Family Dynamics

Families as Cultures

 The idea of family climate captures variations.

 The concept of climate is expect of culture.
 It denotes the specific sets of beliefs and practices that are expressed and
practiced by a group; many of these consist of what is expected within a
family, culture resides in the behaviors and attitudes that are taken for
granted So far we have concentrated on aspects to do with feeling -especially
around love, control and identification. Family climate also has a thinking and
an acting dimension.
The culture of a family Business

 Organizational Culture
 Patterns of behaviors and beliefs that characterize a particular firm.
 Cultural Configuration.
 The total culture of a family firm, consisting of the firms business, family, and
governance patterns
 The Founder's Imprint on the Culture
 The founder's core values become transmitted part of the culture (for better or
worse)
The Role of Marriage as Bonding

 Likewise marriage, or any pair bonding between genetically unrelated

individuals, is the weakest link and one of the frequent break points in family
dynamics.
 An area of risk for family businesses in several ways. The most obvious is the
break-up of a family firm through the break-down of a marriage- dividing
assets, loyalties and the integrity of the business in the process. In none of
our cases is this a direct cause of conflict, mostly because we are talking
about mature family firm and this hazard is especially commonplace among
young or nascent businesses, where both spouses are intimately tied in with
the business.
The Family Vessel Concept
 Parenting Styles

Attention and support for the children High Low

High Authoritative Indulgent

Low Authoritarian Neglectful

Scapegoating

 in families is triangulation where two parties in conflict deflect their negative

energy on to a Third party-typically parents at war taking it out on one of
kids. “More general scapegoating also happens, where all family members
identify one individual as the problem”.
 The opposite side of the coin is favoritism, individuals who are singled out for
special attention and support because they are perceived as gifted, special or
most lovable.
How Family Members Differ

 There are three areas.

 One is ability and aptitude.
 The second area is values and beliefs.
 The third area is what we can call self-concept.
The Rings of Influence on Families

 Families do not just spring into existence-they are part of a chain of

influence, or rather they are at the center of surrounding rings of influence.
Picture a series of nested rings, with arrows of influence between them. Each
outer ring influences the rings within.
 The ring around the parents is their own parents, enshrined in their memories
and instincts