46
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Table 5: Selected Performing Co-operatives by Age of Operations
No. Age (Year) No. of Co-operatives Percent (%)
1 ≤10 19 21.3
2 11 - 20 20 22.5
3 21 - 30 13 14.6
4 31 - 40 10 11.2
5 41 – 50 14 15.7
6 > 50 13 14.6
Total 89 100.0
With respect to function, the credit co-operatives surveyed are found to have been
existence on average for 45 years. Similarly most of the agriculture and housing
co-operatives selected as performing co-operatives has been in operations for more
than 30 years. Although the construction and services co-operatives are relatively
younger compared to the credit co-operatives, they have been in operations for more
than 10 years.
Table 6: Selected Performing Co-operative Average Age and According to Function
No. Function Age Average No. of Co-operative
1 Credit 45 19
2 Agriculture 32 20
3 Housing 42 4
4 Consumer Construction 21 19
5 Transportation 13 2
6 Services 18 9
16 89
Total
(c) Size of Membership
As depicted in Table 7, 55 out of the 89 co-operatives surveyed, mostly comprised of
medium, small and micro size co-operatives have membership below 500 members,
with four (4) medium, four (4) small and six (6) micro co-operatives having less than
100 members. One (1) large secondary size co-operative has 13 primary co-operative
under it. Three (3) small and one (1) micro co-operatives however were found to have
47
between 1001-10,000 members. On the whole, 76.4% of the selected performing Volume 7 2011
co-operatives have a total membership of 1000 and below.
The large size co-operatives generally have larger membership size, some having
more than 10,000 members. These are generally made up of the more longer
established co-operatives such as credit and housing co-operatives. Six (6) large
size credit co-operatives (3.4%) were found to have more than 10,000 members
while one services co-operatives have membership more than 20,000.
Table 7: Selected Performing Co-operatives by Size of Membership
Number of No. of Sizes of Co-operatives
Members Coop
Large Medium Small Micro
<100 15 1
100 – 500 40 5 44 6
501 – 1,000 13 0
1,001 – 10,000 15 5 13 13 9
10,001 – 20,000 3 3
>20,000 3 3 39 1
89 17
Total 63 1
00 0
00 0
26 29 17
(d) Fulltime Employees
The statistics on the number of employees in the 89 co-operatives indicates that 13
co-operatives (14.6%) are fully managed by the Board Members (BOD). Among the
co-operatives that do not employ any staff, 1 is from the medium size co-operative,
5 are small co-operatives while another 7 is the micro co-operatives. 52.8% of
the selected performing co-operative hired 5 employees and less to manage their
co-operative while another 12 co-operatives engaged between 6 – 10 employees.
However, it is interesting to note that three (3) of the small performing co-operatives
and one (1) micro co-operatives employs between 6 to 10 people to help run the
co-operatives while one (1) particular micro co-operatives has between 11 – 15
employees. Generally only the medium and large co-operatives have the capacity
to employ more than 15 employees, with 9 co-operatives having more than 20
employees. One (1) large co-operatives in particular has a total number of 229
employees (Table 8).
48
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Table 8: No. of Fulltime Employees Employed by Selected Performing Co-operatives
Number of No. of Sizes of Co-operatives
Employed Coop
Large Medium Small Micro
0 13 0 7
1–5 47 0 5 8
6 – 10 12 3 1
11 – 15 5 3 21 1
16 – 20 3 2 0
21 – 25 3 3 3 0
> 25 6 6 0
Total 89 17 0 17
0
0
0
29
Table 9 indicates that the larger and medium co-operatives tend to have higher capacity
to hire executive and managerial level employees. 74 people were engaged as general
managers and managers for the performing co-operatives while another 145 people
are engaged at the executive level (Assistant Managers/Executives/Supervisors),
working for 32 of the 89 performing co-operatives. Although a few small and micro
co-operatives have employees at the executive and managerial level, they are more
inclined to engaged employees at the clerical level.
A total of 413 people worked as clerical staffs and another 181 as general workers.
In summary, the 89 performing co-operatives have provided 813 employment
opportunities at the managerial, executive and clerical level with the large and medium
co-operatives generating 86.5% of the job opportunities.
Table 9: Number of Employees According to Size of Co-operatives
No. of No. of Employees by Co-op Size
Emp.
Large Medium Small Micro
15
Gen. Manager 59 9 4 11
Manager 145
Asst Mgr/ Exec/ 29 15 12 3
Supervisor 413
Clerical Staff 181 110 21 7 7
General Workers 813
326 50 31 6
Total 111 28 18 24
585 118 69 41
49
(e) Business Activities Volume 7 2011
Performing co-operatives operates a number of diverse activities ranging from
financial, plantation, construction to service based activities. It was found that most
of the performing co-operatives (32.6% or 29 co-operatives) surveyed run only one
type of business activity. Overall, more than 50% of the performing co-operatives
focused on 1-2 core business activities. A total of 20 co-operatives (22.5%) were
found to carry out two types of business activities while another 23 co-operatives
(25.8%) are involved in three different business activities. Only 16 co-operatives are
identified to be involved in 4-5 different form of business There is however one (1)
small sized co-operative carrying out six types of activities in a smaller scale.
Table 10: Number of Activities undertaken by the Selected Performing Co-operatives
No. of No. of Percent Large Size of Co-operatives Micro
Activities Coops 4 Medium Small 7
32.6 4 6 12 5
1 29 22.5 4 74 4
2 20 25.8 5 69 0
3 23 12.4 0 33 1
4 11 5.6 0 40 0
5 5 1.1 17 01 17
6 1 100.0 26 29
Total 89
As to the types of activities, 35 co-operatives run services business including cleaning
services and providing premises for rental. This is followed by plantation activity and
contracting activity (31 co-operatives), while credit activity is undertaken by 25 of
the performing co-operatives. Only a small percentage of co-operatives are involved
in the petrol station business and farming activity.
