Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao_Roberto_Cordeiro_Duarte.pdf: 497605 bytes, checksum: 3292422b92972c74a32838b42e84e517 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-09-28 / Some characteristics of family companies continue even though these enterprises reach high platforms of invoicing, using, for times, hundreds of employees. During its initial phase, many of these enterprises adopt informal procedures that, times later can constitute problems to its higher development, exactly for the fact to be persisted on to the company's culture of the initial phase. In many cases, the lack of a practical and structuralized accounting and the adoption of informal practices constitute serious obstacles, leading the company the filings for the inspection agencies, labor law actions and shunting line of materials and financial resources. Additionally, the absence of more rigid or efficient controls implicates the strategic administration of the company, for the lack of highlights (management information) on competitiveness, costs and financial health. This research had as objective to analyze the problems lived for a great company of the textile segment, caused for a family management, and shows as the reorganization of the countable sector oriented for the adoption of a series of measures, amongst them the implantation of a management accounting. For this study bibliographical documentary research and study of case had been used predominantly, that had allowed lining up the theory and the objectives. Through the developed study, one proves that a structured accounting and the participation and integration of all the sectors in the spreading of the information allow the implantation of a management accounting. / Algumas caracter??sticas de empresas familiares persistem mesmo quando esses empreendimentos atingem elevados patamares de faturamento, empregando, por vezes, centenas de funcion??rios. Muitos desses empreendimentos adotam, durante sua fase inicial, procedimentos informais que, tempos depois, podem acabar se constituindo em empecilhos ao seu maior desenvolvimento, exatamente pelo fato de persistirem arraigados ?? cultura organizacional da fase inicial. Em diversos casos, a falta de uma contabilidade estruturada e a ado????o de pr??ticas informais passam a constituir s??rios obst??culos, levando a empresa a autua????es pelos ??rg??os de fiscaliza????o, a????es trabalhistas e desvio de materiais e de recursos financeiros. Adicionalmente, a aus??ncia de controles mais r??gidos ou eficazes acaba comprometendo a administra????o estrat??gica da empresa, pela falta de sinalizadores (informa????es gerenciais) quanto a sua competitividade, custos e ?? pr??pria sa??de financeira. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar os problemas enfrentados por uma grande empresa do segmento t??xtil, ocasionados por uma gest??o familiar, e mostra como a reestrutura????o do setor cont??bil serviu de base para a ado????o de uma s??rie de medidas, dentre elas a implanta????o de uma contabilidade gerencial. Para este estudo foram utilizados predominantemente pesquisa documental bibliogr??fica e estudo de caso, que permitiram alinhar a teoria e os objetivos em estudo. Atrav??s do estudo desenvolvido, comprova-se que uma contabilidade estruturada e a participa????o e integra????o de todos os setores na divulga????o das informa????es permitem a implanta????o de uma contabilidade gerencial

Throughout the world, weather-related and other natural phenomena claim thousands of lives and devour billions of dollars annually in recovery efforts. Destruction of life and property in the wake of disasters is devastating, and can have a dramatic impact on families and businesses around the globe. Yet, published works specifically in the field of Family Resource Management (FRM) reveal a limited understanding of how families respond when these critical events strike with little or no warning, particularly for business-owning families. This paper explores family business responses to a particular natural disaster through case study research from the FRM perspective. Essentially, its purpose is to ascertain whether the FRM description of management is useful for family business systems in the wake of a natural disaster. A review of the FRM and family business literature is offered, followed by a broad description of qualitative methods and a justification for the case study methodology for this project. In-depth information about the successful management of a natural disaster was gathered through face-to-face and phone interviews with five leaders of family-owned businesses. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed, followed by member checks and peer reviews to strengthen the trustworthiness of the findings. Based on the experiences of the five CEOs that participated in this study, it appears that the FRM conceptualization of management generally captured their experience and can perhaps be a useful tool in conceptualizing the preparation for, and recovery from, critical events. It was also found, as anticipated, that access to tangible resources (money, materials, equipment) and intangible resources (communication processes, family unity, adaptability, relationships) was a key to successful management. What was somewhat surprising, however, was the emphasis placed on the power of relationships in the management process. A discussion on how this study relates to previous work on family stress and coping models is offered, and implications for researchers, practitioners, and government agencies that interface with families in business are provided. / Graduation date: 2003

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Albany, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204) and index.

