Wolfgang Keller at Konigsbrau-Krayina

Wolfgang Keller, managing director of Konigsbrau-Krayina, the Ukrainian subsidiary of the German beer company Konigsbrau, faces a complicated managerial dilemma. His subordinate, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, is a talented and experienced commercial director who is not meeting his goals appropriately. Keller is an action-oriented manager who likes to use a hands-on approach when dealing with problems. He has the potential to be a great leader as evidence by his drive and people skills. But his lack of experience running a multinational company gives him difficulty in dealing with one of his directors with a different management style. Khmelnytsky’s introvert and highly formal personality had major problems to adjust to the desired organizational culture and getting in touch with customers. Keller must decide the best course of action to take with this difficult employee in an environment in which the industry is rapidly changing and growing and the war for talent is strong. He must also consider what comprises an effective performance review and how his own leadership style impacts Khmelnytsky's poor performance. 1. What is your assessment of Khmelnytsky’s performance? Khmelnytsky’s is rather an administrative, operation-oriented person than a customer-oriented one. His focus is not on sales, he would prefer working in back office and dealing with operational issues where analytical brainstorming is required. He is lacking on motivation, which becomes evident when looking at his behavior. He delegates a lot without proper follow-ups. Also, he is focused solely on his area and does not see the whole picture of the company. Apart from this, he also has a difficult personality, keeping distance to other people. Khmelnytsky also seems to have a higher opinion of himself than of others. Therefore, other people see him as a difficult person to work with. They call him â€Å"MR Problem†. He is not open to his direct reporting line (Keller), so he does not communicate directly with him on every day issues or future plans. Obviously, there is no trust between the two (Keller and Khmelnytsky), especially from Khmelnytsky’s side. This mistrust is affecting directly Khmelnytsky’s performance considering that he is not empowered. Furthermore, Khmelnytsky is more concentrated in showing off and telling everyone that he is doing well than in planning future steps or finding a way how to improve his performance. Also, he is a very unflexible person. He is used to the existing working culture and doesn’t want to believe that things can change and that he should be more responsive to these changes. 2. What has Keller done well and not-so-well in managing Khmelnytsky’s performance? (Our observations expressed to Keller) Things you’ve done well in managing Khmelnytsky’s performance is your honest approach and open dialogue between the two of you. You encouraged Khmelnytsky in things he was good at like planning and implementing a sales reorganization. On the other hand, there are things you did not so well and which therefore could be improved. Managing should always be a two way stream. Saying all the time â€Å"don’t do this, don’t do that† is not an efficient way to direct and manage people. In your letter to Khmelnytsky you used the word NOT very often, like: ‘you are not a leader', ‘your personality does not fit to maintain personal contacts', ‘you do not like personal contacts', ‘you are not well-integrated into the team', etc †¦ Instead of criticizing a person’s traits,, your discontent should refer to concrete tasks/work which Khmelnytsky did not handle well. With your coaching you failed to become an exemplary leader and coach to your subordinates, with no or very little ability to motivate Khmelnytsky. Your managerial capabilities are ineffective since you are too focused on operational, day-to-day operations instead of focusing on more strategic issues of the company. You are not a team player and you intervene too much and too frequently in Khmelnytsky’s scope of work – you are not leading but directing. The current performance management system is ineffective since there are no frequent interviews (once a year is not enough) and quantitative goal settings (only qualitative goals, which are too subjective and therefore source of many conflicts). The steps to be taken which were listed in the explanatory letter to Khmelnytsky were in our opinion too wide and too general. The feedback should have rather been concrete, very precise and action-oriented. Furthermore, your social perceptiveness seems to be very low. You should try to be more open in accepting cultural differences. 3. What actions should Keller take upon returning to Kyiv with regard to Khmelnytsky’s performance? (A letter to Keller) Dear Mr. Keller, First of all thank you very much for your trust in our company’s professionalism and experience in counselling. It is our honour to provide you impartial and objective leadership advice for solving your special managerial dilemma. After a comprehensive analysis of the issue please allow us to be very straightforward. Based on our observations we would like to make the following recommendations to you: 1. Empowerment. Trust the experienced and talented Mr. Khmelnitsky for at least a trial period and let him do his job completely alone. Give him full responsibility and try to get away from getting involved in his daily business. 2. Communication. Improve your communication with Mr. Khmelnytsky. A much more relational leadership style can work like a miracle in bypassing the communication gap between you and Mr. Khmelnytsky. Please be much more emphatic. Cultural biases and immature, extremely task oriented management style can affect the behavior of subordinates in a very negative way. We noticed also in your annual appraisal the lack of tactfulness. Expressions like â€Å"you are not a leader† were undiplomatic and also unprofessional. With this kind of communication you only hurt the feelings and the pride of your subordinates and on the other hand their motivation will be lost very easily after such a verbal offense. 3. Follow your instinct and be a real leader. Don’t be scared to alter the daily duties of the commercial director. You need to keep a talented manager like Mr. Khmelnytsky at the company, however, if you communicate well with him and start a new chapter in your relationship a slight re-organization can take place. Let Mr. Khmelnytsky keep his rank as director of the commercial department but divide the functions and let Mr. Skovoroda allow to lead the sales department as the sales director. You could offer to Mr. Khmelnytsky that he could be the supervisor and mentor of Mr. Skovoroda in the beginning period – by offering him also a slight salary increase for that responsibility – but he has to focus on marketing and give free hand to Mr. Skovoroda. That way you could bring out the most of Mr. Khmelnytsky’s experience and on the other hand you can win the best advisor and mentor for Mr. Skovoroda until he gains enough experience and confidence to work completely alone. Conclusion This case demonstrated how differences in management style, communication, personality and culture can result in a conflict that can jeopardize the business results of a company. It also showed that managers without extensive managerial experience have to learn how to trust their subordinates and how to communicate with them in a constructive and emphatic way in order to be effective.