Most of the large size co-operative are found to be involved in credit, investment
and consumer activities. Meanwhile, the service and contracting activities is the
more preferred business undertaken by the medium size co-operative. Smaller and
micro size co-operative on the other hand focused their effort on contract, service,
plantation and retail business.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies50
(f) Membership Growth
Overall, membership for the large and small and medium size co-operatives
grew at a rate of 6% while the membership for the micro co-operatives grew at
an average rate of 14.4%. As per function, the membership for the housing and
construction co-operatives increased significantly, with housing co-operatives
recording almost a 50% growth rate. Alternatively the membership for the
agriculture and consumer co-operatives declined slightly (0.25%) in the year
2008. Nevertheless the membership for the credit, transportation and services
co-operatives grew moderately at a rate of between 3% - 5%.
(g) Assistance and Support Received from Agencies
The study also investigated the types of assistance and support received by the
performing co-operatives from different agencies, especially those related to the
co-operative sector. On the whole, almost all of the performing co-operatives have
received some form of assistance and support from different organizations, financially
or otherwise.
It was found that 91.0% of the co-operatives (81 out of 89) received assistance and
support from MCSC particularly in the form of financial aids and soft loans and
majority of the co-operatives have also at one time received assistance from the
MCSC in terms of annual auditing services. 75% of the co-operatives surveyed
received assistance from CCM, mainly in the form of training and consultancy
services. Similarly 74.2% of the sampled co-operatives have received support from
ANGKASA in the form of member education and training programmes plus assistance
in the form of pre-audit services and IT hardware’s and software’s supplies. A total of
39 co-operatives also indicate that they also received assistance/support from other
agencies and state based agencies in the form of financial aids, specialized training
programmes, technical and marketing support.
(h) Members Fund and Dividend Payout
The total members fund accumulated by large co-operatives is mostly made of the
shares and subscription contributed by members (72%). The remaining amount is
made up of various funds set up for members benefit, such as members education
fund, members benevolent fund and retained earnings. Conversely, the shares and
subscription contributed by members of micro co-operatives only form 37% of their
members funds.
51
Table 11: Members Fund of Selected Performing Co-operatives, According to Size Volume 7 2011
Size No. of Total Total Share Capital Ave Div.
coop Member’s + P/out
Fund Subscription %
16
3,332,831,130 RM % 13
69,986,693 15
Large 17 36,453,983 2,412,051,323 72 19
Medium 26 5,242,572
Small 29 34,028,965 49
Micro 17
23,690,485 65
1,958,498 37
As credit co-operatives obtained most of it’s financing from internal sources, the
main portion of it’s members fund is in the form of shares and subscription (72%).
Services co-operatives also has a large fraction of it’s members fund in the form
of share capital and subscription (83%). Comparatively, the agriculture, housing,
consumer, construction and transportation co-operatives, the shares and subscription
contributed by members only ranges from 14% to 38%.
Although the percentage of shares and subscription to total members fund is small,
the micro co-operatives are found to have paid the highest average dividend payouts
(19%). This is followed by the large co-operatives which gave dividend return
of 16%. Small co-operatives annual average dividend payout is 15% while the
medium co-operatives on average paid out 13% dividends to its members. Credit
co-operatives which have a sizeable amount of shares and subscription are observed
to have the lowest average dividend payout (7%). Relatively, services co-operatives
paid an average dividend of 12%. The highest dividend payout is given out by the
construction and consumer co-operatives, 20% and 15% respectively.
(i) Allocation for Members Benefit
Besides dividend, co-operatives normally allocate part of their annual profit in the
form of specific funds to improve the social well being of its members. It is observed
that in almost all of the performing co-operatives have increased their allocation
towards members benefit except for co-operatives under the services function. This
increasing trend is probably in response to the higher profit recorded in the respective
year (2008/2009).
However, the percentage increase in members’ allocation is higher compared to the
increase in the profit experienced by the various function. For example, although the
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies52
average net profit for the agriculture co-operatives grew 89%, the average growth in
the amount allocated for members benefits soared more than 100%.
Similarly, the housing co-operatives on average allocated 33% of their profits for
members, compared to the their average growth of 18%. The credit, agriculture
and industrial co-operatives are the top three functions with the biggest amount of
contribution to members’ benefit fund. The amount of allocation for the agriculture
co-operatives also shows an upward trend, in line with the increase in it’s income
and net profits. On the contrary the services co-operatives allocation to members’
benefit increased a slight 4% despite recording a average growth of 24% in income
and 12% in net profit.
(j) Members Participation
The participation of members in the selected co-operatives are gauged by assessing
the percentage of their attendance at the annual general meeting(AGM) and the
extent of members patronizing the co-operative activities. More than 50% of the
selected co-operatives stated that 81% to 100% of their members attended the
AGM. Meanwhile 25 co-operative (28.1%) declared that only 61% to 80% of their
members attended the AGM whilst another 12 co-operative (13.5%) indicated that
the attendance rate is between 41% to 60%. Only 4 co-operative (4.5%) reported
poor rate (21% to 40%) of members attendance at AGM.
Meanwhile as to the estimated level of members’ patronage towards the services and
products offered by the co-operatives, 57 co-operatives (64%), indicated a very high
to high level of members patronage. On the other hand 26 co-operative (29.2%) stated
that members’ patronage is in the medium level while only 6 co-operative indicates
that they received poor response from the members’ towards the services and product
offered by the co-operative.
Factors Perceived to Influence the Performance of Co-operatives
This section presents the demographic characteristics of the respondents
surveyed and the respondents perception on the factors that have influence the
success of their co-operatives. A total of 567 questionnaires were collected
from individual respondents (Board Members) representing the 89 selected
performing co-operatives.
53
(a) Profile of Respondents Volume 7 2011
A majority (80%) of the respondents surveyed were male. A total of 57.1 percent of
the respondents were between 41 years old to 60 years old while another 27.3 percent
were 61 years above. A further 14.3 percent of the respondents were between 21 years
old to 40 years old. Only 7 or 1.2% of the respondents surveyed were below 20 years
old. In general, the age of most of the board members of the selected performing
co-operatives is between 41 to 60 years old.
Table 12: Respondents’ Profile by Age
Age Frequency Percentage (%)
20 years and below 7 1.2%
81 14.3%
21 – 40 years 324 57.1%
41 – 60 years 155 27.3%
61 years above 567 100%
Total
Out of the 567 respondents, a total of 249 of the Boards Members were elected less
than 5 years while another 39.2 percent has served the co-operatives between 6 to
15 years. A further 16.4 percent of the Board Members has served the co-operatives
for more than 15 years.
