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Organizing in a collaborative fashion

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New Cooperative Development. B. Henehan. Authors: Brian Henehan, Cornell University, bmh5@cornell.edu, and Bruce Anderson, Cornell University Reviewers: Gerald White and Brent Gloy, Cornell University Summary: There is increased interest in economic alternatives as individuals try to adopt needed technology and compete in today's dynamic global markets. Introduction to New Cooperative Development The social and economic history of the world records innumerable cases of individuals on all continents utilizing collective action to address common social and economic problems by forming cooperatives. Collaborative business groups can be organized in a variety of ways, linking companies together in a larger, overarching relationship for a common purpose. While such membership organizations are known by a variety of names, in general they may be logically classified as networks, alliances or cooperatives.

Motivation to Start a Cooperative Distinctive features of a cooperative come into play right from the start. Home » The Cooperative Foundation. About DAW – What is DAW? Democracy at Work is a project, begun in 2010, that aims to build a social movement. The movement’s goal is transition to a new society whose productive enterprises (offices, factories, and stores) will mostly be WSDE’s, a true economic democracy.

The WSDEs would partner equally with similarly organized residential communities they interact with at the local, regional, and national levels (and hopefully international as well). That partnership would form the basis of genuine participatory democracy. Utilizing media, from short video clips that go viral to our already well-established weekly and increasingly syndicated “Economic Update” radio program (WBAI, 99.5 FM, New York) and from podcasts to articles to blogs, this interactive website reaches and engages a fast growing audience. Workers’ Self-Directed Enterprises (WSDE’s): WSDE’s are enterprises in which all the workers who collaborate to produce its outputs also serve together, collectively as its board of directors.

Democracy at Work Institute. Further Reading « Cooperation Texas. International Cooperative Information Center: Revision of Co-op Principles and the Role of Co-operatives in the 21st Century. ---------------------------------------------------------- This document has been made available in electronic format by the International Co-operative Alliance ICA ---------------------------------------------------------- June 1995 ************************************* Revision of Co-op Principles and the Role of Co-operatives in the 21st Century ************************************** by Hans-H. Muenkner* Why revise the current list of co-op principles of the ICA? Are co-operative principles standing hard and fast as a bulwark in a changing world? Should co-operative principles be revised because they have outlived their purpose? Will co-operatives die out like dinosaurs which lose their living space in a changing world unless they adapt themselves to their new environment?

Is it possible to change the principles of co-operation without losing the identity of co-operatives? a1457.pdf. Welcome to IBIMA Publishing.com. Keywords: Virtual collaboration, virtual collaboration skills, virtual collaboration barriers. Introduction Virtual Collaboration Teams (VCTs), generally defined, are groups of individuals, geographically dispersed, that work together using collaborative technology (e.g. chat rooms, e-mail, instant messaging, video conferencing, etc.) in order to accomplish organizational goals (Brake, 2006; Cottone, Pieti, Schiavinato, Soru, Martinelli, Varotto, & Mantovani, 2009; Fruchter, Bosch-Sijtsema, & Ruohomaki, 2010; Suduc, Bizoi, & Filip, 2009; and Zhang, Tremaine, Egan, Milewski, O’Sullivan, & Fjermestad, 2009). Many organizations use VCTs because they are inexpensive, independent of time and space, more efficient, more effective, and are better able to share information, than face-to-face teams (Eom, 2009; Muntean, 2009; Suduc, Bizoi, & Filip, 2009; and Zhang et al., 2009).

Relationship Building Skills Trust Familiarity Environment and Context Diversity Communication Skills Simple Language Ambiguity. Virtual Worlds Enabling Distributed Collaboration | Hakonen | Journal For Virtual Worlds Research. Virtual Worlds Enabling Distributed Collaboration Marko Hakonen, Petra M. Bosch-Sijtsema Abstract Despite the growing prevalence of distributed work as an organizational form, the virtual world literature has largely neglected to consider the potentials of this new media in distributed collaboration.

In the present study, we studied how virtual worlds (VWs) are used in professional distributed work and how they influence new forms of collaboration in distributed work settings. Keywords virtual worlds, distributed work, collaboration DOI: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. The full website for the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research can be found at: Isolation: The New Innovator’s Dilemma. It’s can be a long, lonely climb Innovators transform the world around them in big and small ways and while a successful effort can be lauded by pundits, politicians and the public there is a long road to making change happen. That road is also a lonely one and doing things different means more than just innovating and experiencing what it means to be resilient firsthand.

