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Structure of Small Business Associations@1.PurposeJapanese small businesses often find themselves at a disadvantage because of their small scale and their weak credit position. As a result, it is helpful for companies in the same industry to get together and to organize to raise productivity,to better their positions within the industrial structure, and to improve their competitiveness. @2.Types and Characteristics of Associations(1) Common facility cooperativesThese cooperatives try to improve the economic standingsof and promote managerial rationalization for member small business through cooperative activities in the spirit of mutual assistance. Each member invests in the cooperative, which carries out activities such as:
The intent of all of these activities is to promote rational management of member enterprises. Although it is necessary to obtain the prefectural governor's approval for establishing a cooperative, this is relatively easy, since it is enough to have four entrepreneurs in an industry banding together. As a result, such co-operatives are widely utilized for rationalizing small business management, and theyextend their activities even to collective housing projects for industrialand commercial communities and to cooperative lunch programs. (2) Small common facility cooperativesThe small common facility cooperative is simply a smaller version of the common facility cooperative, and it's operations are similar. To be eligible for membership, a business may not have more than five employees, and less than two employees for business in the retail or service sectors. (3) Business cooperativesA business cooperatives is an independent industrial or commercial enterprise created by the labor and capital of small-scale entrepreneurs or individuals. While the common facility cooperatives and small common facility cooperativesmanage only a part of their activities together, business cooperative membersmanage the entire range of their activities jointly. This is most effectivefor very small entrepreneurs wishing to enlarge their enterprises and toimprove their economic standings. (4) Joint business cooperativesThe associations aim at improving productivity by joint management, either in part or in whole, of an enterprise in which small entrepreneurs have been engaged. It can be partial joint management as in the common facilitycooperative or total joint management as in the business cooperatives. The only restriction is that the members must be experienced entrepreneurswho plan to participate, in part or in whole, in the jointly-managed enterprise. (5) Commerce and industry trade associationsThese are associations of people in the same business who seek to promote and stabilize the general conditions of the industry. The requirements for establishing such a body are that it must encompass an area not less than asingle prefecture and must include more than half of the total number of people in that business. These associations engage in the following activities.
(6) Environmental hygiene trade associationsThese include entrepreneurs closely tied with environmental hygiene, such as restaurants,bars, barbers, hotels, public baths, and laundries. At present,there are 18 categories under this classification. Each association establishes agreements on management rules and standards for the distribution offacilities to see that appropriate sanitary measures are taken and to benefit member facilities. (7) Shopping district development cooperativesThese are organized by retailers and service agents at a given shopping district. They aim to promote their shopping centers by constructing such joint facilities as street lights, arcades, and parking lots. In addition, they can also engage in joint purchases,joint advertising, joint use of service and gift coupons, and projects to improve working conditions. (8) FederationsFederations are organized by two or more common facility cooperatives, small common facility cooperatives,commerce and industry trade associations,mutual fire insurance cooperatives,credit cooperatives, shopping district development cooperatives, etc. The national federations of common facility cooperatives and the commerce and industry trade associations engage in such industry-wide tasks as guidance,research and studies, and information-gathering in each field. The federations of commerce and industry trade associations can also set comprehensive regulatory agreements. |
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