Family business research - Essay Example

Rathgeber and Richard N. Dino. COMPARE AND CONTRAST OF THE COMMON ISSUES FACED BY FAMILY BUSINESSES IN DIFFERENT NATIONS Succession Planning. Study of the Australian family businesses also revealed that formal ownership and management succession planning remains to be a less considered option in many family businesses, wherein more than a half of the total family business proprietors tend to engage in estate planning following the footsteps of their senior family members. With regards to the family businesses operating in the US, the survey report found that 39% of respondents need to worry about their business succession plan and future sustainability plan, where less than 50% of the family businesses are able to constrict their managerial control within the descendants of the actual proprietor.

Consequently, the survey results depicted that in the US, the most challenging issue faced by family businesses is succession planning (as ranked by 52% of the total survey respondents) as compared to the Australian family business and others (Rathgeber and Dino 9-18). Strategic Planning. The other most important issue commonly faced by the family businesses is strategic planning. As per the recent survey report of Rathgeber and Dino, it was found that in the US based family businesses, strategic planning (which is ranked as the most challenging issue by 20% of the US respondents) is considered to be one of the biggest issues.

Reflecting a similar scenario, in Australia, the issue related to strategic planning, is also referred as the key issue in family businesses (Rathgeber and Dino 9-18). Comparatively, in the survey conducted by KPMG, it has been evidently revealed that in the global context, the family business owners tend to focus on the strategic planning issues very frequently as compared to other managerial challenges. Building a good strategic planning is very much significant for the family business owners in any country, wherein most entrepreneurs (especially those belonging to the previous generation) show deficiency in terms of having adequate knowledge regarding the changing requirements of businesses at corporate levels in the 21st century (International Centre For Families In Business 1-7; KPMG 6-12).

Governance. From the survey report of KPMG it was also found that 80% of the male members hold this position rather than women in Australia, which apparently depicts a gender based segregation persisting in this particular realm of the global business world that imposes considerable effects on their governance systems (6-12). Comparatively, although the top level decision makers in family businesses commonly involve the male members of the family, middle level management positions, such as General Managers and member of the mid-level management team involves approximately 30% of females in Australian family businesses unlike the US and the UK, where parity in gender bases are more apparent in the managerial positions of family businesses’ governance structure (International Centre For Families In Business 1-7; KPMG 6-12).

Conflicts. Survey report conducted by Rathgeber and Dino revealed that in the US, conflicts hamper around 24% of the respondents of the family