Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Copyright UCT
i
Transforming A Family Business Into The ‘World After Midnight’ –
A Case For Strategic Change
By
Trevor Glassock
March 2011
Copyright UCT
ii
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Executive MBA Degree
Plagiarism Statement
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
7 March 2011
DECLARATION
I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and pretend that it is your own.
I have used a recognised convention for citation and referencing. Each significant contribution and
quotation from the works of other people has been attributed, cited and referenced.
I certify that this submission is all my own work.
I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to copy this essay with the intention of passing it off as
his or her own work.
Signature: Date: 7 March 2011
Copyright UCT
iii
Acknowledgements
The EMBA 11 has been an amazing growth and maturing journey for me. While the program has
taken me out of my ‘comfort zone’ at times, I have benefited from the learning’s it has taught on
systems thinking, research methodologies and other personal leadership development practices.
There have been periods when I loved the program and periods that I loathed it, often asking myself
the eternal question, “why am I doing this?” As I come to the end of the program with the
completion of my dissertation, I look back and can see how my thinking and ‘Worldview’ have
changed over the period of the program! While a large part of the program was ‘academic’, a large
element of my learning can be attributed to the many friends and colleagues that I have met both on
and through the program who have contributed enormously to some of the softer skills I lacked going
into the program. I appreciated our interactions, and debating our differing views. Your friendship
and assistance throughout was always unwavering. I know that the foundation on which these
friendships are built, will remain solid and will continue long into the future.
I would also like to thank my very dear family, fellow shareholders and work colleagues who have
allowed me the opportunity of completing the program and standing by me when I have been away in
Cape Town on a module or needing some ‘time out’ for inter-modular or dissertation work. I know
that we have seen the results of some of our ‘implemented small wins’ over the past two years and I
look forward to many more as we continue on our exciting journey of growth together. Special
thanks to Sue Glassock for her valuable input in editing this paper and Jess Johnson for assisting me
with the ‘challenging’ task of creating the diagrams for this dissertation.
My two sons, Nicholas and William, I hope that I haven’t neglected you too much over the two years
and thank you for your understanding which allowed me to complete the program. I know we will
reap the benefits of the hard work and sacrifices well into the future, especially if our recent trip to
Italy is anything to go by.
To my friends, I look forward to getting back together with you, especially on the golf course and
tennis courts where we can enjoy some long lost exercise and a cold beer or two.
Copyright UCT
iv
Thank you also to all of those people who agreed to be interviewed as part of my research for this
dissertation. I hope you find the findings and results as interesting as I do, and wish you continued
success in your chosen areas into the future.
My acknowledgements would not be complete without thanking a very special lady, Samantha
Langton, who came into my life towards the second half of this EMBA. She is not only a wonderful
support, but also a truly amazing partner and friend who has stood by me through a very tough period
in my life. Thank you for your love and support it is greatly appreciated.
Finally, thank you to all at the GSB who have helped me through the past two years in whatever way,
especially Tom Ryan, Sherry Walklett and Ailsa Stuart- Smith. I would not be here today without
your invaluable contributions.
Copyright UCT
v
Abstract
“The more change and uncertainty there is, the more people drive change and the more change
is imposed upon them. This causes even more change and uncertainty. For most organizations
over the past decade this trend – fuelled by faster technology, customer expectations and
governmental pressures – has led to an unusual situation: the pace and scope of change are
greater than people’s ability to learn and respond”. (Professor Eddie Obeng of Pentacle the
Virtual Business School)
This paper discusses a research study conducted in order to explore the topic of the ‘World after
Midnight’. From this topic I narrowed down my concern to what level of change is required in our
business and management practices in our family business in order to remain relevant and sustainable
for future generations? My ultimate research question which I have sought to answer is to identify the
drivers and restrainers for transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’, the
problem phenomenon which is encapsulated in the above quote!
My research was conducted on our family business, Glassock and Associates a small to medium size
company operating as a niche player in the financial services industry in South Africa. As the founder
and patriarch has recently semi-retired, the organization is also dealing with its first inter-
generational transformation in the current context/situation of my research.
The purpose and objective of my research was to develop a theory in the form of a scientific model
that would address my identified concern that I highlighted above.
Using the prescribed methodology of Grounded Theory, triangulated with Soft Systems Methodology
analysis and my literature review, I show how the results and findings of the conceptual model I
developed have been ‘mapped’ into an established Scientific model.
The research in this paper has been approached from a systems thinking (Jackson, 2003) and critical
realism perspective.
The following sections provide a summary of the content of this paper in order to provide an
overview of the paper.
Copyright UCT
vi
Research Situation
The field of organizational change has been active for at least the past seventy years. Bearing this in
mind, Glassock and Associates and myself are relatively new to research into the field of change and
transformation. Even though we have been in business for the past 25 years and have recently made
the transition from 1st generation to 2nd generation family ownership/management, we have never
carried out any formal research on our business and management practices relating to change and
transformation.
The development of my conceptual model from the data which I obtained through my Grounded
Theory process, Soft Systems Methodology analysis and literature review was used to develop my
understanding of the complexity which exists in our situation, taking various stakeholder perspectives
into account.
Practical Management Problem
I have posed my concerns as “what are the drivers and restrainers in our business practices and what
level of change is required to these to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of a
family business in the context of the ‘World after Midnight’ phenomenon?”
From a practical management problem perspective I have sought to understand what we stand to gain
or lose if we do not address my identified concerns?
Research Question
The Research Question at the heart of my research study, is “ What are the drivers and restrainers for
transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’ – a case for strategic change?”
Using this as the basis for my research along with my concern and identified problem, I have
developed a solution in the form of a scientific model that I believe provides a rigorous answer to my
question.
Copyright UCT
vii
Research Answer
Having established the research question and developed my research framework, I conducted my
research using Critical Realism, Grounded Theory and Soft Systems Methodologies. This together
with my literature review allowed me to develop conceptual models of what events are actually
taking place at an empirical level from a critical realist perspective in our situation.
Having developed my conceptual models of our situation from the above process, I then mapped this
to different accepted ‘archetype’ or ‘proven models’ to establish my scientific model for answering
my research question.
Rationale
My research answer is based on findings and results that emerged from the data collected as part of
the process followed from my research framework that is explained in detail in Chapter 3. The
development of my conceptual models and theory development that forms the basis for my research
answers are explained in Chapter 4.
Evaluation
I set out in Chapter 5 the relevance, utility and validity of my results and findings and proposed
scientific model as an answer to my Research Question.
I also consider the ethical merits of my proposed solution using Velasquez’s (2006) method to
systematically evaluate my answer.
This research has added significantly to my learning experience, particularly with regard to the
application and use of research methodologies and theory development.
Finally, I conclude that my research has made a valid contribution to the body of knowledge in the
area of change/transformation in family and SME’s in South Africa and globally.
Copyright UCT
viii
Table of Contents
Plagiarism Statement…………………………………………………………………ii
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..iii
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….v
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………viii
Glossary of Terms…………………………………………………………………….xi
Chapter 1: Introduction & Overview………………………………………………….1
1.1 Introduction………….………………………………………………...1
1.2 Research Situation (Context)………………………………………….7
1.3 Concern………………………………………………………………..9
1.3.1 Force Field Analysis of identified drivers and restrainers to our
future growth and sustainability…………………………………11
1.3.2 Relevance Why is the level of change required in our business
practice a concern?........................................................................15
1.3.3 Implications for the organization………………………………15
1.4 Research Question…………………………………………………….16
1.5 Research Answer……………………………………………………...16
1.5.1 Grounded Theory findings……………………………………..16
1.5.2 Findings from Soft Systems Methodology (“SSM”) analysis…19
1.6 Research Rationale - Logic and reasoning underpinning the Research
Answer…………………………………………………………………….19
1.7 Conclusion and Evaluation……………………………………………21
1.7.1 Evaluation………………………………………………………21
1.7.2 Learning’s, future development of research……………………21
Chapter 2: Literature Review………………………………………………………...22
2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………...22
2.2 The Parent Concern…………………………………………………..23
2.2.1 Family Business Definition …………………………………...24
2.2.2 Transformation within family businesses……………………..25
2.2.3 Normative Management and the Value-System Domain……..29
2.3 The Immediate Concern……………………………………………...31
2.3.1 Business and Management Practices required to remain relevant
and sustainable into the future in a family business………….31
2.3.2 Management practices driving sustained business success…..32
Copyright UCT
ix
2.4 The Phenomenon of Concern……………………………………...….33
2.4.1 Family history, values and culture…………………………...33
2.4.2 Innovation, training and education…………………………...35
2.4.2.1 Innovation…………………………………………….35
2.4.2.2 Training and Education (Knowledge Management)…39
2.4.2.3 Learning Organizations………………………………43
2.5 Motivation and Professional Managers………………………………45
2.6 Relationship Maintenance and Networking…………………………..47
2.7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….49
Chapter 3: Research Methodology…………………………………………………...50
3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………50
3.2 Research methods……………………………………………………...53
3.2.1 Qualitative Research…………………………………………...53
3.2.2 The Research Process………………………………………….53
3.2.2.1 Step 1 Topic – Concern………………………………54
3.2.2.2 Step 2 Concern – Situation…………………………...54
3.2.2.2 (a) Critical Realism…………………………………..55
3.2.2.2 (b) Ontology – Theory of Reality…………………….58
3.2.2.2 (c) Epistemology – Theory of Knowledge…………...61
3.2.2.3 Step 3 Situation - Problem…………………………...62
3.2.2.4 Step 4 Problem – Research Question………………...62
3.2.2.4 (a) Grounded Theory…………………………………63
3.2.2.4 (a) (i) Level 1 Coding………………………………...67
3.2.2.4 (a) (ii) Level 2 Coding………………………………..67
3.2.2.4 (a) (iii) Level 3 Coding……………………………….68
3.2.2.5 Step 5 Research Question – Research Problem……...68
3.2.2.5 (a) Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)……………….68
3.2.2.6 Step 6 Research Problem – Research Answer……….69
3.2.2.7 Step 7 Research Answer – Actionable Knowledge….71
Chapter 4: Research Results…………………………………………………………73
4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………….73
4.2 Understanding the Context of the research…………………………..75
4.3 Developing an Answer to the Research Question……………………76
4.3.1 Grounded Theory Research…………………………………….76
Copyright UCT
x
4.3.2 Application of SSM to Glassock & Associates………………...83
4.4 Identifying a Proven Model…………………………………………..92
4.5 Seven S Model……………………………………………………….93
4.6 Developing my Scientific Model…………………………………….97
4.7 Conclusion……………………………………………………………98
Chapter 5: Conclusion & Evaluation………………………………………………99
5.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………99
5.2 Implications and significance of my research….…………………..100
5.2.1 Actionable Knowledge……………………………………….101
5.3 Evaluating the effectiveness of the research answer……………….102
5.4 Evaluation…………………………………………………………..103
5.4.1. Relevance, Utility and Validity………………………………104
5.4.1.1 Relevance…………………………………………..104
5.4.1.2 Utility………………………………………………104
5.4.1.3 Validity……………………………………………...105
5.4.1.3 (i) Dependability……………………………105
5.4.1.3 (ii) Credibility……………………………….107
5.4.1.3 (iii) Confirmability………………………….108
5.4.1.4 (iv) Transferability………………………….108
5.5 Ethical Considerations………………………………………….108
5.6 Learnings, future development of research and contribution to
knowledge………………………………………………………….110
5.6.1 Key Learnings………………………………………..110
5.6.2 Contribution to Knowledge…………………………..110
5.6.3 Potential for further theory development……………..111
References…………………………………………………………………………..112
Copyright UCT
xi
Glossary of terms
BOT Behaviour over time (of management variable of concern) BSP Basic Social Processes CLD Causal Loop Diagram CATWOE SSM method used to craft process or system definitions from a
stakeholder’s perspective where the following meanings apply: C - customer(s) A - actor(s)
T - transformation process W - worldview O - owner E - environmental constraints
CBOT Concern Behaviour over Time CR Critical Realism GSB Graduate School of Business (Cape Town) GT Grounded Theory SSM Soft Systems Methodology SME Small Medium Enterprise
Copyright UCT
1
Chapter 1: Introduction & Overview
1.1 Introduction
“We have moved as a world, from an age when we could learn faster than our local
environments change to one where the local environment of individuals,
organizations and governments changes faster than we can learn” ( Professor Eddie
Obeng and his concept of the ‘World after Midnight’ or ‘New World Management’,
2006)
This paper has been based on the topic of the ‘World after Midnight’ or ‘New World
Management’ as proposed by Professor Eddie Obeng a British educator, author and
motivational speaker. Obeng says the ‘Old World’ that we work and live in of “never-
ending hierarchies, innovation stifling and outdated, outmoded ways of thinking” is
being replaced by the ‘New World’ in which we all need to learn lots of new “stuff”.
Statistics show however that 70% of corporate transformation or change programs fail
for varying reasons. He sees the solution to this threat of change as ‘invisible
leadership’ on the one hand and ‘idea nurturing’ on another.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
& OVERVIEW Situation, Concern, Question, Answer
Rationale& Conclusions
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK Presentation of
research philosophy and discussion &
motivation of tools
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
Discussion of data collected &
analyzed during research process
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION &
EVALUATION Discussion of
solutions, critical reflection on work
& ethical evaluation
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW Consultation of
existing literature and location of research topic
within it.
STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Body of Knowledge
My Research
Copyright UCT
2
Based on these ideas, I have approached my research from a systems thinking
perspective in an effort to understand the complexity of how our work systems
operate and how we can avoid becoming a transformation failure statistic. I have also
chosen to use a systems thinking approach as it addresses identified problems from a
more holistic perspective. The growing popularity of critical systems thinking and
creative holism which encourages creativity through the use of different systems
approaches (Jackson, 2003), also allowed me to ‘find’ better solutions and equip
myself to cope better with the complexity, change and diversity which my research
question posed.
Using the four management domains as defined by Luc Hoebeke (2000) in his book
‘Making Work Systems Better’, I have located my research in the values-system
domain. While I understand that my research question does impact on the added-value
and innovative domains, I have chosen to focus my research on the values-system
domain or ‘normative’ domain for the purpose of this paper. A detailed description of
this domain is contained in Chapter 2 (Section 2.2.3).
The following diagram provides a graphic illustration of how the various process
levels, work systems, recursion levels and domains are linked and highlights the
‘domain’ in which my concern of transforming a family business into the ‘World after
Midnight’ is located. It is important to understand these work or activity systems and
their definitions as the time frames for each, the inputs and outputs from each process
level have different objectives and involve different participants. I have chosen to
focus my research on the values-system domain with a time frame of 5-10 years.
3
Figure 1.1 Overview of the four management domains and their time spans
(Source: L Hoebeke, Making Work Systems Better, 2000).
My research was conducted on our family business, Glassock and Associates. We see
ourselves currently as a small to medium size company operating as a niche player in
the financial services industry in South Africa for the past 25 years. As the founder
and patriarch has recently semi-retired, the organization is dealing with its first
generational transformation in the current context/situation of my research. The focus
therefore has been to see what “level of change is required in our business practices
to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations” and to answer my research
Work system in added-‐value domain 1 day to 2 years
Work system in spiritual
domain More than 20 years
Work system in value-‐ systems domain 5-‐20
years
Work systems in innovation domain 1-‐10
years
Recursion Level 1
Process level 3 1-‐2 years
Recursion Level 2
Process level 5 5-‐10 years
Recursion Level 3
Recursion Level 4
Process level 7 20-‐50 years
DOMAIN OF MY RESEARCH
4
question “What are the drivers for transforming a family business into the ‘World
after Midnight’ - a case for strategic change”.
I have approached my research from a Critical Realism (Spencer, 1995) philosphical
perspective and used the prescribed methodology of Grounded Theory as my
qualitative research approach. In order to triangulate my findings I have also used a
Soft Systems Methodology analysis to confirm the findings generated from the
Grounded Theory process. I have eloborated on both of these approaches in Chapter 3
where I describe the methodologies I have used.
My initial research question which was defined during the research design phase of
my study, intended to explore and identify those factors (drivers and restrainers)
which would assist us in transforming our business into the ‘World after Midnight’.
Through the process of completing my research I have focused the exploration more
onto the business and management practices which will drive this transformation than
only the identification of these drivers and restrainers.
The following diagram sets out the model used to structure the main body of the
paper. (Perry, 2002)
Figure 1.2 Structure of research paper
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIO
N & OVERVIEW
Situation, Concern, Question, Answer
Rationale&
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK Presentation of
research philosophy and discussion & motivation of
tools
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
Discussion of data collected & analyzed during research process
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
& EVALUATION
Discussion of solutions, critical
reflection on work & ethical
evaluation
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW Consultation of
existing literature and location of
research topic within it.
STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Body of Knowledge
My Research
5
In this chapter, it is my intention to establish how, through the process which was
followed in terms of my research methodology as detailed in Chapter 3, I moved from
my chosen topic to my identified concern, to consider the implications of this on our
situation, to the practical problem which was identified and related research question.
This resulted in the development of my conceptual and scientific model to arrive at
my answer and actionable knowledge which explains the problem. The solution I
propose is contained in Chapter 5 together with my evaluation of the ethical merits
thereof as well as the validity, credibility and trustworthiness of my work.
In Chapter 2 I provide my Literature Review which provides a three-level in-depth
review of the existing literature. My review is presented firstly on my ‘parent
concern’ – of family businesses and transformation within family businesses.
Secondly on my ‘immediate concern’ what are the business and management
practices that we need to change and prioritise in order to remain relevant and
sustainable into the future. Finally my review presents my ‘phenomonen of concern’
and includes a comprehensive review of those core variables identified in my GT and
SSM research. These topics include, the impact of family history, values and culture;
innovation, training and education, learning organizations; motivation and
professional managers; and finally relationship maintenance and networking
Chapter 3 sets out my Research Methodology and provides an indication of my
chosen research approach/philosophy, the process which I followed, paradigm
comparisons and the tools and models used for the purpose of my research.
Chapter 4 sets out my research findings and results from the data which was gathered,
analysed and interpreted from interviews and observations which were conducted.
These results and findings were used not only for the ‘sense making’ part of my
research but also for assisting with providing the information necessary to develop my
conceptual models, theory development and answer my concern of what “level of
change is required in our business practices to remain relevant and sustainable for
future generations of a family business, and to answer my research question “What
are the drivers of transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’ - a
case for strategic change”.
