The Family Managed Business (FMB)

About the Programme

Family Managed Business (FMB) is a unique program pioneered by SPJIMR (S.P. Jain Institute
of management & Research) way back in 1997. It is an 18 month Management Programme for
youngsters from business families. It is a solution to the dilemma of whether to pursue MBA or
to join the family business, by retaining the merits of both at the same time.
It requires the participant to learn at the institute for 1 week per month and gain hands-on
business experience for the remaining 3 weeks of the month. What is learnt at the institute is to
be applied in the business before the commencement of further learning in the consequent
month. In the process, the participant gains expertise in management learning as well as the
family business by the end of the programme.
Currently in the 13th year, the programme has an alumni base of over 1,000. Participants come
from all kinds of industries across India, and even from Dubai and Nepal.
The central theme of the programme is to prepare the participant for a leadership role in his/her
family business and to be a positive influence in the family’s business organisation.

Why FMB?
There are four distinct reasons why FMB is more advantageous for those from business families,
as compared to regular MBA programmes.
Scale : Typically, family businesses are small and medium size enterprises. The learning has to
be tuned to this reality. In conventional MBA programmes, the inclination is more towards large
Corporates and MNCs.
Stakes : A MBA employee can take a decision for the company, and if it backfires, can simply
resign and change to another lucrative job. On the other hand, a family member has to face the
outcome of the decisions. A wrong decision means a loss and hard work to recover from the loss.
Candidates from family businesses require a totally different attitude, formation and training.
Scope : A student of MBA is groomed to work in large organizations and hence he/she tends to
focus on a specific area of specialisation. A FMB participant manages his/her own organisation
and has to learn to relate with specialists in all fields. He/she requires a General Management
Perspective than a specialisation.
Unique Issues : Family businesses have some issues unique to their nature. These include
employing people of higher competency levels, professionalizing the organisation, managing
participation from members of different generations, addressing the role of the women of the
family in the business, planning succession, etc. The FMB participant requires training in
appreciating and attending to these issues.
A conventional MBA student from a renowned Indian institute or a foreign university may not
provide adequate response to these needs of wards from family businesses.
On the other hand, the FMB programme is designed primarily keeping these factors in mind thus
equipping the participant with good capabilities in these issues.

20 Reasons Why FMB is the Most Suited Course for You

1. Pursue a management course and get involved in the family business at the same time
2. Customize learning in the context of your business
3. Acquire insights into ‘Management’ and facilitation of growth of business
4. Learn management in context of SME and unique issues of business in India
5. Learn to work with functional specialists rather than becoming a specialist yourself
6. Learn about issues of impact of family on business and vice versa
7. Acquire knowledge of business, management and human resources
8. Acquire skills of working with numbers, people and communication
9. Acquire the right attitude of taking up challenges, aiming high and achieving targets
10. Learn from co-participants coming from diverse industries and backgrounds
11. Draw value from Samagams and industry visits
12. Obtain a global perspective by participating in international visits
13. Acquire the ‘Money’ sense and ‘People’ sense, which are critical for business
14. Attain skills of efficiently running existing business and pioneering new ventures
15. Learn to effectively design as well as execute business
16. Receive training in formulating and structuring business plans
17. A learning experience for you, your mentor and the entire organisation
18. Opportunity to use the learning to take forward the legacy of your family business
19. Benefit from the expertise of the SPJIMR faculty
20. Be a part of SPJIMR - consistently ranked among the top ten B Schools in India

Program Objective
The objectives are to:
Equip young family business managers with management concepts and techniques for meeting
the distinct challenges in managing a successful, growing family business.
Prepare the family member for developing a strategic and general management understanding of
the business backed by a global perspective.
Inculcate in the family member the attributes of continuous learning and reflection which would
enable him/her to keep abreast of the future.
Develop a keen business interest in the external world beyond the family and the business.
Understand and synergize the dual role played by a family member, as a member of the owner
family, and as a business manager.

Course Structure
The course is divided into three phases of six months each

Phase 1 ‘What IS a business’ – learning about basics of business

Phase 2 ‘What is OUR business’ – understanding own business in its different dimensions.

‘What WILL be our business’ – working towards taking the business forward by
Phase 3
applying the management insights learned during the programme.

