The Relationship between Aims and Objectives in Small/Medium-Sized Workers' Co-Operatives

Abstract

DR. JOHN WOOLHAM in this paper examines the relationship between aims and objectives in small and medium-sized worker co-operatives in the United Kingdom and analyses how they affect tendencies to 'degeneration' or economic failure. Producer co-operatives enjoy increasing support and have attracted the attention of all sectors of the economic community. To the worker they offer a 'greater say' and security against arbitrary dismissal or redundancy. To the manager they promise an end to the age-old conflicts between labour and capital and a change for managers and workers to 'pull together' as a team. On the other hand sceptics point to what they regard as the inefficiency of co-operatives and their lack of competitiveness through inherent organisational weakness. This paper takes the view that co-ops are no more prone to inefficiency or organisational weakness than conventional small business but that many of the problems they do face are different from those of small businesses and therefore different kinds of management systems and skills are necessary to deal with problems that occur. This paper specifically addresses itself to two such major areas of difficulty: 'degeneration' of democratic procedures and economic failure.

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