The causes of war in society:

1. One group invades another for spoils – space and resources;
2. one group seeks to subordinate another politically and economically;
3. a dispute between parties escalates in a fit-for-tat vicious cycle of attack and retaliation;
4. a bystander group becomes drawn into an ongoing conflict as a third party by virtue of its alliance with one of the main protagonist.

Al these things happen in family as well.

Emotions are tool for manipulation.

The feuds that Gordon and Nicholson (family wars classical conflicts in FB and how to deal with them) chronicle are grouped into categories:

1. “brothers at arms” (conflict among siblings),
2. “fighting for the crown” (parents and children tangling over succession),
3. “the house that hubris built” (leaders with dangerously inflated egos),
4. “heads in the sand—the insularity trap” (a family too out of touch with reality to make sensible business decisions),
5. “schism—the house divided” (family splits),
6. “uncivil war” (described as “tribes with diverse and divergent interests”).

According to a recent study of family business conflict resolution by The Family Firm Institute:

• 15 percent of respondents left decisions up to the founder of the family firm.
• 20 percent reported that their families avoided discussing conflicts altogether.
• 43 percent said their families overcame conflict through time and long discussion.

Identifying and addressing the causes of conflict in family business

The cause of the conflict are roles (married couple – owners of business can’t make business decision without marital problems) and dual relationships (mom/boss vs sun/employee).

Possible types of conflicts:

1. differing vision
2. succession
3. jealousy amongst the family
4. poor communication
5. poor conflict management skills
6. introducing a full time role for a family member
7. equality in rewards
8. spillover theory (For women, the family role intrudes into the work role more than the work role is allowed to intrude into the family role; for men, the opposite is true.)

How to resolve conflicts:

1.  
   • solving issues promptly
   • effective communications
   • separate family and business
   • succession planning
   • formalizing family business
   • sibling succession teams
   • define the roles
   • thirty party involvement
   • rewards systems
   • planning to step down
   • common concerns
   • concerns about retiring

Feuding Families: When Conflict Does a Family Firm Good

Franz W. Kellermanns

Kimberly A. Eddleston

One view portrays it as harmful with the risk of tearing the involved group apart

(Wall, Jr. & Callister, 1995; Wall, Jr. et al., 1987). The other view recognizes that conflict

can be highly beneficial to a firm’s performance by increasing options, by prevent-

210 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

ing premature consensus, and by increasing involvement and motivation of family firm

members (Tjosvold, 1991; Wall, Jr. et al., 1987).

Research suggests that there are three types of conflict:

1. task conflict focuses on the discussion of goals and strategies,
2. Process conflict is characterized by disagreement on how work should be accomplished and how members should be utilized,
3. relationship conflict. Other sources of relationship conflict include misaligned interests between the family and the business, justice conflict, and succession conflict

Our proposed framework suggests that not all conflict is bad for family firms and that

moderate task and process conflict can have a positive performance effect. Task and

process conflict ensure that key information and environmental changes are discussed

and understood by the decision makers. This is important, given that the necessary knowledge

to make complex decisions often exceeds the bounds of any single individual’s

belief structure

Family conflicts – root of all evil? no

2005 Grand All-Star Columbia Sportswear. By: McCarthy, Bonnie, Apparel Magazine, 15432009, Dec2005, Vol. 47, Issue 4

Section: all-starsalute

Nominated by TradeCard

Gert Boyle is one tough mother, and Columbia Sportswear Co. loves her for it. Last year the company her German-immigrant parents founded in 1938 in Portland, OR, surpassed the billion-dollar mark in sales.

Demanding the highest quality, Columbia chairman Boyle puts her firm’s outdoor apparel, footwear and equipment through rigorous product testing. She spoofs her iron-clad policies in print and television ads that depict her forcing her son, company president/CEO Timothy Boyle, to test the products under extreme circumstances.

“Our ads have gained a cult-like following,” says Columbia Sportswear’s public relations manager John Fread, who describes one all-time favorite ad showing Timothy Boyle strapped atop a car in new, water-repellant rain gear and sent through a car wash. “He had to do that shot over and over again,” says Fread.

It may be tough love, but the woman whose stern face peers from every Columbia ad wouldn’t have it any other way.

The original desperate housewife

At 81, Gert Boyle is much more than her company’s advertising icon. Fread says she still works 40 hours a week, drives herself to work in her BMW X5, and on Wednesdays, signs every check that is written out of the Portland headquarters. “She is an amazing role model for the entire company,” says Fread.

In 1970, Boyle’s husband, Neal Boyle, died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving her a widowed housewife with three children and a large, recently signed business loan listing her home, her mother’s home and her family’s life insurance policy as collateral. “Her husband died on a Thursday, and she was at work as the president of a company on Monday,” says Fread. “She said she couldn’t tell her mother that she was going to lose the house she had lived in for 35 years.”

Boyle never set out to create a billion-dollar global empire, says Fread. “She needed to put food on the table,” he notes.

Son Timothy Boyle began assisting his mother by working at trade shows.

Today, Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ: COLM) still considers itself a humble “family business” that happens to be publicly traded. The Boyles hold more than a 50 percent share in the company.

