CO-OP INDEX

Assisting Co-ops in their development

Ryszard Stocki cc by wonker at flickr

Part 1. Fundamentals

DEVELOPMENT, DECLINE AND FALL OF ORGANIZATIONS

All organizations are subject to forces which lead to abandoning their values and principles. If nothing is done they decline and

fall.

Time

Development (e.g. size)

Point of renewalArea of possible !change

Inevitable fall

Decline starts at the moment! of the greatest prosperity

Initial!adherence!to values

HOWEVER, WE DO NOT NOTICE THE CHANGES LIKE A FROG IN A HOT POT UNTIL IT

IS BOILED

Only monitoring the organization, reflection and habitual returning to the initial values can save the organization from

inevitable destruction.

cc Purple Slog at flickr.com

IN COOPINDEX WE ASK ABOUT DAILY PRACTICES

BUT WE DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE WEAKNESSES OF VALUES, PRINCIPLES, SYSTEMS, CLIMATE, ATTITUDES AND OUTCOMES.

Practices

CO-OP INDEX

Co-op

Prin

ciples

Co-op

Value

s

Syste

ms

Climate

Attitudes

Outcomes

These results are meant to evoke strategic

discussion.

OUR DIAGNOSIS IS BASED ON TWO ORIGINAL ASSUMPTIONS

The two assumptions lead to abandoning the measurement of any means by the tool. Frequencies are the main measures.

!Participation like ability to

speak is a universal element of human nature.

!

!An individual view of the

organization has a contagious character and may spread

like an epidemic

PARTICIPATION IS NOT POPULAR BECAUSE IT REQUIRES MASTERY IN DEALING WITH APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS

Trust Truth

Be Have

Complexity Effectiveness

DeterminismFree will

Focus on people Focus on tasks

Self-justificationBlaming others

Variability Stability

Engagement Cynicism

! Individualism

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Common Good

ParticipationTotalism

Diagnosis

Values

Expertise

Attention in relationships

Cyclicity

Organic sustainability

Independence

TPIM

DIAGNOSTIC PROCESS

Ideal Coops

Real Co-ops

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT ANALOGICAL TO MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS Number of positive similarities x number of persons who experience them

The tool reflects the perception or absence of ideal practices. The ideal is

based on the concept of total participation and Coop Values and Principles

In medicine: Symptoms x Victims

Focus on positive aspects and not pathologies is the main difference between

our and medical diagnosis.

CHANGE PROCESS IS DEFINED AS A PROCESS OF ACHIEVING

HIGHER INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP EXPERTISE IN UNDERSTANDING

VARIOUS ASPECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMPLEXITY

TPIMIdeal

Co-op

Real Co-op Stage1

Time

Real Co-op Stage 2

Real Co-op Stage 3

WIDESPREAD UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEXITY IS THE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE AGENT.

Inspiration:

The structure of the economic mechanisms is complex (...). Political and economic development and progress is a quantitative function of understanding of the mechanisms. It is equivalent to the relationship between the number of people who understand the assumptions, goals and methods, often distant in their consequences and the number of people who are driven by ad hoc or thoughtless reflexes in a given society.

“The Outline of Economic History of the World” - 1947

EUGENIUSZ KWIATKOWSKI (1888-1974)

THE TOOLS BASED ON THESE ASSUMPTIONS HAVE A LONG HISTORY WHICH STARTED IN 1999

1999, 2000, 2001 OpenIndex

2003 OpenIndex

2005-2007 NonProfit Index

2009 Co-op Index for Worker Co-ops

2010 NonProfit OpenIndex

2000-2013 OpenIndex

“Solidarity” was looking for a tool to measure adherence of a company to the statutory values of the Union. They organized the competition: “Firma Przychylna Ludziom” (People Oriented Company)

CXO - Managers’ Journal was looking for a tool measuring social responsibility of Polish companies.

Batory Foundation used Non Profit Index to measure the impact of a grant from American Freedom Foundation on 17 large non-profits in Poland

CUN used the tool to measure organizational professionalization of 10 non-profit organization. The tool was based on CoopIndex

SMU needed the tool to measure coops’ adherence to Cooperative Values and Principles

THE FUTURE OF INDEXES ARE IN PREPARATION

2013-2015 Cuban CoopIndex

2010 Co-op Index for Producer Co-ops

2013 CoopIndex Coop Banks

2014-2017 MyIndex

A team of coop developers started development of a tool for producer coops.

A SMU team from Canada started development of the Cuban version of CoopIndex for worker coops.

Wojtyla Institute developed a Polish version of CoopIndex to be used in Polish co-operative banks in 2015.

The European Commission sponsors a three year fellowship devoted to the study of cooperative isomorphism. Part of the study is based on the individual expertise measurement tool - MyIndex.

So far CoopIndex was translated to: French, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Finnish. It also has two English versions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.coopindex.coop www.stocki.org

ryszard@stocki.org