Health of the Family Business Consultant Report - Pizza Franco - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2645 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Did you like this example? PIZZA FRANCO Contents Executive Summary Health of the Family Business Consultant Report Analysis Conclusion Recommendations References Executive Summary Pizza Franco is a family business that operates a pizza chain and has been in the business for decades. The company has flourished when it comes to expanding its chains but the business lacks behind in terms of having a vision and proper organizational strategies. Pizza Franco has a strong unified family that is running the business with strong communication amongst them. But the company does not have a proper organizational strategy, strategic plan, succession plans and shareholder management plans. Pizza Franco does not have a board of directors and has very few external members as part of their employees. These factors lead to the business not being able to develop properly and effectively and lacking behind when it comes to innovation or diversification. Pizza Franco should establish a proper board of directors that is able to communicate with shareholders on a regular basis, they should observe the business and provide guidelines and recommendations on how to improve the busin ess. The board of directors will help give the business a direction and therefore help in its development. Another important step that should be taken by the business is to ensure that there is cohesion and coordination among family members, more non-family members should be brought in to fill in managerial positions in order to increase diversification among the firm if they have more experience than existing family members. Furthermore, the business should develop a proper succession plan so that conflicts can be avoided when filling out important positions such as CEO, CFO and the experienced person is selected for the position. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Health of the Family Business Consultant Report Pizza Franco" essay for you Create order Health of the Family Business Consultant Report Pizza Franco is a family run pizza chain that has been working for decades and has expanded their operations in a major way. The owner of the company is Don Franco and his sons have been appointed at various managerial positions within the company. The business has been operating for a long time but still it lacks a proper business strategy that is required for a family business. A family business is a synthesis of: ownership control (15 %+) by two or more members of a family or a partnership of families, strategic influence by family members on the management of the firm, concern for family relationships and the dream (possibility) of continuity across generations. By definition, Pizza Franco is a family business. Analysis The key criterion of a successful business is that there should be a mutual understanding and interdependence between all the groups present in a business. These groups include family owner, family members, and non-family members/employees. A proper family business realizes the fact that family dynamics play a very important and influential role in business and family influences the business and vice versa. Furthermore, ownership also plays an important role in influencing the business and the family. So all these groups are related and are independent as well as dependent on each other. If one system is not working properly, it will have a bad effect on the other system. Pizza Franco has established itself as a family business but it is not aware of the relation and influence of these groups on each other. Pizza Franco lacks a proper structured family council that is necessary for discussing and resolving problems before they turn into big issues, educating the family about the re sponsibilities that they have when they are part of the ownership and the management and helps in facilitating a proper communication process that enables the family to create a proper family plan. Pizza Franco also lacks of a proper management team which should include both family and non-family members. When the CFO of Pizza Franco, the eldest son of the owner, died, the family was in a conflict as to who to appoint as the new CFO; Alexander, who was the son of the owner and had no experience at all, or an external manager. The family favored Alexander over an external manager. Having less or no non-family managers reduces the efficiency of the management. The management team is responsible for coming up with business plans, strategic plans and contingency plans and experienced people are needed for this. The most important factor that Pizza Franco lacks in is of an absence of a proper board of directors. A board of directors is important for a company because it adds onto the per spective of the owner, makes efficient and effective business plans, as well as monitors the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance, makes important decisions regarding investments and dividends and keep family members informed about the performance of the business. A firm should have a proper organizational strategy so that it can work efficiently. Businesses should be well aware of what their organizational hierarchy is, what type of skills do people at each post should possess and who is responsible for each department in the business. A proper organizational structure should be able to make sure that the organization is decentralized or centralized. The roles of family members and non-family employees should be carefully defined and the extent of the involvement of family members in the management should also be set properly. Pizza Franco lacked a proper organizational strategy. The business had no proper set guidelines for family members and it lacked a sense of direction. I t can be apparent from the fact that when the owner was looking for a replacement for the CFO, he had to consult various people before coming to a conclusion. But despite