Cooperatives vs Flexible Business Networks

[Derek Neighbors]

I think it is worth investigating how Best Western (the largest hotel
chain in the world) operates.  It is non-profit franchise that could
best be described as the worlds largest co-op.

http://www.answers.com/topic/best-western

Worth debating at least.

Davi Leal wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I agree with you João. I think cooperatives are too risky due to the human 
> nature.
> 
> So, I propose that if your company is not able to undertake fully a project, 
> you could do outsourcing, offshoring, or whatever.
> 
>   "By choosing to work with multiple outsourcers, CIOs can cut costs and 
> foster competition between vendors, while taking advantage of vendor 
> specialization and technical expertise." [1]
> 
> Flexibility is good. For some projects you could get a team and for others 
> another one: Flexible Business Networks.
> 
> 
> As a proposal, we are developing a Free Software job site embedded in the 
> http://www.gnuherd.org/ Free Software Organization-Association. Right now, we 
> are redesigning the data base. Flames are welcome.
> 
> Regards,
> Davi
> 
>  1. http://www.cio.com/sourcing/outsourcing/
>     http://www.outsourcing.com/
>     etc. at google.com
> 
> 
> 
> João Miguel Neves wrote:
> 
>>Well, I was one of a group of people who tried building such a
>>cooperative in Portugal, but failed. Issues included accountability
>>(who's responsible for what, particularly replying to RFPs), payments
>>(who receives what) and general coordination. Eventually we had 2/3
>>highly motivated people that tried to push it forward, but these
>>discussions turned all work impossible and didn't allow us to reply
>>quickly to inquiries. Obviously the problems weren't formal ones, but
>>related to people.
>>
>>Eventually I convinced myself that it wasn't going to work when we
>>failed to reply to the enquiry on a big desktop deployment project after
>>having done a complete proposal.
>>
>>In the meantime I created my own company (Intraneia -
>>http://www.intraneia.com/ ) and we're going for the free software
>>support business for micro, small and medium enterprises (server and
>>desktop). The company exists since March and the contracts we have now
>>pay for all the bills. If things continue this way, I'll probably be
>>hiring within the next 6 months (which is more than I hoped for).
>>
>>Cooperating with others would be great particularly as it has been setup
>>according to the GBN definition I had. Having worked with free software
>>people before, coordinating people and/or companies is the most
>>difficult task I've faced (yes, I do think lobbying politicians is
>>easier).
>>
>>Ter, 2005-05-24 às 22:58 +0200, Davi Leal escreveu:
>>
>>>Jeremiah Foster wrote:
>>>
>>>>I think the idea for a *cooperative* is an excellent one. It would
>>>>allow groups and individuals an opportunity to communicate and share
>>>>experiences. And I agree that it ought not to interfere with
>>>>consultancies or individuals who are earning their living supporting
>>>>Free Software.
> 
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