Thursday, March 21, 2013

SENTREP Case Analysis – Entrep Families in Asia – Lea Olegario

SENTREP Case Analysis – Entrep Families in Asia – Lea Olegario
Situation
The case is a discussion of how three families in Asia – Thai, Malay, and Indonesian – were able to grow their businesses in different ways. Their approaches on business development were varying but all of them became very successful. It will start with one person or a couple of members in the family coming up with a business. Some of the family members will then join and help out in managing the business/es. Each will have a role and may contribute new business ideas or a development to the original.
Problem
The concern is how to develop the business of the families, manage it, and keep the business in the coming years.
Alternatives
Some strategies that the families have done are
1.       Adding similar businesses and change the shops according to the target market. This is especially true for the Thai family involved in the food business.
2.       Adding complementing businesses to the existing business. This was done by both the Thai and the Indonesian families. The Thai family added ingredient-producing businesses for its bakeshops and restaurants. The Indonesian family added spare parts and other businesses related to automobiles to complement and be able to handle on its own the repair of its fleet.
3.       Adding any other business that may work. This was how the Malaysian family worked. Whatever opportunity came their way, the family would venture in it. They sell then other that they can no longer handle.
4.       Multiplication was done by increasing the number of branches in great amount as in the case of the Thai family. The Indonesian family who owns the Blue Bird fleet multiplied in an even increasing manner.
5.       The management of the businesses was divided in different ways, the Thai family divided according to functions, The Malaysian family divided their businesses according to industry, and the Indonesian family into lines of businesses.
Decision
 Although all families were able to accumulate immense wealth due to their businesses, their ways were different. They were doing the same strategies of growing their businesses but the application and the details vary. Of all three, the Thai family seems to have got it together; there are a lot of branches, complementing businesses, independence of each family member on their own business, and involvement of the entire family in growing the food business.
Action Analysis
The Thai family was able to reach a big market, increase profitability by creating complementing businesses, and even provide each member significant contribution in the business in differing ways like handling Finances, handling restaurants, handling bakeshops, etc. The matriarch was also able to hold things together and the family was able to pass the love for the business to the entire family and to the next generation. They involved the help of professionals but still kept the main control of the business within the family.
The other families have some indications that it may actually not survive the next years or that management of this may no longer be with the family later on. For the Malaysian family, this seems to be very evident as the heirs do not seem to be very interested in the businesses. Also, the businesses are so varied that they cannot really study one in-depth to be able to grow each one and develop it. Hence, they resorted to selling some of their businesses. The rest of the family does not seem to be involved in the business. In the same way, the Indonesian family is facing the same thing in that the children of the matriarch are not very much involved. Another thing is that if all children will get involved, there are limited business lines to divide to the children to divide amongst them such that they will not be stepping on each other’s toes. This has to be addressed by the matriarch or else she will always need to be there to look after the business and the family.
The Thai family was able to get the balance in all these and the members even show great enthusiasm to be involved in the business, which is a great indication that the business may still survive the generations to come.

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