Data Collection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Data Collection - Assignment Example rt from FEMA to explain the state of emergency management as well as present their findings regarding the heavy loss that was experienced following hurricane Katrina. In the report, it was apparent that the multi-agency operation lacked proper coordination because of the communication challenge occasioned by destruction of telecommunication network. Further on, the decision by government to cut down on its budgetary allocation to emergency management and the concomitant impacts have widely been tackled in peer reviewed articles, print media, as well as online news website. Information gathered from the aforementioned sources is critical in informing the various stakeholders of steps to be undertaken to address the challenge. First, from the issues raised by the disaster managers, it is apparent that limited budgetary allocation has further complicated the path to finding solution to the challenge. Secondly, citizen apathy and preference to varied communication challenge has made emergency officers face an uphill task when trying to reach out to victims of a disaster. From the information gathered, various recommendations have been put forth, including adoption of social media platforms to enhance communication. Additionally, these recommendations have proposed new state of communication infrastructure that, if adopted, would guarantee minimal interference in case of

Use of Video in Secondary Science Education Research Paper

Use of Video in Secondary Science Education - Research Paper Example Use of Video in Secondary Science Education Use of video projects in a classroom environment is one of the most effective ways to ensure that students get the required content. This is because it involves a hands-on approach where the students use theory that they have learnt to create their own videos, however the tools that the students use will determine how effective they will be in creating their own videos. The most efficient tools that students can use in video creation In choosing the most effective video creation tools that students can use, the following factors were put into consideration. One is the user friendliness of the tool where issues like easiness on the eye and navigation and the intuitiveness of the UI (Ivers & Barron, 2010). Second factor that was put in to consideration was the features that the tool contained such as assessment capability or feedback functions, another factor that was put into consideration is the limitations that come with the tools such as whether it is a WYSIWYG tool or it needs a p rogramming nous. imovie is a video editing software that is sold by Apple inc company for Mac and iOS which include iphone, ipad, ipad mini and ipod touch that was originally launched in the market in the year 1999 (Laybourne, 2009). Since 2005, imovie was designed to process high definition video from HDV camcorders and other versions of camcorders such as AVCHD camcorders and H.264 compressed video from MPEG4, to support this, the tool has undergone metamorphosis to ensure smooth integration especially with apple products. imovie HD 5 included support for HDV, which includes the 720p and 1080i, in addition, it also supported the integration with ilife suite and toolbox buttons that allow importation of images from iphoto and music from itunes. The HD 6 version, which was released in 2006 included support for iphotos, itunes, iDVD , garageband and iweb, this version was aimed at making the imovie more user-friendly as it included themes that allowed the user to drag and drop movies and photos in bac kdrops. The imovie 08 was an improvement of the previous versions of imovie as it contained better HD output and more formats in which files could be converted to. This edition however received criticism since it completely abandoned the earlier versions of imovie and features such as slow motion, fast motion, black and white options had been removed, in addition, imovie 08 could not support more than one project at a time. The imovie 09 was basically a response to the criticism the ’08 version as it restored features that the previous versions had, in addition, it also simplified some more advanced tasks such as picture to picture and chroma keying. The imovie 11 had the capability of making movie trailers, gave the user more power over the audio option, allowed immediate rerun, flash, and hold effects, new theme, face detection and the potential to watch videos on apple products. with the unveiling of the iphone, which was designed to support iOS, the apple company designed an imovie app that would be compatible with the iOS since the other products of the company were also designed to support the iOS (Maci?as, Granollers & Latorre, 2009). Animoto Animoto is an online video editing software that is easy to use among the students, a key feature of the