6
My Scientific model of what needs to be done to change the behaviour of the concern/
phenomenon/problem I have identified is presented in the final Chapter 5. My
conceptual models are based on my theory development, refinement and analogy and
resulted in the selection of my ‘Scientific model’ by using the ‘Transformation of
Metaphorical Insights into Scientific models methodology’ (Beer, 1984).
Chapter 5 sets out an evaluation of the relevance, utility and validity of my research
work as well as the ethical merits of the proposed solution to change the required
business and management practices to remain relevant and sustainable for future
generations.
Finally, Chapter 5 sets out the reasons why this research contributes to my personal
growth and increased knowledge and what additional research could be carried out to
further research in this area.
The following diagram provides an overview of my Research Framework, which I
used as a basis to guide me through my research process.
7
Figure 1.3 Research Framework
CRITICAL REALISM ONTOLOGY
The next two sections of this Chapter refer to the tools and approaches I used for
making sense of my research situation and my research concern. These are discussed
in more detail in Chapter 3.
1.2 Research Situation (Context)
In order to gain a holistic and systemic understanding of what Russell Ackoff would
describe as the “mess”, I used a number of methodologies to “make sense” of our
current situation/context. These included GT, stakeholder and CATWOE statements
METHODS
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK/SCIENTIFIC MODEL
GOALS
RESEARCH QUESTION
VALIDITY
Identified Problem
Perceived Concern Sense
Making
Management Interventions
Ethical Considerations
Research Considerations Researcher
Skills & Preferences
Social Paradigms
Option Evaluation & Decision Making
Generalization & Exploratory Research
THEORY CONSTRUCTION QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Existing Theory & Research
Own Experience
8
from Checkland’s SSM, rich pictures and force field analysis and causal loop
diagrams.
These tools and methodologies were used to gather and analyse data about my
research situation and concern and provide information around what the drivers and
restrainers of change are in our business and management practices.
Glassock and Associates or Vic Glassock and Associates as it was originally known,
was started by my father, Vic Glassock 25 years ago. The business was started as an
Employee Benefits brokerage, offering broking and consulting advice to small and
medium size insured retirement funds.
The profile and business model of the company was changed in 1994 when the
company purchased its own administration platform and registered as a private
retirement fund administrator under its own license. The migration of existing insured
fund clients on to this platform took in the region of five years.
Steady growth in the business over the next ten years culminated in a deal to assist a
large competitor in 2006/2007 which had a profound impact on the capacity and work
load of the business.
The above factors together with a number of consolidations, acquisitions, joint
ventures and increased media coverage which the retirment fund industry has seen
over the past few years suggest that the industry has not been spared from the
phenomonen of the ‘World after Midnight’. This is borne out in the Financial
Services Board reports that the number of registered retirement funds has reduced
from 13 000 in 2006 to 5 000 in 2010. This drastic reduction in the number of funds
has been attributed mainly to a move/consolidation from privately administered funds
to more cost effective umbrella funds.
This together with the rapid development of technology and acces thereto to
retirement fund members via the internet, social media platforms and mobile
telephone technology almost instantly, has resulted in the retirement fund industry
having to transform to meet the growing customer demands of instant access to
information.
9
It is a combination of the above factors in the context of the “World after Midnight’
phenomonen that have set the situation we find ourselves in currently.
1.3 Concern
The topic, which I have selected as the focus of this paper is how we as an
organization deal with the phenomonen of the ‘World after Midnight’? I have taken
this topic and narrowed it down to my concern which is outlined as ‘what are the
drivers and restrainers in our business practices and what level of change is required
to these in order for us to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of a
family business?’
The results of the above ‘sense making’ exercise allowed me to identify my problem
from the above concern which I was able to express as a ‘concern behaviour over
time’ graph (CBOT) as shown in the following diagram.
10
Figure 1.4 Concern behaviour over time graph of my identified concern –
drivers/ restrainers of business and management practices
The basis for plotting the above graph has not been based on any scientific
measurement, but rather a proxy measurement of the following factors which have as
a result of our experiences over the past 25 years contributed to my concern around
the lack of change in our business practices to ensure we remain relevant and
sustainable.
The first of these factors has been an increase and almost complete focus of
shareholders/directors on operational or added-value domain activities with no
attention being given to strategic matters.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -‐1
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Scale of 1-‐10
Drivers/ restrainers of business and management practices
11
Secondly, and following on from the above factor, has been a lack of capacity at all
levels within the organization, but far more noticeable at certain key individual
director positions.
Thirdly, limitations with our administration system and technology platform that have
seriously hampered our competitiveness and caused us to lose pace with our
competitors with regard to securing new clients. Various unsuccessful tenders and
service provider comments about the lack of integration and on-line capabilities of the
system have supported this fact.
Fourthly, staff turnover in the business in the past 3 years has been at unprecedented
levels compared to our previous history.
Finally, the recent semi-retirement of the founder highlighted an inappropriate
organizational structure which has placed too much responsibility on key
shareholder/directors which has added to our capacity constraints.
All of the above factors contributed to a culture which was hampering our growth and
ultimately our sustainability into the future.
It is my contention that if we do not address this matter and change our business
practices and start addressing these change drivers and restrainers, the level will
continue to deteriorate.
1.3.1 Force Field Analysis of identified drivers and restrainers to our future
growth and sustainability
The following force field analysis considers what the ‘drivers’ and ‘restrainers’ are in
our business management practices which are causing my concern.
12
Figure 1.5 Force Field Analysis of identified drivers and restrainers to our
future growth and sustainability
Having done the above analysis of what these drivers and restrainers are for changing
our business practices, I could now consider my original concern in the form of a
Causal Loop Diagram (CLD). The rationale for this was to assist me with
understanding the causal relationships that exist between these identified drivers and
restrainers and provide me with another source of triangulation to support the viability
of my ultimate scientific model which I propose as my answer.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -‐1
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Scale of 1-‐10
Past
Future
Generation and Transitions
Business and management practices
Sustainable Solutions
Resistance to change
Cognitive Growth
Motivated Team
Infrastructural
Mechanics
13
The following CLD highlights my initial concern of what could be driving the level of
change required in our business and management practices.
Figure 1.6 Causal Loop Diagram of my identified concern – ‘what are the drivers
and restrainers in our business practices and what level of change is required to these
in order for us to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of a family
business?’
The above diagram was developed to assist me with developing my conceptual model
and proposes that the two main drivers of change required to our business and
management practices are in the area of sustainable solutions which includes concepts
like limiting factors, transformation, strategic understanding and clear vision. These
equate to the identified concept of Attitudes and Altitude which emerged from the
data which was analysed in my GT research. The second identified driver of change
required to our business and management practices is in the area of generational
change which includes concepts like culture, values, family control and succession.
Level of Pedigree & Positivity
Degree of Ethics, Ethos
& Energy Level of
Infrastructural Requirements
Level of Markets & Public
Perception & Recognition
Extent of Evolution, &
Wisdom
Attitudes & Altitudes
S
S
S
S
S O
O
Right motivated team
Level of relations and brand building
Level of effect of generational
change
Sustainable solution
14
These equate to the Pedigree and Posterity concepts which I have identified in my GT
research. In summary these two broad conceptual variables are defined as:
Attitudes and Altitude
A key driver that emerged from the data from my research related to the limitations or
constraints that the business faces and the on-going need to transform and change to
overcome these. (This is not to be seen as resistance to change). It was also apparent
from a number of interviews as well as the literature review that it is imperative to
have a clear and well communicated vision for the business. This goes hand-in-hand
with all employees having a good strategic understanding of how their role fits into
the overall vision.
Pedigrees and Posterity
The findings from my interviews of the various selected stakeholders revealed a
strong perception of family history and values which has established a culture of
“utmost dedication and commitment”.
15
1.3.2 Relevance Why is the level of change required in our business practice a
concern?
In order to remain relevant, sustainable and viable into the future, it is my contention
that if we do not change and transform we will be left behind by our competitors. The
factors which I identified as drivers and restrainers above, if not addressed will
continue to cause us to lose market share which will ultimately lead to us becoming
ineffective and uncompetitive which means we will not be able to remain relevant and
sustain ourselves.
1.3.3 Implications for the organization
Having discussed the concern and the relevance thereof to our business situation, I
now turn to the potential implications for the organization, if nothing is done to alter
the level of change required in our business and management practices.
From an organizational perspective the fact that the organization is not adapting to
changes in its environment, will mean that we will become less and less competitive
and lose relevance to the environment/community which threatens our long term
viability and sustainability.
From a technical perspective the fact that the company does not change its business
and management practices will mean that it does not have the ability, capacity and
creativity to attract new clients, retain key personnel and remain sustainable for future
generations.
From a personal perspective as a shareholder/director and second generation family
member, the fact that the company has not committed to transforming its practices to
remain relevant and sustainable would essentially mean the culmination of what for
me has been a ‘lifestyle’ choice.
16
1.4 Research Question
My initial research question was defined as “What are the drivers for transforming a
family business into the ‘World after Midnight’ - a case for strategic change”. As
described at the beginning of this Chapter the ‘World after Midnight’ or ‘New World
Management’ concept as espoused by Professor Eddie Obeng forms the underlying
basis on which I have conducted my research. While I have used this as the topic for
my research, I have not sought to use his prescribed solution to this threat of change
as ‘invisible leadership’ on the one hand and ‘idea nurturing’ on another. I have rather
through my data gathering, analysis and findings, sought to establish my own
solutions within the context of our situation.
The answer therefore to my research question which I have developed into a
conceptual and scientific model provides an in-depth explanation of what would drive
the level of change required to our business and management practices in order to
remain relevant and sustainable and also provides ideas as to where we could
intervene to make these changes.
Having discussed the research question, I now turn to the research answer that
resulted from the application of my research framework and process as presented in
Chapter 3.
1.5 Research Answer
This section deals with the development of my research answer through the
application of my research framework and processes.
1.5.1 Grounded Theory findings
My GT research was conducted in the form of 15 open-ended conversational
interviews with various different identified stakeholders, which were transcribed,
coded and the data analysed to formulate variables and concepts.
17
Lehmann’s research model as illustrated below was used as the basis for my GT
process and the approach which I followed for my GT research.
Figure 1.7 The Grounded Theory Process (adapted from Lehmann)
Using this model I accumulated codes and memos and started to perceive the
connected relationships. Constant comparison of the data lead to new codes or
categories being added until no new categories could be identified and a point of
‘saturation’ was reached. From this point of saturation a decision of what concept is
regarded as ‘core’ to the study is made as higher levels of abstraction were sought.
The following core variables which emerged as the key concepts are explained in
Chapter 4 - Research Findings:
Substantive Area
Grounded Theory Process (Lehman,2001)
Date Slice 3
Date Slice 2 Date Slice 1
ENTERING THE FIELD
Theoretical Sampling
Saturation
Open Coding 1,2 & 3
EMERGING CATEGORIES
Professional Management
Relationship Maintenance
Generation Transformation
MEMO’S
Extant Literature
Crystallize understanding of concern and what is
driving concern
FIELD NOTES Group members notes on
conversational interviews & observations, experience
Secure permission For access Deciding on recording protocol
Yes
No
Coding
Theo
ry R
evie
w
In
form
s &
Ref
ines
Cod
ing
18
(i) Pedigrees and Posterity
The findings from my interviews of the various selected stakeholders revealed a very
strong perception of our organization having strong family history and values which
has established a culture of “utmost dedication and commitment”.
(ii) Evolution sagacity and wisdom
The data from my research revealed a distinct need for continued innovation and the
ability to generate ideas to recruit the ‘right’ people who need to be trained and skilled
to meet the needs of the organization.
(iii) Attitudes and Altitude
Another key concept which emerged from my research related to the limitations or
constraints which the business faces and the on-going need to change and transform in
order to overcome these issues.
(iv) Ethics, Ethos and Energy
Having the right team that is motivated and adequately incentivised came through in
most interviews. This, together with the need for professional management, are
concepts which clearly emerged from the research data.
(v) Market and Public Perception and Recognition
The main basic social processes (BSP’s) that arose out of the data from which this
concept emerged relates to strong alliances which have been developed, the need for
relationship maintenance and networking, and the importance of our brand and
reputation in the market.
19
1.5.2 Findings from Soft Systems Methodology (“SSM”) analysis
An SSM analysis was done on the business to provide validation to my findings
generated through the GT process. Using SSM, the following stakeholders were
identified as having an interest in our current situation:
• Family Shareholders/Directors
• Managers
• Employees
• Clients/Customers
• Service Providers
• Industry Experts
All of the above stakeholder groups formed part of my GT process and were included
in my open-ended interviews.
CATWOE statements were used to develop ‘root definitions’ which established how
different stakeholders perceive the change required to our business and management
practices in order to remain relevant and sustainable. The key results and findings of
this analysis are tabled in my research results in Chapter 4.
1.6 Research Rationale - Logic and reasoning underpinning the Research
Answer
This section sets out the logic and reasoning which underpins my chosen scientific
model. This forms the basis of my research answer and provides an overview of the
methods, tools and approaches that were used to arrive at my research results.
Chapter 3 of this paper, the research methodology, sets out in detail the approach,
methods and tools that I applied in my research process as well as provide the
rationale for me conducting this research.
20
Using a systems thinking and critical realism philosophy together with the prescribed
methodology of GT, SSM analysis and my literature review to triangulate my findings
and results, I was able to build a deeper understanding of ‘what is going on’ within
the system of interest in our situation. The concern CLD which supports my theory of
what the drivers of transformation are in our business, helped me to build my
conceptual model or theory of what business and management practices we needed to
change in order to remain relevant and sustainable.
Using the metaphorical insights methodology, I have gradually managed to refine
core variables through the construction of my conceptual models so that unnecessary
variety is disposed of and crucial relationships are preserved. These crucial
relationships ideally represent identity relationships between the two metaphorically
linked objects of the study, which are expressed in the form of a scientific model of
high generality that pertains to our context and situation.
In order to present my solution I compared a number of ‘proven models’ and
archetypes to establish what I thought was a robust scientific model of generalization
that not only addresses my concern but also answers my research question. In addition
to this, I have used my own 21 years of experience as well as observations and
research completed as part of my literature review, to compliment my research and
assist with finding a viable, relevant and sustainable solution.
By using a ‘proven model’ which closely aligns to the core concepts identified in my
research study, I believe that the strong correlation between my conceptual model and
the ‘proven model’ provides further validation to my scientific model. Through its
utilisation and implementation we could increase the level of change required in our
business practices to remain relevant and sustainable while at the same time increase
the probability of success. In addition, the model can be transferred into other
situations and contexts and used as basis for addressing similar concerns in those
situations.
21
1.7 Conclusion and Evaluation
Chapter 5 of this paper sets out the conclusions I have drawn with respect to my
theory development and proposed scientific model and how these could be utilised to
intervene in our situation to address the level of change required in our business and
management practices as well as an evaluation of my research results.
1.7.1 Evaluation
In the evaluation section of Chapter 5, I reflect on the relevance, utility and validity of
my findings, research results, answer and proposed scientific model. I then consider
the ethical implications of my proposed solution and finally reflect on what I have
learnt from the research exercise, its contribution to the existing body of knowledge
as well as how it could be extended in the future.
I provide my arguments as to the relevance, utility and validity of my research work
and, based on these, I can claim that my work is relevant, useful, dependable,
credible, confirmable and transferable and thus valid.
Having evaluated the ethical merits of my proposed scientific model solution I
concluded that while there is generally resistance to change and its associated
elements, the ethical implications of my proposed solution and scientific model are
positive for all stakeholders. As my research did not include the implementation of
the solution/scientific model, I need to rely on the extant literature to rely on the
results and findings therein which suggests that as a ‘proven model’, it has been
succesfully applied and implemented without adverse resistence from any particular
stakeholder group.
1.7.2 Learning’s, future development of research
In the final part of Chapter 5, I reflect on what I have learned from the research
process, how it contributes to the existing body of knowledge and the potential for
further theory development.
22
Chapter 2 – Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to deal with the literature review part of my research
project in which I present some of the existing relevant literature related to my
research topic, the concern that I have narrowed down from this, my identified
problem and ultimate research question.
As discussed in Chapter 1, my research question intended to explore the drivers of
“Transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’ - a case for strategic
change”, within the context of our current situation. My research study, as discussed
in detail in Chapter 4, guided me to a more focused study of these drivers and
restrainers of transformation.
I made use of the following sources of extant literature in my literature review to
ensure that I made use of the widest possible sources to gather information on my
research topic:
• Academic Journal Articles
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIO
N & OVERVIEW
Situation, Concern, Question, Answer
Rationale&
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK Presentation of
research philosophy and discussion & motivation of
tools
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
Discussion of data collected & analyzed during research process
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
& EVALUATION
Discussion of solutions, critical
reflection on work & ethical
evaluation
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW Consultation of
existing literature and location of
research topic within it.
STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Body of Knowledge
My Research
23
• Business Journal Articles
• Books
• Websites
• Online articles and websites
• EMBA Class Notes and Handouts
Figure 2.1 below sets out the three-level approach along which my literature review
was conducted.
Figure 2.1 Three-level literature review
2.2 The Parent Concern
My review is presented firstly on my ‘parent concern’ of family businesses and
transformation within family businesses.
Core var1
Core var3
Core var2
Core var4
Core var5
Core var6 Core
var7
BUSINESS PRACTICES REQUIRED TO REMAIN RELEVANT & SUSTAINABLE
TRANSFORMING A FAMILY BUSINESS
Literature review on parent concern
Literature review on immediate concern
Literature review on phenomena of
concern
24
2.2.1 Family Business Definition
Family business is a complicated phenomenon (Neubauer and Lank, 1998). This
complication is due in part to family businesses being a culmination of two interacting
systems; family and business. This interaction can have both positive and negative
consequences. One of the problems which I encounterd when carrying out my
literature review was to find consensus of what is a ‘family business’. This was
mainly due to the fact that a lot of the research literature is based on larger
organizations firstly, and secondly, they are often in industries which are quite
different to the financial services industry.
A recent PwC Family Business Survey published in January 2011 has the following
definition:
“A family business is an enterprise in which the majority of the votes are held by the
person who established or acquired the firm (or by his or her spouse, parents, children
or children’s direct heirs); at least one representative of the family is involved in the
management or administration of the firm.”
