The 8th Family Businesses Congress, which is organized biennially by the İstanbul Kültür University (İKÜ) Family Businesses and Entrepreneurship Application and Research Center (AGMER), was held on April 9-10 in the Akıngüç Odditorium and Art Center.
The 8th Family Businesses Congress, which is organized biennially by İstanbul Kültür University (İKÜ) Family Businesses and Entrepreneurship Application and Research Center (AGMER), was attended by family business members, executives, managers, academicians and researchers participated in the Family Business Congress which was organized on April 9-10 for the 8th time. The İKÜ Chairman of the Board of Overseers Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver said, “In more conservative family businesses women are not considered as leaders. There is a syndrome called glass ceiling and we have to eliminate this syndrome.”
Subjects such as institutionalization, sustainability, strategic management, entrepreneurship and brand creation in family businesses, communication within the family and transfer problems were discussed in the scope of the congress.
“IN MORE CONSERVATIVE FAMILY BUSINESSES WOMEN ARE NOT CONSIDERED AS LEADERS"
Stating that the biggest problem of family businesses is sustainability and that family businesses have paradoxes, the İKÜ Chairman of the Board of Overseers Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver said family businesses represent the Turkish economy.
Stating that there are major challenges for women leaders in businesses, Günver said, “In more conservative family businesses women are not considered as leaders. There is a syndrome called glass ceiling. After starting work at an enterprise, a woman can advance in her career once or twice until she hits a glass ceiling and she cannot advance more. This makes her a slave to the system. We need to create opportunities to get rid of this glass ceiling, provide different opportunities for women and create opportunities for women leaders to advance not only in family businesses but in all businesses.”
“THERE SHOULD BE POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION OF WOMEN IN BUSINESSES”
Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver stated that education is important and is necessary not only for the children but also for mothers, fathers and executives. Günver said, “If the service provider adopts the leadership understanding, there should be a positive discrimination of women. We are an institution that applies positive discrimination for women and 51% of our employees are women. We try to solve the problems of women as much as we can. Consultancy, which will create the ability to solve paradoxes in family businesses, and receiving consultancy service from consultancy centers at the University are very important.
“FAMILY BUSINESSES SHOULD BE HANDED DOWN TO NEXT GENERATIONS”
Stating that family businesses have a great contribution to Turkey’s economy and 95% of the companies in Turkey are family businesses, the President of the Congress Organization Committee Prof. Dr. Uğur Yozgat said, “If family businesses are not handed down to the 3rd and 4th generations and the life of a business is limited to the life of the operators, it is very difficult for Turkey to develop.”
Pointing out that family companies are Turkey's driving force and locomotive, Yozgat said, "As AGMER, the issue we are focusing on is the development of Turkey. We founded this Center, the first of its kind in Turkey, in 2004 because we believe that family companies are Turkey's main strength. We trust in the unity, integrity and success of family as a culture. At a certain point, family companies need professionals. It is important to know how to go through this process without problems. A major problem of family companies is institutionalization.”
“THE YOUNG GENERATION USES TECHNOLOGY BETTER THAN THEIR PREDECESSORS”
Prof. Dr. Uğur Yozgat said that while organizing the congress they determined the agenda by studying the developments in the world and they wanted people with experience to share their knowledge with young generations and continued as follows:
“Technology is used extensively today, and the young generation uses it better than the previous generation. We need to include young people. Young people should be the driving force. Managers should determine to whom in the next generation they will transfer the business, complete their preparations and hand down the business when the time comes. The new generation is born into the digital world and it is very important to know how we will place this generation in the enterprise and how we will move our business into the future together.”
The Long Lasting-Rooted Enterprise Award Ceremony was also organized at the congress in the İKÜ Akıngüç Auditorium and Art Center. Twenty large enterprises were awarded at the ceremony.