Anatomy & Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Anatomy & Physiology - Essay Example t concluded studies so far conducted contend the world has approximately 6.3 million people who are experiencing Parkinson’s disease (PD) (Medtronic, 2010). Out of this global population, 1.2 million emanate from Europe whereby according to varied medical practitioners and researchers the number keeps on increasing by the day. (Grosset, Fernandez, Katherine and Okun (2009) in their study claim approximately 750,000 up to 1Million are USA citizens whereas between 120,000 and 130,000 emanate from UK. However, PD’s prevalence and incidence studies for long have been affected by survival rates whereby the former is higher compared to the latter (Grosset, Fernandez, Katherine & Okun, 2009). Consequently, this implies those at risk of contracting PD their respective age is over 50 years as depicted in Figure 1. According to Grosset, Fernandez, Katherine and Okun (2009) study, the earliest symptoms of PD among numerous patients usually start showing up at 60 years. Hence, impl ying the disease is quite common among the elderly especially those whom their ages fall between 75 and 85 years living in Europe and USA’s regions (Peretz et al. 2014, p. 70). People comprising this demography their number in these regions is currently showing a rapid increase besides having complications that contribute to PD problem (Peretz et al. 2014, p. 70). This is because of dysfunction of nigra neurons, which are susceptible to loss with age (Reeve, Eve & Doug Turnbull, 2014, p. 19). Figure 1: Grosset, Fernandez, Katherine & Okun. (2009). Prevalence of Idiopathic PD by age. [E-Book] Available at: [Accessed 1st June 2014] Besides age, studies have also confirmed environmental and ethnicity comprises key predisposing factors towards contracting PD predicament. Globally, PD

Hereditary Disorders in Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hereditary Disorders in Children - Essay Example Hereditary defects are one of the leading cause of death in children—â€Å"causing 1 in 5 deaths in babies through 12 months of age and as many as 40% of deaths in children through the age of 10 years. Hereditary disorders are also a significant cause of childhood morbidity and long-term disability. Children with hereditary disorders often require care that is expensive and highly specialized. Hereditary disorders often impact family dynamics resulting in additional financial pressures, marital discord, and concerns about the needs of siblings. There is very little that can be done to mitigate the cause of hereditary disorders, although non-genetic birth defects they can be competently managed through public health efforts, such as promoting folic acid intake to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, etc† (www.michigan.gov/mdch/). Genetic disorders can occur in males and females of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. It causes different types of birth defects, as well as developmental disabilities. To take a particular example, Down syndrome occurs in about 1 in 800 people. There is wide variation in the mental abilities of children with Down syndrome. Most have developmental delays. They usually learn at a slower pace, but do not lose skills once they are acquired. They may â€Å"also have trouble with judgment and reasoning. The degree of mental impairment is usually in the mild to moderate range. Emotional problems such as behavior issues or depression may occur in childhood. Common facial features include upward slanting eyes with epicanthal folds (skin over the inside corner of the eye), a small mouth, and a flat nasal bridge. Children with Down syndrome are often shorter than average, and prone to extra weight gain. Babies may seem â€Å"floppy† due to low muscle tone (hypotonia).† (www.lpc h.org) But all is not lost for parents of children with Down syndrome and other genetic disorders. Down syndrome cannot be cured, but some symptoms can be