I have adopted a more behavioral defintion for the purposes of my research:
“A family business is defined as a business that is governed and/or managed with the
intention to shape and pursue the vision of the business held by a dominant coalition
that is controlled by members of the same family in a manner that is potentially
sustainable across generations of the family.” (Chua et al, 1999)
The following diagram provides a good illustration of the components which make up
a family business.
25
Figure 2.2 Family business components
Source: PWC Family Business Survey - 2011
1. External investors 2. Management and employees 3. Owner managers 4. Inactive or passive owners 5. Family 6. Family employees 7. Working family owners 8. Family, owner and business leader(s)/controlling owner
The most successful family businesses are those in which there is a good balance
between the three circles, with professional management, responsible business
ownership and a harmonious family dynamic. This leads to the best and most
enduring family businesses having clear boundaries between the business, the owners
and the family, with separate forums for discussion of ownership and family matters
outside the boardroom.
The next part of my literature review involved gaining a clear understanding of what I
understand transformation to be in the context of my research.
2.2.2 Transformation within family businesses
“The long term success of a family business ultimately resides in the continuous
transformation in the business, by descendants and not (just) the founding patriarch.”
Roland Eboru (Family Business Consultant – 2010)
Business 1
Ownership
5
Family
3 2 7/8
4 6 6
26
About thirty percent of family businesses, globally, are transferred to second
generation family ownership, and only thirteen percent of such businesses survive to
the third generation family owners (Ward, 1987). As our business has just passed
from the first generation to the second generation we can consider ourselves part of
this 30 percent statistic. Our next challenge is to see our way through to the third
generation or the thirteen percent statistic.
Ibrahim, Soufani and Lam (2003) state that the reason for such a low survival rate is
the unique characteristics of family businesses, particularly regarding the overlapping
issues between family, ownership and managing the business as mentioned above in
figure 2.2, Timmons (1999) states that the survival rate of small businesses also
improves as the size of the business increases.
Based on these statistics I considered the Tale of Two Theories which is espoused in Cracking the Code of Change – Beer and Noria (a Harvard Business Review
publication – June 2000), for the definition of what I understood
transformation/change to be for the purposes of my research.
The authors in this publication say that most organizations have accepted that in
theory they must change or die, but that according to them at least 70% of change
efforts fail. Some reasons for this include losing focus and become mesmerized by the
massive amounts of documentation and advice that is available. They advocate that to
improve the odds of success and reduce the human carnage associated with failed
change efforts, executives should understand the process of change better.
Their research suggests that there are two archetypes or theories of change; A Tale of
two Theories (Cracking the Code of Change)
The first they refer to as Theory E which is based on Economic Value. This is the
“hard approach” where shareholder value is the only legitimate measure of corporate
success. Change usually involves use of economic incentives, drastic layoffs,
downsizing and restructuring. These are usually the more common approach to
change than O strategies, particularly in the US. Failure to invest in the company’s
human resources and culture inevitably leads to the company not being able to sustain
the performance set, depriving the company of commitment, co-ordination,
27
communication and creativity by employees.
The second theory, or Theory O, is based on developing organizational capabilities.
The goal is to develop corporate culture and human capability through individual and
organizational learning. The process involves changing, obtaining feedback, reflecting
and then making further changes. Companies that adopt O strategies have strong; long
held commitment based psychological contracts with their employees. Companies
who adopt Theory O are usually unable to make tough decisions due to their
commitment to employees.
Transformation in the context of my research has been based on the second theory,
Theory O and has been used to denote a change from one qualitative state to another,
and implies ‘improvement’.
In order to clearly understand the situation and context in which each of these
concepts was reviewed, I have also included for clarification purposes, the ‘domain’
(as defined by Luc Hoebeke) in which these core variables are manifesting within our
business context. This sets the conceptual framework for my literature review.
28
The following diagram establishes the domain in which my research was conducted in
our business and assisted me in setting the boundaries within which to conduct the
literature review.
Figure 2.3 Conceptual framework for literature review
The core variables (concepts) of transforming a family business into the ‘World after
Midnight’ emerged from three of the four management domains as defined by Luc
Hoebeke. These domains are explained in the next section of the paper. For purposes
of my research study, I have focused on the impact these core variables have on the
Normative Management domain.
CONCERN-‐ TRANSFORMING A FAMILY BUSINESS
CORE VARIABLES 1. PEDIGRESS & POSTERITY
Key Variables: Family Values, Culture, Planning & Succession
2. EVOLUTION, SAGACITY & WISDOM Key Variables: Knowledge, Thinking, Innovation
& Judgment
3. ATTITUDES & ALTITUDE Key Variables: Vision, Strategic Understanding &
Transformation
4. MARKET & PUBLIC PERCEPTION & RECOGNITION
Key Variables: Networking, Relationships, Branding
5. INFRASTRUCTURE Key Variables: Technology & Resource
Requirements
6. ETHICS, ETHOS & ENERGY Key Variables: Leadership, Motivation,
Professional Management
NORMATIVE MANAGEMENT
VALUES DOMAIN
29
2.2.3 Normative Management and the Value-System Domain
This section defines the concept of Normative Management and the value (work
system) domain which Luc Hoebeke (2000) refers to in terms of Domains of
Management. Work systems for purposes of my research are defined in the context of
creating sustainable value and wealth within an organization. The creation of value
and hence wealth requires an organization to utilise its distinctive competencies to
meet the broad social needs of the community. The organizations situation is
characterised by change. In order to achieve sustained wealth creation the
organization needs to cope with change. Management in the values system domain are
therefore dealing with issues of a ‘normative’ nature.
A work system for my research purposes is a purposeful definition of the real world in
which people spend effort in more or less coherent activities for mutually influencing
each other and their environments.
For purposes of this paper I have focused on the work system which Luc Hoebeke
defines as the Value-system Domain or the Identity creating Domain. (See figure 1.1
– Overview of the four management domains and their time spans).This third
recursion level after the “Added-Value Domain” consists of process level 5 (5 to 10
year timespan), which is a major recipient of products and services discovered in
process level 6 (10 to 20 years timespan) and process level 7 (20 to 50 year timespan).
This is the domain where our conceptual division between a set of activities and one
of relations becomes less relevant. The personal relations with stakeholders are
essential for the transfer of innovative ideas. The major objective at this process level
is the creation of a new value language for the organization through ongoing debate.
This language is the substrata within which the innovations of the previous domain
can be discovered and introduced. Although the process and its outcome may appear
abstract, its reality resides in the people participating in the construction of the new
values.
The value-systems domain is involved in the permanent creation of the elements of a
new culture by creating new languages and new descriptions and prescriptions about
30
the world through a permanent debate between stakeholders of different world views,
traditions and cultures. The activities of this domain are often referred to as ‘political’.
These political activities refer to the interactions between proponents of different
value systems not to achieve a certain form of consensus or compromise but to agree
that it is worth continuing the debate and its underlying relations. Geoffrey Vickers an
ex Chairman of the National Coal Board of the UK referred to these ‘political
transactions’ or the activities belonging to the value–system domain as ‘appreciative
systems’, which refers to the system of values the various stakeholders have and the
mutually satisfactory relations they hold.
In the value-systems domain, process and output cannot meaningfully be
distinguished. Thus no decisions are taken in this domain, neither are there visible
outputs. If there are any they have to be seen as innovations. For purposes of this
paper and given the size and nature of our organization, I have chosen not to focus on
one process level 5,6 or 7, but have seen these as one ‘domain’ and sought to see how
we can potentially gain benefit from focussing on identified aspects of my research
findings to ensure a better chance of transformation and sustainability in our
organization.
Work systems in the value-systems/identity creating domain have their own way of
maintaining and adapting their essential relations. The primary characteristic of the
actors working in this domain is that they are involved in the process of consciously
debating the future.
The following attributes are thus generic in the process and outcomes of this domain,
and have formed the basis on which I have sought to use this to address my concern
and understand the mechanisms/interventions which influence our value-systems of
the future:
Generative – generative theories empower their users to develop a new repertoire of
behaviour, of ways to deal with their natural and cultural environments.
Tolerance – the quality of a debate and outcome are directly related to the tolerance of
its members for different cultures, languages and world views. Tolerance means that
although I cannot agree with certain world views or values, I do not judge their
31
proponents or try to alienate them. Acceptance means that I no longer make an effort
to change a state of affairs which goes directly against my world view and value.
Dialectical – adversaries have a trusting relation. Although their values and world
views may be completely contradictory, nevertheless they appreciate and trust each
other as human beings.
Congruence – persons taking part in debates which create new value systems are
personally involved and have the difficult task of recreating their own world views. If
they are not thoroughly grounded in their own humanity and its traditions, if they
have not creatively integrated these traditions in their own lives, they risk their own
personality in the debate. The debate requires and strengthens the congruency
between the inner and outer worlds of the participants.
The work systems of the value-systems domain therefore create the necessary
conditions for the innovation domain.
2.3 The Immediate Concern
This section of my literature review covers the second level or my ‘immediate
concern’ which I have identified as the business and management practices that we
need to change and prioritise in order to remain relevant and sustainable into the
future.
2.3.1 Business and Management Practices required to remain relevant and
sustainable into the future in a family business
Sustainable and profitable growth is central for most companies. Kotey (2005)
provides some insights into the goals, management practices, and performance of
family SME’s in a research study which compares differences between family and
non-family SME’s as they grow. Her research confirms that there is a general
preference among SME owner-managers to limit growth of their businesses in order
to maintain ownership and control in the long term. This has meant then that growth
is limited in these businesses, which has meant that SME’s persist with informal and
basic management practices. This situation changes at the medium business level
32
where growth becomes more important. Effective management of growth calls for
formal management practices and stringent internal control and reporting systems as
the business grows and seperation of ownership occurs.
Recognition of the differences in business goals and management practices between
family and non-family businesses can enhance the chances of ensuring survival.
Effective management of growth requires formal business and management practices
often missing in family businesses. Whilst certain informal practices (such as the
family atmosphere that elicits high commitment among employees, use of patient
survivability capital, close relationship with stakeholders) constitute unique resources
that the family business can use to gain competitive advantage (Simon and Hitt 2003)
these resources must be balanced with formal practices to enhance their value to the
firm. Clear definition and delegation of authority and responsibility, greater
accountability, and planning are necessary for effective management of growing
family businesses. Family businesses can balance their familail resources and formal
management practices by employing professional managers and involving outside
boards.
2.3.2 Management practices driving sustained business success
Gronholdt and Martensen (2009) in a research study of Danish companies conducted
within the frame of reference of Joyce et al (2003) who coined the powerfull headline:
‘What really works’. The purpose of their study was to find the management practices
that truly can help a company to be great – to achieve sustainable business success.
Joyce et al (2003) identified eight general business and management practices
correlating strongly with sustained business success. These essential business and
management practices were expressed by Gronholdt and Martensen (2005) as:
• Strategy – devise and maintain a clearly stated, focused strategy
• Execution – develop and maintain flawless operational execution
• Culture – develop and maintain a performance-orientated culture
33
• Structure – build and maintain a fast, flexible, flat organization
• Talent – hold on to talented employees and find more
• Innovation – make industry-transforming innovations
• Leadership – find leaders who are committed to the business and its people
• Mergers and partnerships – seek growth through mergers and partnerships
The first four practices are the ‘primary management practices’ representing the
fundamentals of business. Sustained success is associated with excellence in all four
of these and and least two of the ‘secondary management practices’.
Joyce et al (2003) state that the 4 + 2 formula is a set of approaches that “tell
managers precisely where to focus and where not to”. By focusing on these
management practices we can make use of developed behaviours that support
excellence in each practice.
2.4 The Phenomonen of Concern
This section of the literature review covers the core variables/concepts which my
research identified as being the interventions required in order to remain relevant and
sustainable.
2.4.1 Family history, values and culture
Grant Sieff advocates that the most important challenge for leaders is to drive strategy
and change through the culture of the organization. He suggests that in order to obtain
lasting change, a culture survey should be used as a management tool to assess the
alignment between leadership and culture, and between culture, organizational
strategy and customer needs, especially when there has been a change in leadership.
The reasons for engaging in the survey may be to:
• amplify the key messages within the the organization concerning values,
strategic intent, vision and mission;
• align the culture with the strategic direction of the organization;
34
• link the leadership direction with the organizational culture more strongly; and
• manage people to deliver results more effectively through improved
accountability and recognition of prefered behaviours.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that one of the driving forces of growth in first and
second generation family businesses is the family culture. This culture stems from the
passion and dedication that the family pours into the business and the values to which
it subscribes, including values like honesty, integrity, professionalism and trust.
Family members involved in the business, are using the family ethos to their
advantage when dealing with the various stakeholders in the business.
Craig and Lyndsay (2002) however suggest that there is potential for conflict to arise
where family values and management of the business occurs, or as they define it, the
entrepreneurship domain. This is usually because there is an emotional attachment to
family assets which can interfere with running the family business. Multi generational
family businesses, typically develop traditions, values and customs over time that are
reflected in their administration and business strategies. They are more likely to be
more heavily resistant to change than other organizations because the feelings and
emotions related to change are likely to be deeper and more intense than those in non-
family businesses (Dyer, 1994).
When there is a potential or perceived threat to any of the family traditions, culture,
values, family business members may attempt to remove the threat and restore the
status quo.
We need to be wary of falling into this trap and ensure as far as possible that we do
not miss profitable opportunities for the business because of too strong ‘emotional
attachment’ to traditions, culture, values and family assets.
Fortunately, traditions, cultural and value factors become less relevant for businesses
beyond the third generation and in some cases are no longer critical for the success of
the business. While the business may still have some family traditions, values and
35
culture, it has typically transformed into a different business from that which was
originally established by the founder/patriarch. It is important therefore that families
are cognizant of the transformation taking place and by so doing, manage the business
accordingly.
In a review of the literature on family business from a strategic management
perspective, Sharma et al. (1997) points out that family businesess are not a
homogeneous group. What works for one family in a specific situation will not
necessarily work for another family in a different situation, and may be compounded
during generational transfer.
2.4.2 Innovation, training and education
In a recently published UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study (2010) entitled ‘A
New Era of Sustainability’ the report notes that the drivers and approaches to
sustainability are changing. In 2010, seventy-two percent of executives identified
education as one of the critical development issues for the future success of their
business. While climate change was second, the study revealed a shift in approaches
and strategies and highlighted the importance of technology and innovation as critical
elements in their approach to sustainability issues.
I will deal next with the innovation concept first and then training and education in
the next section.
2.4.2.1 Innovation
“Encouraging innovation requires a managerial mindset characterised by a positive,
celebratory attitude towards innovation, combined with tolerance for failure,
encouragment of open debate, and a prioritisation of innovation and change over
stability and routine.” – Storey and Salaman, 2005
The Small Medium Enterprise (SME) innovation literature, while growing, still shows
generic biases (Hoffman et al., 1998; Keizer et al., 2002; Edwards et al., 2005), the
36
strongest one being its emphasis on determinants of innovation efforts and results and
a tendency to provide generalised or generic rather than contextualised management
guidance. (Hotho and Champion, 2011).
Increasingly, the literature has moved towards innovation rather than efficiency as the
key driver of growth, business success or failure. Changes in markets and the
competitive strategies of large organizations have increased the pressure on SME’s to
focus on innovation, innovation capabilities and innovation management (McAdam et
al., 2004). As our family business falls into the category of SME’s, we will be
required to adopt a more strategic approach to innovation and effective innovation
management skills in order to survive and prosper in the long run. Studies to date
have shown that the SME sector in general still shows an innovation management
deficit (O’Regan et al., 2005) or finds innovation management a challenge (Bessant et
al., 2005). While this applies to SME’s in discontinuous environments characterised
by technological step changes in particular (Bessant et al., 2005), I would suggest that
our business experience would suggest a similar case.
Innovation research, is by and large still considered to be short of conclusive findings
and comprehensive frameworks, or seen as overly static, or inadequately addressing
the complex dynamics of innovation in specific organizational and industry settings
(Edwards, 2000;Tidd, 2001; Edwards et al., 2005). Importantly there is a vast amount
of qualitative studies and of studies addressing social and change dynamics of
innovation.
In a recent paper entitled “Small businesses in the new creative industries: innovation
as a people management challenge”, Sabine Hotho and Katherine Champion focus on
people management practice and propose that specific innovation contingencies of the
games (computer) industry produce innovation management challenges which require
a more sophisticated approach to people management than is currently reflected in the
relevant literature or practice of managing the industry’ workforce. They suggest that
“reluctance to grow” may not just be a matter of external limitations, or strategic
choice, or a combination of these, but, paradoxically, a consequence of an innovation-
oriented strategic decision which, unexpectedly, translates into a change management
and ultimately, a people management task. Attempts to explore the impact of
37
innovation on SME people practices and employment relations are as yet not common
(De Leede and Kees Loise, 2005).
Factors which hinder innovation have been related to both internal and external,
structural and resource factors, and their possible correlations. The external factors
include, governement regulations, policy actions, relative access to funding, local
labor markets, levels of networks and relationships or knowledge networks and local
environmental characteristics (Rothwell, 1989;Lange et al., 2000; Blundel and
Hingley, 2001). Industry structure and lifecycle stages also impact on innovation and
business growth and opportunities. Internal variables include resources such as
management capability, expert skills, time, internal funds, but also system, in
particular knowledge system (Delehaye, 2005), or organizational variables including
structures, cultures and norms and leadership. At the micro level, the
shareholder/manager orientation towards innovation and training are identified as
determinants.
Innovation management literature has as a result of focusing on the above
determinants or limitations, remained largely prescriptive and based on
conceptualisations of innovation as staged, predictable sets of activities. Where
limitations to innovation are highlighted as a management task, they tend to be
conceptualised as challenges arising at the start of the innovation process and to that
extent as challenges which can be removed through management intervention,
informed by conventional change management practice, such as Kotter’s step models
to change (Isaksen and Tidd, 2006). How these generic approaches are to be
transferred to the SME context or to what extent they are applicable or need to be
modified, has remained unanswered, and needs to be examined as does the question
whether SMEs in different industry sectors require different bundles of innovation
management routines. Paradoxically, despite the recognition that SMEs seem well
suited to generating breakthrough innovation (Delahaye, 2005) and despite consistent
efforts of policy makers to support innovation in SMEs, knowledge about how SMEs
(succeed or fail to) innovate has remained unclear (Hoffman et al., 1998;Edwards et
al., 2005; O’Regan et al., 2005).
