CONCEPT – CHANGES – COURSE
Concept: Family managed businesses are commercial businesses that are carried forward by multiple generations of a family. Leadership or ownership is passed on from one generation to the other. Most family managed businesses over the globe belong to the micro, small & medium enterprise sector.
Liberalisation has been a boon and a bane for the Family Managed Business Sector. With the entry of foreign investors and new entrants in the public and private sectors, family managed business have been given a tough challenge to survive in the global market.
Not one to stay behind, this sector has pulled its socks and is geared up to meets this challenge heads on.
Changes: In a family business, the family member is responsible wholly and solely for the decisions that he/she takes and has also to face the outcome of those decisions. A wrong decision could mean a loss resulting in the extra time, money and effort spent to recover from the loss.
Awareness has set in. Since there is high risk involved along with tough competition, a need has arisen for members of family owned businesses to tighten their belts, sit up and take notice. Policies and processes have been given greater importance. Also business is conducted with dedicated professionalism. The new generation also brings with them the qualifications and understanding required to take this business type to the next level. New courses and graduation programs have been introduced by Top B-Schools and one of them is the Graduate and Post Graduate Program in Family Managed Business.
Course: Graduate and Post Graduate Program in Family Managed Business (FMB) is a pioneer course in post-graduate family managed business program across the globe. The program draws inspiration from best management practices in family business combined with modern techniques and processes. It aims to groom business scions in areas like planning, strategizing, objective setting and astute management of one’s family business. While each family’s situation is unique, there are many best practices which can be applied to all family businesses. The learnings have to be tuned into reality These include employing people of higher competency levels, professionalizing the organisation, managing participation from members of different generations, addressing the role of the women of the family in the business, planning succession, etc.
The FMB program is designed primarily for the participants who are planning to escalate their family business to next level. Keeping all these factors in mind it is very important to equip the participants with relevant capabilities in these parameters.
Apart from Organisational Development and Management, an FMB program teaches participant to learn and relate with specialists in all fields. It uses the involvement of mentors, which is extremely crucial, as this will have a direct impact on the learning and will benefit the participants.
Assignments and projects with companies are given at various stages of the program. Commonly known as ‘on the job training’. The participants are expected to take the help of the executives of the organization while working on assignments. This assignment will help students perceive their businesses in a systematic way. The concerned executive handling a specific function provides inputs about the specific business context. On the other hand, the participants are expected to share their learning and submit their project reports with their mentors as this will bring enriching and collective effectiveness.
The program provides innovative thinking through practical academic inputs and thought-provoking case studies. As participants come from diverse industries and different parts of the country, this program provides an out-and-out industry experience which becomes a valuable take-home. The industry experience also involves interactions with other participants, learning about each other’s businesses, context, challenges and initiatives which are extremely valuable sources of learning for all the participants.
All challenges aside, “family values” are taking on a new meaning in today’s economy. The new generation are able to recognize this value and work together for the common advantage of the business. Family business is here to stay!