Clayton Christensen’s seminal book The Innovator’s Dilemma has been one of the leading sources of thinking-inspriation in business and social innovation. The book reflects the challenges with those seeking to introduce new ideas, products or services into established markets (or ecosystems) in the aim of addressing both people’s present and future needs. These innovators — change-makers — risk disrupting the very markets they seek to influence bringing uncertainty for everyone. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds The lonely lives of leaders Creating deep community Troubled language. What does Creative Commons means? (Infographic) [german version] Many People know that there is something called "creative commons licenses". But what does it mean? Is it a license? No, CreativeCommons is a non-profit organization.

And what's about the shortcuts and icons? The basic idea of ​​creative commons licenses is simple and helpfull ... if you understand what it means. The following infographic show it in a very clear way: artists and creatives can think about whether or not they will use a CC license. And users understand hopefully better what they need to consider if they want to use or share CC-licensed works. Infographic: "Creative Commons - What does it mean? " Small version Links / Sources Icons Important! If you like take a look on my "Google Glass infographic" Communities of Practice – What I’ve Learnt. I was recently asked by a colleague to share some “words of wisdom” about what I’d learnt from 9 years of consultancy projects that involved setting up Communities of Practice.

I could have written an essay on this topic (and maybe one day I will) but I thought I’d distill it down to the key points as follows: The Basics: We don’t know what we don’t know.People don’t learn from content, they learn from other people.You can’t force people to collaborate.We don’t know the value of knowledge…until it is shared.Find where the conversations are happening….and join in! A successful CoP must be cultivated; it needs feeding, weeding and nurturing (just like a well-tended garden!). What makes for a successful CoP: A clear purpose – what will it be used to do? And… Finally, one of my favourite quotes: “Go to the people, live with them, learn from them. If you want to know more, check my various slide packs on this topic on Slideshare. About Steve Dale. 11 Co-ops You Didn’t Know Were Co-ops.

Pubs/TechCoopHOWTO.pdf. The Argument For Worker-Owned Tech Collectives ⚙ Co. For all the tales of gilded startup parties and billion-dollar valuations, tech workers are often the most overworked, misunderstood and undervalued employees. Others struggle as freelancers or attempt to launch their own businesses. In the face of all that hardship, developers like me are turning more and more to collectives.

I’ve been a part of the cooperative movement for eight years. During that time, I’ve visited conferences and cities all over the country to promote the worker-owned co-op I founded, The Toolbox for Education and Social Action, or TESA. (You might recognize the game I created there, Co-opoly: The Game of Cooperatives.) While traveling the country, I’ve watched as the number of people launching co-ops has exploded, especially in tech world.

And while they might be flying under the radar in the mainstream, they’re poised to shake up the way things are done. Here’s how technology co-ops work, and why you might want to join one. The Cooperative Difference. Michel Bauwens: Four Scenarios for the Collaborative Economy. Science Translational Medicine | From AAAS. Authors Abstract The complex pathology of consortium fatigue provides diagnostic data on how to improve collaboration in biomedical innovation. Biomedical innovation is complex, expensive, and risky, and emerging science and technology have created tantalizingly high expectations. Converting innovation into health value in a timely, cost-effective, and sustainable manner requires a capacity for collaboration across disciplines, organizations, and nations.

As we move forward with plans for major new multistakeholder initiatives, these alliances need to be evaluated with—and informed by—the same degree of rigor as other critical enablers of translational science, creating a timely opportunity for the advent of a new discipline focused on the science of collaboration. In the past decade, diverse stakeholders have launched numerous collaborations in the global pharmaceutical industry in an attempt to address challenges to biomedical innovation. Table 1 Table 2Mobilizing multiple stakeholders. Inside The 'Bossless' Office, Where The Team Takes Charge : All Tech Considered. Hide caption The headquarters of Menlo Innovations, a software design firm in Ann Arbor, Mich.