38
The literature confirms that ignoring the innovation challenge will inevitably result in
business failure (Barkema et al., 2002) and has identified a wide range of determining
variables of relative levels of innovativeness, and produces general guidelines how
innovators are to be managed. It has as yet not managed to explain why so many
SMEs fail to translate new ideas into commercial success and subsequently fail to
perform. Three shortcomings in the literature may account for this:
• lack of differentiation – there are seen to be different types of innovation,
explorative and exploitative innovation, and their different requirements are
well understood, but there is no research which considers the interplays
between the conflicting interest or dynamics of the two.
• The absence of contingencies – scarcity of innovation studies that focus on
organizational and industry contingencies or sector specific innovation
research and differentiating approaches to innovation management.
• The marginalisation of social processes – innovation research has produced a
predominantly context-disembedded and under-socialised understanding of
innovation, the innovation process and its management. The SME literature
remains overly concerned with factors impeding or facilitating business
growth rather than with processes generating competitive advantage. Edwards
et al. (2005) argue for the need to extend social process-orientated research in
the general innovation literature into the SME context with the view to
addressing the deficits of a primarily normative-functional literature that
promotes a static conceptualisation of innovation. Edwards et al.’s ‘process
manifesto” (2005, p.1119) aims to overcome the limitations of current
innovation process research which prioritises stages and sequences of
innovation activities, by reconceptualising the innovation process as an
interactive process shaped by the duality of agency and structure. This view
represents innovation as socially produced, and an iterative phenomenon
which arises as a result of the interplay of institutional structures and
constraints, and individual (strategic, behavioural) choices. This results in an
interactional, socially embedded and contingent notion of innovation in which
dominant designs are not merely understood as ‘best practice’ but equally as
expressions of power, dominance, normative pressures or professionalisation
projects (Nooteboom, 2000; Hotho, 2008). Edwards et al. (2005) propose to
39
adopt structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) as an appropriate lens to examine
innovation in specific organizational contexts as politically shaped practice or
as interplay of individual skills, interests and motivations, shaped by and
motivated to challenge structures, through choices, decisions, actions,
discretions and deviations (Hotho, 2008). This approach provides a powerful
new perspective on innovation in SME contexts as it draws attention to
innovation as contested terrain where diverse interests may collide.
This reconceptualisation of innovation as a product of structure and agency is strong
and assists our understanding of the socially produced nature of innovation, but as one
of many epistemological views, it also has limitations. For the context of young small
businesses an approach which emphasises the intra-organizational events, challenges
and conflicts as these companies embark on innovation is equally relevant if their
concrete management challenges are to be understood. For this purpose, it is useful to
draw on organizational sensemaking as theoretical framework (Critical Realism and
Grounded Theory). Thus situated “between” current managerial-functional or
deterministic studies of SME research, and organizational sensemaking, is a micro-
level view into innovation in SMEs that is missing.
The literature distinguishes between innovation orientation and imitation orientation
(Zhou, 2006). I have used the imitation orientation definition for the purposes of my
study. This states that companies with an imitation orientation try to avoid exorbitant
costs associated with basic scientific investigation and the development of
technologies and adopt competitor’s ideas and technology.
2.4.2.2 Training and Education (Knowledge Management)
In an article titled “Future Leaders: putting learning and knowledge to work” Rudolph
Garrity introduces a concept he calls ‘Adaptive leadership’. He suggests that no
amount of accumulated knowledge has practical value until it is applied to human
needs and concerns. Someone needs to articulate what is known, show relevancy to
the situation at hand, and propose a course of action that creates a meaningful result.
It is the work of leaders to craft future visions that inspire others to accept change and
40
become participants in the journey forward. An adaptive leadership competency is
suggested to move knowledge into action. Using adaptive leadership, theories are
turned into practice, and practice leads to meaningful accomplishment.
Adaptive leadership as explained by Garrity brings in terminology like ‘cognitive
complexity’, ‘mastery’ and ‘paradoxes and competing demands’. On the subject of
‘mastery’ he refers to observations made by Quinn (1988) on how a “primary
characteristic of managing, is the confrontation of change, ambiguity, and
contradiction. Managers spend much of their time living in fields of perceived
tensions. They are forced to make tradeoffs, and they often find there are no right
answers. The people who become masters of management do not see their work only
in structured analytical ways. Instead they also have the capacity to see it as a
complex, dynamic system that is constantly evolving”.
What this is saying is that the ability to understand the context of a decision or
problem and perhaps the assoughtment of personalities and competing mental models
is an essential learning skill in order to sought out viable alternatives and courses of
action.
Quinn indicates that a major cause of most managers inability to handle the situations
they encounter is that they become blinded by their own purpose, that is they have
prematurely settled in the facts, theories, methods, values and motives that they prefer
to use and have even developed moral positions that they use to resist any different
thoughts, perspectives, or strategies.
Garrity suggests the use of a concept from 5th Generation Management (Savage,
1996) for adaptive learning, which contains the following conceptual principles:
• Peer-to-peer networking;
• Integrative processes;
• Work as dialogue;
• Importance of human time and timing;
• The essentials of virtual enterprise and dynamic teaming.
Coupled to this new way of internal and external teaming, managers have to face the
difficult task of transforming their visions, values and strategies to align with this new
way of working.
41
Finally, businesses today have to go beyond the typical “find out what our potential
customer wants or needs, and then fulfill those requirements”. Horizontal knowledge
networking will bring more business intellect to bear on the market.
A further concept which Garrity discusses from a book entitled “Surfing the Edge of
Chaos” (Pascale et al., 2000) is that of Complex Adaptive System (CAS). CAS is a
“system of independent agents that can act in parallel, develop models as to how
things work in their environment, and most importantly, refine those models through
learning and adaptation”.
The concept of surfing the edge of chaos is presented as “a condition, not a location.
It is a permeable, intermediate state through which order and disorder flow, not a
finite line of demarcation. The edge is not the abyss, it is the sweet spot for productive
change”. (Pascale et al,. 2000, p61).
What this is saying, is that if firms expect to succeed, over time, they need to
anticipate the future – even attempt to create an augmented future – in order to get a
head start on the competition.
Haeckel in his book the Adaptive Enterprise: Creating and Leading Sense-and
Respond Organizations (1999) says that the make and sell organizations of the past
industrial era will be replaced with sense and respond organizations of the
information and high technology age. Sense and respond orgainisations assume that
change is unpredictable and the organizational goal is to become adaptive.
Haeckel also comments on the changing role of leaders as organizations transition to a
sense and respond style of operation. He says that transforming a system involves
changing both its purpose and its structure. Leaders must anticipate the effects on the
whole system of each change they make to any part of it. A system cannot be
improved, much less transformed, by making isolated adjustments to individual
capabilities (Haeckel, 1999 p21).
The challenges facing modern organizations in terms of becoming adaptive
enterprises able to deal with cognitively complex situations, fragmented
42
organizational functions, and complex business environments, requires that we shift
our attention towards the knowledge, skills, roles and methodologies of the adaptive
leadership competency. Garrity identifies two major adaptive leader responsibilities:
(i) develop a comprehensive methodology for organizational change; and
(ii) facilitating the change and development process.
The methodology should address the six critical business functions affected, strategy,
structure, culture, process, technology and people. And should have sufficient
explanatory information to gain the support of those affected.
In order to succesfully complete the above process, managers will be required to
manage attention. Davenport and Beck’s (2001) book The Attention Economy;
Understanding the New Currency of Business predicts major changes required to live
and succeed in an information overloaded personal and business environment.
Managers at all levels will be required to focus on essential business goals, objectives,
functions, processes, outputs and markets while wading through the huge quantities of
incoming communication which requires immediate attention.
Additional adaptive leadership skills which the literature suggests are:
• an intrapreneurial spirit;
• action learning; and
• action coaching.
Organizational change requires experienced and competent management. “Adaptive
Leadership” is the critical skill at this juncture. Future leaders would be well served to
‘put learning and knowledge to work’ by demonstrating agility and emphasis on
organizational learning and knowledge management. It is already clear that knowing
Knowledge Management principles, practices and information technologies will be of
little use if organizations cannot rapidly organise information into knowledge, and
turn that knowledge into timely action.
Examples often sighted in the literature of some of the typical problems associated
with most family businesses and which can act as barriers to their growth and
43
development are, conflict and succession. Organising the information we have on
conflict and succession into knowledge and turning this knowledge into action
through training and education can play a constructive role in mitigating these
problems and in enhancing continuity, development and growth.
2.4.2.3 Learning Organizations
Birdthistle and Fleming in a study entitled “Creating a learning organization within
the family business; an Irish perspective” (2005) advocate how a learning
organization can be created within the framework of the family business in response
to changing market realities.
Lucas et al., (1996) argues that organizational learning is considered by many
scholars to be the key to future organizational success. The ability to learn is a priority
for those businesses that wish to compete effectively. Many theorists and practitioners
view the transition to a learning organization as crucial to enable companies to unlock
the learning potential of individuals and groups to gain and sustain competitive
advantage.
The search for best ways to build learning organizations has been connected with
trying to create a philosophy of lifelong learning and living, embedded in the
workplace that will ‘empower’ employees to release their potential and find
fulfilment, or replace traditional train-and-transfer practices with a holistic approach
to worker development. Learning organizations provide the perfect environment for
high performing teams to learn, grow and develop.
Within learning organizations in general, and teams in particular, information and
knowledge flows around more freely. This makes for higher productivity within
teams and between teams as they build on each others strengths. An active learning
organization will have at its core the concept of continuous learning. Therefore, it will
always be improving in its techniques, methods and technology.
The following diagram sets out a learning organization framework adopted from
Watkins and Marsick’s (1993,1996,1997) model of the learning organization.
44
Figure 2.4 Learning organization framework
Source: Birdthistle and Fleming (2005) Creating a learning organization within the family business: an Irish perspective.
The framework has several distinctive characteristics which assisted in my research.
Firstly, it has a clear and inclusive definition of the structure of the learning
organization. It defines the structure from an organizational culture perspective and
thus provides adequate measurement domains for scale construction. Second, it
includes dimensions of a learning organization at all levels (individual, team and
organizational). Third, the model identifies the main dimensions of a learning
organization and integrates them in a theoretical framework by specifying their
Create continuous learning opportunities
Promote inquiry and dialogue
Encourage collaboration and team learning
Empower people toward a collective vision
People Level – Individual and team Team
Connect the organization to its environment
Establish systems to capture and share
learning
Provide strategic leadership for learning
Structure Level
LEARNING ORGANIZATION
45
relationships. Finally, it defines the proposed seven dimensions of a learning
organization from the perspective of the action imperatives.
The proposed learning organization model integrates two main organizational
constituents: people and structure. These two constituents are also reviewed as
interactive components of organizational change and development.
While Birdthistle and Fleming do point out that a significant difference exists
between the size of the family business and the ‘creation of continuous learning
opportunities’, their findings identified that micro family firms have difficulties with
this which may be as a result of financial constraints of the family business, a factor
which we should be aware of.
2.5 Motivation and Professional Managers
A core variable which emerged from my research and which has relevance in terms of
our situation is that of ‘professional management’. Denise Fletcher in an article
entitled “A network perspective of cultural organising and ‘professional management’
in the small, family business” provides some insights into how a small business
experiences professional management by examining the relationship between intra-
organizational networking and cultural organising.
She begins by putting forward the idea of a ‘network approach’ to small business
development. This interest in social network patterns follows developments within
sociology which has resulted in a ‘slow but persistent re-orientation from the
traditional emphasis on social totalities and systems with specific
structures/characteristics’ to an emphasis on individuals and action and the social,
cultural and political processes through which organizations are constructed. Social
network studies therefore focus on patterns of interactions in culture analysis, and the
resulting patterns of meanings which create the basis for social interaction.
While it is often argued that organizational change and strategic re-orientation can be
complex, transient, intangible and occuring transformationally or incrementally, there
is still only limited in-depth understanding of the ways in which owner-managers
attempt to realise difficult change processes and practices in small businesses. For
46
small, mature firms change is closely related to the development of innovative
strategic practices and reviving entrepreneuralism (Gibb and Scott, 1985).
In small firms which are particularly characterised by a complex mix of family,
social, personal, exchange and informal ties and relationships, it is surprising that
there are only limited frameworks available for examining strategic change processes.
Instead, because organizational structures and decision-making processes are often
more informal, it is frequenly argued that the process of change is characterised by a
move from entrepreneurial to professional management.
In the case of family businesses, writers argue the need for owner-managers to evolve
mechanistic, bureaucratic and paternal types of organizational structures into creative,
organic, innovative and entrepreneurial types which facilitate change and renewal.
The recruitment of external ‘professional’ managers should not be seen as a ‘quick-
fix’ solution to deeper structural/cultural problems within the business. The key issue
is to maintain a balance between the quality of management, while retaining the
entrepreneurial passion and appropriate management practices on the other.
A valuable lesson which we could learn from Fletcher’s research study under the
heading ‘the search for “professional management”, which is applicable to our
current situation, a respondent notes, “…certainly passed the entrepreneurial stage
which my father was very good at but we have grown bigger now and one person
cannot control and know everything that is happening. You have got to pass on
responsibilities and trust to other people. Unfortunately, in the last four years we have
been hit hard on three occassions where people have lost us a lot of money maybe
because we passed that trust on too easily.” With hindsight the respondent recognises
that if they had recruited the right person from within his local networks and not
through advertising in the local press, they could have potentially avoided some of
their problems.
47
2.6 Relationship Maintenance and Networking
As one of the core variables which emerged from my research data related to
relationships and networking, the work of Geoffrey Vickers’ and his idea of
relationship-maintenance is reviewed as a richer concept of the organization than that
of ‘goal-seeking’ and helped me to think about human activity systems through a
different lens. The differences between the two concepts (relationship-maintenance
and goal-seeking) hinges around the concept of ‘control’, or ‘regulation’. It is
important to understand the difference between ‘goal-seeking’ and ‘relationship-
maintenance’ as explained by Vickers’ and later Checkland and Howell to understand
the importance of managing a whole context rather than setting isolated goals to direct
human action.
At the heart of Vickers’ concept of ‘relationship-maintenance’ lies the notion of an
‘appreciative-system’. He sees the idea of ‘appreciation’ as the wider human activities
through which we can conceptualise the process of learning and decision making.
The ‘conventional wisdom model of (‘goal-seeking’) is based on the premise that
organizations are taken to exist as entities in the ‘real world’; that is, they are treated
as a conscious, person-like entity capable of unitary purposeful action. In this model,
organizational members are considered to understand and share the organizations
aims and objectives, and consequently, work within the organization to attain these
objectives. Objective attainment is commonly expressed through concepts and
language of ’goal-seeking’. In comparison, the ‘richer model’ challenges the concept
of an organization as a single objective entity. In this model we recognise that
organizations, whatever they may be, are complex phenomena, created out of a
number of intentions for purposeful action.
A second challenge to the ‘conventional wisdom’ model is the pursuit of many
objectives by organizational members at the same time. The management of these
different personal objectives means that the concept of organizational decision
making being a consensus-seeking activity is unrealistic. Instead, organizational
members need to seek accommodations between conflicting interests on which action
can be based, or managing relations.
48
Vickers’ criticism of the ‘goal-seeking’ concept relates to three main areas:
(i) Goals are considered to be once-and-for-all states to be attained and their
establishment and pursuit equates to organizational planning and control.
(ii) Goal-seeking encourages the simplification of a complex situation by the
process of reducing multiple objectives to a single goal.
(iii) The need to measure goal attainment has led to ‘effectiveness’ becoming
the single most important criterion for judging the appropriateness of
alternatives to achieve the goal.
In place of goal-seeking Vickers suggests a way of conceptualizing, planning and
regulating a system over time through the concept of relationship-maintaining. The
subtle difference between the two is that in goal-seeking the assumptions are that we
can describe the single purpose of the action and that action has a start and end point,
and hence can be assessed in terms of the success of its achievement. Success, too, is
assumed to be ‘known’ and a suitable measurement can be devised and practiced.
Vickers goes on to further explain the difference between ‘objects’ as a focal point
and ‘objects in the context of relations’.
What might initially be expressed as a single goal can be viewed as a complex web of
relations using the relationship-seeking concept. The successful management of any
human activity system, whether business organization or one’s personal life requires
regulating a system over time in such a way as to optimize the realisation of many
conflicting relations without wrecking the system in the process. When we make
decisions about how to act we need to take into consideration the implications of all
our actions and the relations likely to be effected.
For Vickers’ management, or regulation, is about trying to effect stability in a
situation by encouraging and supporting desired relationships and avoiding or
minimizing the effect of undesirable ones.
As we decide which relations we wish to maintain and which we may avoid or
sacrifice for the sake of others we are making judgements about what we see and what
we value and these judgements are continually being formed and reformed as, through
experience, we re-evaluate the relations with which we are dealing. This has
49
implications for the norms and values we observe and infer. At any one point in time
we might perceive norms and infer values, but this perception and inference will be in
accordance with our current appreciative setting. New experiences and ideas make us
susceptible to certain events and ideas that inform our thinking and action and which
can change our attitudes and beliefs. In such a way we learn. Vickers’ describes the
result of this continuous re-evaluation or process of learning as ‘appreciation’ and its
process of development an ‘appreciative system’.
2.7 Conclusion
Transformation is a necessary evil that all businesses have to deal with. Regardless of
an entities size, all businesses need to evolve and change in order to remain relevant
and sustainable into the future. It does appear from my research findings and my
literature review that family businesses and SME’s do have factors or elements that
are peculiar to them. It is also clear that these elements and factors are different
between 1st , 2nd , 3rd , and 4th generation family businesses. Given these differences,
in light of the ‘World after Midnight’ phenomonen, my concern and identified
problem of the level of change required by business and management practices in
order to remain relevant and sustainable still remains. The crucial differentiating
factor I conclude is therefore the identification of the drivers and restrainers within
these different types of entities and where they are in their lifecycle/generational cycle
that becomes critical. I base this on the fact that it is clear that family businesses like
ours that has just moved from the 1st to the 2nd generation, might have very different
situations and contexts, but the business and management practices which need to be
focused on can be narrowed down to seven or eight core variables which are common
to all succesful sustainable businesses.
