You Are a Business Consultant Providing Advice to a Family

Multiple Choice

You are a business consultant providing advice to a family company based in Alexandria, Egypt with 250 employees, involved in the design and manufacture of children's clothing. The company has identified an opportunity to expand into production of certain lines of adult clothing. They are trying to decide whether to invest in development of this new area of the business, and seek your advice.
-There has been some disagreement among family members about the potential expansion. The family is considering setting up adult clothing as a separate company under the leadership of one of the senior family members. Based on your knowledge of organizational behavior and the characteristics of other family companies, what is the best advice you can give them?

A) Setting up a separate company is a good idea because it is best to avoid conflict at all costs.
B) The only way to resolve the dispute will be to bring in non-family members.
C) The vision of the owner was only about children's clothing, so it is best not to consider expanding into other product areas.
D) The product expansion is a long-term plan, and for now it would be better to focus on short-term profitability.
E) Family businesses have a unique competitive advantage if the family members remain unified, so it would be best to keep the new product lines within the existing company.