What are cooperatives? Types and characteristics of cooperatives

People united in groups from ancient times. Primitive hunters hunted together, farmers cultivated fields. What they did not know about cooperatives. But their association can be fully attributed to the modern concept of the cooperative.

Cooperative - what is this?

The word "cooperative" originated from two Latin roots co - "jointly", "together" and opus - "work", "labor." Therefore, when answering the question what cooperatives are, the definition generally accepted internationally in a simplified version is translated as 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, construction and operation of buildings, the purchase and consumption of services and goods. Voluntary association is recognized as a legal entity developing through self-financing and self-government.

On the basis of shared participation of each member of the cooperative, cooperative property is created. The result of the organization is profit, joint new property. The peculiar feature of the cooperative is the participation of each member in the work. Before the union, specific goals are set, a common fund is created. Each member of the cooperative makes a share in it. Shareholders manage the cooperative, are responsible for possible risks, distribute profits.

Main types of cooperatives

The types of cooperatives are distinguished according to various criteria. By type of activity, industrial and consumer cooperatives are isolated. What are the differences between them? The production view is characterized by the obligatory labor participation of each member of the association in the production activity for the extraction of profit. Permission is granted to replace labor participation in a share contribution. The distribution of agricultural products cooperatives (agricultural production cooperatives) has spread.

In a consumer cooperative, such participation is not necessary. Such an association is created as a non-profit organization to meet the needs of the shareholders. Consumer cooperatives include consumer societies (PO), agricultural cooperatives (SCCs) and other associations of member members.

Consumer cooperatives

The type of consumer cooperatives is represented by numerous species. In the first place - consumer societies. Citizens and legal entities are formed to harvest agricultural and other products, provide the needs of the shareholders in selling their product and supplying the necessary goods. Selpo and Raypo have evolved into a recognizable abbreviation, which speaks of their spread and significance.

Agricultural cooperatives united people, leading personal subsidiary farming, and commodity producers of agricultural products. Personal labor participation in this case is mandatory. SCC unites truck farmers or gardeners, processes agricultural products or sells it, provides supplies, insurance or loans.

Activities in the name of the cooperative

The names of cooperatives clearly show the purpose of their creation or the activities of its members. Garage-building cooperative society connects the owners of garages, the construction organizes the management of real estate objects, the dacha-building unites the owners of summer cottages and suburban areas. For the construction of housing there are housing and housing and housing cooperative cooperatives. For crediting, housing cooperative societies (CPCs) are formed. They attract the savings of shareholders to provide loans at interest, provide financial assistance to farmers, agricultural enterprises and personal subsidiary plots. The functions of the association are carried out on the basis of a voluntary agreement of the member-shareholders.

Other types of cooperatives

The cooperatives can also be subdivided by other criteria. What are the types of existing cooperatives? It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer, since the intertwining of traits leads to a simultaneous similarity with the characteristics of various species. There are several large blocks.

By legal status. Cooperatives are formal (legally formalized) and informal. Initially, the associations did not consolidate the relationship in accordance with the law. Today, cooperatives operate according to the laws adopted in the country, register statutes in state bodies.

On the position in the hierarchy of cooperatives. Allocate primary, secondary, tertiary and so on. They differ in the structure of education. Primary individuals are formed, secondary ones are created from primary, and then by increasing.

By location. This feature characterizes urban, district, rural and other cooperatives.

By the time of occurrence. Unions are old, created on primary foundations, traditional, based on consumer satisfaction, modern, providing an exploratory perspective.

By the size of the activity. Small, medium, large organizations are allocated according to different criteria: the number of shareholders, the covered territory, the scale of economic activity.

By the time of existence. Cooperatives are created for a stipulated period or indefinite.

By field of activity. Production cooperatives produce tangible and intangible goods. The first include products of agriculture and industry, services for the transportation and sale of goods, tailoring and much more. The latter include those that provide services, for example, medical.

By the social composition of the members. Proletarian, craft and peasant cooperatives are distinguished. The first are aimed at improving the living conditions of members, the latter and the third combine the efforts of producers to produce and sell products, issue loans and accept deposits. There were alliances on caste and all-word basis.

The complexity of the functions performed. Organizations for simple purposes are aimed at managing the enterprise, unions with complex tasks organize joint work.