50
Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
“New discoveries are always the result of high-risk expeditions into unknown
territory. Darwin, Columbus and Freud each in different ways, were conducting
qualitative enquiries”. Academy of Management Journal (2006), Roy Suddaby
The purpose of this chapter is to present to the reader the design of the research
framework and the process which I followed which guided my research efforts. The
design and process followed is based on my theoretical and conceptual understanding
of the methodologies used and their integration with reference to existing underlying
literature, existing theory and prior research that has been presented.
I used Joseph Maxwell’s model for Qualitative Research Design as the basis for
designing the framework which contains the goals of my research. I have used his
general concept of design to provide structure to my research and the process
followed. Using this adapted research design framework I was able from my chosen
topic of the “World after Midnight” to firstly esablish my concern, then undertsand it
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
& OVERVIEW Situation, Concern, Question, Answer
Rationale& Conclusions
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK Presentation of
research philosophy and discussion &
motivation of tools
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
Discussion of data collected &
analyzed during research process
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION &
EVALUATION Discussion of
solutions, critical reflection on work
& ethical evaluation
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW Consultation of
existing literature and location of research topic
within it.
STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Body of Knowledge
My Research
51
within our situation and context and finally to a point of actionanble knowledge once
I had developed my theory and research answer. The process I followed to arrive at
my answer is explained in more detail later in this Chapter.
This paper has been produced using a soft systems thinking and Creative Holism
(2003) approach as defined by Michael C. Jackson. This approach encourages
creativity in viewing management problems and resolving them through exploring
different metaphors and paradigms, and has allowed me to gain a better understanding
of “what is going” on in our business, while at the same time addressing my concern
and research question.
The four sociological paradigms which have emerged from the work of Burrell and
Morgan (1979) and complemented by that of Alvesson and Deetz (1996) which I
considered are:
• The functionalist paradigm;
• The interpretive paradigm;
• The emancipatory paradigm;
• The postmodern paradigm.
Using Maxwell’s model allowed me to explore internal and external factors which are
impacting on our business and in particular my concern. I compared various iterations
of results with the above paradigms in order to develop a theory and arrive at
actionable knowledge which could be applied to address my concern. It also allowed
me to collect and analyse data, develop and modify my theory, elaborate and refocus
my research question, and identify and address validity threats all more or less
simultaneously. In addition, using this approach has allowed me to understand the
actual structure of my research, as well as plan it and carry it out.
The following diagram reflects my research framework, which I used to assist in all
aspects of my research process.
52
Figure 3.1 Research Framework
CRITICAL REALISM ONTOLOGY
This paper was approached from a Critical Realist (CR) perspective (Bhaskar 1978)
by viewing the identified concern through the ‘lens’ of Critical Realism (CR)
philosophy which is elaborated on later in this chapter.
In the following sections I discuss the nature of management research as well as my
chosen research paradigms and methodologies. I also discuss in detail how I have
sought to complete my research using an integration of Grounded Theory, Soft
Systems Methodology and ‘the transformation of metaphorical insights into scientific
model’ methodologies to build up the research framework into a conceptual model
METHODS
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK/SCIENTIFIC MODEL
GOALS
RESEARCH QUESTION
VALIDITY
Identified Problem
Perceived Concern Sense
Making
Management Interventions
Ethical Considerations
Research Considerations Researcher
Skills & Preferences
Social Paradigms
Option Evaluation & Decision Making
Generalization & Exploratory Research
THEORY CONSTRUCTION QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Existing Theory & Research
Own Experience
53
and ultimately a scientific model to address the identified concern and question on
which this paper focuses.
3.2 Research Methods
There is a vast amount of literature dedicated to the pros and cons of qualitative
versus quantitative research methodologies. I have for the purposes of this paper
chosen to only consider qualitative methodologies as an appropriate basis for
determining what drives the level of change required in our business practices to
remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of a family business.
3.2.1 Qualitative Research
The objective of qualitative research is to gain an understanding of the causal
mechanisms and relationships that exist between the phenomenon of interest or
concern and provide deeper insight into the problem situation.
The qualitative research process which I have used in this paper to understand “what
is going on” in our situation was to conduct open-ended interviews with 15
stakeholders. Each stakeholder was asked the same questions as detailed in Appendix
A and their responses recorded and then transcribed as described later in this chapter.
3.2.2 The Research Process
The research process which I followed is summarised below and explained in more
detail later in this chapter:
Step 1 Topic – Concern
Step 2 Concern – Situation
Step 3 Situation – Problem
Step 4 Problem – Research Question
Step 5 Research Question – Research Problem
Step 6 Research Problem – Research Answer
Step 7 Research Answer – Actionable Knowledge
54
3.2.2.1 Step 1 Topic – Concern
The topic, which I have selected as the focus of this paper is how we as an
organization deal with the phenomonen of the ‘World after Midnight’? I have taken
this topic and narrowed it down to my concern which is outlined as ‘what are the
drivers and restrainers in our business and management practices and what level of
change is required to these in order for us to remain relevant and sustainable for future
generations of a family business?’
The validity of this as an appropriate research topic for our business development and
growth was assessed against what we stood to gain or lose if we did not address this
phenomonen?
Figure 3.2 STEP 1: Topic - Concern
3.2.2.2 Step 2 Concern – Situation
The concern which I have established above has implications for all stakeholders in
the business. In order to address these, I needed to first understand the causal
mechanisms which give rise to our business practices in our current situation. This is
where CR was introduced into the research process.
‘World After
Midnight’ Change in business practices required to remain
relevant and sustainable.
Topic Evolved to
Concern What do we stand to win or lose if we do
not address this?
55
3.2.2.2 (a) Critical Realism
The objective of my management research is to gain a deeper knowledge and
understanding of our business and the management practices and interventions that
are required in order to deal with my chosen phenomena of the ‘World after
Midnight’ or put in laymans terms, the rate at which change happens compared to the
rate at which we learn, and how these have changed over the past 10 years.
The following diagram shows this phenomenon.
RATE
- 10 YEARS Today TIME
Figure 3.3 The World after Midnight Phenomonen
RATE OF CHANGE
RATE OF LEARNING
WORLD AFTER MIDNIGHT
56
The rate at which things are changing in the world is happening at a faster pace than
we can learn which suggests that we will not be able to keep up with the pace at
which our world is changing? This is evidenced in our business with the rate of
change which is taking place within the retirement fund industry in South Africa at
present as well as the rate at which information technology is changing in the world as
a whole.
With this in mind, I have sought to find a solution which is systemic and based on
systems thinking. The key idea behind this choice is that systems thinking sees
everything as a set of inter-related cause and effect mechanisms which form part of a
system. A system therefore needs to be understood in its entirety and is more than the
sum of its parts.
A causal loop diagram was developed using Orlikowski and Hofman’s
‘improvisational model’ for managing the introduction of change into an organization
which assumes that change is not an event but rather an ongoing process and that it is
not possible to anticipate all the consequences of the change process. I used
Watzlawick’s ‘reframing’ change tool to try and assist me to move beyond just trying
a series of incremental adjustments that do not alter fundamental understandings
about how our organization should operate. He argues that ‘reframing’changes ‘the
conceptual and/or emotional setting or viewpoints in relation to which a situation is
experienced’ and places it in another frame. Frame breaking change requires
organizational members to change their current mode of thinking.
The way we see the world is determined by our world view, experiences, mind-sets
and the lens through which we view the world. This world view should have seven
critical components to it. These are:
1. A model of the world of how it functions and is structured.
2. Why the world is the way it is?
3. A theory on what the future holds and what we can do about it.
4. A theory on values to provide ethical direction to guide our actions.
5. A theory of action that guides us on how we must act.
57
6. A theory of knowledge on how we can construct models, theories and
knowledge.
7. A starting point from which to build theories, models, concepts and
guidelines.
Each of these questions can be linked to a branch of philosophy as highlighted in the
following table:
Table 3.1 Worldview components and relationship to philosophy
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
PHILSOSPHICAL BREACH
COMPONENTS
What is? Ontology A model of the world Why is the way it is? An explanation of the
world What does the future hold?
Futurology Theory on what the future holds and what we can do about it
What are the ethical implications?
Axiology Theory of action that guides us on how we must act
How should we act? Praxiology Theory of action What is true and false?
Epistemology Theory of knowledge
A worldview therefore has the following components, a theory of reality, a theory of
how things will change in the future, a theory of values, a theory of action and a
theory of knowledge.
Each of these components has been built into my research framework.
58
3.2.2.2 (b) Ontology – Theory of Reality
Ontology is the study of how the world works and defines the basic categories of
reality. It is a model of how the world works. This section describes the elements of
the worldview that I used to address my research concern.
Figure 3.4: Three World Levels - The Real, the Actual, the Empirical.
I have used CR as my ontology. The critical realist sees the world on three different
levels, empirical, actual and real as postulated by Roy Bashkar (1978). These domains
are shown in figure 3.4
The empirical – the level of observed events
The actual – the level of actual flow of events
The real – includes the interacting causal mechanisms which produce the events,
actions and interactions which are observed or experienced in the empirical and
actual worlds.
The REAL: mechanisms and structures with enduring properties
The ACTUAL: events (and non-events) that are generated by the mechanism
The EMPIRICAL: events that are actually observed and experienced
59
The real world cannot be routinely or consciously accessed in our everyday lives and
therefore experiences that we are aware of (the empirical world) are limited. CR
expands the empirical world by seeking understanding of the mechanisms and
structures at play in the actual and real worlds. In order to do this we need to
approximate what is going on in the real world by building models to attempt to
explain some of these causal mechanisms. The research process attempts to assist by
allowing us to hypothesise what is happening in the world by observing and
understanding ours and others experiences in the empirical and actual worlds. Critical
realists understand that observations are fallible and open to interpretation, cultural
experiences and preferences.
By using a CR ontology I hope to nearly approximate the management practices
which are currently in place and those which are required in order for us to transform
our business into the future. CR is a useful tool for any research which observes and
tries to account for behaviour caused by hidden causal mechanisms. CR was therefore
a valuable tool for assisting me to understand these causal mechanisms.
Management practice is about sense-making, decision-making and action-taking. To
understand and make sense of my concern I needed to develop a theory of the
underlying mechanisms that drive the behaviour being observed that needs to be
changed. Understanding these causal mechanisms enables us to change a variable
which we can control in order to influence the behaviour of the concern variable
which is not under our control.
60
MANAGEMENT
ATTENTION
LEADING TO
TO IDENTIFY
Figure 3.5 Knowledge needs and sources revealed by the forms of management
attention. Essential Skills for Management Research. Edited by D Pantington (2002)
CR thus provides a model of how the world operates that closely approximates how
the real world of practice management works. To change the concern behaviour we
must understand the causal mechanisms driving that behaviour and then find a
KNOWLEDGE NEEDS
Eg. Managing complex relationships
KNOWLEDGE SOURCES
Eg. Professional management
MANAGEMENT ACTION
Eg. Relationship maintenance and networking WHICH
SATISFY
This is a sequential rather than a causal map
REASON
61
variable which we can control and change the concern variable. In order to gain this
understanding we need to consider multiple perspectives which will provide different
insights and therefore a more complete understanding of the world.
3.2.2.2 (c) Epistemology – Theory of Knowledge
Epistemology is defined as the sense making of what is happening in the particular
system being researched and answers the philosphical question, what is true and
false? It provides an explanation of why the world is the way it is and how we can
know and reason about reality. In order to make sense of what is happening in our
business I have used Grounded Theory (GT) to understand and know the reality of
our situation. Developing knowledge about the reality of our situation helped me to
understand our situation, the drivers and restrainers which result from my concern. A
theory of knowledge is therefore necessary in order for me to interpret the data which
I have obtained and analysed into an answer to address my research question.
The following diagram sets out the process which I followed as part of this step.
Figure 3.3 STEP 2: Concern- Situation
How have we dealt with this concern currently sets the
path for our future strategy
Topic Evolved to
Concern
Casual Loop Diagram
Situation
Rich Picture Sense Making
62
3.2.2.3 Step 3 Situation – Problem
The situation results in an identified problem, namely that if we do not change our
business practices with regard to dealing with the drivers and restrainers relating to
these and what level of change is required to these practices, will we remain relevant
and sustainable for future generations of a family business?’
3.2.2.4 Step 4 Problem – Research Question
The identified problem forms the basis of my research question: “What are the drivers
for transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’? The expoloratory
research and sense making which was undertaken in the previous step, lays the
foundation for introducing the Grounded Theory methodology to further develop my
understanding of the situation and concern. The result or output from this process is to
identify solutions which offer potential areas for intervention.
Figure 3.7 STEP 3: Situation - Problem
In the retirement fund industry, if we
do not change business practices to remain relevant and sustainable we will
be marginalised
Topic Evolved to
Concern
Situation
Problem
Results in
Implications
63
Having focused my research question on the identified problem, the GT process was
used to establish and develop a tentative hypothesis/conceptual model about the real
world of our situation. The following section describes the process which was
undertaken.
3.2.2.4 (a) Grounded Theory
The GT methodology was developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) as a reaction
against the extreme positivism that had permeated most social research. They argued
that “scientific truth results from both the act of observation and the emerging
consensus within a community of observers as they make sense of what they have
observed.”
Lehmann’s research model below provides an excellent overview of the process of
GT and the approach which I followed for my GT research. Using this model I
accumulated codes and memos and started to perceive relationships between them.
Constant comparison of the data lead to new codes or categories being added until no
new categories could be identified and a point of ‘saturation’ was reached. From this
64
point of saturation a decision of what concept is regarded as ‘core’ to the study is
made as higher levels of abstraction were sought.
Figure 3.9 The Grounded Theory Process (adapted from Lehmann)
I have used GT to make sense of what is happening in our business. The system that
is producing the behaviour of the concern captures all the variables that drive my
concern and highlight the causal relationship between them. This provides a theory or
hypothesis which explains the causal mechanisms which drive the concern.
In order to surface these causal mechanisms that are taking place in the real world, I
made use of Grounded Theory (GT) which is an inductive, theory-discovery
methodology which allows researchers to develop an account of the general
characteristics of a topic which is grounded in empirical observations or evidence
(Glaser and Strauss. 1967).
Substantive Area
Grounded Theory Process (Lehman,2001)
Date Slice 3
Date Slice 2 Date Slice 1
ENTERING THE FIELD
Theoretical Sampling
Saturation
Open Coding 1,2 & 3
EMERGING CATEGORIES
Professional Management
Relationship Maintenance
Generation Transformation
MEMO’S
Extant Literature
Crystallize understanding of concern and what is
driving concern
FIELD NOTES Group members notes on
conversational interviews & observations, experience
Secure permission for access Deciding on recording protocol
Yes
No
Coding
Theo
ry R
evie
w
In
form
s &
Ref
ines
Cod
ing
65
The GT methodology of data collection, analysis and theory construction provided me
with a tool for building a theory of “what is going on” in my research context.
GT is about being systematic with qualitative data. I have set out in this section the
application of procedures and guidelines for a rigorous approach to using qualitative
data for building a theory.
The GT methodology is built on two pillars, constant comparison and theoretical
sampling which are explained later in this chapter.
Four fundamental elements need to be established before we collect, code and analyse
the data as depicted in figure 3.10:
Figure 3.10 The research process: Four elements in alignment (“Essential skills for management research” Edited by D Partington, 2002.
PURPOSE
RESEARCH QUESTION
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
RESEARCH DESIGN
66
I set out below what I identified each of these as,for the purpose of this paper:
1) A clear purpose. For this paper my intention was to gain a rich understanding
of what the drivers and restrainers were in our business practices related to the
topic I had selected and what level of change was needed in order to
transform/change them in order for the business to remain relevant and
sustainable).
2) Research question/s. The ultimate research question I wanted to answer was
“What are the drivers for transforming a family business into the ‘World after
Midnight’?”
3) A theoretical perspective. My goal here was to develop a conceptual
framework and ultimately a scientific model which would provide a solution
to my concern, identified problem and research question.
4) An outline research design. As noted earlier in this chapter, I have made use of
an adapted version of Joseph Maxwell’s model for Qualitative Research
Design.
The GT methodology makes use of the following five methods for data analysis:
1. Open coding for conceptual understanding.
2. Constant comparison of codes, concepts and categories as they emerge from
the data.
3. Memos for clarity of thought.
4. Discovery of the core categories which become the focus of selective coding.
5. Theoretical coding that investigates the links between categories.
GT gave rise to my theory which I considered in light of my concern and identified
problem. The theory building process starts right at the beginning, when the study is
in its early conceptual stages and continues throughout.
GT answers the “How” questions and enables us to understand why a particular
situation happens.
67
In the open coding process the categorisation and concept development came out of
the data which was obtained from interviews, observations and other empirical data.
3.2.2.4 (a) (i) Level 1 Coding
I conducted 15 open-ended conversational interviews with a range of identified
stakeholders and transcribed, coded and analysed the data which ‘emerged’ from
these to formulate variables. The purpose of these interviews was to learn as much
about the situation as possible from different perspectives. Coding was done by
analyzing texts from these interviews (Appendix B) line-by-line and provisional
themes (categories) were noted. The intention in this phase was to develop fresh
theoretical interpretations of the data rather than work towards predetermined
interpretations. This was probably the most important step of the process.
3.2.2.4 (a) (ii) Level 2 Coding
Level 2 coding soughted the variables into groups which were categorised into
subjects by constant comparison to one another. Tesch (1990) holds the view that
constant comparison is important in developing a theory that is grounded in the data,
and postulates that it is the ‘main intellectual’ activity that underlies all analysis.
The method of comparing and contrasting is used for practically all intellectual tasks
during analysis: forming categories, establishing the boundaries of the categories,
summarising the content of categories and finding negative evidence etc.
By comparing, I was able to develop a theory more or less inductively, namely
categorising, coding, delineating categories and connecting them. Constant
comparison goes hand in hand with theoretical sampling. This principle helped me
decide what data should be gathered next and where to find it on the basis of
provisionary theoretical ideas. The data on hand was compared to the new data and
analysed to determine if new variables/categories were being identified. The cycle of
comparison and reflection on ‘old’ and ‘new’ data was repeated several times. It was
only when no new variables/concepts or new information came to light that categories
were considered to be saturated.
