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Taking Care of Business in the Family:
Resolution Ahead of Time
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Att. Ali Sami Er
Is a family constitution the cure? Should a family constitution be
the guide that includes all of the solutions to those problems which
might occur, or rather, should it propose approaches to resolve prob-
lems before they arise. In other words, should the family constitution
stress fundamental values, or include rules, in detail, and to what
extent?
Before deciding upon the character of the family constitution,
rather than pondering such general questions, it may be useful to focus
on various specific questions, the responses of which may serve to sat-
isfy the concrete needs.
For example, should employment in the company, or winning a
promotion, depend on kinship, or on merit? How should the income be
shared? Will you be able to live on the dividends or salary? When the
company needs economic support, do the seniors of the family become
its guarantors? Should the cousin who dedicated his life to the compa-
ny be entitled to overtime payment or bonuses? Should the family
member who has never been happy working at the company, and who
has chosen to compete with the company through the creation of his
own organization, be excommunicated from the family/company, or is
s/he free to establish her/his own company? Does the saying, “the
younger drinks the water first, but it is the elders who speak first,”
mean that the younger generation have no right to be heard? If you are
of the younger generation holding one share, will you be entitled to
speak in the general assembly of the company? What if you do not
have any shares, will you still be allowed to comment in the family
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NEWSLETTER 2015
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Article of August 2015