December 2017

story and the co-operative sector is proud of its
history, but at the same time, I hope to offer a
gentle challenge to the entrenched co-operative
worldview of ‘1844 and All That’.
“My purpose is not to supplement or supplant
the pioneers of Rochdale, by pointing to 1864
and the tradition of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen,
the extension of these models outside of the
circles of consumer retail and banking in which
they started, or an earlier generation of weavers
in the Scottish town of Fenwick in 1761. Instead,
while fully recognising their achievements, I hope
to acknowledge the risk of choosing one point or
place as the start of everything that follows.”
The chapters include references to not only the
Rochdale Pioneers, but also the weavers in the
Scottish town of Fenwick in 1761 and the tradition
of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen. It also looks at the
commons, lending circles and labourer societies.
The book ends with an insight into the co-op
sector today. By describing the context in which
these various co-operative ventures have emerged,
the author argues that co-operation “is and always
will be with us”. He adds: “There was co-operation
before, and this is a short story of those roots of
today’s co-operation and mutuality.”
Download the
book for free,
by visiting:
uk.coop/
shorthistory
Written by Ed Mayo and
published by
Co-operatives UK
Ethical Business Cultures in Emerging Markets
The effects of globalisation, and the continued
growth of emerging economies, presents
opportunities but also a tangle of ethical issues –
not least for co-operatives.
From retail co-ops sourcing from international
supply chains to agri co-ops seeking new foreign
markets, co-operatives are operating on a global
scale – making their values and principles as
relevant as ever. And if they want a guide to this
complex new world, here is a new study of the
emerging economies, which focuses on ethical
issues and asks how companies can maintain
consistent values across a changing terrain.
It’s a collection of essays edited by Douglas
Jondle, consultant at Bains Jondle & Associates,
which works to foster ethical cultures, and
Alexandre Ardichvili, a professor at the University
of Minnesota and a fellow of the Center for Ethical
Business Cultures (CEBC), a US non-profit which
promotes ethical business practices.
Looking at the world still coming to terms with
the 2008 financial crisis and its lessons about
corporate behaviour, they say it is important to
ensure consistent ethical standards in a shifting
global economy. Incidents such as the collapse
of the Rana Plaza textile factory building in Daka,
Bangladesh, in 2013, which killed 1,135 people,
have put business ethics even further at the
forefront.
The co-op movement has a consistent set of
ethical standards of its own, in the shape of the
seven Co-op Principles, but how do these work
when a co-operative expands into new territory?
Although Ethical Business Cultures does not
deal with the co-operative business model per se,
it does look at the issues organisations face when
trying to enact their ethical values in new markets,
which may have different ethical systems of
their own. In these new markets, say Jondle
and Ardichvili, a complex network of national,
philosophical and political factors are at play.
Some favour informal rather and informal
arrangements when framing agreements; some
are hierarchical rather than individualistic, leading
to a weaker whistleblowing culture; some are
shaped by religious or philosophical contexts,
such as Islam in Turkey or Confucianism in China;
and some operate in authoritarian or heavily
bureaucratic state systems.
The book is split into two sections, the first
a series of essays on ethical business in eight
emerging economies, including the BRICS – Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa, alongside
Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia.
The second section looks at how to build and
sustain ethical business cultures, including
a discussion of the CEBC’s Model of Ethical
Business Cultures, based on series of anonymous
interviews with business executives discussing
their opinions on “ethical business challenges,
risks, and opportunities facing their companies,
industries and countries”.
There is also a survey of employees’ perceptions
of ethical business practices across 22 of the
world’s economies, which recommends a diverse
recruitment policy, transparent processes,
fair leadership and employee engagement for
businesses looking to maintain their ethics in new
markets.
Here, co-ops should hopefully have a head start
– and this book offers a useful introduction to the
complex world in which they must now operate.
Edited by Douglas
Jondle, Bains Jondle
& Associates LLC ,
Alexandre Ardichvili,
Cambridge Press
DECEMBER 2017 | 49