Comparisons that were highly regarded increased the validity of my findings.
68
3.2.2.4 (a) (iii) Level 3 Coding
A key element of GT is “identifying a slightly higher level of abstraction – higher
than the data itself”. (Martin and Turner, 1983) The movement from relatively
superficial observations to more abstract theoretical categories is achieved by the
constant interplay between data collection and analysis that constitutes the constant
comparative method.
3.2.2.5 Step 5 Research Question – Research Problem
The research question defines the research problem. SSM was used to identify the
activity systems in our current situation. Stakeholder and CATWOE analysis were
conducted, root definitions established and my conceptual model further developed.
These were compared to the CR perspective of the ‘real-world’ to identify
interventions that are feasible and desirable.
3.2.2.5 (a) Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)
SSM as developed by Peter Checkland was used to build my conceptual model
further. SSM was applied as per the following seven step process as indicated in the
following diagram.
Figure 3.11 Soft Systems Methodology (Ryan 2010)
The SSM Methodology – 7 Stages 1. Identify the problem situation- unstructured
6. Identify Feasible and
Desirable Changes
7. Take Action to Improve the
Situation
2. Express the Problem Situation
5. Compare 2 and 4
Real World
4. Build Conceptual
Models 3. Formulate Root
Definitions
Conceptual (systems) Thinking
69
The reason for using SSM as part of my research framework was to provide a more
robust expression of the problem from the different stakeholder perspectives. The
development of root definitions and comparison of conceptual models to what is
happening in the real world allowed me to identify feasible and desirable changes
which would bring about improvements in my concern. In addition, SSM provided
me with a method to triangulate the findings generated from the grounded theory
process.
3.2.2.6 Step 6 Research Problem – Research Answer
The results of work completed on the CR,GT and SSM processes provide results
which will allow me to develop a conceptual model and ultimately a scientific model
which answers my research question. Through rigorous formulation a scientific model
was established based on the data and exploratory analysis of our situation. At this
70
point in the process I introduced the ‘Transformation of Metaphorical Insights into
Scientific models Methodology’ to develop my theory further. The following figure
illustrates the process which I followed to arrive at my scientific model and answer.
Figure 3.13 Transformation of Metaphorical Insights into Scientific models
Methodology.
VEHICLE
CONCEPTUAL MODEL
RIGOROUS FORMULATION
SCIENTIFIC MODEL
RIGOROUS FORMULATION
CONEPTUAL MODEL
TOPIC EXTRA
SAMPLES OF THE CLASS
INSIGHT
ANALOGY
YO-‐YO
ISOMORPHISM
Generalization
Homomorphism
Perception
Generalization
Homomorphism
Perception
71
The outcome or output of the above process was my scientific model that formed the
basis for my research answer. The following diagram illustrates the process followed
as step 6 of my process.
3.2.2.7 Step 7 Research Answer – Actionable Knowledge
The research answer and theory development of the above scientific model leads to
actionable knowledge. This knowledge is then used to identify interventions to our
business practices that help to solve the identified problem and concern.
72
73
Chapter 4: Research Results
4.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to present and discuss the results and findings of my
research.
As a reminder, these results and findings are based on my concern of interest which I
outlined in Chapter 1: “what are the drivers and restrainers in our business practices
and what level of change is required to these in order for us to remain relevant and
sustainable for future generations of a family business?’
The following diagram, presented in Chapter 3, serves as a reminder of my research
framework.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
& OVERVIEW Situation, Concern, Question, Answer
Rationale& Conclusions
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK Presentation of
research philosophy and discussion &
motivation of tools
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
Discussion of data collected &
analyzed during research process
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION &
EVALUATION Discussion of
solutions, critical reflection on work
& ethical evaluation
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW Consultation of
existing literature and location of research topic
within it.
STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Body of Knowledge
My Research
74
Figure 4.1 Research Framework
CRITICAL REALISM ONTOLOGY
This chapter sets out the process which was followed to gather, analyse and interpret
data from the interviews and observations which were conducted as part of my
research. These results and findings were used not only for the sense making part of
the research but also for assisting with providing the information necessary to develop
my theory and answer to my concern and research question.
In Chapter 3 I set out the process which I followed and the system methodologies
which I used to gather data and analyse it. This included the use of GT and SSM, to
build up an answer into a scientific model to address the identified concern and
question on which this paper focuses.
METHODS
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK/SCIENTIFIC MODEL
GOALS
RESEARCH QUESTION
VALIDITY
Identified Problem
Perceived Concern Sense
Making
Management
Interventions
Ethical Considerations
Research Considerations Researcher
Skills & Preferences
Social Paradigms
Option Evaluation & Decision Making
Generalization & Exploratory Research
THEORY CONSTRUCTION QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Existing Theory & Research
Own Experience
75
I will cover each of these seperately and indicate how they contributed to assisting
with providing my research answer.
4.2 Understanding the Context of the research
As I have used a CR perspective when carrying out my research it was important for
me to understand the context of my research in order to firstly understand the
empirical level of observed events as well as the actual flow of events in order to gain
a deeper understanding of the complexity of the causal mechanisms which firstly have
given rise to my concern and secondly what the drivers and restrainers are that need to
be addressed in order for us to successfully transform our business and management
practices. Refer to section 3.3.1 for the definition of the CR ontology.
76
The diagram below highlights the research process that was followed.
Figure 4.2 From Situational Analysis to Research Answer
4.3 Developing an Answer to the Research Question
4.3.1 Grounded Theory Research
As part of the sense making process that I followed, I used Grounded Theory to
gather, analyse and interpret data in order to gain information and develop and answer
to my research question.
Identify & Conceptualise Concern
Situation Analysis
Casual Loop Diagram
Conceptual Model
Conceptual Model
Comparison
SCIENTIFIC MODEL
Identify Core Drivers
Research Question
77
The primary data collection method that I used was open-ended conversational
interviews with a range of identified stakeholders. I used a set of predetermined
questions for each interview and used these as basis for informal discussions on issues
which each stakeholder felt was most relevant to their perspective and the ‘lens’
through which they viewed our business.
These interview responses were recorded and transcribed into +-700 lines of level 1
coding. This coding was done by capturing the texts from these interviews line-by-
line and allocating them into broad initial subjects/categories. The transcribed text is
available on request.
During this process, Memo’s were used to highlight what I thought were relevant
aspects which needed to be highlighted in my analysis.
Following the GT process as outlined in Chapter 3, categories and concepts were
developed from the transcribed data. Once these categories had been saturated I made
use of an Inter-relationship Digraph to identify those variables which are drivers and
restrainers with regard to my concern and research question. This together with my
literature review helped me to develop my conceptual model initially and then
scientific model of what is happening in our situation.
I set out below the final seven core concepts/variables that emerged from the GT
process of my research, and what the predicates, subjects, basic social processes and
core concepts were that emerged from this process.
The table below sets out the list of the fifteen stakeholders which I interviewed and
the stakeholder group to which they belong.
78
Table 4.1 Stakeholder interviewed and their group
Name Stakeholder Group
Samantha Estill
Jackie Glassock
Maryanne Lansdown
Vic Glassock
Dave Weil
Alan Robertson
Grant Wolpert
Janette James
Hannes Langeveldt
Denis Booth
Spiro Pefanis
Rolland Eboru
Colin Bell
Elias Masillela
Andrew Davison
Shareholder/Director
Shareholder/Director
Shareholder/Director
Chairman/Founder
Independent industry Specialist
Small Business Owner/Service Provider
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Client
Client
Client
Family Business Consultant
Family Business Founder
Head of Strategy Sanlam
Asset Consultant Acsis
After the GT theoretical coding stage had been completed and my core categories
were saturated, the following are a summary of I established the categories which
emerged from the GT process.
Table 4.2 Original Core categories of GT process during constant comparison
and theoretical coding
Generational
Transformation
Cognitive
Growth
Sustainable
Solutions
Right
Motivated
Team
Relationship
and brand
building
Infrastructural
requirments
Policy
direction
The following categories are evidence of some of the detail which was used to arrive
at the 7 core categories below. The detailed 700 lines of level 1 coding from which
these ‘surfaced’ are available on request.
79
Table 4.3 Evidence of detailed categories from interviews
After the third round of data collection and my literature review of these categories,
the ‘saturated’ seven core variables/concepts which emerged from the data were as
follows:
The influence
of family
culture
The level of
knowledge,
training and
skill
Factors which
limit or
constrain the
organization
Incentives and
rewards which
motivate
Strategic
alliances with
service
providers
Utilisation of
technolgy
Level of
regulation
The business
culture
Thinking,
innovation and
idea generation
Willingness
and ability to
change/
transform
Conducive
working
environment
Relationship
maintemence
and networking
Degree of
complexity the
organization
faces
Stability of
policy and
legilsation
Normative
Values
The degree of
communication
Degree of
strategic
understanding
Champion
team
Image and
barnding
Resources
required
The degree of
family control
Ability to
problem solve
Clearly defined
vision
Level of
commitment
from staff
Complex
relationships
Optimals
business
model/
structure
Succession
planning
Pace at which
decisions can be
taken
Business
profitability
Professional
management
requirments
The level of
successor
competence
The ability to
make judgment
calls an the risks
associated
therewith
Leadership
ability
Degree of
collaboration
Performance
measurments
and outputs
80
Table 4.4 ‘Saturated’ Core variables after constant comparison and theoretical
coding
Pedigrees and
posterity
Evolution
sagacity and
wisdom
Attitudes and
altitude
Ethics, energy
and ethos
Market and
Public
perception and
recognition
Infrastructure
mechanics
Bureacracy
formalities
I have set out in the next section my meaning of what each of these core concepts
specifically means in the context of my research.
Pedigrees and Posterity
The findings from my interviews of the various selected stakeholders revealed a very
strong perception of our organization having strong family history and values which
has established a culture of “utmost dedication and commitment”. This is evidenced
by the following quotes which were made by some of the interviewees.
“Passion that has come out of working in a family enterprise.”
“People who believe in you.”
“Family culture which has developed trust and reputation.”
“Capital and succession plan are vital to the future.”
Evolution sagacity and wisdom
The data from my research revealed a distinct need for continued innovation and idea
generation with a strong emphasis on recruiting the ‘right’ people who need to be
trained and skilled to meet the needs of the organization. As a number of interviewees
made reference to choices and crossroads that intimated the need for decisions, all of
this needs to be done within well considered risk/reward levels. The following quotes
from interviews bears this out.
“We should implement innovation sessions.”
81
“Need to be more innovative in order to attract staff.”
“Find innovative solutions to meet changing dynamics.”
“On-going education is vital.”
“Need to up-skill across the whole business.”
“Depends on the choices we want for the business
(Lifestyle/Growth).”
“Manage risks.”
Attitudes and Altitude
Another key concept that emerged from the data from my research related to the
limitations or constraints which the business faces and the on-going need to transform
and change to overcome these. It also became very clear from a number of interviews
as well as a number of the literature reviews that I conducted that it is imperative to
have a clear and well communicated vision for the business. This goes hand-in-hand
with all employees having a good strategic understanding of how their role fits into
the overall vision. The following quotes from interviewees illustrate these points.
“So difficult to learn in a small business because you are so busy keeping up-
to-date.”
“System constraining new business flows.”
“Reactive not innovative.”
“We get stuck with our current process.”
“Battling to keep up with change – playing catch-up.”
“Small businesses tend to be run by ‘seat of the pants’.”
“You have to figure out as you go as there is no road map.”
Ethics, Ethos and Energy
Having the right team that is motivated and adequately incentivised came through in
most interviews. This, together with the need for professional management are
concepts which clearly emerged from the data from my research. The following
quotes bear testimony to this.
82
“Must be a balance between bonuses/Caring attitude
development/growth/lifestyle.”
“Empower and motivate staff.”
“Critical to incentivise/reward new generation.”
“Introduction of professional business managers to assist with right business
model.”
“Can see the benefits of professional management.”
“Professional managers provide expert advice.”
Having witnessed first hand over the past few years what not having the right people
did to our business, I can see how crucial this is to our business. The introduction of
professional managers which has already begun to happen has also provided spare
capacity to shareholder/directors.
Market and Public Perception and Recognition
The main basic social processes (BSP’s) that arose out of the data from which this
concept emerged relates to strong alliances which have been developed, the need for
relationship maintenance and networking and the importance of our brand and
reputation in the market. The following quotes illustrates these points.
“Seek partnerships that are complementing and powerful.”
“Continued support from suppliers assists with innovation/brand.”
“Multi-pronged approach to business that creates relationships at all levels.”
“Organization that retains clients through strong relationships.”
“Business is not a business without networks.”
“Keep pace through re-branding.”
Infrastructure Mechanics
Technology and the resourcing requirements needed in the business are the two main
themes or categories that emerged in this section of my research. These include both
human capital and capital requirements and the need for choices to be made on how to
allocate scarce resources to them. There was also a strong indication from internal
83
interviewees that the use of technology going forward is crucial to the on-going
success and sustainability of the business. Comments like the following that were
made illustrate this point.
“Not keeping pace with technology could hamper growth in the future.”
“IT will play a greater and greater role.”
“IT is most critical element of our sustainability currently.”
“Must have budget for IT development going forward.”
“Optimal decisions on capital allocation are often made in situations where
capital is limited.”
Perceptions of the importance of IT going forward are that it must become a standard
part of our offering.
Bureacracy formalities
The final concept to emerge from my data related to the impact of regulation and
legislation on the business. As there is some perceived uncertainty as to the direction
which government will go with regard to the current Retirement Reform debate, there
is some instability within the industry. The following comments made by
interviewees illustrates this.
“Regulatory structures have not been robust enough to prevent abuse.”
“Strong predictable regulation.”
“Legislative changes will modify our businesses.”
Having presented my results and findings from the GT process which I followed as
part of my research into what drives the level of change required in our business
practices to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of a family
business, I now set out the Soft Systems Methodology analysis of what is driving the
level of change in our business practices. SSM was used to triangulate and validate
the findings and results form the above GT process.
84
4.3.2 Application of SSM to Glassock and Associates
The following diagram sets out the seven stages of the SSM process which was
founded and developed by Peter Checkland (1999).
Figure 4.3 Soft Systems Methodology
According to Jackson, SSM is a methodology which sets out principles for using
methods that enables intervention in problem situations where relationship
maintaining is at least as important as goal-seeking and answering questions about
‘what’ should be done as well as ‘how’ to do it.
A rich picture was built up of the problem situation and identified concern of the level
of change required in our business practices to remain relevant and sustainable for
future generations of a family business. This rich picture represents my understanding
of the stakeholder perspectives who I interviewed, and focuses on how they as
participants in the problem situation aim to learn their way to what changes are
systemically desirable and culturally feasible. These models which result are thus
epistemological devices used to find out about the real world.
The SSM Methodology – 7 Stages 1. Identify the problem situation- unstructured
6. Identify Feasible and
Desirable Changes
7. Take Action to Improve the
Situation
2. Express the Problem Situation
5. Compare 2 and 4
Real World
4. Build Conceptual
Models 3. Formulate Root
Definitions
Conceptual (systems) Thinking
85
Figure 4.4 Rich Picture – Perspectives of stakeholders with regard to the level of
change required
The situational analysis at Glassock and Associates which I used for my research
purposes (using SSM) to address my concern regarding the level of change required
in our business practices to remain sustainable for future generations relates to the fact
that the business was established in 1986 by the founder, Vic Glassock who has
recently semi-retired and taken on the position of Chairman. The business has, as a
result moved into the second generation of family ownership/management.
The following stakeholders were identified as having an interest in the situation:
• Family Shareholders/Directors
• Managers
• Employees
LIFESTYLE
TRANSFORMATION
/ GROWTH
REPUTAION/ HANDS ON
CAREER ADVANCEMENT/
GAIN EXPERIENCE
TOP 5%
SUPERIOR SERVICE
OWNER/ SHAREHOLDER
S
MANAGERS
EMPLOYEES
INDUSTRY EXPERTS/
SPECIALISTSSERVICE
PROVIDERS
CLIENTS/ CUSTOMERS
86
• Clients/Customers
• Service Providers
• Regulator
• Industry experts
•
The stakeholder groups that the GT process highlighted as having the most relevance
to this situation were Family Shareholders/Directors, Managers, Clients/Customers
and Service Providers. While legislative changes and the Regulator do have relevance
to the situation, I have chosen not to focus my SSM analysis on them as a stakeholder
group.
The following root definitions were developed for the level of change required in our
business.
Table 4.5 Root Definitions for Key Selected Stakeholder Groups of Glassock and
Associates
Stakeholder Group Root Definitions
Family Shareholders/Directors
Managers
An organization established by our founder/father
within the constraints of a number of
opportunities and skill requirements within the
financial services industry in South Africa, which
has resulted in a distinct culture, reputation and
lifestyle business. The challenge is to lead the
organization into the second generation of family
ownership/management.
An organization established by the founder within
the constraints of a number of opportunities and
skill requirements within the financial services
industry in South Africa, and who has recently
retired and handed over to the next generation.
Opportunities to participate/manage and assist in
87
Employees
Clients/Customers
Service Providers
Industry experts
the transformation and growth in the business.
An organization established by the founder within
the constraints of a number of opportunities and
skill requirements within the financial services
industry in South Africa, and who has recently
retired and handed over to the next generation.
Opportunities to make career advances and gain
experience.
An organization established by the founder within
the constraints of a number of opportunities and
skill requirements within the financial services
industry in South Africa. Excellent reputation,
hands on approach and attention to detail of
providing a superior service at a fair price.
An organization established by the founder within
the constraints of a number of opportunities and
skill requirements within the financial services
industry in South Africa. Stable business with a
long history in the industry and a reputation of
providing superior service.
An organization established by the founder within
the constraints of a number of opportunities and
skill requirements within the financial services
industry in South Africa. A niche player with a
reputation for being in the top 5% of service
providers in the retirement fund industry.
As can be seen from the above stakeholder groups root definitions, it is my opinion
that all of the groups have a very similar view or ‘Weltanschauung’ of the
88
organization as it currently exists with regard to the level of change required in our
business practices to remain sustainable for future generations.
