Revolutionising family business education with this new-age specialisation

Family businesses have always been a cornerstone of the Indian business scene. Family businesses in India operate at every level, from Kirana stores to large conglomerates. For something that is so ingrained in India’s DNA, India’s top colleges are now offering specialised courses that allow individuals to study exactly how to manage and operate businesses that are owned by families.

Family businesses have three key sides: the family, operations or management, and ownership. The family lends their name and reputation to the company and tries to retain ownership and management.

Some family holdings, like Eicher Motors or the Tata group are owned by the family but are managed by others: both these companies have CEOs or chairpersons who are outside the owner's family. However, it is--understandably--not an easy decision for members of the owner family, who have retained management for generations to hire an outsider to run their holdings. For that upcoming Masters' Union School Of Business, as part of its flagship PGP TBM, offers a postgraduate specialisation specifically for students interested in running their family’s business.

Masters’ Union’s industry concentration focuses on digitisation. Understanding the importance of a family’s legacy, the course is designed to allow the next generation of business owners to take their family’s legacy to the next level, and ground it in the ever-changing marketplace and the new economy. The idea is to ingrain into students, practices that drive high performance and shareholder loyalty while managing family relationships to avoid possible conflict. 

Understanding the importance of a family’s legacy, the course is designed to allow the next generation of business owners to take their family’s legacy to the next level, and ground it in the ever-changing marketplace and the new economy.

The course, like all courses at Masters Union, is taught by individuals who have real-world business experience: in this case, people like Naveen Munjal, who successfully own and operate family businesses and manage family relationships. He, and other professors, bring their real-world experience to the classroom, adding another layer to the education the students receive, such that they can learn beyond the textbook. 

The main reference material for the course involves case studies, once again moving away from the page and bringing to light real problems and their solutions, what worked and what didn’t work.

The course also breaks down the study into four industrial sectors where family businesses tend to operate most frequently: real estate and infrastructure, automobiles and manufacturing, retail, and services. Covering these four industries, the course navigates the management of the complex dynamics of the enterprise, growing and sharing family wealth, enhancing leadership and governance of the business, and improving the company’s sustainability. 

Courses like these teach the upcoming generation of business families how to effectively operate, manage, and own their enterprises. The idea is to teach them how to think not only as a business owner but also as a business person. The course strives to instil in students the importance of the role that they play in the company and in the family: how they can grow their business to new heights in a changing economy and modernise their businesses to reach levels of success hitherto undiscovered. 

About the author:

Ria Sardana, is a Content Manager at Masters' Union School Of Business with over 7 years of experience in the Content Marketing Industry.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha