COOPERATIVE EDUCATION/TRAINING AND EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF CO-OPERATIVE BUSINESS ENTERPRISES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Cooperative Education/Training is one of the cooperative principles which seek to provide Education/Training for cooperative members, elected representatives, managers and employees, so that they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperative.  Its importance cannot be overemphasized in cooperative development. Cooperative education/training stands in the centre of the cooperative movement.

From the inception of the early cooperative of Rochadale, the pioneers of the world cooperatives movement, one of the unique tasks embarked upon was philosophy and practice of cooperative.  Even in the recent review of cooperative principles in 1966, the International Cooperative Alliance “ICA” re-stated Cooperative Education/Training as one of the cardinal principles of cooperation.  The cooperative rules laws and bye-laws of respective cooperative societies and the 1993 cooperative decree stipulated that some percentage of the cooperative society surplus should be appropriated as a provision for education, training and information of the members, management committee and other cooperative officials.  The management of cooperative business enterprises is a body of elected members in a cooperative society who handles the affairs and the day to day running of the cooperative business enterprise.  The importance of management in any organisation is axiomatic.  The success or failure of an organisation depends to a great extent on the quality of the management committee.

Therefore officers and management of cooperative business enterprise required a more technical education/training to be able to control the management.  Moreover, in order to alleviate the problems of illiteracy, ignorance of members, misconduct and poor management. Cooperative education/training and management of cooperative business enterprises must be tenaciously pursued.

1.2            STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

          Generally, history of cooperatives education in the developing countries of the world reveals that the main cause of rickety foundation of cooperation has been the lack of cooperative education/training.

Lack of cooperative education/training is disloyalty of members, high incidence of over-due and unpaid loans, low attendance at meetings, ignorance of members’ proposals, poor member relations, bad management, low productivity resulting in little or no surplus, poor public image, inability to change with the times and other harmful result.

Lack of education/training and business inexperienced limits the effectiveness of managers, president, secretaries, treasurers and other management committee members. Quite often, some people come together as members pool their resources together and form a cooperative society without the proper cooperative ideology.  They enter into cooperative business for political or personal interests, without adequate cooperative education/training to equip them for an effective task.

Some cooperative societies, due to their small-size, low membership, find it very difficult to raise fund sufficient to organize or sponsor special training programmes for their management of cooperative business enterprises.  Such cooperative education/training programme includes seminars, conferences or relevant courses institutions of higher learning.

1.3            OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

          The basic objective of this stud is to determine empirically the cooperative education/training and effective management of cooperative business enterprise in specific terms the objectives of the study are:

(i)                To determine the importance of Cooperative Education/Training on cooperative development.

(ii)             To access how the cooperation education/training has affected the effective or ineffective working of the management of cooperative business enterprise in the cooperative sector in Udi Local Government Area.

(iii)           To examine the modalities for proper cooperative education/training and management of cooperative business enterprise.

1.4            SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

          According to the statement of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) in its 1972 congress, “All Cooperative Societies should make provision for cooperative Education/Training for their members officers and their employees as well as the general public, in the principles and techniques of cooperative both economic and democratic” (Agbo 1992).

          This study aims at solving the problems of acute shortage of managerial manpower. It also aims at facilitating cooperative development.  Through well designed articulated and functional cooperative education/training, mass enlightenment and publicity.

1.5            SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

          The study covers a limited number of selected primary          cooperative societies in Udi Local Government Area.  This study          focuses on the Cooperative Education/Training and Effective     Management of Cooperative Business Enterprise.

          However, the following factors were the limitation of the study.

(i)                Lack of finance: The main factor that can disorganize the effort was lack of finance.  To take a wider study on the cooperative education/Training and Effective Management of Cooperative Business Enterprise, of cooperative societies in Udi Local Government Area, requires a huge some of money which will enable the researcher travel far and wide, searching for valuable materials and information to work with.

(ii)             Inadequate research materials: The materials relating to this project were scarce and difficult to lay hands on.  However, best use was made of what was available.

1.6            DEFINITION OF TERMS

(i)                Cooperative is an association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspiration through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

(ii)             Education/Training is a process designed to give knowledge and develop skill. This is the fifth (ICA) cooperative principle which stipulates the provision of Education/Training for members, elected representatives, managers and employees of cooperative societies to the development of their cooperatives.

(iii)           Management of cooperative business enterprise.  The governing body of a registered cooperative society to whom the management of its affairs is entrusted.