At Menlo, there are no cubicles, few walls and no offices. Elise Hu/NPR Hide caption Menlo Innovations is staffed by about 50 employees, a mix of full-time staff and contractors. Elise Hu/NPR Hide caption Rich Sheridan (standing at right) is Menlo's co-founder and CEO. Sheridan is the only "boss" at the company. But he doesn't serve as a boss in the traditional sense. Elise Hu/NPR Hide caption Menlo employees favor open communication that's conducted face-to-face or on paper, which they post on walls. Elise Hu/NPR Hide caption Menlo developers "pair programming" — two coders to a machine with one manning the keyboard. Hide caption Menlo's headquarters is underneath a parking garage in downtown Ann Arbor. Cubicle culture can be so confining that it's become a cliche. The bossless atmosphere is reflected in the office layout. Elise Hu/NPR That layout is by design. How Worker-Owned Companies Work | Q&A. Economist Richard Wolff is a proponent of democracy at work: an alternative capitalism that thrives on workers directing their own workplaces.

In the documentary film Shift Change, producers Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young tell the stories of successful cooperative businesses from Spain to San Francisco. We caught up with Dworkin and Young to find out what makes cooperative businesses work. Theresa Riley: What drew you to this topic as filmmakers? Why did you want to make this film? Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young: As filmmakers we don’t just expose problems. Riley: How many businesses in America are worker-owned?

Dworkin and Young: Employee ownership in the U.S. is much more widespread than usually understood, with at least 11,000 such businesses in operation. Riley: Most of the businesses you visited in the film seemed to have weathered the economic downturn of recent years. Watch the Shift Change trailer. Riley: The film makes it look like co-ops are pretty smooth operationally.

The Science Behind Why Small Teams Work More Productively: Jeff Bezos' 2 Pizza Rule. 3K Flares Filament.io 3K Flares × Bigger doesn’t mean better when it comes to work. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon famously coined this with the 2 Pizza rule: One former executive recalled that, at an offsite retreat where some managers suggested that employees should start communicating more with each other, Mr. Bezos stood up and declared, “No, communication is terrible!” He wanted a decentralized, even disorganized company where independent ideas would prevail over groupthink. According to Bezos, there have to be “two pizza teams”: if a team couldn’t be fed with two pizzas, it was too big. Working with a small, scrappy startup team, I often find myself wishing for more brains on deck to work on cool projects, build more shiny features, and talk with our customers. In fact, the conventional wisdom that two heads are better than one — or the more brains you have on a problem the better — is completely wrong.

As group size rises, all sorts of issues spring up. Let’s put this more simply: Freelancers Union Tackles Conc. Www.valvesoftware.com/company/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf. 20 Tips for Creating a Professional Learning Network - Getting Smart by Miriam Clifford. “20 Tips for Creating a Professional Learning Network” by Miriam Clifford first appeared on the InfomED blog.

Networking is a prime form of 21st century learning. The world is much smaller thanks to technology. Learning is transforming into a globally collaborative enterprise. Take for example scientists; professional networks allow the scientific community to share discoveries much faster. Just this month, a tech news article showcased how Harvard scientists are considering that “sharing discoveries is more efficient and honorable than patenting them.” This idea embodies the true spirit of a successful professional learning network: collaboration for its own sake. As educators, we aim to be connected to advance our craft. Learning networks are based on the theory of connectivism, or learning from diverse social webs.

What are some ways to grow your PLN and improve the quality of your interactions? 10 Tips For Using PLN’s Keep the spirit of collaboration as your driving force. 5 Things About Aggregation of Tribes. People are gathering in “tribes” to connect, collaborate, discover and influence change. Social technology provides people the ability aggregate around anything, everything and anywhere. The markets sees this and attempts to aggregate people into self serving tribes but people have a different purpose and their own tribe. The aggregation of tribes has become the pursuit of the market. Pulling people into fan pages, groups and custom networks has become a common practice of the marketplace. The problem is managing these tribes with a purpose is different than simply gathering tribes through the tricks of the trade. Seth Godin writes: Tribe management is a whole different way of looking at the world.

It starts with permission, the understanding that the real asset most organizations can build isn’t an amorphous brand but is in fact the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them. Tribal Hubs and Spokes. Www.cdsus.coop/sites/default/files/co-op_101.pdf. Worried about your future? Why Joining a Co Working Site is a Good Idea | Queen Street Commons. Coworking trend connects solo professionals in communal spaces. How In-Person Meetups Are Fixing The Problem With MOOCs. The Extension Educator's Role as 21st Century Platform Builders - Oct 3, 2012. Community of practice. Clay Shirky: Institutions vs. collaboration.