Whatar
ecooper
ati
ves?
ACooperat i
veisapr i
vatebusinessor ganizati
onv oluntari
l
yf ormedandr anbymember s
tocaterfortheireconomi candsoci alneeds.Cooper ati
v econsistsofsever
alpeople
whocomet owor ktogether.Theyoper atecommer ciall
y.Cooper at
ivesarebasedon
val
uesofsel f-
help,self
-r
esponsi bi
l
ity,democr acy,equal i
ty,equi
tyandsol i
dar
it
y.While
cooperat
ivesareal sobusinesses,t hemai nobjectivesf orpeoplet osetuporj oi
na
cooperat
iveistoi mprovetheireconomi candsoci alcondi t
ionsthroughjoi
ntact
ionfor
thegoodofal l
member sratherthanthroughi ndiv
idual concernsonly.
Whatar
ethef
eat
uresofcooper
ati
ves?
•
Member
shi
pisv
olunt
ary
•
Allmember scancontri
butetotherunni
ngoft
hebusi
ness,shar
ingt
hewor
kload,
r
esponsi
bil
i
tiesanddeci
sionmaki
ng.
•
All
member
shav
eonev
oteati
mpor
tantmeet
ings.
•
Sel
f-
hel
pmot
ivat
es–i
dent
if
icat
ionofapr
obl
em andal
lpossi
blesol
uti
onst
oit
.
•
Prof
it
sar
eshar
edequi
tabl
yamongmember
s.
Whatar
ethecondi
ti
onsneededt
ocr
eat
eacooper
ati
ves?
Cooper
ati
veor
gani
sat
ionsar
ebasedonsev
eral
fundament
alcondi
ti
ons:
•
Exi
sti
ngproblemsandconstr
aint
swhi
chcannotbesol v
edi
ndi
vi
dual
l
y.A gr
oupof
mot
ivat
edpersonswhoshar
ecommonprobl
emsisneeded.
•
Thereisnoalt
ernat
ivetocooper
ati
vesel
f-
hel
p-e.
g.hel
pcannoteasi
l
ybepr
ovi
ded
f
rom f
amil
y,asoci
ali
nsti
tut
ion,
ort
hestat
e.
•Therearenol egalorpol
i
ticalr
est
ri
cti
onsongroupsbei
ngabl et
oelectthei
rown
l
eaders;marketthei
rowngoods;earnprof
it
sandtomaket hei
rowndecisi
onsabout
dist
ri
buti
ngsurplus,
etc.
•Theadvantagesofmember
shi
p(accesstogoods,i
nput
s,loans,ser
vices,
mar
ket
s,etc.
)
outwei
ght heduti
esofmember
shi
p( e.
g.cont
ri
buti
onofresourcessuchasmoney,t
ime,
l
and,equipmentetc.
).
,•Atl
eastoneper
sonamongstthegrouphasleadershi
pabi
li
tyandt
akesthei
nit
iat
ivet
o
repr
esentthegr
oup.I
tisessent
ialf
orsuccessfulworkt
hats/heberel
i
ableandhave
chari
sma.
Whatar
ethepr
inci
plesofcooper
ati
vesmanagement
?
Atthecongr
essoftheInt
ernat
ionalCooper
ati
veAll
i
anceinManchest
erin1995,seven
pr
inci
plesofcooper
ati
veswereagr eedbywhi chCooper
ati
vesputthei
rvaluesinto
pr
acti
ce:
1stpr
inci
ple:
vol
unt
aryandopenmember
shi
p
•Cooperat
ivesarevoluntar
yor ganisati
onsopent
oallpersonsabletousethei
rservi
ces
andwi l
l
ingt oacceptther esponsibil
i
tiesofmembershi
p,withoutgender
,soci
al,r
acial
poli
ti
cal
.orr el
i
giousdiscri
mi nat
ion.
