homemoney to purchasehow The twin questions of continuity of management and the general wellbeing of the employee largely resolve themselves, in the case of such enterprises, to the state of trade. Full employment destroys the smaller family firms that underpay employees or give them impossible working condi. tions; the market will absorb them elsewhere. So far as the succession is concerned, when it is not a question of almost traditional behaviour 'what's been good enough for Dad will be good enough for me' better education and wider opportunities tend to attract the brighter people away from the often restrictive family business atmosphere where shortage of finance excludes a reasonable rate of expansion. Despite all these difficulties, the family business pattern, especially in small enterprises, will take a long time to disappear : alert, enthusiastic, able family leadership is still very important to industrial and commercial progress. There is one additional factor about which it is hard to write precisely but which must be touched upon and which will be better illustrated by a case history. Many family firms are jealous of their reputation in what may be termed the fields of design, craftsmanship, and service. Against considerable odds such firms, expanding because the world's desire for betterdesigned, bettermade things is expanding, have to hold on tenaciously to their high principles of quality and design and the craftsmen to maintain them. In these circumstances it is probable that the familybusiness atmosphere is the most conducive to the maintenance of these standards. The business of Heal's, a quality shop in London, recently celebrating its 150 years of independent family existence, is a good example. Here the first principles of quality and design are maintained because, so to say, succeeding generations of the Heal family are imbued with a sense of responsibility. There is no question but that men and women working in such an atmosphere derive a special sort of satisfaction from the family tradition. It may well be that a family firm which places quality and reputation above all else will not make the same profits as a competitor less concerned with the imponderables of design and craftsmanship, but this is an instance and let such instances be praised when profit is not the whole story. It may also well be that such firms are particularly vulnerable to takeover bids, but here again there are many instances of considerable family courage in the face of mounting temptation. In sum it may be said that there is plenty of room for family businesses so long as the family representatives can bring either management skill or benevolence or both adjusted in each case to the character and requirements of the situation. If these qualities are not forthcoming the rest of the management will have a hopeless task. The story of the famous pottery firm of Wedgwood is so relevant to this particular aspect of family leadership that it now follows. to buy a house