Which organization is a group-owned and democratically managed association of individuals who pool resources and profits?

• A. Cooperative
• B. Sole Proprietorship
• C. Partnership
• D. Corporation

Answer: (A)

Cooperatives are member-owned, democratically controlled organizations formed to pool resources and profits. In a cooperative, each member has a say in how the group is run, typically with one vote per member regardless of how much they have invested. Profits, or surpluses, are returned to members based on their use of the cooperative’s services rather than on how much capital they contributed. This setup emphasizes collective ownership and democratic governance, aiming to benefit the members themselves.

Sole proprietorship involves a single owner with complete control and profits go to that owner; it isn’t group-owned. A partnership shares profits among partners but doesn’t default to one-member-one-vote democracy or patronage-based profit distribution. A corporation is owned by external shareholders and governed by a board, with profits distributed as dividends and voting tied to share ownership, not member patronage.