cooperative : co-operative

A cooperative (also co-operative or Coöperative often considered a co-op or Coop) is defined by the International Co-operative Alliance of the Declaration on the cooperative identity as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their Common Economic, Social and cultural aspirations in the framework of co-owned and democratically controlled enterprise [1]. A cooperative May also be defined as an enterprise owned and controlled also by those who use its services or work. The cooperatives are being studied in the field of economic cooperation. The cooperatives have sponsored a high-level Internet domain. Coop, which identifies legally registered or recognized co-operatives. History Although cooperation as a form of the individual and society behaviour is intrinsic to human organization, the modern history of co-operative forms of organization goes back to agriculture and industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. The first cooperative "is under some dispute, but there were several stages. In 1761, the Fenwick Weavers' Society was founded in Fenwick, East Ayrshire, Scotland discounted selling oatmeal to local workers. Its services expanded to include assistance with savings and credit, migration and education. In 1810, social reformer Robert Owen and his partners purchased New Lanark mill Owen's stepfather and proceeded to introduce better labour standards including retail stores where profits have been sent to its employees. Owen left New Lanark to pursue other forms of co-operative organization and develop co-op ideas through writing and higher education. Co-operative communities have been established in Glasgow, Indiana and Hampshire, though ultimately failed. In 1828, William King established a newspaper, The cooperator, to promote thought Owen, having already established a cooperative store in Brighton. The Society Rochdale Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, is widely regarded as the first success of the cooperative enterprise, used as a model for modern cooperatives, as a result of the "Rochdale principles." A group of 28 weavers and other artisans in Rochdale, England established the society to open their own shop selling food that they could not afford otherwise. In ten years, there were more than 1000 cooperative societies in the United Kingdom. Other activities such as the creation of a society respectful of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in 1832 were repeatedly key in the creation of labour organizations and movements of consumers. Meaning The cooperatives as legal entities Although the term May be freely used to describe a method of work, cooperation itself is a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members also. A point of the definition of a cooperative is that members have a close association with the company as producers or consumers of its products or services or its employees. In some countries, there are forms of incorporation of cooperatives. Cooperatives May take the form of companies limited by shares or by guarantee, partnerships or associations unincorporated. In the USA, cooperatives are often organized as non-capital-actions undertaken by the state cooperative laws. However, they also be May associations unincorporated or a corporation such as limited liability companies or partnerships, these forms are useful when members want to allow: 1. some members have a greater share of control, or 2. some investors have a return on capital that exceeds their fixed interest, or May who are eligible under local laws for cooperatives. Cooperatives often share their earnings with members in the form of dividends, which are distributed among members according to their participation in the company, such as sponsorship, rather than give the value of their shareholdings in capital (as is a joint stock company.) Co-operative identity Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy and equality. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the values of honesty, transparency, social responsibility and altruism. These legal entities have a unique range of social characteristics. Membership is open, which means that anyone who meets certain non-discriminatory conditions May join. The economic benefits are distributed proportionately to each member's level of participation in the cooperative, for example by a dividend on sales or purchases, rather than divided depending on the capital invested. Cooperatives May generally be classified as either consumer cooperatives or cooperative producers. Cooperatives are closely linked to collective, which differ only in the profit or economic stability is secondary to adherence to the principles of social justice - Types of cooperatives Cooperative Housing A housing cooperative is a legal mechanism for residential property where residents either its own shares (share capital co-op) taking into account their equity in the cooperative housing, or are members and tenancy rights in a non-profit co-operative (non-share co-op), and they support their housing through subscriptions or pay rent. Housing cooperatives are two basic structures of fairness: • In the market-rate housing cooperatives, members May sell their shares in the cooperative, whenever they like whatever the price for the market will bear, like many other residential properties. Market rates of co-ops are very common in the city of New York. • equity housing cooperatives, which are often used by developers of affordable housing, allow members to own some equity in their homes, but limit the sale price of their shares to that on which they pay. Building cooperation Members of a cooperative construction (in Great Britain, known as self-build housing cooperative) to pool resources to build housing, normally using a high proportion of their own work. When the building is completed, each member is the sole owner of a house, and the cooperative May be dissolved. This collective effort has been behind many of Britain of building societies, but which has become "permanent" mutual savings and loan organizations, a term that persist in some of their names ( as the former Leeds Permanent). Today, these self-construction