2ndpr
inci
ple:
democr
ati
cmembercont
rol
•Cooperativ
esar edemocr ati
cor gani
sati
onscont
rol
l
edbyt heirmember
s,whoacti
vely
parti
cipateinsettingthei
rpolici
esandmaki ngdeci
sions.Menandwomenser v
ingas
elect
edr epresentati
vesar eaccountabl
et othemember ship.Inpr
imar
ycooperat
ives
member shav eequalv ot
ingrights(onememberonev ote),andcooper
ati
vesatother
l
ev el
sar ealsoorganisedinademocr ati
cmanner.
3r
dpr
inci
ple:
membereconomi
cpar
ti
cipat
ion
•Members cont
ri
but
e equi
tabl
yto,and democr
ati
cal
l
ycont
rol
,the capi
taloft
hei
r
cooper
ati
ve.
•Theyusuall
yr ecei
vel
i
mit
edcompensat
ion,
ifany
,oncapi
talsubscr
ibedasacondi
ti
on
ofmember ship.
•Members all
ocate sur
pluses foranyoft he f
oll
owing purposes:devel
opi
ng thei
r
cooperat
iveenter
pri
se,possibl
ybyset t
ingupreserv
es,partofwhichatleastwoul
dbe
i
ndivi
sibl
e;benefi
ti
ngmember sinproport
iontothei
rtr
ansacti
onswi tht
hecooperati
ve
andsupporti
ngotheracti
vit
iesapprovedbythemember shi
p.
4t
hpr
inci
ple:
aut
onomyandi
ndependence
•
Cooper
ati
vesar
eaut
onomous,
sel
f-
hel
por
gani
sat
ionscont
rol
l
edbyt
hei
rmember
s.
, •Ift
heyent
erint
oagreement swi t
hotheror
ganisat
ions,i
ncludi
nggover
nments,orrai
se
capit
alf
rom ext
ernalsources,theydosoont ermst hatensuredemocrat
iccont
rolby
thei
rmembersandmai ntai
nt hei
rcooper
ati
veautonomy .
5t
hpr
inci
ple:
educat
ion,
trai
ningandi
nfor
mat
ion
•
Cooperati
vespr ov
ideeducat
ionandtr
aini
ngforthei
rmembers,
elect
edrepr
esent
ati
ves,
managers,andempl oy
eessot hatt
heycancontr
ibut
eeff
ect
ivel
ytothedevel
opmentof
t
hei
rcooper at
ives.
•Theyinf
ormt
hegener
alpubl
i
c-parti
cul
arl
yyoungpeopl
eandopi
nionl
eader
s-aboutt
he
natur
eandbenef
it
sofco-
operat
ion.
6t
hpr
inci
ple:
co-
oper
ati
onamongcooper
ati
ves
•Cooper
ati
vesser
vethei
rmember
smostef fecti
vel
yandst r
engt
henthecooper
ativ
e
mov ementbyworki
ng t
oget
hert
hrough l
ocal,nat
ional
,regi
onal
.and i
nter
nat
ional
str
uctur
es.
7t
hpr
inci
ple:
concer
nforcommuni
ty
•Cooperat
ivesworkf
orthesust
ainabl
edev
elopmentoft
hei
rcommuni
ti
est
hrough
poli
ciesapprov
edbyt
hei
rmember
s.
Whatar
etheessent
ial
condi
ti
onsf
orcont
inuedsuccessofcooper
ati
veor
gani
zat
ions?
•
Thecooper
ativ
eneedstoproducev
isi
bleandtangi
ble(economi
candsoci
al)benef
it
s
f
ormembers,outwei
ghi
ngt
hecostsi
nvolvedi
ncooperat
ion.
-Cooper
ativescanonl
ydevel
opasaut
onomoussel
f-
hel
porgani
sat
ionswhentheyare
ableandal lowedtooper
ateasbusi
nessi
nst
it
uti
onsgear
edt osucceedi
nmar ket
competi
tion.
•Thecooper
ati
vehasmot i
vat
ed,exper
iencedanddy
nami
cmanager
swhoar
eabl
eto
planandi
mplementbusi
nesspol
ici
es.
-Theymustbeabletoprovi
det heserv
icesandgoodsr
equi
redbythemembers,t
aki
ng
i
ntoaccountboththeinter
estsandneedsofmember saswellastheent
repr
eneur
ial
goalsoft
hecooperat
iveenter
prise.
ecooper
ati
ves?
