Family first or business first: Issues in family business

Abstract

The influence of family patterns on later relationships and the need to gain an appropriate level of independence from the family system are still present, and greatly complicated in a family business. A company will probably seek to employ competent professional managers, but may find it difficult to motivate and retain them if the most desirable positions are earmarked for next generation family members, or if a confusion of reporting lines and bloodlines complicates the management task. In “family first” style businesses, the problem can become more pronounced when family members and friends take positions they are not best qualified to hold. People devote much of their waking lives to one or more organization, beginning with the family, then school, and later the organizations in which they work. The influence of family patterns on later relationships and the need to gain an appropriate level of independence from the family system are still present, and greatly complicated in a family business. © 2011 to Manfusa Shams and David A. Lane.