Based on this similar view that stakeholder groups have and the level of change
required to our business practices, it appears to me that based on the interactions of
the various human activity systems at play in each of the conceptual models of this
situation, that the identified feasible and desirable changes are going to be focused on
the change from 1st generation to 2nd generation which exist in family businesses
rather than those related to organizational or business practice per se.
The conceptual models for each of the stakeholder groups were then compared to the
problem/concern and gaps identified with possible solutions to these. The following
table reflects these differences between the conceptual models and the actual
situation.
Table 4.6 SSM Gap analysis and possible solutions
Difference Possible Solution
1. Family businesses struggle to be
innovative
Insource young innovative resources
as and when required
2. Focus too much on operational and not
strategic issues
Employ professional managers with
experience
3. Implementation gaps arise as a result of
getting “stuck” in current situation
Allocate portfolios of responsibility
4. Establishment and communication of a
clear vision
Reduce the strategic goals and vision
for the organization to writing and
communicate
5. Limited external experience of family
shareholders/directors
Diversify management by employing
professional senior management with
experience
6. Greater training and up-skilling of all
staff needed
Implement training and development
program at all levels
89
The gaps highlighted in the above table confirm the findings from the GT process and
serve to triangulate and validate these results for my research.
Various possibilities were considered which could be used to close these gaps. They
are discussed further in Chapter 5 where I cover the solutions that could be used to
intervene and change the required business practice to ensure our sustainability as a
family business into the future.
Having completed the GT process and the SSM analysis, the following final core
concepts were confirmed as being crucial drivers of change and for addressing my
concern of interest which I outlined in Chapter 1: “The level of change required in our
business practices to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations as a
family business, and to answer my research question “Transforming a family
business into the ‘World after Midnight’ - a case for strategic change”.
Table 4.7 Final triangulated core concepts
Concept Functional
Definition
Operational
Definition
Attribute Indicators
Pedigrees and
posterity
To bring about a
change by
building on the
strong family
values, business
culture and
planning for
succession
Leading by
example and
setting ethical
standards which
are not
questionable for
our core value
system, like
honesty,
integrity, trust
and respect
Uncompromising
implementation
and measurement
of these core
values to create a
culture which is an
example to society
Leaderhip which
is exemplary;
transparent in all
aspects and
unwaivering
ethical reputation
Evolution,
sagacity and
wisdom
To bring
diversity,
innovation,
training and
knowledge to all
Making use of
necessary/
relevant
resources to
provide us with
Creating an
environment which
is conducive to
idea generation ,
learning and
Inclusive
leadership
behaviour which
embraces
innovation and
90
levels of the
organization, in a
well managed risk
cogniscent
manner
these functions
with the limited
resources at our
disposal
sharing without
compromising on
our core values
learning
Attitudes and
Altitude
To bring about a
change by
ensuring the
business has a
clear vision which
is communicated
to all stakeholders
and which
addresses limiting
constraints and
transformation
Establish a
written vision
setting out a
simple and clear
strategy
Focus on what is
acihievable with
specific rference to
small wins which
are achievable
Ensure by in to
the process by
making the
process of setting
the vision/strategy
as inclusive as
possible
Market and
Public Perception
and Recognition
Concentarte on
developing
relationships and
alliances at all
levels in the
business, lead the
growth of brand
and reputation
By improving the
relationship
between all
stakeholders at
all levels, the
business is better
placed to
anticipate and
make changes
when required
Commitment and
time must be
allocated to allow
for all staf to spend
time on
relationship
maintenance and
networking
Employees are
interacting at an
appropraite level
with other
stakeholder
groups and are
providing
valuable input to
the organization
Infrastructure
Mecahnics
To bring about the
continuous
transformation of
technology and
resource
requirements in a
way which is cost
effective and
efficient to the
organization by
allocating scarce
resources wisley
By establishing
budgets and
policy’s with
regard to how
these will be
replaced in a cost
effective and
efficient manner
Allocation of
scarce resources to
be fairly done by
allowing all areas
of the business to
sumit requests for
resource
requirements when
budgeting is done
Inclisive
involvement from
all senior manager
and directors on
resource
requirments in
order for capex
and operating
budgets to be
properly prepared
Ethics, Ethos and
energy
The effective
leadership and
By ensuring
effective
Focus on recruiting
correctly and
Staff morale;
client feedback
91
recruitment of the
right people to
build an effective
team which can
work in an
environment
which is
conducive to
caring and
commitment to all
stakeholders
leadership and
recruiting is done
at all levels and
feedback is
obtained on
incentives and
rewards
incntives and
rewards to
motivate and retain
employees
and refrences
regading servicing
and timeframes
In order to determine which of these concepts were drivers and outcomes, an inter-
relationship digraph was produced as per the following diagram.
Figure 4.3 Inter-relationship digraph of drivers and outcomes
PEDIGREE & POSTERITY
EVOLUTION, SAGACITY & WISDOM
ATTITUDES & ALTITUDES
ETHICS, ETHOS & ENERGY
MARKET & PUBLIC PERCEPTION
& RECOGNITION
INFRASTRUCTURE MECHANICS
2 OUT 3 IN
4 OUT 1 IN
1 OUT 4 IN
4 OUT 1 IN
2 OUT 3 IN
2 OUT 3 IN
92
Drivers: Pedigree and Posterity Attitudes and Altitude Outcomes: Infrastructure Mechanism
Ethics, Ethos & Energy Evolution, Sagacity and Wisdom Market and Public Perception and Recognition
The results of this exercise allowed me to identify Pedigrees and Posterity as a core
concept which drives all the other concepts. Recapping on what Pedigrees and
Posterity stands for in our context and situation was explained in 4.3.1 above. In
summary it reveales a strong perception of our organization having strong family
history and values which has established a culture of “utmost dedication and
commitment”. The family ownership, culture and values are therefore obviously
strong drivers for the rest of the business and have played an important role in the
organization to-date and will continue to play an important role in succession
planning going forward.
4.4 Identifying a Proven Model
In order to get to the final outcome of this process of establishing a scientific model of
generalization, the process of concept transformation is not done in isolation, but
rather, is done as a ‘yo-yo’ movement (Beer, 1984). This process allowed knowledge
about my concern to be accumulated and a scientific model to begin to be developed.
This upward and downward movement ( see the middle of figure 5.x) enabled me to
construct successively a homomorphic model and a conceptual model of my
identified concern. This process was repeated 3 times to test various situations against
the scientific models. An important consideration here was that in order to be
pertinent to my research, the range of activity over which the metaphor that I had
selected, and my concern which I was studying, needed to be specified.
93
It is important to note that this transformational view of metaphors methodology
applies to what Palmer (1989) called the ‘informational constraints’ level. According
to Palmer (1989), “The objective at this level is to capture only the input-output
mapping of people’s analogical thought processes without regard to just how they
might be accomplished in more specific terms.” This is telling us that the
transformational view of metaphors does not deal with the behavioural constraints
level nor the hardware constraints level of analysis.”
The transformational view of metaphors which I have used in my research study has
therefore been used as a process in which initial metaphorical insight and literary
variety was progressively disposed of through homomorphic transformations, until an
invariance is revealed in the form of a scientific model.
4.5 Seven S Model
My research revealed the following proven model as the one that most closely aligns
to my research results which I have compared (Isomorphism) to my
theoretical/conceptual model to answer my research question “What are the drivers of
transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’ – a case for strategic
change.”
94
Figure 4.4 Selected ‘Proven Model’ - Seven S Model
Commenting on the process of theory development using the transformation of
metaphorical insights into scientific models, Beer (1966) remarked that “a scientific
model is a homomorphism onto which two different situations are mapped, and which
actually defines the extent to which they are structurally identical. What is dissimilar
about the original situations is not reflected in the mapping, because the
transformation rules have not specified an image in the set the model constitutes for
irrelevant elements in the conceptual sets. If the transformation has ignored as
irrelevant elements which are in fact relevant, then the model will lose in utility, but it
cannot lose in validity.”
While Beer’s remarks point to a crucial feature of all nondeterministic systems,
namely, that unlike homomorphic transformations, there can be no a priori guarantees
that a transformation has been homomorphic or not. This can be ascertained only
through a comparison of the homomorphic model with real situations.
95
I have in the next section done a comparison between the Seven S Model and the
concepts that ‘emerged’ from my research to establish a strong basis for my chosen
homomorphic scientific model.
Before I show the comparison of these very strong links between my conceptual
model which developed as part of my research and the seven S model, I would like to
highlight the fact that both my research and the seven S model have as the dominant
or core theme, ‘shared values’. From my Grounded Theory research and SSM
analysis, the concept of culture and values, especially in the context of a family
business is central to first, second and less so, third generation family businesses.
While this was one of the core mapping similarities between the two conceptual
models, I set out in the table below some of the other very strong links.
Table 4.8 Conceptual Model comparison to scientific model.
Seven S Model factors Research finding concept Common link
Strategy Attitudes and Altitude The need for a clear vision
and understanding of the
strategic direction of the
business.
Structure Pedigrees and Posterity Family culture ownership
and succession planning.
Systems Infrastructural
Requirements
The technology and other
resource requirements.
Staff Ethics, Ethos & Energy This includes attracting,
motivating the right
people, especially
professional management.
Style Market and Public
Perception and
Reputation and
relationships
96
Recognition
Skills Evolution, Sagacity &
Wisdom
Innovation, training and
education and the ability to
take calculated risks.
Based on these very strong links between the two conceptual models, I propose that
the seven S model does not require any adjustment to act as my scientific model and
answer to my research question.
The Seven S Model was developed by McKinsey consultants Anthony Athos, Richard
Pascale, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in the late 1970’s as an analytical
framework as part of their research into organizational effectiveness. The original
intention of the model was to help guide thinking about organizational effectiveness
but turned out being an excellent tool for judging an organization’s ability to
implement a given strategy. What the model highlights, is that in order to be effective,
an organization must have a high degree of internal alignment among all 7 S’s. All
S’s are interrelated and a change in one will affect all the others.
An important feature of the model in our context is that it can be used to help guide
organizational change. When we begin to address action this solution, it is important
that we act on all of the seven S’s in parallel and understand that they are all
interrelated. The interconnectivity creates a dynamic system where one change
requires the system to adapt to a new equilibrium.
Some of the shortcomings of the model that have been noted in the literature are that
the empirical validity of the model became doubtful when many of the companies
identified by Peters and Waterman in their book ‘In Search of Excellence’ did not
survive in the 1990’s. The recent PwC Family Business Survey 2010/11, does
however show that many family businesses have prospered through the recent
recession, citing reasons like being better placed to take the long term view, are more
careful about overstretching themselves, and are often underpinned by the values of
the founding family.
97
4.6 Developing my Scientific model
The final step in the process was to develop my own scientific model that answers my
identified concern and research question. The following model illustrates what my
research process culminated in with regard to this final model.
Figure 4.5 Scientific model of “what business and management practices need to be
transformed in a family business in order for it to remain relevant and sustainable into
the future.
CULTURE/ VALUES
INNOVATION
TECHNOLOGY/ RESOURCE &
IMPLIMENTATION
RELATIONSHIPS
STRUCTURE
TALENT/
TRAINING
VISION/
STRATEGY
98
4.7 Conclusion
Having presented the findings and results from my research in this Chapter, in
Chapter 5 I will address the implications of these results and what influence they will
have on firstly the transformation of our business and secondly on the how it will
contribute to us remaining relevant and sustainable into the future.
99
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Evaluation
5.1 Introduction
“To gain competitive advantage managers are encouraged to engage in ‘strategic
change’. This emphasis on change has led some commentators to suggest that
organizations today ‘are immersed in a virtual cyclone of change’. (Palmer and
Hardy, 2000).
Having presented the results and findings of my research and my research answer, I
now present what can be done to improve the level of change in our business and
management practices to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of our
family business.
The purpose of this chapter is to present my conclusions which I have drawn from my
research and the actions which we could take in this situation to improve the level of
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
& OVERVIEW Situation, Concern, Question, Answer
Rationale& Conclusions
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK Presentation of
research philosophy and discussion &
motivation of tools
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
Discussion of data collected &
analyzed during research process
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION &
EVALUATION Discussion of
solutions, critical reflection on work
& ethical evaluation
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW Consultation of
existing literature and location of research topic
within it.
STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION
Body of Knowledge
My Research
100
change required in our business practice to remain relevant and sustainable, as well as
a critical evaluation of my research answer of these proposed remedies and the study
itself.
5.2 Implications and significance of my research
The implications of my chosen research topic are that as an organization which has
recently celebrated being in business for 25 years, we cannot simply rest on a laurels
that the will enjoy the same good fortune in the next 25 years. From a practical
business and management perspective, I have considered the implications of my
research from the point of view of what we stand to gain and lose from this research?
There are a number of benefits that I have identified which we stand to gain from this
research. Firstly, as small to medium size family business that has grown consistently
since inception, we are now no longer able to operate with the same informal
structures, policies and procedures as we have in the past. This research provides us
with those primary business and management practices that we need to focus on and
be formal around in order to improve our chances of success and remaining relevant
and sustainable.
Secondly, as we have recently been through a 1st to 2nd generation transformation and
have tended to only focus on operational matters, this research provides us with our
first in-depth exploration into those concepts that are the drivers and restrainers of our
business within the context of the “World after Midnight’. This research has therefore
provided us with valuable results and findings from various stakeholder perspectives
on what these drivers and restrainers are, and how we can intervene by changing our
business and management practices to ensure we remain relevant and sustainable into
the future.
Thirdly, the research has revealed what we stand to lose by not addressing my
identified concern. A number of factors were highlighted in Chapter 1, such as the
limitations of our administration system and the technology platform that was
outdated as having a negative impact on our relevance and sustainability. These
included things like the lack of integration and on-line access capabilities. While,
101
these factors would have probably been addressed without my research, the research
has added to a much deeper understanding of the situation and allowed a more holistic
solution and answer which takes into account more of the complex relationships
which underlie the concern.
Lastly, the most important implication which has arisen from my research has been
the fact that
The significance of my research has been to illustrate through my results and findings
from the GT and SSM methods that were used, a far ‘richer’ understanding of our
situation. This understanding has allowed me through application of the process to
develop a theory that has culminated in a scientific model that has validity. In
addition, I also found it significant that my results and findings provided a close
correlation with my chosen ‘proven model’. This suggested to me that my research
answer has resulted in actionable knowledge which can be used to address this
identified problem.
5.2.1 Actionable Knowledge
Simply understanding what the drivers are of my concern in our situation only
identifies them, it does not ‘resolve’ my concern and research question. The challenge
which we still need to address is what we need to do to change our business and
management practices to improve the level of change required in order to improve the
organizations effectiveness and remain relevant and sustainable and answer the
question: “What can I do to improve transforming a family business into the ‘World
after Midnight’?”
The identification of six core variables from my grounded theory research,
triangulated with my soft systems methodology analysis and my literature review,
provided me with the results and findings of what is going on in the ‘empirical world’
of our current situation from a critical realist perspective. In order to fully ‘resolve’
my concern and answer my research question “What are the drivers of transforming a
family business into the “World after Midnight” a case for strategic change”, my
research needed to provide a robust solution of what is going on in the ‘real world’
102
from a critical realist perspective. I achieved this by using the transformation of
metaphorical insights into scientific model approach of comparing conceptual models
of my ‘topic’ of concern, with various comparisons to different analogies of systems
and ‘proven models’ through ‘homomorphic mapping’. My goal with this exercise
was to ensure that the generalized model (solution) that resulted from this process,
could be applied to all systems of a particular class and could be used as a scientific
model for researchers in similar situations to use as a basis for moving from the
‘empirical’ to a ‘real’ world solution.
In identifying my solution of a scientific model or archetype of my problem situation,
I used the transformation of metaphorical insights into scientific models as a
methodology as the basis for refinement of my solution model. The process that was
followed to arrive at my solution was explained in Chapter 3.
In order to establish my scientific model I compared a number of ‘proven models’ and
archetypes to establish what I think is a robust scientific model of generalization that
not only addresses my concern but also answers my research question. In order to
increase the validity of the research, I have through triangulation of data obtained
from my literature review, been able to develop a scientific model that can be used
more widely as a tool or methodology for addressing transformation. An example that
I would suggest that the scientific model could be used in is for transforming non-
family owned businesses.
5.3 Evaluating the effectiveness of the solution
The transformational view of metaphors highlights the underlying mechanisms that
account for the concern and research question that I have studied. Because such
mechanisms are unknown, they must be hypothesized (Critical Realism), and this
must be done within a framework that endows them with existential plausibility.
Metaphors serve the role of this framework so that hypothesized mechanisms can be
taken seriously into account for further research (Harre, 1988). Thus, the
methodology of ‘Transformation of Metaphorical insights into Scientific models’
103
provides a procedure for the transformation of metaphors so that their literary variety
is disposed of in order to yield their potential literal identities.
Consideration needs to be given to the ‘either/or’ thinking that has traditionally
characterised the debate about the utility of metaphors in theory development in
organizational development. Instead a ‘yes and’ view should be used to bridge the gap
between metaphorical and literal languages. The ‘yes’ component being that
metaphorical and literal discourses have different, though not mutually exclusive
knowledge functions. Metaphors are better ‘sensors’ than literal terms for capturing
and expressing the continuous flow of experience.
The ‘and’ component advocated here is the provision of the link missing between the
live metaphorical and literal languages. It has been suggested that this link is the
transformational perspective of live metaphors that acknowledges the important parts
and attempts to connect them. Using this methodology, researchers can gradually
refine the metaphorical insights through the construction of conceptual and
homomorphic models, so that while unnecessary variety is disposed of, crucial
relationships are preserved. These crucial relationships ideally represent identity
relationships between the two metaphorically linked objects of the study, which are
expressed in the form of a scientific model of high generality that pertains to a well
specified area of activity.
Based on this, it is my view that my research and use of ‘Transformation of
Metaphorical insights into Scientific models’ methodology, I have managed to
preserve the crucial relationships between the findings and results of my research and
the conceptual seven S model.
5.4 Evaluation
In this section, I reflect on the relevance, utility and validity of my findings and
proposed scientific model. I then go on to consider the ethical merits of my proposed
theory and finally reflect on my learning’s from the exercise, its contribution to
knowledge as well as how my research could be developed in the future.
