Objectives and competences
In this course students:
- Upgrade their theoretical knowledge on governance and management with particularities of family businesses.
- Develop understanding of the family influence as owner and manager on all dimensions of governance and management.
- Develop abilities to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice in the field of family relationships and conflicts, family values and interests, and succession process and develop required governance and management solutions.
- Develop the ability to assess qualitatively the suitability of instruments and mechanisms of family governance taking into consideration specifics of the family business’s situation.
Content (Syllabus outline)
Definition and characteristics of family businesses
Role and importance of family businesses for economy and society
Family in a family business (roles of family members, family relationship and potential conflicts, family values and interests)
Succession
Specifics of family business governance and management
Mechanisms and instruments of family governance
Learning and teaching methods
- lectures
- brainstorming, case studies, team work
- active individual and group work
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding
In this course students:
- State and describe key differences among family and non-family businesses.
- Recognize the role of a family, family values and interests, family relationships and conflicts in the family businesses’ development and explain governance and management solutions for diverse developmental problems.
- Explain succession as a process, describe specifics of ownership succession and leadership succession, and link the process of finding succession solutions with governance and management solutions.
- Differentiate among formal and informal family governance mechanisms and instruments.
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
Cognitive/Intellectual skills
In this course students:
- Can apply critical analysis of data in solving real professional problems, with minimum guidance.
- Develope the ability to search for and synthesize new information from the field of family businesses' governance and management in literature and practise.
- Learn to synthesize different knowledge and procedures and are aware of importance of use of professional literature.
- Can select appropriate method for problem solving and are able to evaluate the importance and characteristics of collected data.
Key/Transferable skills
In this course students:
- Further develop skills and expertise in the use of knowledge in a specific working area.
- Upgrade the ability to become an autonomous learner.
- Upgrade the ability to apply information technology.
- Upgrade the ability to work in pairs and groups.
- Develop their communication skills to effectively and professionally communicate.
Practical skills
In this course students:
- Get practical experience to act relatively autonomously in the field of family business governance and management.
Readings
Temeljna študijska literatura (Compulsory textbooks):
- Duh, M. (2012). Family businesses: the extensiveness of succession problems and possible solutions. V: Burger-Helmchen, T. (ur.). Entrepreneurship - gender, geographies and social context. Rijeka: InTech, 2012. Str. 209-234. Dosegljivo na http://www.intechopen.com/books/entrepreneurship-gender-geographies-and-social-context/family-businesses-the-extensiveness-of-succession-problems-and-possible-solutions.
- Duh, M., & Primec, A. (2022). Family businesses’ succession in posttransition countries: what can be learned from the action research?. Management, 27(2), str. 19-39. Pridobljeno 3. maja 2023: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/415617.
Dodatna študijska literatura (Additional textbooks):
- Leach, P., & Bogod, T. (1999). Guide to the Family Business. London: Kogan Page. Str. 3-111, 161-211.
- Family Businesses: How Directors Can Manage Key Issues in a Family Firm (1998). London: Institute of Directors and Grant Thornton. Str. 11-24, 33-40, 54-60.
Additional information on implementation and assessment Written examination.
Student can compensate written examination by two partial written examination (up to 70%) and active work in class (up to 30%). Each of both parts (partial written examination, active work) must be positively graded for final positive grade.