Table 13: Respondents’ Profile by Years of Experience
Years of Experience Frequency Percentage (%)
5 years and below 249 43.9
6 to 15 years 222 39.2
16 to 25 years 62 10.9
26 to 35 years 17 3.0
35 years above 14 2.5
Total 567 100
In terms of educational background it is found that 58.6% of the respondents possessed
secondary level education and below while 41.4% of the respondents have acquired
tertiary education and above.
54
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Table 14: Respondents Profile by Qualification
Educational Qualification Frequency Percentage (%)
Secondary Education 332 58.6
A Level / Matriculation and Equivalent 30 5.3
Diploma 79 13.9
Bachelor Degree 83 14.6
Master Degree 26 4.6
Doctorate / PhD 6 1.1
Professional Qualification 11 1.9
The table below indicate the number of respondents who have attended job related
training programs for the year 2007, 2008 and 2009. A total of 264 respondents in
2007, 260 respondents in 2008 and 268 respondents in 2009 attended 1 to 3 training
program per year. It was however found that a large number of the respondents have
not attending any job related training programs for the past three years.
Table 15: Job Related Training Programmes Attended
Total Course 2007 2008 2009
Not attending any course 245 250 243
1 – 3 courses 264 260 268
4 – 6 courses 47 45 47
7 – 9 courses 4 7 4
10 courses above 7 5 5
(b) Factors Perceived to Influence the Performance of Co-operatives from the
Perspective of the Board Members
To identify the important factors perceived by the board members to have influenced
the success or performance of their co-operatives, the exploratory factor analysis was
used. The suitability of data for factor analysis was assessed, using the correlation
matrix and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure (KMO). An examination of the
correlation matrix indicated that correlation between a considerable number of the
variables exceeded 0.30, while the KMO value was 0.922 exceeding the recommended
value of 0.6 (Pallant, 2002) and the Barlett’s Test of Sphericity reached statistical
significance. The data was thus deemed suitable for factor analysis.
55
A total of twenty items were then subjected to factor analysis using SPSS for Volume 7 2011
Windows (version 15). Factoring ceased when all Eigenvalues of greater than one
were obtained and when a set of factors explaining a substantial percentage of the
total variance was achieved. An accepted method of interpretation of factor loadings
is to regard significant any variable or item with a loading of 0.4 or greater as
associated with the appropriate factor (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson and Tatham,
2006). Hence 0.4 was used as the cut-off point to determine the number of items
that loaded on to a factor.
The factors were extracted by using principal component method with a varimax
rotation. The rotated component matrix presented in Table 16 revealed three factors
with all items or variables showing strong loadings (more than 0.4) and loading
substantially on only one factor or component. The three factor rotated explained
a total of 54.38 percent of the variance, with Factor 1 contributing 20.55 percent,
Factor 2 contributing 18.0 percent and Factor 3 contributing 15.8 percent. The seven
variables or items with strong loadings on Factor 1 explained 81.65% of the variance
in this factor, while another seven variables that loaded strongly on Factor 2 explained
83.1 percent of the variance in the second factor. Lastly, the six variables that loaded
strongly on Factor 3 explained 69.15 percent of the variance in this factor.
Reliability analysis using Cronbach’s alpha was carried out to examine the internal
consistency of the three factors. As a general guideline, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient
of at least 0.7 is considered acceptable Specifically, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient
values for the three factors were 0.878, 0.844 and 0.761 as shown in Table 16,
indicating that all three factors had good reliability.
The three factors were also labelled to aid interpretation. The seven items that loaded
strongly, using factor loading of at least 0.4 as proposed by Hair et al. (2000, 2002).
The Factor 1 relate to the competencies, required by the management team to manage
performing co-operatives successfully specifically, experience, skills, efficiency,
continuity of service and cooperation among the board and employees. As a result this
factor was named, ‘Managerial Competency’. The seven items had factor loadings
ranging from 0.437 to 0.848. The three items with very high loadings of more than
0.8 and are very closely related to the factor, are experienced, skilled and efficient
senior staff of co-operatives. This finding underscores the importance of co-operatives
employing competent staff in order to be successful.
56
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Table 16: Factors Perceived to Influence Performing Co-operatives
Variable/Item 1 Factor 3
1 Experienced senior* staff of the co-operative Managerial Support
Competency 2
Effective
0.848 Leadership
2 Skilled senior staff of the co-operative 0.834
0.801
3 Efficient senior staff of the co-operative 0.634
0.595
4 Continuity of managers / supervisors
0.589
5 Cooperation between board members and staff of 0.437
the co-operative
6 Experienced board members of the co-operative
7 The co-operative emphasises education and
training
8 Honest, trustworthy and transparent board 0.781
members and senior staff of the co-operative 0.685
9 The co-operative maintains good financial
management
10 Visionary board members and senior staff of the 0.678
co-operative
11 Board members and senior staff of the co-operative 0.674
who can deal effectively with problems and
challenges 0.660
0.595
12 Board members and senior staff of the co-operative
who can communicate effectively
13 Cooperation among board members
14 Board members and senior staff with positive 0.456
attitude
15 Members’ attendance at the Annual General 4.111 3.600 0.715
Meeting 20.555 18.000
20.555 38.555 0.618
16 Support from the relevant agencies such as SKM,
MKM and ANGKASA 0.609
0.573
17 Diversification of the co-operative’s activities 0.549
18 Sufficient internal funds (shares, subscriptions) 0.543
3.165
19 Members’ support towards the co-operative’s 15.823
products or services 54.378
20 Continuity of Board Members
Eigen values
% of variance explained
Cumulative variance explained (%)
Reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) 0.878 0.844 0.761
*Senior staff refer to manager, executive and supervisor employed by the co-operative
57Volume 7 2011
Factor 2 also had seven items with strong loadings ranging from 0.456 to 0.781.
These items relate to leadership traits and skills that were regarded as important for
board and senior staff of performing co-operatives to possess. Specifically, the items
pertaining to leadership traits that loaded strongly were honesty, trustworthiness,
transparency, being visionary and positive attitude. In addition, items concerning
leadership skills that loaded strongly on the second factor were maintaining good
financial management, ability to deal effectively with problems and challenges, ability
to communicate effectively and cooperate amongst the board members. Accordingly,
the Factor 2 was thus referred to as ‘Effective Leadership’.