The course involves learning of all the management subjects that are involved in the above
design. The stress is not so much on theory as on how to relate the theory to practical experience
in the family business. The prime focus is the general management orientation with building
capacity to be able to relate with functional specialists, and not on becoming a specialist of one
function by oneself.
Pedagogy
First, we believe that true learning takes place through application, by actual experience in real
life, no matter how well something is explained in the classroom. This is because, unlike with
classroom exercises, no business problem is a stand alone problem; it occurs in a certain
historical context within the organization and it has ramifications that go well beyond any
function, extending to the organization as a whole. The integrated approach to problem
identification and problem solving is something that is not captured well in most classroom
exercises. Our Programme accordingly attempts to focus on the workplace and on discussions of
real life situations in participants' businesses. Participants will be required to constantly relate
theoretical frameworks and concepts to actual business realities. This is why the Programme is
designed so that participants are not required to leave their workplace for the full duration of the
Programme.
Secondly, learning is a matter of discovering through reflection and critical inquiry even while
one is in the process of acting. The individual teaches himself from his problem or situation and
asks: why are things not working out? What is going wrong here? The individual may use
various theoretical concepts in dealing with his problem, but it is the thrill of discovery in real
life that constitutes true learning - learning that the individual carries with him throughout his
life. For this to happen, the individual must develop the capacity to learn by himself. Our
Programme, accordingly, emphasizes self-learning.
Thirdly, we believe learning requires observation of the world around us and a willingness to
learn from others, and that it is more effective when it is fun. Our Programme will, therefore,
encourage and require group learning through the formation of peer groups. Learning will take
place when people sit around in a spirit of camaraderie, share problems and invite solutions from
peers and, quite possibly, from their elders.

Following from the above, the Programme uses the following pedagogic approaches:
Programmed self-learning and group learning

Well structured classroom sessions

Interaction with teaching faculty.

Interaction with business leaders though ‘samagams’

Project work as application of concepts to real life situations

Experiential learning though visits and interaction at selected business "sites"

 Global perspective through foreign visit

A co-participant network that would allow interaction among participants

At the end of each contact (period of 1 week at the institute) the participants are given
Assignments – which are a kind of project to learn further on the concepts discussed about the
status and validity of the same in the context of own organisation. These assignments are to be
done in consultation with the mentor (who may be the father, uncle, senior manager, etc) as well
as the key executives handling that specific function in the organisation.
By the end of the program the Participants are required to make a business plan with a blueprint
for the next three years for the business, understand the implication of family issues and define
own role in the form of a role plan.

Role of Mentor
Each participant is required to have one mentor identified. Ideally the mentors should be the
father or a close relative who is actively involved in the management of the family business.
Since the participant is going to spend three weeks a month at the business, it is critical that
mentors spend quality time in guiding and helping him/her to co-relate the learning with the
business.
There are three mentor's meets during the programme and the mentors are expected to participate
in these.
The involvement of mentors is extremely crucial and will have a direct impact on the learning
and benefits from the programme.

Role of Organization
The participant is expected to take the help of executives of the organization, while working on
assignments. These assignments will help students perceive their businesses in a systematic way.
The concerned executive handling a specific function can provide inputs about the specific
business context.
On the other hand, the participants are expected to share their learning with their mentors as well
as key executives, thereby bringing the management concepts to the organisation and enriching
the collective effectiveness.
Faculty
The renowned faculty at the institute facilitates innovative thinking through practical academic
inputs and thought-provoking case studies. The faculty of the institute involved with this
programme brings with them diverse academic backgrounds and invaluable industry experience.

Learning From Peers

In each batch there are participants from all kinds of industries and all parts of the country. In
some batches there have been participants from Dubai and Nepal. Interactions with other
participants and learning about their businesses, context, challenges and initiatives are extremely
valuable sources of learning for all. Building a network with participants from myriad
backgrounds has been a lifetime value derived by the FMB alumni from the programme.

Admissions
The FMB programme has two divisions starting every year in April and September. The
admission is a rolling process and one can apply any time. It is important that the candidate has a
family business and the mentor agrees to guide the learning process.

Admissions Process
The Candidate must fill up the online application. The Payment of Application Processing Fees
can be made through either DD, or net Banking or credit card.

Apply online
The applicant will be sent details of web learning and other reading material required before the
interview on the email id mentioned in the application.
The following tests will be conducted on the day of the interview:

Test on the web learning material and other reading

General aptitude test

This will be followed by a presentation by the candidate about his/her business and an interview.
There is NO requirement of CAT or GMAT scores
The application can be sent any time and will be processed for the scheduled next round of
interview.
Eligibility
The FMB Programme is open to graduate family members with a significant stake in the family
business. Sponsorship by the business is essential. Selection is through assessment of the
application followed by a test and personal interview.

Programme Architecture
The Family Managed Business (FMB) programme has a custom designed architecture reflecting
the central theme of preparing the participant for leadership of his/her family business. The
architecture adopted focuses on the objectives and pedagogy for fulfilling the theme.
The objectives are to:
Equip young family business managers with management concepts and techniques for meeting
the distinct challenges in managing a successful, growing family business.
Prepare the family member for developing a strategic and general management understanding of
the business backed up with a global perspective.
Inculcate in the family member the attributes of continuous learning and reflection which would
enable him/her to keep abreast of the future.
Develop a keen business interest in the external world beyond the family and the business.
Understand and synergise the dual role played by a family member, as a member of the owner
family, and as a business manager.
The concept and design of the Programme for Family Managed Businesses follows from a
certain philosophy of what learning, including managerial learning, is and how it is best
facilitated in a formal MBA Programme.