Explain the differnces between cooperatives, joint ventures and syndicates?

A COOPERATIVE is an association or corporation established for the purpose of providing services on a nonprofit basis to its shareholders or members who own and control it.



The nature and functions of cooperatives differ considerably鈥攕uch as purchasing cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and marketing cooperatives.



In the context of agriculture, a farmers' cooperative refers to an organization of farmers residing in the same locale that is established for their mutual benefit in regard to the cultivation and harvest of their products, the purchase of farm equipment and supplies at the lowest possible cost, and the sale of their products at the maximum possible price.



The term cooperative also signifies the ownership of an apartment building by a nonprofit corporation that holds title to it and the property upon which it is situated. Stock in the corporation is allotted among the apartment units on the basis of their relative value or size. The right of occupancy to a particular apartment is granted to each cooperative member, who purchases the shares assigned to the desired unit. The member subsequently receives a long-term proprietary lease to that unit. The rent payable pursuant to the lease is that member's proportionate share of the expenses the corporation incurs in operating the cooperative鈥攕uch as insurance, taxes, maintenance, management, and debt service. The cooperative concept evolved in New York City during the early 1900s as a mode of accommodating the public's desire for home ownership; it subsequently expanded to other large urban centers.



In order to finance the purchase or construction of the cooperative building, the cooperative places a blanket mortgage on the property, which is pledged to support the given debt. Lenders usually are hesitant to accept an individual member's stock and proprietary lease as security for a long-term loan. The members' lien (a claim on property to satisfy a debt) on the lease would be subordinate to the blanket mortgage on the property. The purchaser of a cooperative apartment usually must have sufficient cash available to pay for the stock allotted to the unit he or she wishes to obtain. The initial price of the stock generally does not exceed the amount required for a down payment on a single-family residence. As cooperative members accumulate equity (the value of property exceeding the total debts on it) in their stock, subsequent purchasers must either have a substantial amount of cash available or locate a seller who is willing to recoup the equity in installments over several years.



Cooperative members are also financially dependent on each other. The existence of a single blanket mortgage paid by rent receipts means that if several members default in their rent payments, the corporation might not have sufficient funds to pay a mortgage loan installment. Foreclosure will ensue in regard to the entire membership unless it acts to satisfy the default. Although special reserves and assessments are generally employed to cover such a contingency, the available funds might be inadequate to prevent default.



JOINT VENTURE is an association of two or more individuals or companies engaged in a solitary business enterprise for profit without actual partnership or incorporation; also called a joint adventure.



A joint venture is a contractual business undertaking between two or more parties. It is similar to a business partnership, with one key difference: a partnership generally involves an ongoing, long-term business relationship, whereas a joint venture is based on a single business transaction. Individuals or companies choose to enter joint ventures in order to share strengths, minimize risks, and increase competitive advantages in the marketplace. Joint ventures can be distinct business units (a new business entity may be created for the joint venture) or collaborations between businesses. In a collaboration, for example, a high-technology firm may contract with a manufacturer to bring its idea for a product to market; the former provides the know-how, the latter the means.



All joint ventures are initiated by the parties' entering a contract or an agreement that specifies their mutual responsibilities and goals. The contract is crucial for avoiding trouble later; the parties must be specific about the intent of their joint venture as well as aware of its limitations. All joint ventures also involve certain rights and duties. The parties have a mutual right to control the enterprise, a right to share in the profits, and a duty to share in any losses incurred. Each joint venturer has a fiduciary responsibility, owes a standard of care to the other members, and has the duty to act in good faith in matters that concern the common interest or the enterprise. A fiduciary responsibility is a duty to act for someone else's benefit while subordinating one's personal interests to those of the other person. A joint venture can terminate at a time specified in the contract, upon the accomplishment of its purpose, upon the death of an active member, or if a court decides that serious disagreements between the members make its continuation impractical.



Joint ventures have existed for centuries. In the United States, their use began with the railroads in the late 1800s. Throughout the middle part of the twentieth century they were common in the manufacturing sector. By the late 1980s, joint ventures increasingly appeared in the service industries as businesses looked for new, competitive strategies. This expansion of joint ventures was particularly interesting to regulators and lawmakers.



The chief concern with joint ventures is that they can restrict competition, especially when they are formed by businesses that are otherwise competitors or potential competitors. Another concern is that joint ventures can reduce the entry of others into a given market. Regulators in the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission routinely evaluate joint ventures for violations of antitrust law; in addition, injured private parties may bring antitrust suits.



In 1982 Congress amended the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 (15 U.S.C.A. 搂 6a)鈥?the statutory basis of antitrust law鈥攖o ease restrictions on joint ventures that involve exports. At the same time, it passed the Export Trading Company Act (U.S.C.A. 搂 4013) to grant exporters limited immunity to antitrust prosecution. Two years later the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 (Pub. L. No. 98-462) permitted venturers involved in joint research and development to notify the government of their joint venture and thus limit their liability in the event of prosecution for antitrust violations. This protection against liability was expanded in 1993 to include some joint ventures involving production.



A SYNDICATE is an association of individuals formed for the purpose of conducting a particular business; a joint venture.



A syndicate is a general term describing any group that is formed to conduct some type of business. For example, a syndicate may be formed by a group of investment bankers who underwrite and distribute new issues of securities or blocks of outstanding issues. Syndicates can be organized as corporations or partnerships.



Newspaper or press syndicates came into existence after the Civil War. A press syndicate sells the exclusive rights to entertainment features, such as gossip and advice columns, comic strips, and serialized books, to a subscribing newspaper in each territory. These "syndicated" features, which appear simultaneously around the United States, can generate large sums for the creators of the features and for the syndicate that sells them. Similarly, when television programs are syndicated, one station in each television market is allowed to broadcast a popular game show or rebroadcast a popular network series. A syndicated show may be televised at different times depending on the schedule of the local station. In contrast, on network television, a program is televised nationally at one scheduled time.



The term syndicate is also associated with organized crime. In the 1930s, the term crime syndicate was often used to describe a loose association of racketeers in control of organized crime throughout the United States. For example, the infamous "Murder, Inc." of the 1930s, which was part of a national crime syndicate, was founded to threaten, assault, or murder designated victims for a price. A member of the crime syndicate anywhere in the United States could contract with Murder, Inc., to hire a "hit man" to kill a person.Explain the differnces between cooperatives, joint ventures and syndicates?
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