Finally, the third factor had six items with strong loadings ranging from 0.543
to 0.715. The six items are concerned with various types of support given by
members, related government agencies and board members. In particular members’
support is in the form of attendance at the co-operatives’ annual general meetings,
patronising the products or services and contributing sufficient funds in the form
of share capital and subscriptions. Meanwhile Board members’ support would be
in the form of continuity of board positions and ensuring co-operatives’ activities
are catered to the differing needs of members. Support from the government agencies
related to co-operative development such as the Malaysian Co-operative Societies
Commission (MCSC), Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM), ANGKASA, Majlis
Amanah Rakyat (MARA), Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), Federal
Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA), Rubber Industry
Smallholders’Authority (RISDA) and Bank Kerjasama Rakyat in the form of loans,
grants, training, advisory/consultancy services and technical assistance is also
considered as important elements. This factor was therefore named ‘Support’.
Respondents’ opinions on the level of importance of the three perceived factors
associated with performing co-operatives as well as the level of importance of the
corresponding variables within each factor were obtained, using a 5-Point Likert
type Scale ranging from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). For the purpose of
analysis, it was decided that if a factor or variable has a mean score of at least 4 on
the Likert type scale means the respondents perceive the factor or the variable to be
important for the successful performance of co-operatives in Malaysia. The resulting
mean scores for the three factors and their variables are shown in descending order
in Table 17.
As shown, the factor Effective Leadership was perceived as the most important
factor with the highest group mean score of 4.62, followed by the factor, Managerial
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies58
Competency with a group mean score of 4.39. Subsequently, the factor, Support was
perceived to be the third most important factor with a group mean score of 4.34.
Within the factor, Effective Leadership, all seven items or variables were perceived to
be important as indicated by their individual item mean scores which exceeded 4 and
ranged from mean scores of 4.49 to 4.81. Incidentally, the first item in the Effective
Leadership factor, ‘honest, trustworthy and transparent board members and senior
staff of the co-operative’, with the highest mean score of 4.81 was perceived to be the
most important variable within the first factor as well as among the twenty variables.
Further, the item, ‘the co-operative maintains good financial management’ in the first
factor was perceived to be the second most important variable (mean score of 4.77)
within the factor as well as among the twenty variables included in the study.
Both these items reflect the perception that it is very important to have good
governance in the management of co-operatives to ensure that they are successful.
The item in the Effective Leadership factor, ‘cooperation among board members’
had the third highest mean score of 4.65 and was perceived to be the third most
important variable. As leaders and policy makers in co-operatives, it cannot be denied
that board members should have good cooperation amongst themselves so that the
co-operatives’ objectives are achieved successfully.
All seven variables or items in the factor Managerial Competency were also
perceived to be important based on their high individual item mean scores, ranging
from 4.15 to 4.59. The item, ‘cooperation between board members and staff of the
co-operative’ had the highest item mean score of 4.59 in the factor, followed by the
item, ‘efficient senior staff of the co-operative’ with the second highest mean score
of 4.53 in the Managerial Competency factor. The item with the third highest mean
score of 4.40 within this factor is ‘experienced senior staff of the co-operative’ and
finally, ‘skilled senior staff of the co-operative’ came close with having the fourth
highest mean score of 4.37.
Based on the individual item mean score of 4.59, ‘cooperation between board
members and staff of the co-operative’ was perceived to be the most important item
in the Managerial Competency factor. One possible reason for this perception is that
board members are the policy makers of co-operatives and it is vital that they have
good cooperation with staff to ensure that policies are implemented efficiently and
effectively for the benefit of the co-operatives. Moreover, efficient, experienced and
skilled senior employees were perceived to be more important than experienced
board members. A reason for this perception could be that generally, board members
59
Table 17: Ranking of Factors Perceived to Influence Success of Performing Co-operatives Volume 7 2011
Factor No / Label Group Items/Variables Individual Item
1 (Effective Mean Score Mean Score
Honest, trustworthy and 4.81
Leadership) 4.62 transparent board members and
senior staff of the co-operative 4.77
2 (Managerial 4.39 4.65
Competency) The co-operative maintains 4.58
4.34 good financial management 4.57
3 (Support)
Cooperation among board 4.51
members 4.49
Visionary board members and 4.59
senior staff of the co-operative
4.53
Board members and senior staff 4.40
of the co-operative who can 4.37
deal effectively with problems 4.36
and challenges 4.35
4.15
Board members and senior staff 4.54
with positive attitude
4.54
Board members and senior staff 4.46
of the co-operative who can
communicate effectively
Cooperation between board
members and staff of the
co-operative
Efficient senior staff of the
co-operative
Experienced senior staff of the
co-operative
Skilled senior staff of the
co-operative
Experienced board members of
the co-operative
The co-operative emphasises
education and training
Continuity of managers /
supervisors
Support from the relevant
agencies such as SKM, MKM
and ANGKASA
Sufficient internal funds
(shares, subscriptions)
Members’ attendance at the
Annual General Meeting
Table 17: cont.
60
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Table 17: cont.
Factor No / Label Group Items/Variables Individual Item
Mean Score Mean Score
4.19
Diversification of the
co-operative’s activities 4.18
Members’ support towards 4.15
the co-operative’s products or
services
Continuity of Board Members
serve co-operatives on a voluntary capacity unlike senior staff who are employed full
time to manage the business operations of co-operatives. Hence the perception that
efficient, experienced and skilled senior staff are more important than experienced
board members for co-operatives to perform well.
The third factor, Support has six items or variables, all of which were perceived to be
important, based on their high individual item mean scores, ranging from 4.15 to 4.54.
Two items in this factor, ‘support from the relevant agencies such as MCSC, CCM
and ANGKASA and ‘sufficient internal funds (share and subscriptions)’ received
the highest mean score of 4.54 and were thus perceived to be the most important
variables in this factor.
