Cooperatives in 21st Century: The Road Ahead

Abstract

A cooperative is an organization brought into being by a group of people with a common economic interst, with the collective serving as a mechanism to leverage benefits for the members in the market. It does business just as a corporation; however, what sets a cooperative apart from acorporation is tis member-owned and-controlled characteristics. In this sense, a cooperative is a self-help enterprise for its members. Since its origin in the 19th century, the cooperative form of organization has evolved and grown into a formidable entity today. Some of the best known businesses around the globe are cooperatives of Spain, REI of the US, Amul dairy of India, to name just a few. According to UN estimates, the total membership of cooperatives today is 800 million, with 100 million employed in their services. The sectoral spread of cooperatives, too, is impressive: agriculture, fisheries, banking, insurance, retail, utilities, housing, tourism, transportation. This book provides an overview of cooperatives, discusses the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for cooperatives, and presents experiences of cooperatives in several countries. Contents: 1. Cooperative Enterprise - S. Rajagopalan; 2. My Journey through Cooperatives and Beyond-In Search of a Governance Structure for Stakeholder Cooperation - Samar K. Datta; 3. Innovations in Cooperative Ownership: Converted and Hybrid Listed Cooperatives Section - O. F. Bekkum; 4.Cooperatives in 21st Century: Survival and Growth - Shashikala Choudhary; 5. Making a Difference: Cooperative Solutions to Global Poverty - Andrew Bibby and Linda Shaw; 6. Problems and Prospects of the Cooperative Movement in India Under the Globalization Regime - Banishree Das, Nirod Kumar Palai and Kumar Das; 7. Worker Cooperatives as Alternative Management - Sharit K. Bhowmik; 8.Cooperative Business in the United States - www.coopmonth.coop; 9. Italy's Cooperatives from Marginality to Success - Vera Zamagni; 10. The New Cooperative Movement in Venezuela's Bolivarian Process - Camilia Pineiro Harnecker; 11. Rural Cooperatives in China: Policy and Practice - Jenny Clegg; 12. Amul: Icon of the Cooperative Movement in India - Mridu Vermna; 13. Cooperative Fair Trade Coffee.