Management and succession: Intergenerational relationships in fact and metaphor

Aspects of management and succession in any business can be analysed as though they involved intergenerational family relationships, whether in fact or by metaphor. Summaries are provided of research on management of offspring and intergenerational succession in business families and then extended metaphorically to managament and succession when the people involved are not relatives. Metaphoric analysis leads to a discussion of family of origin intrusions into work situations and the issues involved in succession when a successor and person succeeded are markedly different in age.