May be financed through a step-by-step mortgage, which is released in stages as construction is completed. The term May also refer to workers in cooperatives in the building. Retailers cooperative A retailers Cooperation (known as one or placing on the secondary market for cooperation in some countries) is an organization which employs economies of scale on behalf of its members to obtain discounts from manufacturers and save joint marketing. It is common for employees belonging to grocery stores, hardware stores and pharmacies. In this case, the cooperative members are companies rather than individuals. The Best Western International hotel chain is actually a retail cooperative, whose members are terminal operators, but it now prefers to call himself a "non-profit association." He gave on "cooperation" label after some courts have insisted on the implementation of regulatory requirements for franchisors in spite of its members controlled. Utility cooperation A utility is a cooperative public utility which is owned by its customers. It is a type of consumer cooperative. In the USA, many of these cooperatives have been formed to provide rural electric and telephone service under the New Deal. See public services in rural areas. Worker cooperation A worker or producer cooperation cooperative is a cooperative, which is owned and democratically controlled by its "worker-owners". There is no outside owners in a "pure" cooperative workers, only workers own shares of the company, although hybrid forms where consumers, or members of the community of capitalist investors also have certain actions are not uncommon. The membership is not compulsory for employees, but in general, only employees can become members. However, India is a form of cooperative workers who insists on compulsory membership for all employees and compulsory employment for all members. This is the form of coffee Indian Chambers. This system has been advocated by the Indian communist leader AK Gopalan. Business and employment co-operative The main article: enterprise and employment co-operative Business and employment co-operatives (CAE) are a subset of co-operatives which represent a new approach to providing support for the creation of new businesses. Like other business support schemes, CAE enable budding entrepreneurs to experiment with their business idea while enjoying a secure income. The CAE introduce innovation is that once the company is established the contractor is not forced to leave the country and set up independently, but may stay and become a fully fledged member of the cooperative. The micro-enterprises and combine to form a multi-activity companies whose members provide a mutually supportive environment for each other. CAE will provide and businesspeople in grass with an easy transition from inactivity to self-employment, but in a collective framework. They open up new horizons for people who have the ambition but not the skills or confidence necessary to put entirely out of their own - or who simply want to pursue an independent economic activity, but in a support group. Cooperative social The main article: social cooperative A particularly successful form of multi-stakeholder cooperation is the Italian "social cooperatives", some of which exist 7000. "Type A" social cooperatives bring together providers and beneficiaries of a social service as members. "Type B "Social cooperatives bring together permanent workers and previously unemployed who wish to integrate into the labour market. Social Cooperatives are legally defined as follows: • no more than 80% of the profits be distributed May, interest is limited in bond rates and the dissolution is altruistic (active May not be distributed) • the cooperative has legal personality and limited liability • objective is the overall interest of the community and the social integration of citizens • those type B integrate disadvantaged in the labour market. The categories of disability they aim May physical and mental, drug addiction and alcoholism, developmental disorders and problems with the law. They do not understand the disadvantage of other factors such as race, sexual orientation or abuse. • cooperatives type A of health, social or educational services • different categories of stakeholders May become members, including employees, beneficiaries, volunteers (up to 50% of members), financial investors and public institutions. In type B cooperatives at least 30% of members must be target disadvantaged groups • voting is a person one vote A good estimate of the current size of the sector of social cooperatives in Italy is given by the official update Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT) figures by the end of 2001 by an annual growth rate of 10% (supported by the Direzione Generale per gli Ente Cooperativi). This gives the total 7100 social cooperatives, with members 267000, 223000 employees, 31000 and 24000 volunteers disadvantaged integration. Turnover combined is about 5 billion euros. Cooperatives are divided into three types: 59% of type A (social services and health), 33% type B (work integration) and 8% mixed. The average size is 30 workers. Consumers Cooperative A consumer cooperative is a company owned by its customers. Employees can also become members in general. Members vote on major decisions, and elect the board of directors from among their own number. A well-known example the USA is the REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated), co-op, and Canada: Mountain Equipment Co-op. The world's largest consumer cooperative is the Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom, which offers a variety of retail and financial services. The United Kingdom also has a number of consumers' cooperative societies, such as the East of England Co-operative Society and Midcounties Co-operative. In fact, the Co-operative Group is something of a hybrid, having both member companies (most other consumer cooperatives, because of its origins as a society wholesale) and retail consumer members. Japan has a very large and well-developed cooperative movement of consumers with more than 14 million members; retail cooperatives alone a total turnover of 2519 billion yen (21184 