Purpose of cooperation

Like any social movement, cooperatives are set to achieve a specific goal. What is important lies at the heart of the desired goal? Organizational, educational, economic, legal and educational activity promotes the idea of cooperation. Beneficial influence on the economic side of life is achieved through mutual assistance of the united people, joint commitments for the prosperity of the cooperative, the enhancement of the legal culture and the promotion of civic initiative.

Unifying signs of cooperatives

Along with the distinctive features of cooperatives, the types and characteristics of which are characterized, have common features. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries showed significant unifying signs. These include:

• Personal membership of participants;
• Understanding of the economic goal;
• Focus on mutual assistance;
• Free entry and exit;
• Members of the cooperative are primarily needy;
• An unlimited number of shareholders can join the cooperative;
• Association takes place on the basis of management;
• Members-shareholders participate in the management of the enterprise;
• Constituent elements are people.

Common signs of modern cooperatives

The development of cooperation in the twenty-first century led to the emergence of new common features. The change in traditional signs did not change the essence.

The main feature: only cooperatives are characterized by a combination of economic and social activities. In carrying out successfully the economic function, cooperatives (the types of their formation may be different) have a beneficial effect on the social status of their members.

Additional feature: joint ownership of property. The formation of common property takes place due to the entrance fees and additional contributions. The admission fee is not refundable, it is spent on the creation of the material base of the association. An additional share is made at will or according to the statutory provision. Both species are considered returnable. The 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 the event of bankruptcy of the association and a shortage of common funds, in order to satisfy claims of creditors, the shareholders' funds are attracted. With limited liability, the shareholder pays a share contribution or an amount multiple of its size. Unlimited liability prescribes to members of the cooperative to respond with their property for the results of its activities.

Another sign is democratic principles. Democracy in the leadership of the co-operative society is manifested in the fact that only a general meeting of member-members has the functions of a supreme governing body. Intermediate structural units are elected at the meeting, report to it. Equality of members of the cooperative is in possession of one voice, regardless of the number of shares.

So, let's sum up what cooperatives are. These are voluntary associations of citizens, united on autonomous and democratic principles to meet their economic, social and cultural needs. At the heart of economic activity is the joint ownership of the enterprise.

The history of cooperation in Europe

The first associations in the classical sense of what cooperatives were, arose in the middle of the nineteenth century in England. The experience of the weavers of 1830 failed. In 1844 their second attempt was crowned with success. Twenty-eight weavers teamed up to create a store that provided food to the shareholders at discounted prices. In 1949 the number of members increased to nine hundred. Following the successful experience, an insurance company, a cooperative of manufacturers, a society of mutual aid emerged. In the UK, consumer cooperatives unite seven million people in thousands of unions. They supply consumers with clothing 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 proven themselves in housing construction, agricultural development. In Denmark, half of the adult population is united in 2000 consumer cooperatives. Cooperation has spread among farmers. The production of milk, processing of meat and many other things belongs to cooperatives.

Cooperation in the USA

After the adoption in 1926 of the Cooperatives Act in the United States, associations of farmers, such as cooperatives, were spread. What is cooperation, what benefits does it provide, explained to farmers the Farm Cooperatives Service. The beginning of the twenty-first century confirmed the viability of the cooperative movement. To date, half of farmers are members of cooperatives.

Cooperatives in Russia

The history of the development of the cooperative movement in Russia begins with the nineteenth century. For the first time a loan-credit partnership was created by the brothers Luginin from the Kostroma region in 1865. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia had taken the leading position in the world in terms of 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 cooperation in Russia" was adopted, in 1996 - the law "On the activities of production cooperatives in Russia." 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, which fixes the main regulators of the organization's activities (share contribution, participation of members, their responsibility and other). Today in Russia the number of cooperatives, the number of participants continues to increase.

Prospects for the development of cooperative movement

The twenty-first century continues the established traditions. The notion and types of cooperatives have changed, but their essence has remained the same. Of the more than seventy thousand modern cooperatives, one hundred and twenty species can be identified. Species diversity indicates that the cooperatives have justified the hopes placed on them to improve the living standards of members of the cooperative in different socio-economic conditions.