Components of Quantitative Approach Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Components of Quantitative Approach - Assignment Example Findings from this research proved that there were many diverse understandings of differentiation, even for the educators who undertook professional growth in this area (Koeze, 2007). This finding confirmed that employing a mixed approach to data gathering and understanding the quantitative data through the interpretive orientation of symbolic interactionism was the suitable methodology for this research. Miller’s research, on the other hand, was meant to study the quantitative research literature concerning the effects or consequences multi-grade classroom organizations have on student cognitive, as well as affective outcomes. Miller’s study found out that being a learner in a multi-grade class neither does not unenthusiastically influence academic performance nor learner social attitudes and relationships (Miller, 1990). Finally, Maleyko’s research studies the impact of No Child Left behind Act on school achievement and accountability. According to the research er, States have the skill of statistically manipulating their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) implementation. This may give a fake impression to people that AYP is a reliable measure of a school’s success (Maleyko, 2011). The findings from this research proved that the exploitation of the NAEP evaluation is an efficient technique to examine the reliability of AYP among states. Evaluation of the Approach In Patricia’s study, quantitative data gathering was carried as a way or means to draw broad relationships from the information. Findings from the quantitative data collected guided the researcher on the way to organize the qualitative study (Koeze, 2007). From the wide relationships revealed through quantitative findings, qualitative methods were utilized in exploring these wide relationships further and hunt for explanations, which could only be revealed by classroom interviews and observations. Such methods of collecting data make the research extremely accurate, and the findings from the research could be used to enhance elementary education. Miller’s research, unlike Patricia’s, strictly maintained a quantitative approach to come up with the findings (Miller, 1990). The researcher provided a summary of quantitative studies, which were intended to determine the distinctions in student achievement between learners registered in multi-grade and single classrooms. According to the researcher’s findings, there is minute or no distinctions in the achievements of learners enrolled in multi-grade or single classrooms. However, it is risky to follow such findings as only depending on numbers to come up with your conclusion can be dangerous. Finally, Maleyko’s research, The Impact of No Child Left behind Act on School Achievement and Accountability, uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to come up with its findings. The literature review of the research recognizes the measurement worries with the execution of AYP, th e advantages of AYP, the unintentional upshots, along with the hardships involved with setting up school accountability and the efficient and unproductive provisions of the NCLB change (Maleyko, 2011). The findings could be considered valid since the research incorporated both numerical and empirical techniques to come up

Capriccio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Capriccio - Research Paper Example For purposes of this brief analysis, Phillip Sparke’s work â€Å"Capriccio† will be analyzed. It is the understanding of this particular author that Sparke’s â€Å"Capriccio† represents many of the tell tale markers that music of the latter half of the 20th century engenders. Moreover, this short analysis will also integrate with an understanding of some of the primary influences that can be determined from a close listening and reflection upon Sparke’s â€Å"Capriccio†. Even though it might be convenient to assume that the most talented composers rely only upon their own ideas to create famous compositions, the fact of the matter is that many individuals, musicians, and former composers have a profound impact upon the way in which these composers integrate with the subject matter. Finally, from a technical and mechanical as well as theoretical understanding of music, the analysis will seek to draw inference upon the range of the instrumentat ion that is employed, the use of Marshall music, and the reintegration of neoclassicism and/or a greater emphasis and or focus upon harmony melody point and counterpoint. Firstly, with regards to the means by which the piece deviates from the traditional understanding of 20th and 21st century music, the listener quickly notes the complete and total absence of dissonance and/or abstraction within the music. Although the pioneers of early 20th-century music were keen on exhibiting the hopeless and often times and meaningless nature of the human condition through abstract means of musical expression, as with most friends and classical music, this approach has since become far less common. In the same means that baroque music is no longer composed, many of the themes and developments that abstraction and made so popular within the 20th century are now no longer realized within the current compositions (Ivry 13). More specifically within Sparke’s â€Å"Capriccio†, the liste ner is continually integrated with an understanding of a complex relationship between the melody played by the soprano cornet and the harmony which is played by the remainder of the brass instruments. Naturally, in order to keep the development and ideas presented fresh, trade-offs are made at various intervals with regards to the way that they soprano cornet assumes the role of playing harmony while the backup instrumentation within the other brass instruments briefly take on the melody (Altena 41). From a personal experience perspective, it must be noted that Phillip Sparke’s â€Å"Capriccio† integrated within this listener is strong level of remembrance and recognition with regards to the level of pollution and/or influence that the piece has with Aaron Copland’s â€Å"Appalachian Spring†. This cannot be said to cheapen or otherwise reduce the originality that is displayed within Sparke’s â€Å"Capriccio†; rather, it reinforces the previo usly mentioned understanding that a range of prior ideas, techniques, styles, and means are oftentimes illustrated within the works of later composers. Instead of taking away from the merits of such an original work, this can be seen as a means of paying tribute to some of the most influential members of the classical composing community. With regards to Copland, it comes as no surprise that Phillip Spark