Keeping it in the family

by Matthew Rock - Friday, 1st February 2008 -

Derek Conway is out. Today we learn that more than 70 Tory MPs employ family members. Good or bad? The pros and cons of working with family.

Over the past week, the Conway family has been in the limelight, provoking questions about whether employing wives, sons and daughters really is a proper use of taxpayer money. David Cameron today revealed that more than 70 Tory MPs employ family members in their parliamentary offices.

But why should this be a bad thing? Some of Britain's finest businesses are run by families. The trust and instinctive understanding that comes from families working together can provide the glue that keeps a business's values true and its performance firing. David Pounds, who runs family business Mobile Media with his wife Karen Olsen, explains the value: "We’re not just the suits that disappear for lunches. They trust us and they know they can talk about anything.”

Equally, family bickering has led to the downfall of many a family dynasty.

So what are the secrets of making a family unit an effective business unit? Over to our very own emotional guru, Margaret Heffernan:

Related story: Emotional rescue

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