Making Mondragon

Foote Whyte William, King Whyte Kathleen

Description

Since its founding in 1956 in Spain's Basque region, the Mondragon Corporation has been a touchstone for the international cooperative movement. Its nearly three hundred companies and organizations span areas from finance to education. In its industrial sector Mondragon has had a rich experience over many years in manufacturing products as varied as furniture, kitchen equipment, machine tools, and electronic components and in printing, shipbuilding, and metal smelting.Making Mondragon is a groundbreaking look at the history of worker ownership in the Spanish cooperative. First published in 1988, it remains the best source for those looking to glean a rich body of ideas for potential adaptation and implementation elsewhere from Mondragon's long and varied experience. This second edition, published in 1991, takes into account the major structural and strategic changes that were being implemented in 1990 to allow the enterprise to compete successfully in the European common market.Mondragon has created social inventions and developed social structures and social processes that have enabled it to overcome some of the major obstacles faced by other worker cooperatives in the past. William Foote Whyte and Kathleen King Whyte describe the creation and evolution of the Mondragon cooperatives, how they have changed through decades of experience, and how they have struggled to maintain a balance between their social commitments and economic realities. The lessons of Mondragon apply most clearly to worker cooperatives and other employee-owned firms, but also extend to regional development and stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship, whatever the form of ownership.

Sujets

• Employabilité, métiers et formations
• Industrial relations
• Spain
• History of Europe
• Spain (groupe)
• Labour
• Portugal

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801471735
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

Extrait

MAKING MONDRAGON

M o r e  P r a i s ef o r m a k i n gm o n d r a g o n

“ This important work deserves attention both from those with a special interest in cooperatives and from organizational sociologists in general. ” — American Jo u rn a l o f Sociology

“ W e have in this book not only lessons and prescriptions for or- ganizational practice, but also the first step into a new academic discipline— social anthropology o f advanced organizations.” —Or- ganization Studies

“ M aking Mondragon should o foccupy a significant spot on the shelf all organizational theorists, ethnographers o f the workplace, and social scientists o f administration. Once again, W illiam Foote W hyte . . . forges new ground and cements his place as one o f the premier analysts and qualitative methodologists o f Am erican social science. In a career marked by distinction, this book is no excep- tionScience QuarterlyAdm inistrative . ” —

“ W illiam F. W hyte was one o f the first American scholars to give serious attention both to employee ownership in the U .S . and to the Mondragon worker cooperatives in the Basque region o f Spain. . . . In this new book, W hyte and his wife and colleague, Kathleen W hyte, have provided the definitive narrative o f the growth o f the Mondragon cooperatives. . . . It is a remarkable story, and the W hytes’ book provides a detailed description o f how the coops developed. . . . U sing extensive interview data, the W hytes provide

a thorough political history. . . . W hile previous work has focused on the economic performance o f Mondragon, this volume focuses on how Mondragon’s leaders shaped the system and coped with challenges to it. It is a history compiled with care and obvious admiration. Anyone interested in the Mondragon story needs this book.” —Employee Ownership Report

“ [M aking Mondragon] is an extremely well-written, well-organized, and easy-to-read book. For scholars and students interested in in- dustrial democracy, employee ownership, and cooperatives, the book provides detailed explanations, diagrams, tables, and case histories. For cooperatives and employee-owned firms elsewhere the book pro- vides useful insights and the lessons that can be learned from the Mondragon experience.” —Relations Industrielles

‘‘This well-researched study should be read by anyone with an in- terest in worker cooperatives, community economic development, and work redesign program s.” —Contemporary Sociology

“ M aking Mondragonunusualf an a superb organizational study o  is social experiment. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in developing alternative economic structures or for those interested in supporting local entrepreneurship and developing flexible, horizon- tal systems o f small businesses.” —Planning-Journal o f the American Association

CORNELL INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS R E P O R T N U M B E R 14

MAKING MONDRAGON

The Growth an d Dynamics o f the Worker Cooperative Complex

W il l ia m F o o t e W h y t e K a t h l een K in g W t eh y

S ec o n d  E io nd it , R ev is ed

ILRPRESS AN IM PRIN T OF C O R N E L L U N IV E R SIT Y PRESS IthacaandLondon

Copyright 1988,1991 byCornell University

A ll rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, N e w York 14850.

