People have united in groups since ancient times. Primitive hunters hunted together, farmers cultivated the fields. What are cooperatives they did not know. But their associations can well be attributed to the modern concept of a cooperative.
Cooperative - what is it?
The word "co-operative" comes from two Latin roots co - "together", "together" and opus - "work", "work". Therefore, answering the question of what are cooperatives, the generally accepted definition at the international level in a simplified version translates as a joint action, cooperation.
A cooperative is an association of individuals or legal entities for cooperation in various spheres of life. This includes the production and marketing of products, the construction and operation of buildings, the purchase and consumption of services and goods. A voluntary association is recognized as a legal entity, developing through self-financing and self-government.
On the basis of the equity participation of each member of the cooperative, cooperative property is created. The result of the organization’s work is profit, joint new property. A peculiar feature of the cooperative is the participation of each member in the work. Concrete goals are set before the association, a common fund is created. Each member of the cooperative contributes a share (share) to it. Shareholders manage the cooperative, are responsible for possible risks, distribute profits.
The main types of cooperatives
The types of cooperatives are distinguished according to various criteria. By the type of activity, production and consumer cooperatives are distinguished. What are the differences between them? The production type is characterized by the mandatory labor participation of each member of the association in production activities for profit. The replacement of labor participation with a share contribution is allowed . SKHPK (agricultural production cooperatives) became widespread.
In a consumer cooperative, such participation is optional. Such an association is created as a non-profit organization to meet the needs of shareholders. Consumer cooperatives include consumer societies (PA), agricultural cooperatives (SCC) and other associations of member members.
Consumer cooperatives
The type of consumer cooperatives is represented by numerous species. First of all, consumer societies. Form citizens and legal entities for the procurement of agricultural and other products, provide the needs of shareholders in the sale of their product and the supply of necessary goods. Selpo and Raipo turned into a recognizable abbreviation, which indicates their distribution and significance.
Agricultural cooperatives brought together people conducting personal subsidiary plots and agricultural producers. Personal labor participation in this case is required. SHK unites gardeners or gardeners, processes agricultural products or sells them, deals with procurement, insurance or lending.
Activities in the name of the cooperative
The names of cooperatives clearly show the purpose of their creation or the activities of its members. The garage-building cooperative unites the owners of garages, the building organizes the management of real estate, the summer-building unites the owners of cottages and summer cottages. For the construction of housing, there are housing construction and housing savings cooperatives. For lending, housing-accumulative cooperatives (CPC) are formed. They attract the savings of shareholders to provide loans at interest, provide material assistance to farmers, agricultural enterprises and personal subsidiary plots. The functions of the association are performed on the basis of a voluntary agreement of member members.
Other types of cooperatives
It is possible to subdivide existing cooperatives according to other criteria. What types of existing cooperatives are divided into? It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer, since the interweaving of characters leads to a simultaneous similarity with the characteristics of various species. Several large blocks stand out.
By legal status. Cooperatives are formal (legally formalized) and informal. Initially, associations did not consolidate relations in accordance with the law. Today, cooperatives operate according to the laws adopted in the country, register the charters in state bodies.
By position in the hierarchy of cooperatives. Allocate primary, secondary, tertiary and so on. They differ in the structure of education. The primary form individuals, the secondary are created from the primary, and then incrementally.
By location. This feature characterizes urban, district, rural and other cooperatives.
By the time of occurrence. The associations are old, created on a primary basis, traditional, based on consumer satisfaction, modern, providing a research perspective.
By the size of the activity. Small, medium, large organizations are distinguished by different criteria: the number of shareholders, the territory covered, the scale of economic activity.
By the time of existence. Cooperatives are created for the agreed term or unlimited.
By field of activity. Production cooperatives produce tangible and intangible goods. The first include agricultural and industrial products, services for the transportation and sale of goods, sewing clothes and much more. The second group includes those that provide services, for example, medical ones.
According to the social composition of members. Proletarian, craft and peasant cooperatives are distinguished. The first are aimed at improving the living conditions of members, the second and third combine the efforts of manufacturers for the production and marketing of products, issue loans and accept deposits. There were alliances according to caste and omnipotent grounds.
By the complexity of the functions performed. Organizations for simple purposes are aimed at managing the enterprise, unions with complex tasks organize joint work.
The purpose of cooperation
Like any social movement, cooperatives are set to achieve a specific goal. What is important lies at the heart of a desired goal? Organizational, educational, economic, legal and educational activity promotes the idea of cooperation. A beneficial effect on the economic side of life is achieved through mutual assistance of united people, joint obligations for the prosperity of the cooperative, improving the legal culture and encouraging civic initiative.