“The people who work here are like family,” Fread says. He describes a workplace where things are decided face-to-face over a cup of coffee rather than a flurry of e-mails. Fread says two Boyle mandates demonstrate the culture at Columbia: “One, always answer your phone. … And No. 2, always send a hand-written thank-you note, never an e-mail.”

Cyber trade

Although the Boyles prefer the personal touch, the company is aggressively committed to pursuing technological advancements both in product design and operational systems. In 2004, Columbia sought to position itself for growth without adding resources.

While trying to identify and eliminate areas of inefficiency, the firm evaluated new sourcing strategies and realized it had a heavy reliance on a paper trail in its global supply chain. It found that all of this paperwork was causing inefficiencies and a lack of visibility.

To address the problem, Columbia became one of the first sportswear companies to adopt TradeCard, a web-based computer system designed to automate financial processes in global trade. “They offered us a solution,” says Fread, who notes that Columbia and 120 of its suppliers are now connected via standardized electronic documents, and coordinated, online inter-company workflow. The system also allows for visibility into procure-to-pay transactions and optimizes the use of capital. The technology plays into the procurement process for more than 30 percent of Columbia’s apparel volume.

Optimization of capital is achieved through TradeCard’s automated supply chain financing program, which offers vendors discounted early payment using Columbia’s own funds. The early payment provides suppliers with cash flow necessary to manufacture efficiently for Columbia.

Fread says the system has been in place since June 2004, and the feedback has been positive. “It’s working beautifully,” says Fread. “[TradeCard] works in real time … replaces the need to open letters of credit … creates reconciliation reports, and is a way to do business better, faster and smarter.”

Forward motion

In a letter to shareholders last year, Timothy Boyle discussed additional growth strategies for Columbia, naming the design, production and distribution of footwear as the “largest product opportunity for the company long term.”

Boyle also said international expansion, with a “sharp focus on the European market,” was another significant growth strategy. “Europe is a region where outdoor activities are consistently popular and where we can leverage our active, outdoor, authentic and distinctly American brand images,” he said.

Profitable licensing partnerships offer another avenue for expansion. This past May Columbia announced a licensing agreement with Long Island, NY-based World Wide Cycle Supply Inc., which will create a line of Columbia Sportswear bicycles.

The new collection will feature hard-tail and dual-suspension mountain bikes, comfort bikes, hybrid bikes, road bikes, cruisers, youth style models and complimentary accessories. “We are very excited about introducing our line of Columbia bicycles for 2006,” said Stew Barnett, CEO of World Wide Cycle Supply. “The Columbia name is synonymous with great quality and value in the outdoor market. … Most importantly, we look forward to great success and are pleased to be working alongside a proven outdoor leader like Columbia.”

QUICK TAKES WHAT’S IN A NAME

Columbia Sportswear is named after the Columbia River in Oregon.

FIGHTING COUNTERFEIT GOODS

“The increasing global recognition of our brand has made it a valuable target for counterfeiting operations,” said president and CEO Timothy Boyle in an August statement to the press. Boyle was announcing the results of an aggressive campaign to fight counterfeiting of Columbia Sportswear products in China, Vietnam and Australia. In July, the company seized 80,000 counterfeit products in raids in China, and Columbia’s efforts in Vietnam led to the closure of three factories, which were manufacturing bogus backpacks. According to Vietnam’s Tan Thoi Hhat Ward District 12 officials, this was the area’s largest raid to date of counterfeit products.

MARKETING

Columbia Sportswear chairman Gert Boyle will continue to star in the “Tough Mother” advertising campaign and at 81, has just wrapped her two latest commercials: “Blow Dart” and “Cement Mixer.” One ad, filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, required “Mom” to ride in a helicopter — in spite of the fact that she doesn’t like heights. “She rarely uses a stunt double,” says public relations manager John Fread.

HURRICANE RELIEF

Columbia Sportswear responded immediately to the disaster created by Hurricane Katrina, donating $105,000 to the Red Cross, Salvation Army and the Mercy Corp. In addition, employees requested that funds be apportioned for the Humane Society. The company then created a matching funds program, matching dollar-for-dollar employee contributions. Columbia also allowed employees to donate personal leave time instead of monetary contributions, then matched that hourly value with a financial contribution. Fread says Columbia also provided assistance in company hub-areas in the affected region to employees and their families.

PHOTO (COLOR): Columbia Sportswear’s sales surpassed the $1 billion mark in the most recent fiscal year. The company has credited its apparel sourcing team for helping drive its strong margins. With net income of $138.6 million in the last fiscal year, the firm is considered the second-most profitable in the apparel market.

PHOTO (COLOR): Columbia Sportswear president and CEO Timothy Boyle said the company sees great growth potential for its footwear.

PHOTO (COLOR): In the lobby of Columbia Sportswear’s Portland, OR, headquarters, the firm’s marketing message reads loud and clear. Below: Columbia Sportswear’s 81-year-old chairman Gert Boyle’s popular performances in the firm’s “Tested Tough” advertising campaign continue with a new series of “Tough Mother” ads.

http://www.slideshare.net/eshanka/conflicts-3656786

(Gold Team)