First published 1988 by I L R Press

Cover design by Kat Dalton Text design by Susan Baker Printed in the United States o f Am erica

Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publicacion Data

Whyte. William Foote. 1914- Making Mondragon : the growth and dynamics o f the worker cooperative complex / William Foote Whyte, Kathleen King Whyte. — 2nd ed., rev. p. cm. — (Cornell international industrial and labor relations report : no. 14) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-87546-182-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Produced cooperatives— Spain— Mondrag6n. I. Whyte, Kathleen King. II. Title. III. Series : Cornell international industrial and labor relations reports ; no. 14. HD3218.M66W 48 1991 3 3 4 '.6 ' o 9466 i 91-26665— d cio

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of non-wood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.eomellpress.cornell.edu.

Paperback printing 10 9 8 7

P f a c er e

Contents

P a r t  O n e  M o n d r a g o nin  C x tt e o n 1TheImportanceofMondragon The Significance of a Unique Case 4 Questions for Research and Practice 4 The Growing Interest in Worker Ownership

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The Basques Setting the Background 9 The Franco Era: 19 3 9 -7 3 12 Industrial Relations under Franco 14 From Dictatorship to Democracy 17 Cooperatives before Mondragon 18

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P ta r  T wo  B u il d in gt h e  C o o per a t iv e  C o mpl ex 3 The Foundation Don Jose Maria: From Family Farm to Priesthood Beginning in Mondragon 28 4 The First W orker Cooperatives Establishing Vigor 33 Writing the Constitution 35 The Social Council 38 Rights of Women Workers 41 Voting Rights 42 Financial Policies 42 Wage and Salary Levels 44 Government Recognition 45 Early Expansion 46

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C n t st e o n

Supporting Organizations and Diversification The Cooperative Bank 49 Social Security 52 The Student Cooperative 53 Services and Agriculture 54 Housing and Construction 56 Cooperative Groups Founding u l ar c o  59 Governance Structure 60 Pooling Profits and Losses 61 Applied Industrial Research The Influence of Don Jose Maria 64 Financing Ikerlan and Serving the Community 65 Governance and Work Organization 66 The Central Role o f the Cooperative Bank Organization and Control of the Caja 68 Contract of Association 69 The Entrepreneurial Division1 7 Starting the Women's Cooperative 75 Starting a Cooperative from inside the Caja 78 Creation of New Firms by Cooperative Groups 80 Converting Private Firms 83

P ta r  T eh r e  M a n a g in g  C h a n g e 9 Coping with Internal Conflict The New Job Evaluation Program 93 Grievances 95 The 1974 Strike 96 Poststrike Debate in the Community 98 The Campaign to Readmit the Strikers 100 Reflecting on the Strike Experience 10 1 10 Rethinking the Systems o f Participation Roles of Unions and Political Parties 107 1 1 Changing the Organization o f W ork Beginning in Copreci 1 1 5 Extending the Changes to Other Cooperatives 1 1 9 A New Work Organization for a New Factory 122 The Ambiguous Role of the Social Councils 12 3 Don Jose Marta's Lack of Involvement 124 Assessing the Success of the Work Redesign Program 125

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Contents

P a r t  F ou r  C o pin gw it ht h e  W o r l d w id e  R e c es s io n 12 Sacrificing for Collective Survival Changing Pay Policies 134 Increasing Members' Capital Contributions 14 1 1 3 Providing for Unemployment Compensation and Support Balancing Rights and Obligations5 1 1 Policies and Procedures for Program Implementation1 15 Cost Sharing 154 14 From c ou l a r  to f a g o r From a Loose Federation to an Integrated Management: 1 9 6 5 - 7 5 157 Interventions and Reorganizations: 19 76-83 158 Restructuring the Cooperative Group: 19 83—86 162 15 Expanding Service and Agribusiness Cooperatives The Growth of the Eroski Supermarkets 170 Evolution of the Agribusiness Sector 170 16 The Changing Role o f the Caja Laboral Popular Defense and Rescue 177 Saving Zubiola 18 1 Saving Zubiola from Its Management 19 1 The Critical Role of the Caja 192

P a r t  F iv e  R e s t r u c t u r in gfort h e 1990s a n d  B n de y o 17 Strategic Organizational Restructuring Involvement in the Regional and National Political Economy 196 Confronting the Economic Crisis 197 Planning and Implementing the Structural Transformation 201 Facing the Economic Challenge 204 Relations with Private Firms 208 Conclusion 210 18 Facing the Social Challenges o f Intensified Competition Changing Requirements for the Creation and Maintenance of Employment13 2 Strengthening Education and Research15 2

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