published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

M.Tech in Business Administration (MBA) / The literature shows that most of these entities are run by their founders or by a small management team and very few such operators have proper succession planning in place. The lack of proper succession planning can have the direct effect of causing the collapse of these businesses especially when key players leave the business upon retirement or in pursuit of other options. The loss of knowledge and experience, and the consequences thereof for business is well-documented. The exit or exodus of key stakeholders can make a business vulnerable and diminish its worth as investors will not invest in a business that is unsustainable. Succession planning was identified as one of the most pressing issues for small, micro and medium enterprises in the corporate governance sphere.

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.