Traditionally, funeral homes have been family-owned small businesses which pride themselves on their personal, caring service. Many are located in historic houses worthy of preservation. In the past few decades, however, many family-owned funeral homes have been bought out by large, national corporations in search of big profits. The future of oldhouse funeral homes is uncertain. An inventory of funeral homes was conducted in a ninecounty area of east-central Indiana, including Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Hancock, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, and Wayne Counties. Findings show that a majority (59%) of the funeral homes in the nine-county area of east-central Indiana inventoried are located in former residences built before 1950, with varying degree of modification. While some have had minimal or moderate alterations, a large percentage (54%) of these have been extensively altered over the years. Case studies of four pre-1950 funeral homes in the inventory area revealed that alterations, many of which reflect the needs of the funeral business, have affected not only their integrity but also their ratings in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. Recommendations include greater communication between the funeral industry and preservationists, and the establishment of guidelines for sensitive additions that are addressed specifically to the needs of the funeral industry. / Department of Architecture

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Albany, 2003. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Management and Information Systems. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Albany, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204) and index.

Never in the history of the South African nation has the entrepreneurial spirit been more alive. Since the opening of international doors, after the 1994 elections, South Africa has experienced the explosive growth of transnational entrepreneurship. An enduring aspect of the explosion of such economic activity is the need for "good governance" and the need for governance education in South Africa and the rest of the continent has never been greater. The size of the family business component of the South Aftican economy suggests that it is the predominant way of doing business in South Africa. Of importance to this study is the estimate that approximately 95 % of all Greek businesses in South Africa can be classified as family businesses. The sustainability of Greek family businesses requires that they maintain good governance practices that are economically and environmentally acceptable to all stakeholders. It also requires that the next generation of Greek entrepreneurs balance good governance for the businesses as well as for the family. The primary objective of this study was to identify and explore the internal factors that influence and determine good governance to ensure the survival, growth and sustainability of Greek family businesses in South Africa. The secondary research objectives pertained to the underlying dimensions of good governance and required an exploration of the different governance concerns in relation to specific South African Greek behaviour and characteristics. A theoretical model of good governance factors was proposed and tested using Structural Equation Modeling. The study found that perceived good governance in a South African Greek family business context needs to be measured in terms of three factors, namely risk control, the internal regulatory environment and the protection of the stakeholders' interest. The study dealt further with the secondary sources effecting governance for South African businesses and was based on the latest report by the King Commission. An important finding is that the cross cultural aspect of family business governance must now be considered when conducting such research as more and more emphasis is placed on the good governance of all businesses.