The item with the second highest mean score of 4.46 in the Support factor was
‘members’ attendance at the annual general meeting’. The fact that support from the
government agencies related to co-operative development was perceived to be very
important denotes that co-operatives are still dependent on the government for their
growth. In addition, members’ contribution in the form of shares and subscriptions as
well as, their attendance at the annual general meetings suggest that members’ support
is perceived as being crucial for co-operative success. By attending annual general
meetings, members are able to participate directly in making decisions concerning
the activities of their co-operatives.
CONCLUSION
The findings from this study indicates that a majority of the performing co-operatives
are those registered under the consumer, agriculture, credit and service function.
A more detailed analysis on the attributes of a selected sample of 89 performing
co-operative reveals that most of the large size co-operatives is involved in credit
function while a majority of the medium size co-operative are involved in agriculture
61
function. The smaller size co-operative are primarily involved in consumer and Volume 7 2011
credit function, whilst most of the selected micro size co-operative is involved in
the services and consumer function.
Overall, more than half (56%) of the selected performing co-operatives surveyed has
been in operations for more than 20 years. A total of 76.4% of the selected performing
co-operatives have a total membership of 1000 and below. On the other hand the larger
and more longer established credit and housing co-operatives generally have larger
membership size, some having more than 10,000 members. The larger and medium
co-operatives also tend to have higher capacity to hire executive and managerial
level employees. Although a few small and micro co-operatives have employees at
the executive and managerial level, they are more inclined to engaged employees at
the clerical level.
Although the selected performing co-operatives operates a number of diverse activities
ranging from financial, plantation, construction to service based activities, most of
them focused only on 1-2 core business activities. To run their business operations,
almost all of the performing co-operatives have received some form of assistance
and support from different organizations, financially or otherwise.
The findings also indicates that the micro co-operatives are found to have paid the
highest average dividend payouts (19%) followed by the large co-operatives (16%).
The higher dividend payout rate is probably given out by micro co-operatives as
it involves a smaller monetary amount and membership compared to that of large
co-operatives. Small co-operatives annual average dividend payout is 15% while
the medium co-operatives on average paid out 13% dividends to its members. It
is also observed that there is an increasing trend in the amount of allocation made
towards members benefit. In fact the percentage increase in members’ allocation is
higher compared to the increase in the profit experienced by the various function.
Feedback from the respondents also indicates that overall the participation of
members, in the form of attendance at the annual general meeting (AGM) and the
extent of members patronizing the co-operative activities was satisfactory.
The key findings from this study, drawn out from the performing co-operatives Board
Members viewpoint are three main factors deemed to be influential to the success of
their co-operatives; managerial competency, effective leadership and support. In
terms of importance, effective leadership was perceived as the most important factor,
followed by the factor managerial competency. Support in various forms received
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies62
by co-operatives from different entities are considered as the third most important
factor to have influenced performance.
Successful co-operative creation often depends on the capability, commitment and
support of leaders who are actively engaged in the operations of the organization.
While the personality, education and management experience of these leaders may
differ, they have commitment, vision and determination in common. Whoever
they are, visionary and effective leaders are regarded as significant factors
which could influenced the success of performing co-operatives. Therefore, to
be successful, co-operative leaders need to possess specific leadership traits such
as honesty, trustworthiness, transparency, charismatic and have the ability to
shape opinion and their vision with co-operative members. Equally important,
co-operative leaders need to maintain good financial management, have the ability
to deal effectively with problems and challenges, capable of communicating
effectively and cooperate amongst the board members. Faced by the challenging
business environment, co-operative leaders must also possess entrepreneurial
competencies and business related skills, or have access to those skills in their
key employees.
Competent management team which comprise of the Board Members, managerial and
senior staffs is viewed as central to the achievement of the performing co-operatives.
Although the relationship between the board and the manager of a co-operative is
complex and dynamic, their roles should be clear, the board sets broad policy and
strategy, the manager implements. Thus, to manage co-operatives successfully the
management team specifically requires related work experience, skilled and efficient
senior staff, continuity of service and strong cooperation among the board and
employees. A competent management team that is experienced in the appropriate
field, trained and able to communicate well internally and with the members was
also deemed important to the success of co-operatives.
Finally, support given by members, related government agencies and board members
are deemed to be important to the success of these performing co-operatives. Members’
support in the form of attendance at the annual general meetings, patronizing the
products or services and contributing sufficient funds whilst continuity of board
positions are essential factors that help sustain the performance of co-operatives.
Consecutively, support from agencies and related organization in the form of loans,
grants, training, advisory/consultancy services and technical assistance would also
be valuable to the development and accomplishment of a co-operative.
63
Summing up, drawn from the findings of this exploratory study is a proposed model Volume 7 2011
for the factors influencing the performance or success of co-operatives. Further
research, both qualitative or quantitative in nature could be carried it to investigate
these initial findings influence on the performance or success of co-operatives.
ORGANISATIONAL
ATTRIBUTES
VISIONARY AND
EFFECTIVE
LEADERSHIP
MANAGEMENT
COMPETENCY
SUPPORT AND
ASSISTANCE
Figure 2: Proposed Model “Factors Influencing the Success of Co-operatives”
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Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies68
AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND
Nurizah Noordin is the Director of the Accounting and Finance Centre at the
Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM). She holds a Masters in Business
Administration (Finance) from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Advanced Diploma
and Diploma in Business Studies from Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
She joined CCM in 1983 and is an experienced trainer in financial management,
accounting, auditing and business management. She also provides advisory
service to co-operatives in these areas. In addition she has undertaken a number
of research studies related to co-operative management.
Dr. Sushila Devi Rajaratnam currently is the senior lecturer at the School
of Hospitality Management, Taylor’s University. She holds a Ph. D. in
Management from Multimedia University, Malaysia, Masters in Business
Administration and Bachelor in Economics with Honours (Business
Administration) from University of Malaya, Malaysia. Besides teaching, has
undertaken a number of research studies and written journal articles related
to Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior.
Mohd Shahron Anuar Bin Said has been a lecturer with the Accounting and
Finance Centre, Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM) since 2004. He
holds a Masters in Business Administration and Bachelor in Accounting from
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Besides being an experienced lecturer in
accounting, auditing and financial management, he provides advisory service
to co-operatives and has been involved in research studies in these areas.
