ENTR 3P98 Fall 2020 FAMILY BUSINESS

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
GROUP FAMOUS FAMILY BUSINESS RESEARCH REPORT
Due Date: December 2nd by 9 pm

As a group, choose a “Famous Family Business and Family” to research in depth. No duplicates so inform the Instructor
via Messages on Sakai. Priority of choice goes to the group that informs the Instructor first. The Instructor will post the
choices on Announcements on Sakai.

The following is a list of Family Businesses that you CANNOT choose. (These were recently presented by students, or are
on Sakai as a sample.) Aldi, Campbell Soup, Canadian Tire, Estee Lauder, Ferrari, Ford, Heineken, Levi
Strauss, LG, Luxotica, MapleLeaf Foods, Marriott, Mars, Merck, Molson Coors, Murdoch (News Corp), Nike,
Porsche, Reliance, Roche, Samsung, Saputo, Smuckers, Walmart.

THE SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH: An information-rich report is the first step to achieve an average grade. Creating (not
scanned/copied) tables or charts enhances and condenses information. Remember to give a Title, and the Source of the
information. If you create a table, genogram or chart etc. then put your copyright (symbol, surname(s), year). If no
copyright or citation (source), then it will be assumed you have “copied” (plagiarized). An average grade requires that you
have a wide variety of sources for your research on the famous family. Wikipedia should not be a major source for your
information. The company website should only be one of your sources. You should check for magazine articles,
media/web articles, legal cases, online databases, financial databases etc. A “B” grade will have at least 15 different
sources of information about the family business. If you cannot find 15 different sources about the family business, then
choose another family business to study. With a team of five, only three sources each, adds up to 15 sources. Dig deep for
information and do not present a superficial account.

RESEARCH THE BUSINESS AND THE FAMILY: Look for very specific information e.g. the family business history,
current and past major family business issues, court cases, reports in the financial media and so on, key family
photographs, family squabbles and family related court cases, and genogram. Business, family and the overlapping areas,
all need researching.

THE INDUSTRY: Do a comparison between your chosen family business and the competition. Look for information in
relation to major competitors. Include a competitive analysis showing the THREE main industry competitors for the
family you have chosen. Identify the THREE according to sales revenues or some other quantifiable measure. Show the
ranking and rationale in a table in your report (also include your Family Business in the Table). If the family business is in
several industries, for the purposes of this project, choose the most dominant industry to compare the main players. Also,
identify which of the three are a family business, and explain your decision with verifiable information (e.g. major family
shareholders, % ownership). Linda Lowry (Librarian), will be a great source of assistance. She provides many links for
enhancing your research on your family business.

ACADEMIC JOURNAL PAPERS – TWO ACADEMIC PAPERS EACH STUDENT

TOPIC: Each group member must choose one topic (e.g. succession planning, sibling rivalry, conflict, governance,
gender, innovation/intrapreneurship) and find and utilize two academic papers on this topic from one or both of the two
main family business academic journals (Family Business Review or Journal of Family Business Strategy). Both are
accessed, free of charge, via the library course webpage http://researchguides.library.brocku.ca/ENTR3P98
Group members must choose different topics. Also, the academic papers must not be duplicates with other team members.
You will lose marks for any duplication of academic paper(s). The topic(s) you choose should be chosen with care as it
must “suit or fit” the company you have chosen. Please Note: Some students may wish to include more than the required
number of academic papers. This is acceptable and might enhance your grade. However, there is no guarantee that
additional papers will lead to a higher grade. Quality over quantity is the critical point.

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PROCESS – Individual Topic
a) For the write-up, start with your topic heading (e.g. Sibling Rivalry) and your own name (e.g. Denis Shapovalov).
Throughout the Report it is important to identify who is writing that section of the Report. Grades may differ
across team members, in relation to their effort, evidenced by their contribution to the Report.

b) Explain the topic so the reader has an understanding of what the topic means (e.g. succession planning, sibling
rivalry, conflict, governance, gender, innovation/intrapreneurship). You can summarize the explanation from the
academic paper(s) you are using or you can use another academic paper for the explanation. Each method is
acceptable. (The length of explanation should be approximately a half page.)

c) Each student must then find TWO papers from either the Family Business Review or the Journal of Family
Business Strategy (or one from each Journal). Explain in your own words the major findings/contribution, in
relation to your topic, from each of the papers you have selected. (Length: approx. half page of the report for each
paper. Cite the papers by APA format, which is author surname(s) and year.)

d) You then need to anchor this with a practical focus in relation to the family business you have chosen to study. So
next, discuss your chosen topic and the content of the two papers in relation to the family business you have
chosen. This is a good place to show how much research you have done on your family business. (Length:
Approximately one to two pages.)