ACooperat i
veisapr i
vatebusinessor ganizati
onv oluntari
l
yf ormedandr anbymember s
tocaterfortheireconomi candsoci alneeds.Cooper ati
v econsistsofsever
alpeople
whocomet owor ktogether.Theyoper atecommer ciall
y.Cooper at
ivesarebasedon
val
uesofsel f-
help,self
-r
esponsi bi
l
ity,democr acy,equal i
ty,equi
tyandsol i
dar
it
y.While
cooperat
ivesareal sobusinesses,t hemai nobjectivesf orpeoplet osetuporj oi
na
cooperat
iveistoi mprovetheireconomi candsoci alcondi t
ionsthroughjoi
ntact
ionfor
thegoodofal l
member sratherthanthroughi ndiv
idual concernsonly.
Whatar
ethef
eat
uresofcooper
ati
ves?
•
Member
shi
pisv
olunt
ary
•
Allmember scancontri
butetotherunni
ngoft
hebusi
ness,shar
ingt
hewor
kload,
r
esponsi
bil
i
tiesanddeci
sionmaki
ng.
•
All
member
shav
eonev
oteati
mpor
tantmeet
ings.
•
Sel
f-
hel
pmot
ivat
es–i
dent
if
icat
ionofapr
obl
em andal
lpossi
blesol
uti
onst
oit
.
•
Prof
it
sar
eshar
edequi
tabl
yamongmember
s.
Whatar
ethecondi
ti
onsneededt
ocr
eat
eacooper
ati
ves?
Cooper
ati
veor
gani
sat
ionsar
ebasedonsev
eral
fundament
alcondi
ti
ons:
•
Exi
sti
ngproblemsandconstr
aint
swhi
chcannotbesol v
edi
ndi
vi
dual
l
y.A gr
oupof
mot
ivat
edpersonswhoshar
ecommonprobl
emsisneeded.
•
Thereisnoalt
ernat
ivetocooper
ati
vesel
f-
hel
p-e.
g.hel
pcannoteasi
l
ybepr
ovi
ded
f
rom f
amil
y,asoci
ali
nsti
tut
ion,
ort
hestat
e.
•Therearenol egalorpol
i
ticalr
est
ri
cti
onsongroupsbei
ngabl et
oelectthei
rown
l
eaders;marketthei
rowngoods;earnprof
it
sandtomaket hei
rowndecisi
onsabout
dist
ri
buti
ngsurplus,
etc.
•Theadvantagesofmember
shi
p(accesstogoods,i
nput
s,loans,ser
vices,
mar
ket
s,etc.
)
outwei
ght heduti
esofmember
shi
p( e.
g.cont
ri
buti
onofresourcessuchasmoney,t
ime,
l
and,equipmentetc.
).
,•Atl
eastoneper
sonamongstthegrouphasleadershi
pabi
li
tyandt
akesthei
nit
iat
ivet
o
repr
esentthegr
oup.I
tisessent
ialf
orsuccessfulworkt
hats/heberel
i
ableandhave
chari
sma.
Whatar
ethepr
inci
plesofcooper
ati
vesmanagement
?
Atthecongr
essoftheInt
ernat
ionalCooper
ati
veAll
i
anceinManchest
erin1995,seven
pr
inci
plesofcooper
ati
veswereagr eedbywhi chCooper
ati
vesputthei
rvaluesinto
pr
acti
ce:
1stpr
inci
ple:
vol
unt
aryandopenmember
shi
p
•Cooperat
ivesarevoluntar
yor ganisati
onsopent
oallpersonsabletousethei
rservi
ces
andwi l
l
ingt oacceptther esponsibil
i
tiesofmembershi
p,withoutgender
,soci
al,r
acial
poli
ti
cal
.orr el
i
giousdiscri
mi nat
ion.
