How to deal with dual career couple and family businesses in small companies

LONDON SCHOOL OF COMMERCE

MBA1 Business Administration
Managing Human Capital

HOW TO DEAL WITH DUAL CAREER COUPLE AND FAMILY BUSINESSES IN SMALL COMPANIES

JUAN DAVID VEGA HEREDIA
ID: L0517PHPH0211

London 18th August 2011

Table of Contents

i. Introduction............................................................................................................3

ii. “Two body problem” in dual couple career and Tips and solutions for people to face

the “two body problem”......................................................................................... 4

iii. Different scenarios and solutions............................................................................ 5

iv. The most difficult scenarios toovercome dual careers.......................................... 6

v. Marital partners who own and manage a small business together......................... 7

vi. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….. 8

vii. References………………………………………………………………………... 9

viii. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………… 10

HOW TO DEAL WITH DUAL CAREER COUPLEAND FAMILY BUSINESSES IN SMALL COMPANIES

Nowadays the global economy has been represented in a huge amount for the small companies that agilely are growing and getting a representative market-share. Besides many of these companies are embedded by entire families or at least for a dual-career couple situated in a specific or different department where the relation between members suffer manydifferent issues, the families and/or couples faces a wide variety of situations where a diversity of scenarios could become although as a problem but with the possibility of a strategic solution.

The purpose of this essay will be to facilitate solutions for small companies to carry on with many possible uncomfortable situations that could happen around their day by day to maintain thebusiness. It will be discussed some scenarios where it could be find plight around this topic in any department or just the entire small company. As it could be seen in small companies it is possible to solve the problem in different forms, the idea of a dual-couple or integrants of a family working together it is attractive for some of them as they try to see this as a potential benefit for their self,one case could be to solve the problem such a positioning the couple as a team in the same department, as it could be seen in the case of Angela Grippo and her husband that are employed by at a university working as a dual-career couple. “ In a studio done by Mark Sher and Laurie McNeil (then chair of CSWP) complemented by others authors, viewing how to go over the boundaries it is possible tohave a closer look about the potential solutions.

“It will also be noted that institutions are beginning to realize that the “two-body problem” can actually be a “two-body opportunity,” and some welcome applications from couples.”

Due to the changeable economic environment of these days, family businesses are rapidly becoming the dominant form of business enterprise in both developed anddeveloping countries (Muske, Fitzgerald and Kim, 2002; Neubauer and Lank, 1998: 11) it will be shown how to face the different scenarios for a couple and for small businesses to go through a deeper comprehensive solution having in mind the influence of a wide variety of factors where the integrants such a couple, family and entire company must be aware to control and understand how to take thisscenarios as an opportunity to enhance their regular and executive working life.

The small businesses are amongst the largest contributors to employment and wealth in almost every country so it is quite important to be aware of the challenges their facing due to the important role the have in front of the economy.


The dual career comes from the many ways from spouses, couples, families and...