TOPIC – HOW TO CITE SOURCES

For every source of information you must either quote (but only use short quotations) (using quote marks, with page
numbers and source), or use your own words to summarize what you have read, and cite the source. You should give the
source of the academic papers in the format of author(s) and the date of the publication (e.g. Menzies & Diochon, 2011).
Do not list – downloaded from and date etc.! Only put the minimum information. It is outdated to give the “downloaded
etc.” or “retrieved from” phrase.

PROFESSIONAL LAYOUT OF REPORT & CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION

Make good use of Headings throughout your report. Include a header on every page. On the left side at the top of every
page – put the name of the Family Business, on the right side in the header, put your own name. So you are taking
ownership of the pages that you type. If you end your typing part way through a page, then it will be assumed you typed
until the natural break, e.g. the next heading. You can put joint names if it was a collective effort, for example, for a Table
or Chart. Remember to put the copyright symbol, surname(s) and year to claim ownership (e.g. © Menzies, 2020).
As a team effort, you should present the information in the same format as other team members. Consistency of
style makes a “team report”. You cannot receive an A or B grade for a Report that is incomplete, not consistent in
layout , or lacks APA format (including references).

TEAM EFFORT
If a significant disequilibrium in team effort for the write-up of the Report, then some students may find they have a lower
or higher grade than the other members of their team.

RESEARCH PAPER LENGTH AND FORMAT: There is no page limit for this assignment. However, quality is the
primary consideration over quantity. Expectation for length will vary according to the number of students in the group.
APA format and referencing is required. References for journal papers will be attributed to the student who utilized them
within the paper. So email your references to the student designated to compile that page. Also, proof read your own
references carefully before report hand-in. Of course, a good team will ensure that all references used for the report are in
correct APA format.

FORMAT OF REPORT AND STYLE

Your writing style should be the same as that found in the academic papers you read for this report project. The paper
should be 1.5 line spacing, 11 point Times New Roman font, 1” margins. Tables or Charts can be in smaller font. You
can include tables and charts within the text or place at the end. Use the method that leads to the most professional looking

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report. For margins use left and right hand (full) justification – so no ragged right hand side to the text. However, DO
NOT justify the References pages as they should have a ragged edge on the right hand side to avoid long gaps etc. Include
a page titled References and use APA format. Take particular care with your Reference pages. See Linda Lowry Library
Course Page for sample reports and a range of research resources.

TEAMWORK STATEMENT: Include at the end of your Report. Each person must include their contribution to the
Report and sign. See Word version posted on Sakai. SEE SAMPLE PAGE ON PAGE 5 OF THIS GUIDELINE.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT: Include at the end of your Report. You are only part of the group, if you sign.
See Word version posted on Sakai. SEE SAMPLE PAGE ON PAGE 6 OF THIS GUIDELINE.

FIRST PAGE OF ACADEMIC ARTICLES IN PDF FORMAT. When you select the TWO academic articles you will use
for the Report, copy the first page, ADD your name via a text box at the top of the page, on each. Add at the end of your
Report. SEE PAGE 7 OF THIS GUIDELINE FOR PDF ARTICLE EXAMPLE ETC.

SUBMISSION: Upload on Sakai. Label the File e.g. ENTR3P98 Group# Family Business Name (e.g. Ford). Due Date:
December 2nd by 9pm. No Extensions after that date unless for verifiable “non-avoidable” circumstances. Penalties –
See course outline.

REPORT STRUCTURE
 Submit in PDF format.
 Cover Page – For Information and Marketing Purposes so vary Bold, Font, Colour, spacing etc.
 Header every page: company or family name and ownership of material – so student(s) surname.
 Footer – page number.
 Full left and right-hand margin justification. No ragged edge of print on right side of paper. (except for references
list.)
 Introduction – why this is an important family to study, what you are going to do in the report – one page approx.
Put a catchy or relevant title to the report – this page only (on cover just company/family name).
 History and Current Day- business and family, major issues including financial, genogram, 3 circle diagram,
perhaps key timeline (proper referencing APA, for the source of information). Give business, family and
business/family overlap information. Create your own tables, and charts to condense information etc.
(Include: Definition of a family business – how your family fits this definition. How many and who are involved
in the business and in what role etc. Whether the family are a help or a hindrance to the business and the business
to the family, and so on.
 Competitive Analysis – in a Table with References/Sources.
 Topic by each student. Use your two academic articles to discuss the theory then the practice in relation to your
chosen family business.
 Conclusion - Your thoughts or overall opinion on the company. This is where you bring together everything you
have studied and give your own opinion. No references (citations or sources) are required for the conclusion as
this is entirely your own thoughts – what each of you in the team think. Write the Conclusion as a group, so no
separate sections. So teamwork!
 References – APA format.
 Submit completed, signed, and dated Team Contribution Form and Academic Integrity Form.
 Include in your Report, at the end, the first page (in PDF format) of the TWO academic articles used by each
student (student name on each, top right-hand corner, use “ Insert →Text box”).

