Proposta para profissionalização de empresa familiar: um estudo de caso de uma instituição de ensino privada da região Sul Fluminense

Abstract

Family businesses play a significant role in the country's economy; represent approximately 99% of private enterprises, account for 2/3 of jobs, and micro and small family enterprises together account for 52% of GDP. The unique context of this type of company, its distinctive resources and ability to generate competitive advantage reveal the importance of studies on family companies, however in Brazil these researches are still in a premature phase. Among the researched literature, it was not possible to identify studies that portrayed how to professionalize family management, indicating which paths should be taken to make the process more assertive. Its own characteristics and complexities, arising from the interrelationship between family, property and management, make the family business an organization more complex than the others, and as such requires a peculiar type of management and, in the case of a family higher education institution, the union of two distinct types of organization are involved: the higher education institution and the family business, which together enhance the complexity both of them already have. Professionalization represents an evolution in the management of the company, through a formalized process and structured as a way to keep it sustainable, competitive and long-lasting. However, obstacles are encountered in the course of the professionalization process; among others, may be related to issues related to organizational culture, interpersonal relations, power, informal structure and centralized decision making. The behavior of organizations varies according to their culture, and because it represents the identity of the company it influences the organization in practically all its dimensions, therefore, the appropriation of the cultural traits can aid in the decision making. In view of this, this study had as its final objective, based on the diagnosis of the organizational culture of a Medium-sized Family Education Institution, to formulate a plan of action to provide conditions for professional management. The research was conducted through a single case study, with an applied, descriptive and exploratory character, with a qualitative and qualitative approach. the target population of the study was constituted by effective employees of the organization, located in the administrative and pedagogical sectors. The data were collected by means of a survey of company documents, participant observation, informal interviews and IBACO- Brazilian Organizational Culture Evaluation instrument, which, in addition to allowing a more consistent portrayal of organizational reality, also contributed to overcoming possible deficiencies resulting from research and methods. The qualitative data were treated by content analysis and the quantitative by descriptive statistical technique; the triangulation of sources and methods was performed. The theoretical construct grounded the analyzes and discussions of the results, also contributing in the articulation of ideas to formulate the intended action plan. The results found partially confirmed the hypotheses initially formulated and raised others that resulted in a new theoretical perspective.