Defining Management in a Worker Co-op
Worker-owned co-operatives are sometimes described as "self- managed." This reflects the ownership structure that gives every member-worker equal access to control of the business. In some small co-ops, management responsibilities are shared by all the workers with decisions made by consensus. Other co-ops - usually those with more than 10 members - have designated management personnel. In these situations, co-op members (singly or in committee) may take on management roles or the co-op may hire management from outside the membership. Whichever the case, in a worker co-operative the management is accountable to the membership who are the workers rather than to absent shareholders.
    Accountability to the membership of the co-op means that management serves the interests of the member-workers. It means that managers carry out the policies and directions set by the members for the business. It means that management decisions and performance in general are evaluated by the members. It does not mean that the group holds a meeting every time the office runs out of paper clips! It should not mean that every worker is free to give direction to the manager or the management committee at any point during the working day. Most co-ops establish guidelines for management activity and accountability in their initial development stage, although this may not prevent conflicts over typical management issues, such as, production schedules or procedures.

Education and Training Needs
Co-op members are workers who need to think like owners. In addition to their daily work-load they take part in making policy decisions about every aspect of the business, from financial planning to technological innovations. This means they need to be familiar with many technical aspects of business and to have overviews of their own enterprise and of the industry in which they operate. Co-op members also work and plan together. They need to feel confident about participating in meetings as well as being informed about the issues. They need well-developed skills for participation in decision-making and for resolving the conflicts that will inevitably arise.
    In the spring and summer of 1987, I had the opportunity to present a unique course for women in co-operative enterprise training. My colleague Sandra Berman and I developed and instructed the 26-week program at Douglas College in New Westminster, British Columbia. Called Co-operative Employment For Women, the program was funded by CEIC under its Job Re-Entry component. There were 19 full-time participants, women who had been out of the paid workforce for at least the previous three years. The program involved classroom training as well as on-site experience in co-op sector work settings. Our goal was to address the educational and training needs of potential worker co-operative members who had varying levels of formal education, work experience and group participation skills.
    The course was organized to integrate personal and group skill development with training in the technical aspects of co-operative business. The training was presented in nine blocks, alternating work placement periods with classroom sessions. All participants received "job-specific" training in basic computer skills, some participants received additional training either in computer graphics or in food management, depending on their work placement.

The work placement component of the program involved a total of 14 weeks of on-site training. The co-operation of the work placements was a critical factor in the success of this particular educational process. The settings used were intentionally varied. They included a small worker-owned bakery, a co-op restaurant, housing co-op resource groups, and a large credit union central, among others. Placement contact people were enthusiastic from the outset about participating in a program to promote education about the co-op sector.
     The keystone of the program was the Feasibility Project. In the first training block, participants divided into small groups, each choosing a particular business idea; a computer teaching service for home-based women and an artists' marketing network were two of the ideas selected for further study. Participants were given the opportunity to apply classroom and work placement learning by sifting their experience and new information through the feasibility project. Reflecting the process a new co-op group would follow, the project began with an emphasis on personal/group- building skills and research into co-operative structures. As the program proceeded various facets, such as Financial Planning and Legal Structure, were examined and resolved. During the final week of the program, each group presented its feasibility project and business plan to the group, in one case complete with sound effects and in another with extensive computer graphics.