NON PROFESSIONAL FORMAT: You will lose grades for the following:
1. Printed page numbers not included in the Report, or not consistent.
2. References/sources missing from Report.
3. Font or font size, line spacing different for no reason.
4. Left and right hand margins NOT justified (except for references).
5. Three or more spelling or typo errors.
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6. Three or more instances of poor grammar.
7. Non Professional quality.
8. Any missing part e.g. Cover page. PDF of academic paper(s), Teamwork completed and signed form or academic
integrity signed form.
9. Large blank spaces within the Report.
10. Photos, tables, charts etc. that lack title and source.
11. Photos, tables, charts etc., non-professional, non APA format and so on.
12. A report that is the length for a 4-person team but there is a team of 5.
13. A report that shows evidence of lack of 3 to 4 times proof reading, e.g. lack of consistency in format, too many
errors of any type.
14. PDF of first page of academic paper(s) with no student name on it, or PDFs of academic papers lacking for one or
more student.

TEAM DYNAMICS: Please inform the instructor as early as possible if you are a dysfunctional team.

See the Following TWO Forms. These are posted on Sakai as Word documents. Please
complete and ADD at the end of your Report. ALSO, the sample PDF first page of an
academic article.

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TEAMWORK FOR REPORT

Student Name: Signature: Date:

The following was my contribution to the Report:

Student Name: Signature: Date:

The following was my contribution to the Report:

Student Name: Signature: Date:

The following was my contribution to the Report:

Student Name: Signature: Date:

The following was my contribution to the Report:

Student Name: Signature: Date:

The following was my contribution to the Report:

If significant unequal team effort, please document and include on a separate sheet and all group members must sign. The
Instructor will then arrange a virtual meeting to discuss the issue with all team members.
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STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY – GROUP PROJECT – ONE PER GROUP

Please read and sign the following statement, and submit a copy of this sheet with your assignment. Your
assignment will not be graded until you have submitted this form. If this form is missing, the assignment will not be
graded.

We, the undersigned, confirm that we understand that all the following constitutes academic misconduct according to
Brock University’s policy on academic misconduct, which in turn is consistent with general academic practice:
 Quoting someone’s words without using quotation marks
 Quoting someone’s words without acknowledging the source
 Citing someone else’s ideas in my own words but without citing the source
 Using someone else’s organization of ideas
 Allowing someone else the opportunity to borrow material from my paper (e.g., by letting them have access to my
paper when they are writing their own paper)
 Writing the paper for another student, or doing some of the work for them (such as, but not limited to, reading the
articles for them and providing them with notes on the articles)
 Allowing someone else (or paying someone else) to write part or all of my paper, or do some of the work for me. The
exceptions to this are that it is acceptable to allow someone to type the paper for me or make editorial comment on it.
However, if someone types the paper for me, or if I incorporate an editorial suggestion, and there are errors in the
typing or the suggestion was misguided, I take full responsibility for those errors.
 Submitting this work to another course without both instructors’ permission.

We confirm that we have not done any of the above forms of academic misconduct.

Names Signatures (electronic version, not a type font)

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

Date: _____________________________________ Course: ENTR 3P98

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Put your name and student number here!
THIS IS A SAMPLE OF A FIRST PAGE OF A JOURNAL ARTICLE IN PDF e.g. Teresa Menzies 467854
(Insert a Text box)

Group Research Assignment: Include first page, PDF (contains Abstract) of 2 academic papers from FBR or
JFBS journals for topic you use in report.
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APA Reference Format – You should follow this format.
Menzies, T. V., Filion, L. J., Brenner, G. A., & Elgie. S. (2007). Measuring ethnic community involvement:
Development and initial testing of an index. Journal of Small Business Management, 45(2), 267-282.