Questions:

1) Introduction

Write one paragraph (5-6 sentences) and tell your reader what you are going to write about.

2) Analysis Focus Factors That May Have Convinced You to Close Your Business

Write two paragraphs (5-6 sentences each).

3) Factors That Discouraged You from Entering the Family Business

Write two paragraphs (5- sentences each).

4) Why Carl Wanted to Retain Ownership

Write two paragraphs (5-6 sentences each).

5) Advice Would You Have Given Carl and Fran to Increase the Chances Of Survival

Write two paragraphs (5-6 sentences each).

6) Three (3) Family Business Challenges

Write two paragraphs (5-6 sentences each).

7) Tips For Overcoming Your Three (3) Selected Challenges

Write two paragraphs (5-6 sentences each).

8) Conclusion

Write one paragraph (5-6 sentences) and tell your reader what you wrote about. Summarize your written discussion.

9) References

ENT-2020: Case Study

Iaccarino & Son: Tough Decisions for a Family

He labeled it "a typical immigrant story." Francis X. Iaccarino ("Fran" to his friends) was talking about his grandfather Raffaele. Raffaele emigrated from Italy to the United States, searching for better opportunities for his children. He had been a boat builder in Italy and expected to find the same kind of work in his new country. After being processed through Ellis Island, however, he was sent inland to Worcester, Massachusetts, because some of his relatives had already located there.

Ralph, as he became known in Worcester, found that his boat-building skills could be transferred to woodworking, so he began taking on whatever projects he could find. After a while, he rented a garage and established his own woodworking business. Ralph changed with the times, building refrigerator cases when electric refrigeration became widespread. There was a homebuilding explosion after World War II, and Ralph's company evolved into residential woodworking, specializing in molding for doors and cabinets.

As an Italian immigrant with limited fluency in English, Ralph was taken advantage of by building contractors. He passed his business along to his sons and returned to Italy for the final years of his life. Ralph's boys, Carl and Joseph, were home after their war service and ready to take on responsibility for the company. Initially, they were frustrated by how erratic the workload was. They both had families to feed and wanted a more stable income. Carl noticed that the glass company across the street from his location was always busy. The owner told him the key was to have commercial rather than residential customers. So Carl and Joseph shifted their focus and went the commercial route.

During the 1960s, Carl ran the factory, while Joseph was in charge of the office. When Joseph was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he had to reduce his involvement in the firm. Their sister came in to help out. Even though they were second-generation Americans, the Iaccarinos still faced discrimination in the private sector. They began concentrating on public contracts. They found that having a union manage their employees gave them and advantage in government contracting. The union set the pay rates, making everything transparent in the public sector.

The 1970s saw an increase in disagreements among family members. Eventually, Carl bought Joseph's 50 percent stake in the company. As sole owner, Carl named his company Iacarrino & Son, in the expectation of persuading Fran to join the firm. But first, Carl had to get the business back on track. A recession hit just after he bought his brother's shares. Carl was able to stay afloat and slowly grew the business through the 1980s. Then, in 1991, another recession hit...a housing bust.

At the time, Fran was managing his own picture framing business. He felt the pull of the family legacy and felt he needed to help his father. So he sold his company and joined Iaccarino & Son, overseeing accounting and estimating the costs of completing contracts. Going into the recession, the firm had revenues in the range of $10 million. Fran's baptism in the business involved cutbacks and downsizing. By 1994, although the company was profitable, revenues were down to $4.5 million.

Fran completed his MBA degree in 1992. When he joined Iaccarino & Son, he saw the company as a case study, much as his professors had taught him. Fran wanted to focus on growth, on replacing old technology, on finding new markets. By the end of the decade, the company was again reaching the $10 million mark, with higher profits. But Fran did not detect what was going on behind the scenes. Long-time employees were intimidated by Fran's presence and felt threatened. Wherever possible, they actively worked to reverse the changes that Fran had made. And Fran's father, Carl, was worried by Fran's growth strategy and was unwilling to back him on key issues. Fran had made a big mistake when he agreed to join Iaccarino & Sonhe failed to negotiate an ownership position. And he found his father would not let go of the power.

By 2001, Fran had had enough. He told his father that he was leaving the business unless Carl agreed to bring in outside consultants to reorganize the company. Carl agreed. The consultants implemented many of the changes Fran had previously attempted. They also instituted stronger analytical tools. Fran was optimistic about the company's future. In 2007, he drafted a plan for aggressive expansion, intending to double the size of the firm. Then came the Great Recession in 2008. But Iaccarino & Son did not feel it immediately. Its type of contracting made it a lagging indicator of economic trends. But it was hit hard in 2010 and 2011. There was a dwindling backlog of projects by 2012. The company lost three projects in on day and could not shrink fast enough to absorb the shock.

Iaccarino & Son reached its highest level of sales, over $15 million in 2011. The next year, it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company had lost bargaining strength in the recession, cutting profit margins to obtain contracts. And a major hospital project had proved especially costly. Bills came due, and there was not enough left over to acquire inventory. The 83-year-old company had nearly 50 employees at the time the decision to close was made.

Entrepreneurs are told, "Fail early; fail often." Fran was not used to failing, and the closure certainly did not come early. Nevertheless, he came away with the sense that he had learned lessons. He felt he knew far more than when he started about how to deal with banks and with bonding companies. He concluded that business is all about relationships. His experience taught him that the relationships he had established with customers and vendors helped not only in growing a business, but also in failing in one. To his surprise, he found when it was over that he still had great relationships with many of the firms he had traded with.

And Fran has not lost the entrepreneurial spirit. He is planning his next venture. He is looking at options where barriers to entry are low. For now, he wants something small, but with serious profit potential.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Introduction In this discussion we will delve into the complexities faced by Iaccarino Son a familyowned business which ultimately led to its closure We will analyze various factors that contributed ... View the full answer