way as there is no fixed formula to do so.
The case talks about the scenario in Konigsbrau`s Ukrainian subsidiary. Konigsbrau is a Munich based company which brews premium beer. They have very good reputation across the globe. The case majorly talks about two characters, Wolfgang Keller and Dmitri Brodsky. Brodsky heads the sales force and reports to Keller. Dealing with the behavior of Brodsky has become a concern to Keller as Brodsky has very reserved and formal approach which is considered not appropriate for the kind of industry he is in. The industry is a very challenging environment as the company produces premium beers and the local people are accustomed to vodka and low-end or home-made beers. The company had to adopt strategies which focused on distributors who have the power to reach the direct consumer outlets and influence major portion of the sales. And hence it requires the company sales persons and officials to have good personal contacts with the distributors and have more informal gatherings. Brodsky is highly skilled with good prior experience but has very formal approach. He does not agree with Keller on the fact that he should maintain close relationships with the distributors. Also, Brodsky does not try to change his behavior/ business approach in-line with company`s interests. Keller is in a challenging situation and has three options. First, to fire Brodsky or not give him an annual salary raise which might have the same effect. Second, try to help Brodsky once again to improve his performance. Third, reorganize around Brodsky to compensate for his inadequacies. Keller is not ready to lose Brodsky because it is very difficult to find such a skilled replacement. Keller is the decision maker here. He takes care of all the company operations in Ukraine where as Vladimir Antonov, former head