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HIGHLIGHT FROM OUR WEBINAR ON MANAGING FAMILY BUSINESS

The Canada Ghana Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a business webinar on the theme: Managing Family Business; navigating the complexities of Family Business Governance.

The objective of the webinar was to delineate the differences and unique challenges posed by Family Business Governance compared to other business structures.

The Speaker for the webinar, Dr. Dennis Owusu Oteng is the CEO of Raven Consulting and the Editor for Family Business African Magazine. He is a Member of Family Business Firm Institute & Academy of Management and also an Alumnus of Harvard Business School, MIT Law & School of Management

With over a decade of experience and a passion for Family Business Management, Dr. Oteng provided an in-depth analysis of the importance of governance, Governance based on Family values, the three circle approach, and the holistic growth to family business governance.

Speaking on the importance of governance, Dr. Oteng mentioned that a well-governed organization will continue to make sustainable progress. He also said while corporate governance typically operates within formal structures, family businesses often merge formal and informal governance systems.

Explaining governance based on family values, Dr. Oteng said, each family business creates its governance based on intrinsic family values and objectives. He mentioned that owners of the family business must exhibit competence in setting clear objectives through which boards of governors or advisors can sculpt the structure that steers the business. He highlighted that, the effectiveness of any governance instrument is a reflection of the particular family’s value foundation.

Unlike the two-circle approach (Ownership & Enterprise) of corporate governance where the owners determine how the business should run, family business governance employs a three-circle approach (Ownership, Family & Enterprise). This model signifies that owners might not be from the family but can still influence the enterprise’s direction.

Finally expounding on the Holistic Growth in Family Business Governance, Dr. Oteng emphasized that while corporate governance focuses mainly on financial growth, family business governance nurtures multiple faceted areas of the family such as; spiritual family values, social, human, intellectual, and financial. The above protects, preserves and grows a number of asset groups within the family.

In wrapping up, Dr. Oteng mention that family businesses have contributed to about 70-80% of worldwide economic growth in job creation, tax contributions, and molding the entire economic landscape of every nation.