2ndpr
inci
ple:
democr
ati
cmembercont
rol
•Cooperativ
esar edemocr ati
cor gani
sati
onscont
rol
l
edbyt heirmember
s,whoacti
vely
parti
cipateinsettingthei
rpolici
esandmaki ngdeci
sions.Menandwomenser v
ingas
elect
edr epresentati
vesar eaccountabl
et othemember ship.Inpr
imar
ycooperat
ives
member shav eequalv ot
ingrights(onememberonev ote),andcooper
ati
vesatother
l
ev el
sar ealsoorganisedinademocr ati
cmanner.
3r
dpr
inci
ple:
membereconomi
cpar
ti
cipat
ion
•Members cont
ri
but
e equi
tabl
yto,and democr
ati
cal
l
ycont
rol
,the capi
taloft
hei
r
cooper
ati
ve.
•Theyusuall
yr ecei
vel
i
mit
edcompensat
ion,
ifany
,oncapi
talsubscr
ibedasacondi
ti
on
ofmember ship.
•Members all
ocate sur
pluses foranyoft he f
oll
owing purposes:devel
opi
ng thei
r
cooperat
iveenter
pri
se,possibl
ybyset t
ingupreserv
es,partofwhichatleastwoul
dbe
i
ndivi
sibl
e;benefi
ti
ngmember sinproport
iontothei
rtr
ansacti
onswi tht
hecooperati
ve
andsupporti
ngotheracti
vit
iesapprovedbythemember shi
p.
4t
hpr
inci
ple:
aut
onomyandi
ndependence
•
Cooper
ati
vesar
eaut
onomous,
sel
f-
hel
por
gani
sat
ionscont
rol
l
edbyt
hei
rmember
s.
, •Ift
heyent
erint
oagreement swi t
hotheror
ganisat
ions,i
ncludi
nggover
nments,orrai
se
capit
alf
rom ext
ernalsources,theydosoont ermst hatensuredemocrat
iccont
rolby
thei
rmembersandmai ntai
nt hei
rcooper
ati
veautonomy .
5t
hpr
inci
ple:
educat
ion,
trai
ningandi
nfor
mat
ion
•
Cooperati
vespr ov
ideeducat
ionandtr
aini
ngforthei
rmembers,
elect
edrepr
esent
ati
ves,
managers,andempl oy
eessot hatt
heycancontr
ibut
eeff
ect
ivel
ytothedevel
opmentof
t
hei
rcooper at
ives.
•Theyinf
ormt
hegener
alpubl
i
c-parti
cul
arl
yyoungpeopl
eandopi
nionl
eader
s-aboutt
he
natur
eandbenef
it
sofco-
operat
ion.
6t
hpr
inci
ple:
co-
oper
ati
onamongcooper
ati
ves
•Cooper
ati
vesser
vethei
rmember
smostef fecti
vel
yandst r
engt
henthecooper
ativ
e
mov ementbyworki
ng t
oget
hert
hrough l
ocal,nat
ional
,regi
onal
.and i
nter
nat
ional
str
uctur
es.
7t
hpr
inci
ple:
concer
nforcommuni
ty
•Cooperat
ivesworkf
orthesust
ainabl
edev
elopmentoft
hei
rcommuni
ti
est
hrough
poli
ciesapprov
edbyt
hei
rmember
s.
Whatar
etheessent
ial
condi
ti
onsf
orcont
inuedsuccessofcooper
ati
veor
gani
zat
ions?
•
Thecooper
ativ
eneedstoproducev
isi
bleandtangi
ble(economi
candsoci
al)benef
it
s
f
ormembers,outwei
ghi
ngt
hecostsi
nvolvedi
ncooperat
ion.
-Cooper
ativescanonl
ydevel
opasaut
onomoussel
f-
hel
porgani
sat
ionswhentheyare
ableandal lowedtooper
ateasbusi
nessi
nst
it
uti
onsgear
edt osucceedi
nmar ket
competi
tion.
•Thecooper
ati
vehasmot i
vat
ed,exper
iencedanddy
nami
cmanager
swhoar
eabl
eto
planandi
mplementbusi
nesspol
ici
es.
-Theymustbeabletoprovi
det heserv
icesandgoodsr
equi
redbythemembers,t
aki
ng
i
ntoaccountboththeinter
estsandneedsofmember saswellastheent
repr
eneur
ial
goalsoft
hecooperat
iveenter
prise.