this, the communication strategy of the business is efficient. In the process of coming to a decision to select the CFO, the father decided to consult all shareholders involved and make a collective decision. Good governance is also important for any business to flourish. Governance needs to be efficient and for a family business to achieve that, they need to make sure that they have a proper structure (with rules and guidelines) and encourage emotional intelligence among their employees (both family and non-family members). Like any other business, a family business should also have a clear strategy concerning their mission, vision, succession laws, shares and much more. Pizza Franco lacks in this area as well. Despite expanding their business to such an extent, they still do not have a formal strategy to carry out their business. While their communication strategy is strong and effective, they need to be clear about what their long-term and short-term goals are and how their business should be able to operate. Family firms need help in governing the familyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"management relationship. The desired outcome is rational economic and family welfare decisions unencumbered by traditional family dynamics. Governance can be provided for through ownership structure, different classes of voting and nonvoting stock, buy-sell agreements, a family constitution. Pizza Franco also lacks of a proper board that is essential for firms to operate effectively. Board composition in family-controlled firms in the SP 500 found that companies, in which independent directors balanced the influence of founding families on the board, performed better and created greater shareholder value. Firms in which founding family ownership remained (and relatively few independent directors served on the board) performed significantly worse than nonfamily firms. Shareholder management in the firm is also very important as shareholders are the ones who own the firm or the business and are responsible for its well-being and development. The shareholders in Pizza Franco are all family members and therefore a proper plan for their management does not exist. Shareholder wealth management and stewardship is important as these factors make sure that the firm is on its way to development and is maximizing its profits. With a proper shareholder wealth management plan in place, the shareholders of the firm will be motivated to maximize the wealth of the firm, increase its stock prices, increase the overall value of the firm and in turn increase the net worth of the individual who is holding the stock. Stewardship, on the other hand, involves the concept that the owner of the firm or any shareholder that is involved in the business is not in it solely for the financial gains b ut wants to contribute something to the community and the workers, they want the business to keep on growing and succeeding long after they are gone and are basically looking for long-term instead of short-term gain because of the desire to have future generations take over the business.Pizza Franco encourages stewardships among its stakeholders as they are expanding their business, are settling in for the long-term and are involving future generations in its operations. But the company, then again, lacks a clear strategy for the business and it needs to define its long-term and short-term objectives. Shareholder meetings are also very important as these represent one of the best opportunities to educate owners about their responsibilities and what the company and its management expect of shareholders and allow for financial, business, and competitive information-sharing and communication on other issues critical to a family firm in a disciplined and proactive manner. Family shareho lders expecting to fulfill their responsibility of aligning management interests with shareholder priorities and holding management accountable need to have a thorough understanding of financial statements. They need to be able to make sense of what the numbers say about the firm and its competitive condition. In order for a family business to keep on operating efficiently for a long time, succession policies need to be defined clearly and efficiently. A proper succession criterion should be set for each post (mainly the important posts such as the CEO) and successor goals should be identified. Without proper successors taking over the business, the family business would fall apart and would fail in a very bad way. A family business also needs to ensure that successors also fit the profile of successful successors. For example they can be people that know the business well or even love the nature of the business, they are guided responsibly by the previous generation, by advisors , and by a board of outside directors, they have good relationships and the ability to accommodate others, especially if part of a successor team, they can count on competent nonfamily managers in the top management team to complement their own skills or they have controlling ownership or can lead, through allies. Pizza Franco did not have clear succession policies. They lacked behind this area. The example of setting up a new CFO when the ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s son died is a clear example of how important it is for the business to have a clear succession policy. Despite having a lack of experience, Alexander (younger son of the owner) was keen and adamant to take his brotherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s place as the new CFO of the organizations. The family could not reach a consensus on this decision and consultants had to be bought in to contribute to this decision. The meeting ended with a mutual agreement of appointing an interim CFO for a period between 6 months up to a year until Alex ander gains the necessary experience needed to succeed. The aim of the consultants was to reach a decision that would satisfy all the family members and avoid a family conflict. Therefore it is clear that