104
5.4.1 Relevance, Utility and Validity
5.4.1.1 Relevance
I have located my research topic in the normative or value-systems domain of
management.
The rate at which things are changing in the world is happening at a faster pace than
we can learn which suggests that we will not be able to keep up with the pace at
which our world is changing? This has lead to a situation where managers are in a
never ending cyclone of constantly having to mke adjustments to the business and
management practices in their organizations to remain relevant and sustainable into
the future. My identified concern of “The level of change required in our business
practices to remain relevant and sustainable for future generations of a family
business, and to answer my research question “What are the drivers for transforming
a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’ - a case for strategic change”,
therefore is relevant from a number of perspectives. Firstly, is it possible for an
organization like ours to keep pace with this rate of change, and if so how? If not,
what do we need to change in order to remain relevant and sustainable?
This issue poses long term threats to the viability of our organization and provides
substantial relevance to my concern in the context of our situation.
5.4.1.2 Utility
My research initially focused on the issue of “Transforming a family business into the
‘World after Midnight’” and what business practices we needed to change in order to
emain relevant and sustainable into the future. The responses of the interviewees and
stakeholders in the situation, together with the prescribed Grounded Theory
methodology, guided me to the topic of identifying those ‘drivers and restrainers’
which would assist us in altering our business and management practices to ensure we
remain relevant and sustainable for future generations in our family business.
105
It is my view that the research process which I followed which resulted in the
identification of the Seven S Model/Scientific model as the identified solution to my
concern and answer to my research question, I have managed to very closely map the
concepts/categories which emerged from my research data to those of a ‘proven
model’.
Using this methodology, I have gradually managed to refine the metaphorical
insights through the construction of conceptual models so that unnecessary variety is
disposed of and crucial relationships are preserved. These crucial relationships ideally
represent identity relationships between the two metaphorically linked objects of the
study, which are expressed in the form of a scientific model of high generality that
pertains to our context and situation.
By using a ‘proven model’ which closely aligns to the core concepts identified in my
research study, I believe that through its utilisation and implementation we would
increase the level of change required in our business practices to remain relevant and
sustainable.
My solution and answer is actionable from the point of view that it has been used and
tested in the real world. This ‘proven model’ status which the Seven S Model has
suggests that implementation of it will lead to an increased likelihood of a succesful
transformation for our business.
5.4.1.3 Validity
(i) Dependability
It is my view that the research theory process and research framweork which was
followed for the purpose of this study, was not only thorough, but was
comprehensive and rigorous enough to provide a solution which I can confidently
put forward as a Scientific model for use in all family and SME’s in the future.
106
The tools, methodologies and approaches utilised are explained in detail and their
use in this situation motivated in Chapter 3. Their application, use and results are
evidenced in Chapters 1, 4 and 5 as well as the appendices.
For the sense making and theory building element of the process, I was careful to
follow as closely as possible the prescribed and selected methods and tools and
that I applied discipline and rigour to the process I was following, be it data
recording, coding, identifying concepts or variables. Detailed evidence of these
processes followed are contained in the Appendices to this paper.
For the decision making element of the process I used the data from my
Grounded Theory research, Soft System Methodology analysis and the
‘transformation of metaphorical insights into scientific model’ methodology to
map my topic/concern to a ‘proven model’. This together with my own experience
and literature review contributed to my theory development and final Scientific
model proposal.
All methods, tools and approaches used for the purpose of this research study are
discussed and motivated in Chapter 3 in terms of their prescription and/or
suitability for the purpose for which they were used.
I have in addition to the above also made use of the vast source of extant literature
on the topics I have studied, including textbooks, academic journals, websites,
corporate published surveys, EMBA classnotes and handouts, previous
dissertations.
To mitigate the threat to the validity of my results and findings, I undertook the
following:
• To use only well known ‘tried and tested’ system thinking tools,
methodologies and approaches for data collection, analysis and theory
building
107
• Ensure that my sample of interviews was adequate and each stakeholder
group was represented
• The use of triangulation in order to validate the results and findings from
my GT process
• Critical reflection and evaluation of data, results and findings to improve
its objectivity and integrity
(ii) Credibility
My claim for the credibility of my results and findings is based on what I perceived to
be a very strong correlation between the core concepts/variables which ‘emerged’
from my GT process and the ‘proven model’ - Seven S Model. As my perception and
understanding of the two systems/conceptual models deepened, I was able to draw
analogies between the two. As the process continued and I completed the
homomorphic mapping process, I was able to map most of the elements in our system
which I had conceptually modeled into those elements presented in the Seven S
Model.
My previous studies and qualifications, 21 one years of work experience, 17 of which
have been within our family business, which formed the context and situation for this
study also assisted me in providing credibility to my research.
Having also used the business as a case study for the past 18 months on the EMBA
program, I gained a valuable understanding of the organization at an operational,
strategic and normative level.
Applying a multiple stakeholder approach and triangulating the data obtained from
my GT process with the SSM analysis and my literature review I have attempted to
avoid personal bias in my solution/answer.
108
(iii) Confirmability
Detailed evidence of all work completed as part of the research process I followed has
been provided in the Appendices to this paper.
The rationale for the build up of my theory and proposed scientific model is provided
in Chapter 4 – Research Results.
The use of ‘constant comparison’ and ‘theoretical coding’ as part of my GT approach
assisted me with ensuring that my identified categories were ‘saturated’ and no new
categories were identified.
Once I had established a Causal Loop Diagram of my identified concepts and
variables and which formed the basis of my conceptual model for comparison with
‘proven models’, I was able to consider a number of these before being satisfied that I
had adequate isomorphism between the two models. It was this ‘isomorphism’ of the
two models that allowed me to feel confident that my scientific model had been
rigorously established.
(iv) Transferability
My chosen topic of research is not peculiar to our business only. All businesses
including family and SME’s are particularly affected by the concept of the ‘World
after Midnight’ as described by Professor Eddie Obeng and which I have elaborated
on and defined in Chapter 3. Based on this, my results and findings and ultimate
theory development of my chosen scientific model could be used across other family
and non-family businesses and SME’s, and dare I say, even larger corporate
organizations.
5.5 Ethical considerations
Using the Velasquez approach I considered the following four key ethical questions in
relation to my proposed theory and answer:
109
Does the action, as far as possible, maximize social benefits and minimize social
injuries?
We believe that our actions would benefit all stakeholders in the business as
increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization is essential to the
success of that business. What does need to be considered and which has not been
covered in this paper is the way in which change/transformation is handled. Most
change analysts suggest that the way in which change is handled causes resistance
rather than the change itself.
A study in the US found that 75% of firms claimed to have faced resistance during
change processes. Morris and Raben argue that resistance to change is natural and
occurs because individuals experience loss of self-control, autonomy, status and
benefits, or because they perceive the change to be detrimental to the organization or
to undermine core organizational principles.
Is the action consistent with the moral rights of those whom it will affect?
It is our belief that none of our actions will violate any moral rights of our
stakeholders. We have purposefully chosen to protect these rights by collaborating
both internally and externally to ensure that we are applying principles of good
governance to promote transparency and fairness.
Will the action lead to a just distribution of benefits and burdens?
The distribution of benefits would not create any unjust benefits or burdens on any of
our stakeholders. As these interventions are designed to assist with making the
business more effective and efficient in order to remain relevant and sustainable into
the future, and have been based on data obtained from all stakeholder groups, which
highlighted concepts like reputation, relationship maintenance, collaboration and
value systems as concepts, we are always mindful of ensuring we do not burden
ourselves or any other group unfairly.
110
The degree of care shown in the implementation of the answer
The fact that the Scientific model I have proposed is seen as a ‘proven model’ and
also has a very high correlation (Isomorphism) to the conceptual model which I
developed from the results of my GT process, suggests that the model is rigorous.
This fact aside, the degree of care shown in the implementation of this Scientific
model will only be known once it is applied. As my research did not include the
implementation of the model, at this juncture, we would have to rely on the results
and findings in the extant literature which suggests that, as a ‘proven model’, it has
been successfully applied and implemented. This does not however suggest that care
does not need to be taken in future implementations, but does provide some comfort
that previous use has been successful and within an acceptable degree of care.
5.6 Learnings, future development of research and contribution to knowledge
5.6.1 Key learnings
This research has added significantly to my learning experience, particularly with
regard to the application and use of research methodologies and theory development.
My research study has allowed me to witness first hand, how ‘immersing’ myself in
the data I obtained from my GT process, and ‘wrestling’ with it, I was able to develop
a deeper understanding of our system, and ‘emerge’ concepts and core variables
which are specific to our situation and context. The process of mapping conceptual
models to arrive at a Scientific model also provided me with valuable learnings and
some ‘eurika’ moments.
All of these learnings have provided me with a clearer understanding of what the
drivers and restrainers to change are in our situation and what we need to focus on
going forward in order to remain relevant and sustainable.
5.6.2 Contribution to knowledge
Development of my conceptual model using the core concepts which emerged from
my GT process and triangulation with SSM and extant literature, have allowed me to
111
contribute to knowledge in the area of change required in family and SME’s business
and management practices as well as identifying drivers and restrainers to
transforming these organizations into the ‘World after Midnight’.
The fact that there was also a very close correlation between the Seven S Model and
my conceptual model in the Isomorphic phase of my transformation of metaphorical
insights process, suggests that this model deserves the title of ‘proven model’. My
results and findings in this paper have also contributed to knowledge in this area.
5.6.3 Potential for further theory development and research
As we have recently become a second generation family business, I think an area for
future research would be to consider whether the life stage in terms of family
generation of a family business has an impact on the level of change required to
business practices to remain relevant and sustainable as well as what the drivers are
for transforming a family business into the ‘World after Midnight’.
112
References
Abeles, T (2010) Complexipacity, wisdom and education, On The Horizon Vol. 18
No. 1 pp 16-24
Allio, RJ (2006) Strategic thinking: the ten big ideas, Strategy and Leadership Vol. 34
No. 4 pp 4-13
Barrett, R (2006) Small business learning through mentoring: evaluating a project,
Education and Training Vol 48, No. 8/9 pp 614-626
Beer, S (1999) On the Nature of Models: Let us Now Praise Famous Men and
Women,Too, Informing Science Journal Vol. 2 No. 3 pp 69-82
Bergvall-Kareborn, B et al, (2004) Basic Principles of SSM Modeling: An
Examination of CATWOE from a Soft Perspective, EMBA Course Notes 2010
Birdthistle, N, Fleming, P (2005) Creating a learning organization within the family
business: an Irish perspective, Journal of European Industrial Training Vol. 29 No. 9
pp 730-750
Boeije, H (2002) A Purposeful Approach to the constant Comparative Method in the
Analysis of Qualitative Interviews, Quality and Quantity 36: pp 391-409, EMBA
Course notes 2010
Brannback, M, Carsrud, A, Schulte, WD, (2008) Exploring the role of Ba in family
business context, The journal of information and knowledge management systems
Vol. 38 No. 1 pp 104-117
Cater III, JJ, Justis, RT (2010) The development and implementation of shared
leadership in multi-generational family firms, Management Research Review Vol. 33
No. 6 pp 563-585
113
Checkland, P. (1999), Soft Systems Methodology in Action, John Wiley & Sons,
West Sussex, England
Craig, J, Lindsay, NF (2002) Incorporating the family dynamic into the
entrepreneurship process, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
Volume 9 No. 4 pp 416-430, MCB UP Ltd
Eboru, R (2010) XXXX ……The Wits Business School Journal Vol. 2 issue 21,
Johannesburg South Africa, Contact Media (Pty) Ltd
Eboru, R (2010) The transformational dilemma in family businesses, Unpublished
article submitted to The Wits Business School Journal at the time of writing
Eboru, R (2007) Factors influencing intergenerational succession in South African
family businesses, Johannesburg South Africa, MBA Research Report faculty of
business administration, University of Witwatersrand
Dye, JF et al, (2000) Constant Comparison Method: A Kaleidoscope of Data, The
Qualitative Report Vol. 4 No.1/2, EMBA Course notes 2010
Elliott, N Lazenbatt, A (2004) How to Recognise a ‘Quality’ Grounded Theory
Research Study, Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 22 No. 3 pp 48-52
Fendt, J, Sachs, V (2007) Grounded Theory Method in Management, Organizational
Research Methods OnlineFirst, Available from http://orm.sagepub.com, EMBA
Course notes 2010
Fernandez, WD, The grounded theory method and case study data in IS research:
issues and design, EMBA Course notes 2010
Fletcher, D (2002) A network perspective of cultural organizing and “professional
management in the small, family business, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development Vol. 9 No. 4 pp 400-415
114
Garrity, R (2010) Future leaders: putting learning and knowledge to work, On The
Horizon Vol. 18 No. 3 pp 266-278
George, R (2010) Strategic Business Change, Class notes EMBA 11
Gronholdt, L, Martensen, A (2009) Management practices driving sustained business
success, Measuring Business Excellence Vol. 13 No. 1 pp 47-55
Gurteen, D (1998) Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation, Journal of Knowledge
Management Vol. 2 No. 1 pp 5-13
Hernandez, CA (2009) Theoretical Coding in Grounded Theory Methodology, The
Grounded Theory Review (2009) Vol. 8 No. 3
Hoebeke, L. (2000), Making Work Systems Better, Chichester (UK), John Wiley and
Sons
Hotho, S, Champion, K, (2011) Small businesses in the new creative industries:
innovation as a people management challenge, Management Decision Vol. 49 No. 1
pp 29-54
Ibrahim, AB, Soufani, JL, (2003) Family business training: a Canadian perspective,
Education and Training Vol. 45 No. 8/9 pp 474-482
Illbury, C. and Sunter, C. (2001), The Mind of a Fox, Cape town South Africa,
Human, Rousseau and Tafelberg publishers
Jackson, M (2003) Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers, West Sussex
(UK), John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Kahan, S (2010) Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations
From The Inside Out, San Francisco (USA), Jossey-Bass
115
Kotey, B (2005) Goals, management practices, and performance of family SME’s,
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research Vol. 11 No. 1 pp 3-
24
Lacy, P et al, (2010) A New Era of Sustainability – UN Global Compact – Accenture
CEO Study 2010, Accenture Sustainability Services
Lussier, RN, Sonfield, M (2010) A six-country study of first-, second-, and third-
generation family businesses, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and
Research Vol. 16 No. 5 pp 414-436
Manchester, A (2006) It’s time for some New World thinking, Available from
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5362/is_200607/ai_n21394348, {Accessed
November 2010}
McAdam, R, Reid, R, Mitchell, N (2010) Longitudinal development of innovation
implementation in the family-based SMEs, Intenational Journal of Entrepreneurial
Behaviour and Research Vol. 16 No. 5 pp 437-456
Mingers, J, Philosophical Foundations – Critical Realism (Adapted from Realising
Systems Thinking: Knowledge and Action in Management Science, EMBA Course
notes 2010
Mobach, MP, The Art of Modeling in SSM, EMBA Course notes 2010
Naranjo-Valencia, JC et al, (2011) Innovation or imitation? The role of organizational
culture, Management Decision Vol. 49 No. 1 pp 55-72
Palmer, I, Hardy, C (2000) Thinking About Management – Implications of
Organizational Debates for Practice, London (UK), Sage Publications
Parada, MJ, Nirdqvist, M, Gimeno, A (2010) Institutionalizing the Family Business:
The Role of the Professional Associations in Fostering a Change of Values – Family
Business Review Online First, Available from
116
http://fbr.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/09/07/089448510381756 {Accessed
November 2010)
Partington, D (2002) Essential Skills for Management Research, London (UK), Sage
Publications Ltd
Perry, C. (revised 2002), A Structured Approach To Presenting PhD Theses: Notes
For Candidates And Their Supervisors, Australasian Marketing Journal Vol. 6 No. 1
pp 63-86 EMBA Class notes, 2010
Peters, TJ et al, (2010) Proven Models – seven S Model, Available from
http://www.provenmodels.com, {Accessed January 2011}
Ryan, T. (2008), Grounded Theory and Critical Realism, EMBA Class Notes, 2010 Ryan, T. (2008), Soft Systems Methodology, EMBA Class Notes, 2010
Soulliere, D, Britt, DW, Maines, DR, (2001) Conceptual Modelling as Toolbox for
Grounded Theorists, The Socialogical Quarterly Vol 42 No. 2 pp 253-269
Suddaby, R (2006) What Grounded Theory is Not, Academy of Management Journal
Vol. 49 No. 4 pp 633-642
Trevinyo-Rodriguez, RN, Bontis, N (2010) Family ties and emotions: a missing piece
in the knowledge transfer puzzle, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development Vol. 17 No. 3 pp 418-436
Tsoukas, H (1991) The Missing Link: A Transformational View of Metaphors in
Organizational Science, The Academy of Management Review Vol. 16 No. 3 pp 566-
585
Twenge, JM, Campbell SM et al (2010) Generational Differences in Work Values:
Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing, Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasing –
Journal of Management Online First, Available from
117
http://jom.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/03/01/0149206309352246 {Accessed
February 2010}
Velasquez, M. (2006). Business Ethics - Concepts and Cases, New Jersey, Pearson
Education, Inc.
West, D (2005) Vickers’ Concept of ‘Relationship-Maintenance’ as an Alternative to
‘Goal-Seeking’ Models of Organization: A Difference in the Notion of Control,
Systemic Practice and Action Research Vo. 18 No. 3 2005 pp 261-274
Walker, E, Redmond, J et al, (2007) Small business owners: too busy to train?,
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Vol. 14 No. 2 pp 294-306
Wikipedia (online) Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Obeng,
[Accessed November 2010]
Winkeljohann, N, Lesieur, J (2011) Kin in the Game: PwC family Business Survey
2010/2011, United Kingdom, PwC’s International Survey Unit
Wong, KY, Aspinwall, E (2004) Characterizing knowledge management in the small
business environment, Journal of Knowledge Management Vol. 8 No. 3 pp 44-61
![TRANSFORMING RAILWAYS TRANSFORMING INDIAwr.indianrailways.gov.in/ticker/1468323006914Transforming...TRANSFORMING RAILWAYS TRANSFORMING INDIA;k=kh dh xfjek] jsy dks xfr] jk"Vª dh izxfr](https://img.pdfslide.net/doc/110x75/5fdaeef1bea51353df48219d/transforming-railways-transforming-transforming-railways-transforming-indiakkh.jpg)
