Resolving Dilemmas in Closely Held Businesses

D Robinson International Journal of Coaching in Organizations 2005

The closely held organisation is defined in its simplest form as one where the owner-manager role is vested in the same person or persons. This means that it is often difficult to discern where business ends and family starts, and vice versa. Owner-managers of closely held organisations are frequently faced with dilemmas under circumstances where they are compelled to make choices between alternatives, when none appear appropriate, or when more than one appears equally desirable. When a business imperative demands one course of action and their personal ethic, principles or values, demand another, owner-managers may find themselves ‘between a rock and a hard place’, so to speak. This article explores some of the dilemmas they face and offers a way of articulating a dilemma and resolving it, by using what is known as The Business Ethics Synergy Star (BESS).