Pizza Franco needs to have a proper succession strategy in order to avoid such conflicts and decision making processes in the future and be clear about what the organization wants. Conclusion Pizza Franco is a family business that has developed in terms of its locations but it still needs to go a long way when it comes to strategy. The business has developed itself efficiently in a few areas but it still needs to work in various other parts. Pizza Franco has a family council which lacks in structure and experience but is very effective for collective decision making among family members. Furthermore, they have a vague stewardship strategy as the owner of the business is working for the long-term and want to make sure the business remains successful in the future. The family is also much unified when it comes to taking decisions which is an important trait for a business to have. But Pizza Franco lacks various necessary things. They do not have a board of directors which is important for a business to perform and progress efficiently. The business denotes the notion of unhealthy family culture perhaps rooted in the sonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ limited business knowledge and la ck of vision especially expressed by Alexander who is assertive on his decision to take on the role as the CFO at current times). To an extent this problem lies in the structure of the business, as the head of the family and the business, the father, has not started to integrate the younger sons in the business operations. The company lacks in strategic planning, succession planning and shareholder strategy. These strategies ensure that conflict is minimized among family members. Furthermore, Pizza Franco also lacks in diversifications when it comes to having more non-family members as managers. They do not have a proper organizational culture which is necessary for any business to thrive. Recommendations The most important step that should be taken by Pizza Franco in order to improve their business is to have a board that oversees the business and works for its progress. The role of the board is prominent in the governance of the relationship between a family and its business when the ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"familyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"business interaction is perceived as a positive-sum dynamic. Pizza Franco needs to ensure that their board is also adaptable to any sort of change in the company. The board should develop or approve the strategic plan, participate in the management development plan, and prepare the leadership continuity plan and the contingency plan. The board should work works with a professional team of advisors to prepare a succession plan and should use a succession planning consultant to ensure that the board takes steps professionally. The other step that should be taken by them is to have proper defined succession policies. These policies will ensure that conflict among family members is reduced when succession needs to take place and the process is done smoothly. The business needs to ensure that more non-family members are placed at managerial positions if they have the required experience since it will bring more innovation and diversification into the firm. A management team should be developed by Pizza Franco that should evaluate potential successors for management, including family and non-family members and promotion and succession should avoid nepotism and management should promote the most qualified candidate. A systems approach should be adopted by the organization in which all the family members are made aware of their relation to each other and their effect on the business. Training of potential heirs from an early stage in their life by offering them internship or working opportunity at market rates should also be given importance. Employees and members should be made aware about emotional intelligence and they should be able to recognize each otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s feelings and manage emotions effectively. References Anderson, R. and Reeb, D., Board Composition: Balancing Family Influence in SP 500 Firms, Administrative Science Quarterly, 49 (2004), pp. 209-237. Astrachan, J. H. (2010). Strategy in family business: Toward a multidimensional research agenda.Journal of Family Business Strategy,1(1), 6-14. Eddleston, K. A., Kellermanns, F. W. (2007). Destructive and productive family relationships: A stewardship theory perspective.Journal of Business Venturing,22(4), 545-565. Gersick, K. E., Davis, J. A.,Hampton, M. M., Lansberg, I. (1997). Generation to generation: Life cycles of the family business. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kellermanns, F. W., Eddleston, K. A., Barnett, T., Pearson, A. (2008). An exploratory study of family member characteristics and involvement: Effects on entrepreneurial behavior in the family firm.Family Business Review,21(1), 1-14. Poza and Daugherty (2013). Family Business. 4th Edition, chapter 6 and 7. 1

Essay about Rhetoric vs. Truth - 2244 Words

The relationship between rhetoric and truth is a highly conflicted topic. Two philosophers that discuss this topic are Plato and Nietzsche. Plato argues that rhetoric is merely a useful craft that deals only in the subjective and material world rather than in the pursuit of true knowledge. Nietzsche, on the other hand, argues that absolute truths are unobtainable since individuals are incapable of being completely objective, thereby rendering the debate between rhetoric and truth meaningless. Although both are valid points of view, Nietzsche’s argument appears to hold more weight insofar as it seems to solve the debate between rhetoric and truth by eliminating absolute truth altogether. To begin, Plato’s view of rhetoric stems from†¦show more content†¦This is one of the reasons why he believes that rhetoric is not synonymous with truth. Plato argues against rhetoric because it deals in the material world, which is not the place where ideas exist, nor does it attempt to attain truth. 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An Analysis of the Short Story Stolpestad free essay sample

