Family Business Magazine E-Newsletter
November 6, 2007

Contents
1.  Morgan Stanley sells its stake in New York Times Co.
2.  Dolan family fails in its bid to take Cablevision private.
3.  New MIT B-school dean contemplating family business program.
4.  Resistance to change in a family firm.
5.  Family Business Agenda: A bonus for subscribers.



1.  Morgan Stanley sells its stake in New York Times Co.  Morgan Stanley has sold its 7.2% stake in the New York Times Co., representing a victory for the Ochs-Sulzberger family, who control the company. Morgan Stanley fund manager Hassan Elmasry had waged a two-year campaign to change the Times' dual-class stock structure. "The dual class ownership structure of The New York Times Company gives the family solid control of the company," Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert told the New York Times. "And while Mr. Elmasry raised some very good points in terms of what he would like to see changed, the reality was that he has no leverage." The Times reported that "now that Mr. Elmasry is out of the picture, it is unclear how much pressure other large shareholders might exert on the company." The company's stock closed at an 11-year low after the announcement. A report in the Wall Street Journal said, "It is ... possible that Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. will pursue corporate-governance changes at a more measured pace now that a high-profile critic has taken himself out of play." The Journal article noted, "The sale has also led some investors to question whether the Times can sustain itself as a public company or if it will be forced to explore alternative structures such as taking the company private."  (Sources: New York Times, Oct. 18, 2007; Wall Street Journal, Oct. 18, 2007.)

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2.  Dolan family fails in its bid to take Cablevision private.  Cablevision Systems Corp. shareholders on Oct. 24 voted down the Dolan family's $10.6 billion offer to take the cable company private -- the family's third attempt to do so. The vote "raises questions about whether the family will soon decide to sell the country's fifth-largest cable operator in terms of subscribers," the Wall Street Journal reported, "or some of its parts, which include television networks, Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks and Rangers." In the latest privatization effort, the Dolans had offered $36.26 a share. "Many investors felt the Dolans were trying to buy the company for far less than it was worth," the Journal article said. The company has made news with its feuds with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, among others, the report noted. "Chief Executive James Dolan and his father, Cablevision founder and Chairman Charles Dolan, have feuded publicly in recent years over a satellite-TV project that Charles Dolan championed," the article said. "Last year, the company got in trouble for awarding backdated options to an executive who had already died. This fall, the management of Cablevision's Madison Square Garden unit, which is run by James Dolan, was tarnished by a highly publicized sexual-harassment trial that ended in an $11.6 million verdict against the company." The Journal noted that some investors voted in favor of privatization. "The Dolans have long said Cablevision, of Bethpage, N.Y., isn't for sale," the article said. In a statement before the vote, James Dolan said he was "completely prepared to continue to lead the company into the future as a public company if the transaction is not approved."  (Source: Wall Street Journal, Oct. 25, 2007.)

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3.  New MIT B-school dean contemplating family business program.  David C. Schmittlein, the new dean of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "has been stressing the need to boost 'experiential learning' with businesses" -- an approach that may include a focus on family business, the Boston Globe reported. Critics of today's curriculum at business schools "have warned that business schools have grown overly academic and theoretical, far removed from the actual day-to-day operations of business and management," the article noted. MIT's Schmittlein "envisions Sloan developing a broader portfolio of programs tailored toward students on different paths, from going into investment management to joining family businesses," the Globe reported. Schmittlein suggested to the newspaper that MBA programs should be "more honest about where students are and where they want to go."  (Source: Boston Globe, Oct. 14, 2007.)

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4.  Resistance to change in a family firm.  "Resistance, as every leader knows, is a byproduct of change," writes James E. Barrett in The Family Business Leadership Handbook. He outlines three levels of resistance to change in family companies:



For steps leaders can take to combat resistance to change, see The Family Business Leadership Handbook. Learn more about the book and see the table of contents here.

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5.  Family Business Agenda: A bonus for subscribers.  Subscribers to the quarterly Family Business Magazine will receive a special new publication this month. The annual Family Business Agenda homes in on a topic of particular concern to family business owners. The inaugural issue of the Agenda focuses on employment, examining the subject from a variety of angles. Family business advisers offer insights into recruitment and compensation of key non-family executives, paying family members fairly, workplace security and other critical employment issues. Readers will learn how Hussey Seating Co. of North Berwick, Maine, demonstrates its commitment to its employees, and how the owners of Mitchells and Richards, clothing retailers in Connecticut, developed a policy for employment of family members.



To receive a copy of Family Business Agenda plus four issues of Family Business Magazine and free access to more than 700 articles in our online library, sign up for a subscription.

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Student seeks participants for family business study.  Jessica Merten, a behavioral science student at Columbia College in South Carolina, is conducting research in an effort to compare children who grow up in family businesses with children who do not. Participants in her 20-question survey will receive a $10 Staples gift card. To participate in the electronic survey, go to www.kidsnbusinessproject.com.

The perfect gift for family business stakeholders.  When you give a gift subscription to Family Business Magazine, your relative, friend or client receives four issues of the quarterly magazine, the annual Family Business Agenda, PLUS online access to our 18-year archives. Visit our website for gift subscription information.

Giving gifts to multiple recipients?  Receive a discounted rate by using our Family Subscription order form.

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