Rafedah Juhan joined the Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM) in
2004 and is an experienced lecturer in accounting, auditing and financial
management. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from
Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Bachelor of Accounting from Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Farahaini Mohd Hanif has been with the Accounting and Finance Centre,
Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM) since 2006 and is a lecturer in
accounting, auditing and financial management. She holds a Masters in
Accounting and Bachelor in Accounting with Honours from Universiti
Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
INDICATORS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE PRACTICES IN
SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN’S SACCOS UNION IN ADDIS
ABABA, ETHIOPIA – AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
M. Karthikeyan
Hawassa University, Ethiopia
ABSTRACT
The co-operative governance concept relates to the quality of the relationship between
the government and the citizens ie., the co-operative system and its members for whom it
exists to serve, promote and protect. The indicators for good governance in co-operatives
are compiled with corporate culture and ethical climate in co-operatives. The present
study is a unique attempt in Ethiopian context. The SACCOs are flourishing like anything
and these financial co-operatives should think of good governance practices. The study
attempts to analyze the indicators of good governance practice in selected self-employed
women SACCOs union located at Addis Ababa. Survey method was adopted. The major
focus was different stakeholders of the union - members, board members, representative
of member co-operatives, paid management. Two stage sampling procedure was employed
for the study. Except members of the SACCO union, other stakeholders were selected
on census basis i.e., all board members, all representatives from member co-operatives,
all paid management staff were selected. Semi-Structured Interview Schedule was
administered among sample stakeholders. From among members 4 FDGs were conducted
on certain governance issues and Good Governance Issues Report Card also administered
to grade the governance indicators. The detail regarding governance issues report card
is dovetailed in analysis part of this research paper.
The Self-Employed Women’s Savings and Credit Co-operatives Union Ltd is established in
June 2005 by 12 primary co-operatives. Currently, the union has 19 co-operative members
with 4,200 individual members. The union is rendering services like, savings and credit
to members, provision of loans like housing, school and group loans, administration of
market shelters, organizing trade fairs, exhibition, bazaars, insurance service on loans,
and administrating income generation ventures. As for governance of this union, the
member representatives from primary co-operatives, board of management, members and
employees have adequate knowledge about co-operatives and co-operative management.
They adhere to the co-operative principles and values. They are practicing the four pillars
of co-operative governance. They practice governance with good governance indicators.
The results will be clearly seen in the full paper. The women SACCO union is an example
of good governance model / framework. It can be a model women co-operatives union,
which practice good governance for creating a better standard for other co-operatives
in the country.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies70
BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Governance is normally associated with the government. A State essentially consists
of territory, population, government, and sovereignty. In the absence of any one of
the above ingredients, the State would be incomplete, rather it will not be considered
as a State. Governance characterizes a government, which is essentially a reflection
of the quality of management by a set of people ordained with the powers and
authority through codified or un-codified laws. The governance, therefore, implies the
system and the way of regulating and managing an organization. The philosophy of
democracy and egalitarianism brought in the concept of decentralization of powers. A
large number of social, economic, cultural and political organizations and institutions
came into existence as partners with the government in the delivery of goods and
services to the population requiring their own systems and governance. Thus, the
governance became a general concept of management and regulation.
A Co-operative society also on the analogy of a State has its defined area of operation
(territory) is constituted by its members (population) on voluntary and mutual
basis for their common good. It is managed by a board of directors (government)
in accordance with its byelaws in consonance with the co-operative laws enacted
by the State. Though a Co-operative society can’t be equated with the State as the
sovereign power of State is absolute and which cannot be abrogated, yet some kind
of autonomy within the over all frame work would be essential for any organization
like a co-operative to discharge its obligations successfully (Bhagwati Prasad, 2003).
A congenial environment with enabling legislation should, therefore, be the essential
attribute of a government policy.
Co-operative Governance – A Historical Perspective
Cooperation emerged as an anti thesis of the exploitative tendency of the capitalism.
Sir Robert Owen initiated a number of experiments for making co-operatives as an
instrument of equitable economic order. Rochdale Pioneers also conceptualized the
ethos and philosophy of cooperation and business rules. Over a period of time after
the co-operatives were created, a need for some law was felt to regulate the working
of these co-operatives. Thus, in Europe, the co-operative law was the creation of the
co-operatives. Contrary to this, in most of the developing countries, the co-operatives
were the creation of the co-operative law. This distinction is important to note to
understand the relative concept of governance of co-operatives in Europe and other
developing countries.
71
Since the co-operatives in most of the Asian and African countries were Volume 7 2011
established and promoted by the government as an agent of community
development, the governments became active partners in the management and
governance of co-operatives. In turn it also led to dependence on government
syndrome. Role of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS) is of paramount
importance in the governance of the co-operatives (Bhoria. K.S, 2002). The two
main logics often advanced for the excessive government involvement in the
working of the co-operatives are one, a lot of government money is involved in
the co-operatives and, two, and the interests of the poor members and general
public have to be safeguarded. In the Ethiopian context, the existing co-operative
legislation and the government policy require a review for making it more
member oriented, member driven, member friendly and business oriented. It
is the governance of the entire co-operative sector, which should matter. The
system of governance in the co-operatives including the size and composition
of the board of directors need to be driven by the purpose and objective of the
business. The right board of directors is the one that can best help to deliver
the benefits to the members, which are at the root of the organization.
The availability of support services and the efficient mechanism of settlement
of disputes of the co-operatives would also be essential for proper governance
and functioning of the co-operatives. Good governance emerges through honest
application of prevailing laws and respecting the spirit behind these laws. The overall
system for the direction and management of the organization, encompassing all
aspects of process from the members meetings to formulation and execution of the
business policy constitutes the internal governance of co-operatives.
The government and co-operatives both are concerned with the welfare and well
being of the people (Karthikeyan, 2008). They are not rivals to each other. They are
partners in the process of social and economic development. The government has to
undertake a number of initiatives and the measures to provide and secure right kind
of governance to the co-operatives like, National Policy on Co-operatives, Task Force
Co-operative Proclamation, towards self-regulation, etc.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies72
Co-operative Governance – Definition
Co-operative Governance is a pure democratic self-governance system of managing
a co-operative entity based on and in complying with the principles, values and
philosophy of cooperation through the appropriate and effective organizational
structure with conducive culture and ethical climate, organizational machinery that
includes management and administrative professionals at various levels / layers of
functioning within the parameters of legal of provisions and policy framework of the
government, keeping in view the prevailing socio-economic environment to change
the administrative culture, management and control systems, and the mind-set and
work culture of the members and work force of Co-operative enterprises.
The Author
The management of co-operatives has to be entrusted to the people who own
and use the services of the society. The system of governance must reflect and
reinforce cooperation (David Griffiths, 2003, accessed from: http://www.australia.
coop/why_fail). The autonomy of the society needs to be maintained. Bureaucratic
control of co-operatives manifests itself (i) when co-operatives are initiated by the
government and not by the members themselves, (ii) when government implements
economic and social development programmes through co-operatives, (iii) when
government taking up the role of watch-dog restrict the powers of the co-operatives
through nomination of board, supersession of board etc. But the ultimate control
must remain in the hands of the members and the system of governance should
ensure that it does.
Co-operative Governance Structure
Co-operatives are basically democratic institutions and for their genuine working,
it is essential that all the democratic principles and process are followed in letter
and spirit. It has to be ensured that the election of the board, its office bearers,
meetings of the board and general body are held regularly and timely. This helps in
better answerability and participatory management. The co-operative governance
structure includes all the role players viz., government, sponsored organizations,
federations and the internal governance system (Daman Prakash, 2004).
73
Co-operative Governance Structure Volume 7 2011
Co-operative enterprise
Co-operative Governance Framework
As a matter of fact, the purpose and objectives of co-operative provide the framework
for co-operative governance. Co-operatives are organized groups of people, jointly
managed and democratically controlled enterprises. They exist to serve their
members and to produce benefits for them. The member therefore is the focus and
the governance should be member oriented. It should therefore, aim at ensuring
performance and promotion of members’ interest by connecting the members, their
elected representatives, management and employees, strategies and decision-making
processes. Good co-operative governance is greater owner involvement in direction
and control. It implies self-regulation, self-reliance, sustainability and self-discipline.
The co-operative governance should essentially be based on the values and principles
of cooperation as enunciated by the ICA. Therefore, any framework for co-operative
governance should take into consideration these values and principles. These values
and principles lay down the philosophy and concept of co-operatives and provide the
overall governance framework for the working of co-operatives.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies74
Co-operative Governance Framework
Accountability
Answerability
Predictability Co-operative Governance Transparency
Participation
To put more precisely and simply, governance means the way those with power
use that power. The concept, therefore, has political and economic dimensions.
The instrumental nature of governance implies that the four governance
pillars are universally acceptable and applicable regardless of the economic
orientation, strategic priorities, or policy choice of the government in question.
The co-operative governance framework encompasses the four pillars as key
components of governance viz., accountability, transparency, predictability and
participation (Daman Prakash, 2004).
Accountability is the capacity to call officials and members of co-operatives to account
for their actions. Effective accountability has two elements viz., answerability and
consequences without which accountability is only a time-consuming formality. In
addition, both internal and external accountability are needed.
Transparency entails low-cost access to relevant information. Reliable and timely
economic and financial information is a must for the public. It is essential not only
that information be provided, but also that it be relevant and understandable. Both
the public and members and other external authorities should be known the economic
and financial information.
Predictability results primarily from laws and regulations that are clear, known
in advance and uniformly and effectively enforced. Predictability of government
economic actions is also needed as an indicator on which the co-operative
sector and other sectors can rely to make its own production, marketing and
investment decisions.
75
Participation is needed to obtain reliable information and to serve as a reality check Volume 7 2011
and watchdog for government action. Members’ participation in all respects and
aspects of the helm of affairs of the co-operatives is needed and emphasized for good
governance in co-operatives.
The well-known agency problems resulting from the separation of ownership from
control (Berle & Means, 1932; Jensen & Meckling, 1976) still prevail in firms
worldwide. Recent research (Core et al., 1999) suggests that firms with weaker
governance structure have greater agency problems; that firms with greater agency
problems allow managers to extract greater private benefits; and that firms with
greater agency problems perform worse. Specifically in Asia, it has been shown that
both before (Joh, 2003) and after (Mitton, 2002) the Asian financial crisis in1997,
firms that paid heed to good corporate governance practices fared better and provided
greater protection to shareholders, especially the minority shareholders.
The literature on corporate governance examines the efficacy of alternative structures
of ownership and the boards of directors and various other governance structures.
While there is increasing evidence of the failure of certain governance structures to
control and motivate managers to increase firm performance, the empirical evidence to
date is mixed and gives little coherent evidence for the shape of an optimal governance
structure. One explanation is that existing theories have not been sufficiently complete
to include all major determinants of good corporate governance. Perhaps there will
never be one optimal governance structure because no two firms, two markets, two
legal regimes or two cultures are exactly the same, resulting in highly complex
issue of corporate governance. Ultimately governance structure is determined by
a combination of the above factors and their dynamics. A more likely and useful
outcome of the on-going debate and research, perhaps, might be the increasing focus
on shareholder interest and concerns, and identification of some widely accepted
guiding principles, rather than trying to find some specific mechanisms which are
universally applicable, for effective corporate governance.
Research studies on co-operative governance are little and the present study is a
unique attempt in Ethiopian context. The SACCOs are flourishing like anything
and these financial co-operatives should think of good governance practices. The
study attempts to analyze the indicators of good governance practice in selected
self-employed women SACCOs union located at Addis Ababa.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies76
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The study objectives are:
• To examine the existing governance practices of the sample SACCO union;
• To identify and analyze the indicators of good governance through Governance
Report card; and
• To recommend a design of good governance framework for the SACCO union.
