Humanistic Governance in Democratic Organizations

The Cooperative Difference

2023, 460 pages, Hardcover ISBN978-3-031-17402-5
Publishers: Palgrave Macmillan
Series: Humanism in Business Series

Examines how corporate governance can integrate with humanistic management practices.
Draws together international perspectives on cooperative governance.
Builds on the research of the highly esteemed International Centre for Co-operative Management.
This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access.

This open access edited book brings together a number of theories under the umbrella of humanistic governance to develop a persuasive alternative perspective on governance, particularly for democratic organisations such as co-operatives. It examines how we can move beyond a profit-first approach to governance, into a framework that prioritises human dignity in all aspects of an operation. This book also discusses key issues for different types of cooperatives and how these might be addressed. And, finally, it addresses how cooperatives can better cope with dynamic change processes.

This book will be of interest for academics working in the areas of stakeholder governance, social solidarity economy, ethical management and co-operatives.

Table of Contents | Editorial Team | Links and Downloads

Front Matter
Pages i-xxviii

Introduction
Pages 1-13

Theory
Front Matter
Pages 15-15

Humanism and the Cooperative Enterprise: Theoretical Foundations
Pages 17-40

Parsing Dignity for Organizations
Pages 41-79

Cooperative Governance in Context
Pages 81-117

Democratic Structures and Processes
Front Matter
Pages 119-119

Humanism and Democracy in Worker Cooperatives
Pages 121-143

Democratic Cooperative Governance: Role Ambiguity, Pseudo-Democracy and Tacit Acceptance?
Pages 145-175

Governance in Lincolnshire Consumer Cooperative
Pages 177-208

Comparing Governance Systems in Cuban Cooperatives: A Study of Producer and Worker Cooperatives in Agriculture, Industry, and Services
Pages 209-248

From Theory to Practice: Social Capital in Agricultural Cooperatives in Flanders, Belgium
Pages 249-283

The Governance of Multistakeholder Cooperatives in Mondragon: The Evolving Relationship among Purpose, Structure and Process
Pages 285-330Open Access

Networking, Governance, and Stakeholder Engagement of Financial Cooperatives: Some National Case Studies
Pages 331-357Open Access

Dynamics and Change
Front Matter
Pages 359-359

Decades of Radical Self-Management at a Venezuelan Cooperative: Institutional Distinctiveness and Ideology
Pages 361-396

Transformational Resilience and Future-Ready Cooperative Governance Systems
Pages 397-421Open Access

Measuring Transformational Impact of Cooperatives
Pages 423-448Open Access

Back Matter
Pages 449-460