Spanos & Yecies

This case focuses on problems that two young managers have with reorganizing and managing a sales force in a beer distribution company. The case gives background on the managers who recently purchased two beer distribution companies and combined them as well as background on the companies that they purchased. Shortly after the purchases, the profitability of beer distribution companies was hurt by changes in the marketplace. Thus, the managers need to find a way to improve the profitability of the company and the most important lever they have is making changes in the sales force. They need to decide what to do with a sales manager who is a great individual contributor, but who is a very poor manager, and is hurting the morale and productivity of the sales force. Also, they have to save some costs in the sales group and need to decide whom to let go. The case gives descriptions of a number of candidates for dismissal along with their supervisors’ recommendations and the reader must decide who to let go and how to let them go.