It is nearing the end of his shift when he gets the call to go help a kid with his dog. It turns out the dog is sick or injured and needs to be put down. Stolpestads state of mind is expressed as he is driving to go help the kid: â€Å"Just a calm quiet spin around to this kid and his dog, back to all the turns you were born, your whole life spend along the same sad streets† (ll. 10-11). Stolpestad reminds himself of how miserable he thinks his life is, living in the same boring streets where he has lived all his life, doing a job he seems to find very tedious. The repetitiveness of his life gets portrayed again as he arrives at the scene, he seems to know everything that is going to happen next, as if he has done it a million times before: â€Å"She’ll ask you if you’d like some water or lemonade, if you’d like to sit a minute, and you’ll thank her and say no and shift your weight from one leg to the other† (ll. We will write a custom essay sample on An Analysis of the Short Story Stolpestad or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 58-60). Stolpestad eventually decides to put the dog down with his own personal pistol so he will not have to do any paperwork. He also decides not to shoot it in the brain, but in the neck by the collar so the wound will not be as visible. All this seems as if he is trying to make his job as easy as possible, by choosing not to do paperwork, and to shoot it in a less visible place so he does not make the owners mad. This eventually turns out to be a bad idea, and the consequences of this unhealthy state of mind are shown as he comes home from work, after having already visited the local bar (and lied about it to his wife). At his front porch is the kid and his father who tells him that they found the dog to still be alive when they wanted to bury it, hours after Stolpestad had shot it. At this point Stolpestad realizes that he cannot go on living a tedious life of repetitiveness and failures, and decides to escape from it all, possibly by suicide: â€Å"Wavering as you back away from the porch †¦ away until you’re gone at the edge of the woods, a piece of dark within the dark† (ll. 161-162). The ending is very open for interpretation, but suicide seems like a plausible explanation. The author uses many devices to express the state of mind of Stolpestad, one of those devices being the narrative technique. The story is told in a very unusual narrative. It is told in a second person point of view; it is written as if Stolpestad is the reader: â€Å"this is your life, Stolpestad† (l. 5). By referring to Stolpestad as ‘you’, the author makes the reader put himself in Stolpestad’s shoes, and thereby feel more connected to his feelings as they are portrayed in the story. Furthermore the story is also written in a very slow and monotone pace. One of the ways this is done is by using parataxis throughout the entire text, and also using -ing form very often: â€Å"Presses himself to her side, catches his breath, his eyes going from you to your uniform, your duty belt, the mother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (ll. 8-19). In this sentence we see both the parataxis and the -ing form being used, we also see the author being very descriptive, and this again adds to the very slow pace of the text. The intention of this slow and descriptive pace is to add to how repetitive and boring Stolpestad seems to find his life. Another crucial component of the text is the setting. As I have said before, Stolpestad lives and works in the same city, even the same neighbourhood, where he has lived his entire life. The city is, like everything else in the story, described as very repetitive and as a place Stolpestad knows in and out, just like he seems to know everything else that is about to happen. The laziness and despair that is present with Stolpestad also seems to be present with other inhabitants of the city. When he arrived by the kid’s house, he found their backyard to be full of garbage, old tires, bottles, paint cans etc. and the grass has not been cut and is very tall, as if the owners did not bother to make their home look presentable. This further underlines how everything around Stolpestad seems to reek of resignation. The weather too is a bland middle-thing between sunny and rainy: â€Å"†¦ sun never breaking through the clouds, clouds never breaking into rain† (ll. 2-3), this pretty much sums up the mood of the story; Stolpestad is tired of his boring and repetitive life of misery and mistakes. This brings me to the message of the story. The message is tied together with the mood of the story, and Stolpestads reaction to what happened with the dog. We are many times directly told that Stolpestad hates living like he does, but despite of this he has done nothing to change his ways. The message of the story is that you have to be the change you want to see in your life. Stolpestad has had many years to figure out that he is miserable doing the same thing day in and day out, since he has done it for his entire life. What we see in the end of the story is that Stolpestad has reached his tipping point. He has experienced one too many disappointments in his life, and decides to make an end to it, exactly how he does this is up to the reader. Stolpestad is a man in need of change, everything he does feels dull and repetitive, and when he makes a very critical mistake during his job, he finally reaches his tipping point. The state of mind that Stolpestad is in gets expressed in the text through both the narrative technique and the setting. The text is very slow and descriptive, which clarifies Stolpestads feeling about his life. The setting is a city full of the same boring apartments and streets everywhere you look, and the weather is also cloudy and boring. The clear message of the story is that you have to be the change you want to see in your life, you cannot let the bad things in your life take control.