Communication

This brief article disccuses the role of cooperatives in fueling economic recovery and the importance of public policy in cultivating factors of success.

This proposal examines the problem of economic disparity facing the United States, and presents an option for reform based on employee ownership and incentive-based compensation. It also proposes a change in tax policy accordingly and examines the impact of the proposal on a few Fortune 500 firms.

One key rationale for the creation of ESOP law in 1974 was to share wealth with the workers who helped create wealth. Today, many companies use the wealth sharing aspect of their ESOPs as an effective retention and recruitment tool. But just how effective a means of distributing wealth are ESOPs? Two studies, one conducted in Washington State and one in Massachusetts, have looked at the wealth consequences of ESOPs.

By means of qualitative analysis, this paper examines the organisational cultures underlying three worker cooperatives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 20 workers were interviewed and the transcripts were subsequently analysed along Edgar Schein's cultural framework. The findings show that overall the culture of these worker cooperatives is people-centred: the wellbeing of the workers comes first and the concern for making a profit comes only second.

To what extent do workers exert control within the workplace, and exercise voice in how the income generated by firms is distributed? And do they have ownership—not just in an affective sense, but in terms of share holdings or membership rights? The financial crisis opened up widespread discussion about prevailing modes of economic organization. But, for the most part, this discussion has been quite narrowly bounded, oscillating between two familiar poles. This paper tries to contribute to such a conversation by offering a macro-comparative backdrop.

This is a PowerPoint presentation delivered at the 2013 Beyster symposium in La Jolla, CA. It accompanies item 072, the conference paper of the same title.

This is a PowerPoint presentation delivered at the 2013 Beyster symposium in La Jolla, CA. It accompanies item 070, the conference paper of the same title.

The initial draft of this paper was written in response to a request for research on the relationship between self-direction in the workplace, employee ownership, and organizational outcomes. It outlines three aspects of shared decision-making: autonomy, participation, and influence. It then explores the relationship between two of those aspects (autonomy and participation) and a series of productivity-related cultural norms, including ownership identity.

This report provides an overview of the key elements of the Evergreen Cooperative Corporation in Cleveland Ohio including a review of the role of Anchor Institutions.