The Cooperative Workplace

This book provides evidence on how worker cooperatives are functioning today.

As the world of work and jobs is more uncertain than ever because of various trends impacting it, including the rise of robotics and the gig economy, Cooperatives and the World of Work furthers the debate on the future of work, sustainable development, and the social and solidarity economy of which cooperatives are a fundamental component. Throughout the book, the authors, who are experts in their respective fields, do not limit themselves to praising the advantages of the cooperative model. Rather, they challenge the narrow understanding of cooperatives as a mere business model and raise debate on the more fundamental role that cooperatives play in responding to social changes and in changing society itself. The book is unique in tracing the historical connection between cooperatives and the world of work since the end of the First World War and the recent shifts and restructuring in enterprise and the workplace. It presents a redefinition of the very concept of work, focusing on organizational innovation. This book is published in recognition of 100 years of the International Labour Organization, and gathers together research from leading experts who were brought together at an event co-hosted by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Cooperatives at Work presents a range of success stories in employee ownership and worker cooperative enterprise, showcasing how such firms can embody important and highly contested ideals of democracy, equity, and social transformation.

Expert advice for more effective teamwork in the library! Cooperative Reference: Social Interaction in the Workplace addresses the need for reference librarians to work together to keep the system running smoothly. This book explores the various means of developing social professionalism, collaborating on projects, and combining forces with other libraries to remain on the cutting edge of information services in this new century. Using this guide, you will learn from the first-hand experiences of on-the-job reference librarians. This book will give youas a reference librarian, administrator, library science student, or educatorideas to support cooperative efforts in the library and beyond. This book will show you how to better interact with: other reference librarians face-to-face users online users library and academia faculty other libraries Cooperative Reference reveals how patrons perceive you from the other side of the desk. This book shows that first impressionshow you dress, your attitude, how you interact with other workers, and how you address the patron's questionsdirectly affect the patron's visit and influence his or her decisions about using your library in the future. The social skills in this volume can also directly benefit your library as library budgets can no longer keep up with the skyrocketing costs of library materials. To continue viability, many libraries must be willing to work together to share costs and experience. Other topics in Cooperative Reference include: tag-team referencinga dynamic, synergistic environment at the reference desk teaching librarians about interpersonal skillshow to establish professional, collegial relationships with one another librarians teaming up to teach a class together cooperative reference desk schedulinghow to create and implement tailored desk hours collection development between librarians for different departments working together to create online services a consolidation of reference services by two separate libraries Using several case examples, this well-referenced book takes an innovative look at the ever-increasing necessity for librarians to work together for the good of the patrons, the workers, and the library structure. Cooperative Reference will improve the reference services of public and academic libraries both large and small.

Understanding the complex dynamics involved in workplace disputes helps improve the way organizations deal with unwelcome but inevitable occurrences. These issues have been researched from different perspectives, but previously such research has failed to ask how flattened organizational form might impact ways of resolving disputes, focusing instead on what occurs in conventional, hierarchical organizations only. In Co-operative Workplace Dispute Resolution, Elizabeth Hoffmann considers the question of how workplace disputes are raised in the absence of formal hierarchy. In contrast to conventionally organized businesses, co-operatives attempt to evenly distribute power and ownership and encourage worker control through egalitarian ideologies, flattened management structures and greater information sharing. Like conventional businesses, though, they still pursue goals relating to profit and efficiency. Dr Hoffmann argues that lessening hierarchy and sharing power, as occurs in co-operatives, provides insight into how greater worker involvement and ownership might operate in a less extreme and more modest form in conventional mainstream business. This book focuses on dispute resolution strategies at matched pairs of worker co-operatives and conventional businesses in three very different industries: coal mining, taxicab driving, and wholefood distribution. The author’s central finding is that the worker co-operative members have access to more dispute resolution strategies than their conventionally employed counterparts. This leads to the conclusion that benefits might be achieved by conventional businesses that wish to embrace specific attributes usually associated with co-operatives, including management-employee cooperation, shared ownership, or greater workplace equality.

Understanding the complex dynamics involved in workplace disputes helps improve the way organizations deal with unwelcome but inevitable occurrences. These issues have been researched from different perspectives, but previously such research has failed to ask how flattened organizational form might impact ways of resolving disputes, focusing instead on what occurs in conventional, hierarchical organizations only. In Co-operative Workplace Dispute Resolution, Elizabeth Hoffmann considers the question of how workplace disputes are raised in the absence of formal hierarchy. In contrast to conventionally organized businesses, co-operatives attempt to evenly distribute power and ownership and encourage worker control through egalitarian ideologies, flattened management structures and greater information sharing. Like conventional businesses, though, they still pursue goals relating to profit and efficiency. Dr Hoffmann argues that lessening hierarchy and sharing power, as occurs in co-operatives, provides insight into how greater worker involvement and ownership might operate in a less extreme and more modest form in conventional mainstream business. This book focuses on dispute resolution strategies at matched pairs of worker co-operatives and conventional businesses in three very different industries: coal mining, taxicab driving, and wholefood distribution. The author’s central finding is that the worker co-operative members have access to more dispute resolution strategies than their conventionally employed counterparts. This leads to the conclusion that benefits might be achieved by conventional businesses that wish to embrace specific attributes usually associated with co-operatives, including management-employee cooperation, shared ownership, or greater workplace equality.