Ed, can you please post it on the BlackBoard so that everyone sees it? Just in case. Thank you.

Dear all

We are very pleased to welcome you at you first MICA session. The case we are going to discuss is 'Roger Levy and Ilapak: A Family Business Simulation.' All the roles were distributed among our group members, just to remind you:

Roger – Nkem

Roger's Wife – Elena

Guy – Borina

Sabrina – Maheen

Sabrina's Husband – Sarah

Luciano – Maksim

Luciano's Lawyer – Anjum.

As the lead team, we will be a group of consultants to your family.

Please be prepared to present your point of view based on the role you have in class. What are your goals? How do you feel about the situation? Do you see a possible solving of the problem?

The simulation will look like the Family Roundtable, where everyone will have time to speak and to express their opinions within 3 minutes. While listening to the key actor, others are encouraged to provide their feedback or any suggestions written on paper cards. The group discussion will be following the presentations. The following questions may arise:

1)   What values drive the Levy family thinking for the business? For the family?

2)   Was Roger's decision about careers and ownership fair? Why?

3)   How do the relationships within the family affect decision making?

4)   Does the family need a code of conduct to guide their meetings?

5)   What planning actions does the family need to take?

Remember that you have 2 goals: 1) to keep relationships within the family as good as possible and make a plan for future success; 2) to understand communications and conflicts in the family business system.

After the group discussion, which will take up to 20 minutes, we should arrive to a final decision. After that, team debriefing (15-20 minutes) will take place. The following points will be discussed:

1)   How were your actor's efforts affected by the way you worked with other key people?

2)   What techniques helped your actor to achieve his or her goals?

3)   Who was able to develop the most influence?

4)   What could your actor have done to improve the outcomes of the family meeting?

5)   What did you learn about negotiation, conflict resolution and decision-making in family organizations?

Regards

Lead Team