State of family business management in India
Family business management courses are being actively enrolled by thousands of students these days. It begs the question why? Why is this stream of management studies as popular as it is? The answer is rather simple if you take a step back and consider the way of operation of Indian businesses.
We have had a history of nepotism, the farmer’s son is a farmer and a cobbler’s son is a cobbler and so on. This has changed a lot in the post-modern times but the tradition of passing down occupations is still somewhat active. With that said joint families are also a thing and families that have their own business models set up especially stick together.
So this need for keeping the family business running and passing down the executive reigns of it as the generation progresses is a large part of small and large businesses. A very good example of it is the entire Reliance Group, a family business that was passed down and run very well. To an extent that it is better than it was when the progenitor held the reigns.
It is this very tradition that Family business management courses have reined in and managed to place in a structured educational program. Family business management courses are designed in a way to equip the people that are inheriting these businesses from the previous generation with the right skills.
There are a few prerequisites to entering the degree and certain skills that are required to truly make the best use of the course- let’s take a look at them
Education, Qualifications and Skills
Having a comfort level with numbers, paying close attention to the detail and an understanding of the importance of family business and its roots are important. As are great communication skills, a curious and learning mind along with strong foundational skills in Information technology.
Along with these skills the ability to work in heavy stress work environments and efficient load management ability is required as a part of the job. Proper knowledge of corporate laws, rules, and regulations is an added bonus and should at least be known on a foundational level.
Family business management courses are post graduate level and require a 60% aggregate score in 12th standard and the bachelor’s degree to qualify. The bachelor’s should preferably be from a business management stream or financial/commerce stream. STEM fields in general are preferable- but there is no cap on what streams are allowed for entering the master’s degree.
Both direct and entrance test based enrollment is possible in thee degrees and the course lasts about three years. If a good B-school is to be pursued a national entrance exam such as CAT, XAT, MAT, etc. needs to be cleared with a good result first.
It follows a general semester system and the course fees range between one lakh rupees per year to as high as fifteen lakhs depending on the B-school of choice. There are distance learning and post graduate diploma in management as alternative options to an MBA available. But MBA certainly is preferred by the industry as it meets all the standards.
Future Prospects, Job Profiles and Salaries offered
If you are someone who has a family business running them this course will more than help you. If you are someone that will inherit an executive position then this course is definitely of interest to you. But even if you aren’t in either of those categories then you can still find employment in other family businesses by virtue of the course structure of this degree.
The most readily available job profiles in this field are Entrepreneur, Business Administrator, Accounts Manager, Assistant Manager, etc. The employment in MNCs, Small Family Businesses and your own firm is possible in this stream. Those three domains of work overarch most of the industry and corporate jobs so the employment prospects are broad.
The average salaries offered at entry level are 3-4LPA. With about 5 years of experience, or what can be considered mid-career level, the salary scales up to 6-8LPA. The late career salaries go as high 8-10LPA. For people finding employment in their own firms there is obvious job security and the career progression is somewhat smooth.