billion [market exchange rates in effect , 11/15/2005]) in 2003 / 4. (Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union., 2003). Migros is the largest supermarket chain in Switzerland and holds the cooperative society as a form of organization. Nowadays, a large part of the Swiss population are members of the Migros cooperative - about 2 million of Switzerland's total population of 7.2 million [1] [2], what makes a Migros supermarket chain which is owned its clients. Coop is another Swiss cooperative that operates the second largest supermarket chain in Switzerland after Migros. In 2001, Coop has merged with 11 federations of cooperatives that were its main suppliers for over 100 years. In 2005, Coop operates 1437 stores and employs about 45000 people. According Bio Switzerland, the Swiss association of organic producers, Coop represents half of all organic foods sold in Switzerland. EURO COOP is the European Community of Consumer Cooperatives. [2] Agricultural Cooperative The main article: Agricultural Cooperative Agricultural cooperatives are widespread in rural areas. In the USA, there are both marketing and supply cooperatives. Cooperatives marketing of agricultural products, some of which are sponsored by the government, to promote and May actually distribute commodities specific. There are also supply of agricultural cooperatives, which provide agricultural inputs in the process. In Europe, there is a strong agricultural / agro-industry cooperative banks and agricultural cooperatives. Most emerging countries are developing agricultural cooperatives. Where it is legal, the medical marijuana is usually produced by cooperatives. A cooperative is a form of vertical integration and is similar to an Alliance. Cooperative Bank (credit unions and savings cooperatives banks) The Co-operative Bank headquarters, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester. The statue is in front of Robert Owen, a pioneer of the cooperative movement. Credit Unions provide a form of cooperative banking. In North America, the credit union movement began with Alphonse Desjardins in Quebec, Canada has launched credit cooperatives. Desjardins wanted desperately need financial protection to workers. In 1900, at his home in Levis, Quebec, he opened North America the first credit union, marking the beginning of the Mouvement Desjardins. Even if they have not taken root so deeply as in Ireland or the USA, credit unions are also established in the United Kingdom. The most important are based on work, but there are many who now offer services throughout the community. The Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL) represents the majority of British credit unions. British Building Societies developed a general-purpose savings and banking institutions by one member, one vote "ownership and can be regarded as a form of financial cooperative (although many" de-mutualised ", conventional banks in the years 1980 and 1990). The United Kingdom Co-operative Group includes both an insurance provider CIS and the Co-operative Bank, noted for promoting ethical investment. Other important European banking cooperatives Credit Agricole in France, Migros and Coop Bank in Switzerland and the Raiffeisen system in many countries of Central Europe. The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and various European countries also have a strong cooperative banks. They play an important role in the mortgage and professional (ie agriculture) credit. Cooperative banking networks, which were nationalized in Eastern Europe, now working as genuine cooperation institutions. A remarkable development took place in Poland, where the Skok (Spółdzielcze Kasy Oszczędnościowo-Kredytowe) network has grown to serve more than 1 million members through 13000 branches, and is larger than the largest country conventional bank. In Scandinavia, there is a clear distinction between mutual savings banks (Sparbank) and credit unions true (Andelsbank). Federal or secondary cooperatives In some cases, cooperative societies find an advantage to form cooperative federations where all members are themselves cooperatives. Historically, these have mainly taken the form of cooperative societies wholesale and cooperative unions. [3] federations of cooperatives are a means by which cooperative societies can respond to the sixth Rochdale Principle, cooperation among cooperatives, with the ICA noting that "Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement working together at local, national, regional and international structures. "[4] See also: List of Co-operative Federations Cooperative Wholesale Society The main article: Co-operative Wholesale Society According cooperation economist Charles Gide, the goal of a cooperative society wholesale is to organize "bulk purchases and, if possible, organize production." [3] The best historical example of this was the CWS English and Scottish CWS, which were the forerunners of the modern Co-operative Group. Cooperative Union The main article: Co-operative Union A second form of cooperative federation is a cooperative union, whose objective (after Gide) is to "develop a spirit of solidarity among societies and ... In a word, to exercise the functions of a government whose authority, it is needless to say, is purely moral. "[3] Co-operatives UK and the International Cooperative Alliance are examples of such arrangements. Co-operative party In some countries, with a strong cooperative sector, as the United Kingdom, cooperatives May benefit from forming a parliamentary political party to represent their interests. The British Co-operative Party and the Canadian Co-operative Commonwealth Federation are the main examples of such arrangements. The cooperative movement British formed the Cooperative party in the early 20th century to represent members of consumer cooperatives in Parliament. The cooperative now has a permanent electoral pact with the Labour Party, and 29 members of Parliament who were elected during the 2005 general election as Labour Co-operative members. United Kingdom cooperatives retain a significant market share in food retail, insurance, banking, funeral services and the travel industry in many parts of the country.