Tam Nguyen ’05 (center) and his executive team at the Family Business Hall of Fame awards in March. Nguyen will teach this fall’s section of MGMT 335 – Family Business Dynamics.

Planning a future small business? Hoping to lead your family’s startup to the next generation? Mihaylo’s Center for Family Business sponsors MGMT 335 – Family Business Dynamics, which explores the challenges and opportunities facing today’s family operations.

Family businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy. With enterprises in such diverse sectors as agriculture, manufacturing, finance, entertainment and tourism, contracting, food services and retail, family-owned firms generate more than 50% of the nation’s GNP. Families own thousands of small “mom-and-pop shops” and 35% of Fortune 500 companies. Yet family dynamics can make generational succession difficult. Less than one-third of enterprises continue into second-generation ownership and only a sixth continues to the third generation.

Mihaylo’s Center for Family Business sponsors MGMT 335 – Family Business Dynamics, to assist students in understanding the dynamics such businesses face and the best strategies for successful outcomes.

“We focus on how family dynamics, including leadership and sibling position, influence the company and the family,” says Ed Hart, the center’s director. “Strategies for successful business planning, succession, ownership, estate planning, compensation, family meetings, mission statements, conflict resolution, use of outside consultants and boards are all included. We also study current national and international cases so that students have a working knowledge of real-life situations they might encounter.”

The course, available in fall 2016, is taught by the Rick Muth Endowed Chair for Family Business, a full-time professor dedicated to instruction and research on this theme. The position is named after Rick Muth, CEO of ORCO Block and Hardscape, and is unique in CSU Fullerton.

Interim chair for the 2016-2017 academic year, Tam Nguyen ’05 (MBA), will be teaching the class this fall.  Dr. Nguyen and his sister Linh lead Advance Beauty College, which has two locations in Orange County.  They were inducted into the Family Business Hall of Fame earlier this year, and were honored as the Family Business of the Year in 2012 by the Orange County Business Journal. Students will meet several successful family business leaders throughout the semester, providing an excellent opportunity for students to build their personal network. Registration for the course will be available in July for Cal State Fullerton students.

For more information on the course or the activities of the Center for Family Business, which offers networking, education and speaker events, contact Ed Hart at 657-278-7431 or visit the center at SGMH 5284 or online.