BA 494 - Family Business Governance and Succession Planning

4.00 credits.

The backbone of the U.S. economy is represented by family-owned businesses, entrepreneurial ventures, and small and medium sized companies. To compete better with other companies, family businesses need to professionalize their business practices. This is an advanced family business course, topical in nature, which will address topics such as the following: communication in the context of the family enterprise, navigating generational differences, succession planning, family governance, best practices in Human Resources, strategic management, and inter-generational leadership development. Various family business executives will be invited on a rotation basis, to share their perspectives with students. These executives are renowned business experts, who are running successful family businesses and regularly give lectures on the best practices in family business governance, in PA and nationally. The course will be taught using an experiential learning approach, through a combination of simulations, case study analyses, practical projects and other hands-on activities. Students will benefit from the highly practical approach. Signature Learning Experience: Capstone Experience. Register by Instructor. Spring semester.