Based on the importance of small and medium-sized family businesses, with regard to their economic contributions, as well as the fact that their high failure rates limit their ability to positively contribute to the economic growth of South Africa, this study focused on selected marketing and branding practices of South African family SMEs, and whether these practices influence their financial performance and ultimately their survival. Against this background, the primary objective of this study was to investigate selected marketing and branding practices adopted by family SMEs in the Eastern Cape. An overview of the literature was provided whereby the nature and importance of SMEs, and more specifically family SMEs, were described. The various challenges SMEs face were explored, with marketing and branding being identified as one of the main challenges that contributes to the high failure rate of family SMEs. In addition to the marketing challenges faced by non-family SMEs, family SMEs face extra marketing hurdles, given the overlapping subsystem of family and business. However, despite these challenges, family SMEs are able to make use of their familial aspect by marketing and branding the business as family-owned. A positivistic research paradigm and quantitative research methodology was adopted for this study, using a descriptive research approach. The primary data collection procedures involved selecting the population, the sample, sampling techniques, and sample size. For the purpose of this study, the population consisted of all family SME owners operating within the borders of the Eastern Cape province. From the population, a sample was selected using both judgemental and convenience sampling. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed, which resulted in 325 usable questionnaires, giving an effective response rate of 65.00 per cent. Given the cross-sectional nature of this study, a survey research method using a structured, selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. The scales used to measure the factors under investigation were developed based on previous research. In order to assess the validity of the ordinal scales, tests for unidimensionality were undertaken. Only factor loadings exceeding the 0.5 cut-off point were considered significant. Not all the items loaded as expected. Only five of the original six items intended to measure the dependent variable Perceived financial performance loaded onto this factor. The researcher, together with two experts in the field of marketing and family businesses, deemed the items for the dichotomous questions to show evidence of content validity. The reliability of the ordinal scales was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, whereby coefficients greater than 0.7 were deemed a scale to be reliable. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of greater than 0.7 were returned for all the factors measured using ordinal scales, except one factor namely Customer service differentiation. This factor was not considered for any further statistical analyses. The reliability of the dichotomous questions was assessed using the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (K-R 20). For the purpose of this study, Kuder-Richardson values greater than 0.5 deemed the dichotomous questions to be reliable. Kuder-Richardson values of greater than 0.5 were reported for the dichotomous items relating to Branding of the family name, but not for Marketing function. However, given that the questions were used for descriptive purposes only, the items measuring Marketing function were used for statistical analysis. The independent variables returned mean scores of between 3.220 and 3.773, with the majority of respondents feeling neutral or agreeing with the statements measuring these factors. The dependent variable Perceived financial performance returned the highest mean score of all the factors with the majority of respondents agreeing with the statements measuring this factor. The dichotomous questions relating to the Marketing function indicated that majority of respondents did not have a written marketing strategy or a separate department that deals with marketing for their family business. The dichotomous questions relating to Branding of the family name revealed that in most instances the family name (surname) does not appear in the name, brand, logo or advertising material of the family business. Most of the independent variables (Promotion of family business, Family business image and Stakeholder perception) reported significant and positive relationships with each other. The independent variable Perceived financial performance reported significantly positive relationships with two independent variables, namely Product differentiation and Family business image. The multiple regression analyses undertaken revealed that only one of the independent variables, namely Product differentiation, had a significant positive influence on the dependaet variable Perceived financial performance. This study found that the independent variables Promotion of family business and Family business image did not have a significant influence on the dependent variable Perceived financial performance. The results of the two single regression analyses revealed that a significant positive linear relationship exists between Stakeholder perception and Promotion of family business, as well as between Stakeholder perception and Family business image. The findings of the analysis of variance found that Number of employees was the only demographic variable that exerted a significant influence on Product differentiation. The results also indicated that Age of respondent, Generation ownership and Nature of family business had an influence on Promotion of family business. However, the post-hoc Scheffé test revealed that only Generation ownership had a significant influence on Promotion of family business. The analysis of variance also found that the demographic variables Age of respondent, Generation ownership and Number of employees exerted a significant influence on Family business image; however, the post-hoc Scheffé found that only Generation ownership had a significant influence on Family business image. Based on the findings of this study, numerous recommendations were proposed to assist the owners of family SMEs to ultimately improve their business’s financial performance by adopting appropriate marketing and branding practices. The findings of this study showed that by adopting a Product differentiation competitive orientation, family SME owners can enhance their financial performance. It is hoped that the findings of this study will provide family SME owners with practical suggestions on how to use a product differentiation competitive orientation to ultimately increase their longevity, and that the suggestions for future research will inspire future researchers to continue investigating the unique marketing and branding practices of family SMEs.

From introduction: This is a study of Indian family businesses in the central business district of Durban, a sea port on the coast of Natal, in South Africa.