Family businesses make a significant contribution to the economic development of national economies around the world. According to latest statistics, most Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are family-controlled businesses. Further the majority of large (public and private) firms are either directly or indirectly family owned and/or controlled. Therefore it is important to have an understanding of the issues facing these firms as well as the ability to apply theory in order to make sense of these issues. As a consequence, the overarching objective of this course is for students to …

1. Understand the case study method:
2. Master family business theories and frameworks:
3. Master case issues:
Students will be exposed to multiple types of family business cases so as to create a wealth of experience, knowledge and ability to recognize common issues and apply theoretical models.

4. Master the art of presentation:
Working in teams, students will become highly skilled in public speaking, presentations and visual aid creation. The course will focus on both public and private presentations of analysis and recommendations consistent with both professional family business consultancy and case presentations within the academic setting.

a) There are two primary textbook resources which are required for this course:

1. William Ellet (2007). The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases. (Harvard Business Press) – Free access through MyUni.

2. Poza & Daugherty (2014). Family Business. (South-Western Cengage Learning) – Ebook available for purchase though Cengage (link posted on MyUni).

Textbooks will be available for purchase. Alternatively you can purchase an e-book version of the text at a significantly discounted rate. The e-book version has the following features:
-Available on your laptop, smartphone, tablet or online
-Use the search function to locate key concepts

b) Academic readings: Many of the readings for this course have been taken from academic sources. These are listed in the detailed course timetable (available in Canvas). Rather than students having to purchase these texts (or borrow and photocopy the relevant sections from the library), electronic copies of these readings are available for download from the course’s MyUni website.

c) Case studies – in order for students to get a realistic experience in the issues facing family businesses, this course utilizes multiple case studies. These are listed in the detailed course timetable (available in Canvas). Rather than students having to purchase these cases, electronic copies are available for download from the course’s MyUni website.

Other reading resources which students may find useful include:

• Au, Craig, & Ramachandran (2011). Family Enterprise In The Asia Pacific (Edward Elgar Publishing).
• Sorenson, Yu, Brigham, & Lumpkin (2013). The Landscape Of Family Business (Edward Elgar Publishing).
• Esteban Brenes (2011). Understanding Entrepreneurial Family Businesses in Uncertain Environments (Edward Elgar Publishing).
• Sharma, Nason, & Sieger (2013). Exploring Transgenerational Entrepreneurship (Edward Elgar Publishing).
• Nordqvist & Zellweger (2011) Transgenerational Entrepreneurship (Edward Elgar Publishing).

Please make sure to check the course’s MyUni website regularly as this will be the main method in which I communicate to students and make additional information and resources available.

Intensive seminars - these mandatory 7.5 hour sessions will consist of a variety of lectures, class discussions, case study analysis, and student presentations. The lectures will provide students with an overview of the case method, family business issues, and theoretical frameworks used in the course. The case study discussions, analyses, and presentations will provide students with an opportunity to apply learnt theory to real-life family business situations. The presentations will be conducted by student groups and follow a case study analysis approach, i.e. problem definition, main analysis, alternatives, recommendation, and implementation. Students should come prepared for intensive seminar. This includes undertaking the prescribed reading and attempting the discussion questions for that topic. Given the intense nature of these seminars, students will also have an opportunity to work with their groups during class times. Please note that attendance at every intensive session is required in order to pass the course.

Over the trimester, students are expected to devote an average of 12 hours per week to studying this course. This means that, in addition to attending intensive seminars during the intensives, you are expected to commit an average of 9 hours per week of private study over the duration of the semester. Private study will be required to prepare for the intensive classes as well as for completing assessment tasks.

Please refer to the detailed course timetable in the course outline for an overview of the topics covered in this course.

Assessment Task	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Class Participation	10%
Midterm Exam	30%
Case Presentations	30%
Final Exam	30%
Total	100%

• To pass this course students must achieve a final grade of at least 50%.
• Physical attendance in ALL intensive seminars is compulsory (unless a legitimate medical certificate is presented, in which case the student must make up for what was missed).
• The tests are conducted under closed book conditions and no materials whatsoever will be permitted to be taken into the test. Dictionaries of any kind are NOT permitted.

Tutorial Participation (10%)
In order to encourage class discussion and give students the opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the prescribed readings and case discussion, 10 percent of assessment will be based on class participation. When determining participation marks, the lecturer will be taking the following into account:

Student…
- Comes prepared: refers to notes, introduces ideas and questions from the week’s text
- Contributes ideas: adds new ideas, suggests new connections, raises relevant issues
- Asks questions of clarification: re concepts, terminology, expectations
- Facilitates peer interaction: builds on others’ ideas, uses humour positively, stays on track
- Expresses ideas clearly: ideas are understood by others, pace and volume appropriate.

Midterm Exam (30%)
The midterm exam will test students on their knowledge of the family business theories taught in the first half of the class. The exam will last 2 hours in a controlled environment. The test will be conducted under closed book conditions (no material or dictionaries permitted). Further details regarding the tests (including format) will be communicated via MyUni.

Case Presentations (30%)
Case studies are an effective way to learn about complex issues. By using real-life examples, students will be able to better comprehend the opportunities and challenges facing family businesses. This aspect of the class will consist of 3 case study presentations (each worth 10%). These will be undertaken as a group exercise which will run throughout the trimester. As there will be multiple ways to interpret a case, the main purpose of these presentations is to formulate an argument which identifies what should be done and why it should be done, using ample case evidence (in the form of citations, facts, figures, etc.) to support the argument. These presentations are about making sense of actual family business issues, applying the theories and frameworks learnt in the course, problem solving and decision making in complex situations, coping with ambiguities, and working in a team.

There are two main components to the presentation: 1) the presentation itself, where students will be assessed on their ability to analyse the case and make meaningful recommendations, and 2) a defence of their recommendation, where students will field questions from the audience which are designed to challenge their findings (a grading rubric will be provided on MyUni).

Each presentation should include the following components:

- Introduction: Identify the agenda, your team and your audience, i.e. who are you (consultants, students, etc.) and who are you reporting to (shareholders, the family, the board of directors, management, employees, etc.)?
- Problem definition: What is the main problem? What are the causes of this problem? How can they (briefly) be resolved? This should be the theme throughout the presentation.
- Analysis: Conduct an extensive analysis using relevant theories and frameworks from the class to explain the likely causes and outcomes of your identified problem.
- Decision Criteria: Based on your analysis, list the key decision criteria which will need to be addressed in order to resolve the identified problem.
- Alternative solutions: Drawing upon the concepts learned in this course, formulate feasible solutions and identify the pros and cons of each. Relate the pros and cons to the previously identified decision criteria.
- Recommendation: Select the solution that best resolves the main problem, identify the action plan that should be taken, the risks to your recommendation, and how these risks might be mitigated.
- Implementation: How do you plan to implement your recommendation? What are the key steps, who is involved, and what is the proposed timeline?
- Desired state: From a family business perspective, outline the ultimate goals that you wish to achieve and specifically relate these to your recommendation.

More information about how to present a case study analysis will be made available to students during the semester.

Final Exam (30%)
The final exam will require students to amalgamate all of the knowledge gained in the course toward specific essay questions as well as a single case study. The exam will last 2 hours in a controlled environment. The test will be conducted under closed book conditions (no material or dictionaries permitted). Further details regarding the tests (including format) will be communicated via MyUni.

All assessments will be conducted in class. Students are expected to submit their work on-site to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits