Issue 16

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ERENET Profile Vol. IV, No. 4. www.erenet.org to the other to find an acceptable resolution. Those members adopting accommodation as a conflict management strategy in their family businesses show high concern for other members and low concern for themselves (Cosier and Ruble, 1981). Accommodation can start pacifying existing differences and show readiness to get along. Seymour, (1993) agrees that by showing concern and supporting others involved in the conflict, should contribute to good relationships and cohesiveness. In a family business, if all parties accommodate, conflicts can usually be resolved. Covey (1989) further adds that a win-win solution should be found to make all concerned satisfied and suggests that this win-win strategy encourages the family business members to work in the same direction and achieve the same goals and objectives. In the next section, the authors provide a background of Mauritius and the entrepreneurial activities in the country. Brief history of Mauritius and the development entrepreneurial activities Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean. It is a small island of about 1,865 sq km with a population of just over 1.2 million and is at a distance of some 800 km off the east coast of Madagascar. Mauritius has been in the past a French and British colony successively. Slaves were brought in from Africa to work on the island and after the abolition of slavery; indentured labourers were brought in from India to work mainly in sugar cane plantations and in farming. When Mauritius gained its independence in 1968, the British settlers sold or in a few cases gifted some the sugarcane fields to the labourers prior to their departure from the island. Today, the descendents of the indentured labourers have inherited these plots of land, which are still cultivated with sugar cane and other crops that are sold to sugar mills and vegetable sellers respectively. Mauritius is thus a multicultural country where Mauritians from various ethnic backgrounds (Indian, African, Chinese and Anglo/French origins) cohabit harmoniously for centuries. Entrepreneurial activities in Mauritius might have well started when the French and the British settlers colonised the island, some two hundred years back (Gungaphul and Boolaky, 2003) but it was rather in an informal way. To gain additional income to support their families, the labourers were cultivating even the smallest plot of land and sold their vegetables to others. Some of the lands which were inherited have been used and in many cases are still being used also for farming and the outputs are used for personal consumption or for selling in markets or to hotels and restaurants. Chinese immigrants who set up retail businesses during those days owned most corner shops in the country and presently several of these corner shops have been transformed into mini, super or hypermarkets (Boolaky and Gungaphul, 2001). Entrepreneurial activities started informally by people from various ethnic origins on the island and most of these businesses are today family businesses where both the nuclear and often the extended families are involved. However, theses entrepreneurial activities are no more restricted to agriculture, farming or retailing but have extended to textile, tourism, ICT, and in other manufacturing and services. Mauritius has now diversified from a mono-crop economy to an industrializing economy to face challenges from competition and globalisation. The government is providing strong support for expansion and development of SMEs and nowadays micro enterprises with a view to tackle unemployment and other economic and social problems. A few thousand people have caught this bandwagon and are starting up their own businesses taking advantage of facilities offered to them. In his 2007/2008 budget speech, the Minister of Finance of Mauritius stated “This trend confirms our conviction that the SME sector can be an effective vehicle for longer term job creation, for broadening the circle of opportunities, for poverty reduction and for lifting the economic, financial and social status of the unemployed and the working poor.” While there is no clear statistics (partly due to the fact that many small enterprises operate in the informal sector) to confirm the percentage of firms, which make up the SME sector in Mauritius, the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) report (2008) indicates an increase in the number of small businesses during period 2002 to 2007. There was an estimated 91,980 small businesses in 2007 compared to 74,930 in 2002, representing an increase of 23%. This small business sector also showed a drastic increase in employment, namely 19% (175900 to 208800) during the same period. Today it is taking astronomical dimension with the schemes for microenterprises, thus proving that the SMEs have already overtaken large establishments in job creation. Most of the entrepreneurial activities have started as small family businesses. Many are still operating as family businesses and are past their first or second generations. Unfortunately, with the absence of statistics, it is not known how many family businesses exist, what is the rate of failure or success, what problems they 30
ERENET Profile Vol. IV, No. 4. www.erenet.org face, etc. It has to be pointed out that the specificity of Mauritius in the context of family businesses is that the island is small and people know each other quite well. Word of mouth is highly predominant and rumours omnipresent. As family businesses in Mauritius are often the family’s identity in the community, they are prepared to sacrifice much for the success of their business otherwise failure would be considered shameful and this is something not easy for Mauritians in general irrespective of ethnic groups because of their pride and integrity. REFERENCES The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA 2009) Common Challenges for Family Businesses. http://www.iacpa.org/public/mm080908.asp. Accessed on 28/03/09 Bailly, P., Watson, A., Winkeljohann, N. (2008), Making a Difference: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Family Business Survey 2007/09, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Dublin, . Barclays Bank (2002) A Family Affair. Today’s Family Businesses, Barclays Bank. Birdthistle, N. (2006) Training and learning strategies of family businesses: an Irish case, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 30, No. 7, pp 550-568 Bjuggren, P. & Sund, L. 2001. Strategic decision making in intergenerational successions of small- and medium-sized family-owned businesses. Family Business Review, XIV(1):11-23. Bolman, L. and Deal, T. (1997), Reframing Organizations, 2 nd ed., CA: Jossey-Bass. Bolte, R.J. (2007) Keeping it in the family can be good. http://www.bdpinternational.com. Accessed on 30/03/2009 Boolaky, M. And Gungaphul, M. (2001), “Entrepreneurship, a strategic tool for economic development: The Mauritian experience” In Proceedings of International Colloquium ‘Nouvelle Logique de Gestion Face à l’Intégration Régionale’ 26 – 27 Nov, Antananarivo, Madagascar. Bowman-Upton, N. (1991). Challenges in Managing a Family Business. Washington: U.S. Small Business Administration. Burke, F. (2003) Effective SME Family Business Succession Strategies. Conference Proceedings of the International Council for Small Business 48 th World Conference. 15 th -18 th June 2003, Belfast, Ireland Cantillon, R. (1931). Essai sur le Nature de Commerce en Général. Carlock, R. and Ward J. (2001), Strategic planning for the family business. NY: Palgrave Carton, R.B, Hofer, C.W., and Meeks, M.D. (1998), “The Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship - Operational Definitions of their Role in Society” Paper presented at the annual International Council for Small Business conference, Singapore. Chin, Y.W. and Chan, P.K.P (2004). The Preservation of the Fruits of Entrepreneurship in Family Business with Risk Management http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/1998/icsb/m001.htm. Accessed On 25/03/2009 Churchill, N.C., Hatten, K.J. (1987), "Non-market based transfers of wealth and power: a research framework for family businesses", American Journal of Small Business, Vol. 11 No.3, pp.51-64. Collins, O.F. and Moore, D.G. (1964). The Enterprising Man MSU Business Studies, East Lansing, MI. Corbetta, G. & Montemerlo, D. 1998. Managing succession in Italian small and medium-size family businesses. The Family Business Network Newsletter, May, No. 20:8-10. Cosier, R. A., & Ruble, T. L. (1981). Research on conflict-handling behavior: An experimental approach. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 24, No.2. pp. 8<strong>16</strong>-831. Covey, S.R. (1989), The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. NY: Simon & Schuster. 31
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE Vol. IV, No. 4 October 2009 E
Page 3 and 4: ERENET Profile Vol. IV, No. 4. www.
Page 29: ERENET Profile Vol. IV, No. 4. www.

Issue 16

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?