FEM304 Family Business Management

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course is designed to address the challenges unique to family-owned and run businesses. It will help students develop action plans for their family businesses. Topical coverage includes concepts of corporate governance versus classical governance, structures of a family business, key elements of a govern­ance structure, family businesses versus board of directors, securing succession as a key governance measure, handling the control task as a key governance measure, ownership and developmental dimensions, founders and entrepre­neurial experience, and the structures and plans guiding developments. Other topics include families as sources of capital, leadership in family businesses, separating family life and work life, how to work with family relations, children in the family business, working with siblings, working with the expected fam­ily, divorce/marriage, and other complexities affecting the business, dynamics of succession, managing the transition, sibling rivalry, and multi-generational issues.

Prerequisite: MGT201 Introduction to Management