The unifying features of cooperatives
Along with distinctive features, cooperatives, the types and characteristics of which are characterized, have common features. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries showed significant unifying attributes. These include:
- personal membership of participants;
- understanding of the economic goal;
- focus on mutual assistance;
- free entry and exit;
- members of the cooperative are first of all those in need;
- an unlimited number of shareholders can join a cooperative;
- Association takes place on the basis of management;
- members are involved in the management of the enterprise;
- the constituent elements are people.
Common signs of modern cooperatives
The development of cooperation in the twenty-first century has led to the emergence of new similarities. The change in traditional features has not changed the essence.
The main symptom: only for cooperatives is the combination of economic and social activity characteristic. Performing a successful economic function, cooperatives (the types of their formation may be different) have a beneficial effect on the social status of their members.
Additional attribute: joint ownership of property. The formation of common property is due to entrance fees and additional contributions. The entrance fee is not refundable, it is spent on creating the material base of the association. An additional share is entered at will or in accordance with the provision prescribed in the charter. Both species are considered returnable. Profit is calculated as the difference between the income and expenses of the cooperative. It belongs to the shareholders who distribute it at the general meeting. Losses are considered common.
An important common feature is demonstrated in the joint material responsibility of all members for the results of economic activity. In case of bankruptcy of the association and a lack of common funds, funds of shareholders are attracted to satisfy the claims of creditors. With limited liability, the shareholder pays a share fee or an amount multiple of its size. Unlimited liability requires members of the cooperative to answer with their property for the results of its activities.
Another sign is democratic principles. Democracy in the management of a cooperative is manifested in the fact that only the general meeting of member members has the functions of the supreme governing body. Intermediate structural units are elected at a meeting and report to it. Equality of members of a cooperative consists in the possession of one vote, regardless of the number of shares.
So, to summarize what cooperatives are. These are voluntary associations of citizens, united on an autonomous and democratic basis to meet their needs in the economic, social and cultural spheres. The basis of economic activity is joint ownership of the enterprise.
History of cooperation in Europe
The first associations in the classical understanding of what cooperatives were, appeared in the mid-nineteenth century in England. The experience of the weavers of 1830 failed. In 1844, their second attempt was successful. Twenty-eight weavers came together to create a shop that provided low-priced food items to shareholders. In 1949, the number of members increased to nine hundred people. Following the successful experience, an insurance company, a cooperative of industrialists, and a mutual assistance society arose. In the UK, consumer cooperatives bring together seven million people into thousands of unions. They supply consumers with clothes and products, offer household goods and services, and satisfy the need for legal and medical services. Europeans understand what cooperatives are for the well-being of the country and each of its inhabitants. In Sweden, consumer cooperatives have established themselves in housing construction and agricultural development. In Denmark, half of the adult population is united in 2,000 consumer cooperatives. Cooperation has spread among farmers. Milk production, meat processing and much more belongs to cooperatives.
US cooperation
After the adoption of the Law on Cooperatives in the United States in 1926, farmers' associations such as cooperatives became widespread. What is cooperation, what advantages does it provide, explained to farmers by the Service of farmer cooperatives. The beginning of the twenty-first century confirmed the viability of the cooperative movement. Today, half of the farmers are part of cooperatives.
Cooperatives in Russia
The history of the development of the cooperative movement in Russia begins in the nineteenth century. For the first time, a loan-credit partnership was created by the Luginins brothers from the Kostroma region in 1865. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia had taken a leading position in the world in the number of cooperatives and the number of their members. The events of 1917 interrupted the further development of cooperation. The revival began in the nineties. In 1992, the Law on Consumer Cooperatives in Russia was adopted; in 1996, the Law on the Activities of Production Cooperatives in the Russian Federation was adopted. In addition to these federal laws, the activities of cooperatives are regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Each cooperative develops and adopts a charter at the general meeting, in which the main regulators of the organization’s activities are fixed (share contribution, participation of members, their responsibility and others). Today in Russia the number of cooperatives, the number of participants continues to increase.
Prospects for the development of a cooperative movement
The twenty-first century continues its traditions. The concept and types of cooperatives have changed, but their essence has remained the same. Of the more than seventy thousand modern cooperatives, one hundred twenty species can be distinguished. Species diversity suggests that cooperatives have justified their hopes for improving the living standards of cooperative members in different socio-economic conditions.