“Family Business and Conflict”
For the past two centuries, family businesses have been flourishing all over the world. Advances in technology and ease of communication are two major factors that have helped family businesses expand and grow. If we look closely at the history books, we can see that kings used to rule the people for many years. Once their term expired, they passed their inheritance to their heirs. The newly elected king was to enjoy the royal luxuries that his forefathers had enjoyed. Moreover, it was his duty to follow all royal rules and traditions and then carry it forward. A family business is no different. A successful family business It allows other family members and future generations to enjoy the luxuries created by the elderly. Building a successful family business is indeed a tough and very hard work , but sustaining it for a long time is more difficult because with each passing day the luxuries are increasing as well as the competition.
It usually takes twenty to twenty-five years for a business to flourish, which is a long time. However, over time The ability to manage a business diminishes. For this reason, parents want their children to run the business after them in the same way that they have run it in their time. However, this is where most of the trouble lies. Parents have high expectations of their children because they have worked extremely hard to lay the foundations. They expect their children to appreciate everything they do as they do. So to achieve this goal, they behave with their children in a special way. They want the business they build to always be run with respect to its core values, so parents want to be able to pass on their values to their future generations. However, with each passing generation, it becomes more difficult for parents to pass on their core values to the next generation. Unfortunately, many external factors such as educational environment, social perception, etc Social media has negatively influenced the younger generation to such an extent that they don’t look up to their parents and elders for guidance. They want everything to go according to their way of thinking and their parents to guide them in their own way. Wanting to run on values is the reason why conflicts start between parents and children.
Conflicts between parents and children are not only related to business, but there can also be disagreements on many other factors, such as all five fingers are not equal, similarly the thoughts of people living in the same house cannot be the same.
In many families that are involved in the family business, children are brought up with the mindset that whatever is being earned is being earned for that’s sake. It has come to his mind that he is for governance. In such a case, he is unable to understand that what has been built is built with a lot of hard work and he has to prove himself qualified to come to this position. Goes and is treated harshly.
Another aspect in which conflicts can arise is not having the freedom to think about the future. Many children who are not interested in business are pushed towards business, which creates differences.
Taking over the family business Many conflicts may arise during the process such as rivalry among children, conflict of ideas between parents and children, children neglecting their family business out of respect for core business values, or parents forcing children to join their business. If the children want to do something else. Some parents do not allow their children to use their creativity and pressure them to handle business in the old fashioned way. Unfortunately, all of these issues can be easily resolved through simple communication. Discussing differences allows everyone to understand the other’s point of view. Parents should listen to their children, and children should do the same. There should be no place for ego, arrogance and disrespect. Business is important, but not more than a family. It is wise to improve the relationship with your family first and then talk about business matters.
Written by Madiha Azam Clinical Psychologist
Thoughts: Dr Sadaqat Ali