METHOD
The study was undertaken in Addis Ababa city of Ethiopia. Survey method was
adopted. The major focus was different stakeholders of the union and member
co-operatives. Two stage sampling procedure was employed for the study. The
first stage was, as for study units, the Self Employed Women SACCO Union,
located in Addis Ababa, and all its member co-operatives (20) were the sample for
the study. At the second stage, different stakeholders – members, board members,
representative of member co-operatives, paid management were selected. Except
members of the SACCO union, other stakeholders were selected on census basis
i.e., all board members (7); one representative from each member co-operative (20);
and all paid management staff (17) were selected. As for members, two members
from each member co-operative were selected as representatives and FGDs were
conducted on certain governance issues. Semi-Structured Interview Schedule was
administered among sample stakeholders. FGDs were conducted among members
of the SACCO union to explore information on governance issues. Apart from
these, Good Governance Issues Report Card was used to elicit more information
on governance practice of the Union for grading governance indicators. The
collected data from management committee members, representatives of member
co-operatives and employees were processed and results were tabulated using
simple percentage. Since the sample size is very small sophisticated statistical
tools were not used. From among members 4 FDGs were conducted on certain
governance issues and Good Governance Issues Report Card also administered
to grade the governance indicators. The detail regarding governance issues report
card is dovetailed in analysis part of this research paper.
MAJOR FINDINGS
Profile of Union
The Self-Employed Women’s Savings and Credit Co-operatives Union Ltd is
established in June 2005 by 12 primary co-operatives. The vision statement of the
77
union is: To see strong co-operative movement in Ethiopia emerging as a major Volume 7 2011
instrument for achieving gender equality and poverty alleviation. The mission
statement is: To improve the living condition and ensure sustainable development
of self-employed women through provision of full-fledged support to the women’s
co-operatives, transform co-operatives into strong financial institutions and strengthen
the co-operative movement by working together with local, national, regional and
international institutions.
The union has the objectives: To improve the performance of the member
co-operatives by providing financial and non-financial services; to ensure
sustainable development when the supporting NGOs phase out; to enhance the
society’s ability in rendering adequate service to their members; to find solutions
collectively for problems that member co-operatives cannot solve; to make
sure that co-operatives are governed by the spirit of co-operative regulation;
to enhance the co-operative movement in Ethiopia; and to mobilize members
capital for mutual benefits.
Currently, the union has 20 co-operative members with 6,002 individual members.
The total number shares held by member co-operatives are 137 worth of ETB. 137000.
The union is rendering services like, savings and credit to members, provision of loans
like housing, school and group loans, administration of market shelters, organizing
trade fairs, exhibition, bazaars, insurance service on loans, and administrating income
generation ventures. Consecutive and timely education and training on co-operative
principles, values, accounting, etc are also services rendered by the union.
Currently 7 members co-operatives and 59 individual borrowers got gross loan of
ETB.102130; collection made by the union is ETB.110826.72.; the outstanding
portfolio is ETB. 981303.28 and the repayment rate is 98.0 percent. The cumulative
profit is ETB. 87840.52. Total assets position is ETB. 1820000, net saving ETB 65450
and the revolving fund ETB. 994000.
Governance Practices in the Union
Governance Structure of the Union
The General Assembly - The General Assembly comprises all members of the
Union. According to the issues, the Assembly convenes regular meetings or special
sessions. Attendance at regular meetings (usually 85 - 90 percent) is generally high
when members have been informed in time, or when meetings are called to discuss
amounts to be purchased or to divide up the year’s profits. The personal reasons like
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies78
home activities, small business of the members are the most common reasons for
absences at these meetings. The management committee members usually approach
the members at their home and enquire about the reasons for not attending the
meetings, and insisting them to attend the meetings regularly without fail.
There are seven management committee members; there is a control committee also.
Apart from these committees, there is an advisory board, which plays a key role in
conflict mediation. As respected members of the union, this group provides a type of
moral energy and helps to build the group’s cohesion and ensure that each member
respects their responsibilities.
The union has a general manager to manage the daily routine affairs of the union.
The general manager is delegated to undertake regular business activities and he is
responsible for planning, implementation of the activities in consultation with and
approval of the board. There is a secretary and four major wings as departments:
finance and administration, co-operative support (to support member coops), business
development and loan committee.
Decision-making in the union follows democracy and consensus decision-making.
The process is democratic and consensual, but must be accompanied and
monitored to conform to more formal governance processes in order to assure
transparency and a written record. The union has workable mechanisms such
as written minutes; payment of membership fees, bookkeeping and accounting
reports of meetings and travel. This type of balance and transparency allows the
union to confront more successfully common organizational difficulties and to
practice good governance.
As for governance of this union, the member representatives from primary
co-operatives, board of management, members and employees have adequate
knowledge about co-operatives and co-operative management. They adhere to the
co-operative principles and values. They are practicing the four pillars of co-operative
governance. The results out of the survey conducted among management committee
members, representatives of member co-operatives and employees (manager and
other paid employees) are discussed hereunder.
79
Concern about the Co-operative principles and values – Co-operative principles and Volume 7 2011
Values are the basic guidelines to be followed by co-operatives. The following Table
depicts a clear picture on how the stakeholders concern about co-operative principles
and values and practice the same.
Table 1: Level of Concern about practice of Co-operative Principles and Values
Level of Concern Number and Percentage of Respondents
Respondent Total
Category
High Moderate Low
Management 6 (85.71) 1 (14.29) 0 7 (100.0)
Committee Members 17 (85.0) 2 (10.0) 1 (05.0) 20 (100.0)
9 (52.94) 4 (21.53) 4 (21.53) 17 (100.0)
Representative of
Member Coops
Employees
Figures in brackets are percentages to row total
As for the level of concern about the practice of co-operative principles and value,
the majority (85.71%) of management committee members and 85.0 percent of
representatives of member primary co-operatives have high level of concern, and
only 52.94 percent of employees have high level of concern about the practice of
co-operative principles and values. The reason could be that the employees they
concentrate on their work rather than practicing co-operative principles and values.
The women SACCO union is being practicing co-operative principles and values for
good governance system.
Concern about the Co-operative Governance Pillars – The co-operative governance
pillars have to be adhered/adopted for having good governance system in co-operatives.
The following Table shows the results out of the survey among management committee
members, representatives of member co-operatives, and employees on the concern
about the practice of pillars of co-operative governance.
80
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Table 2: Level of Concern about practice of Pillars of Co-operative Governance
Level of Concern Number and Percentage of Respondents
Respondent High Moderate Total
Category Low
0
Management Committee Members 1 (14.29)
1 (14.28)
Participation 7 (100.0) 1 (14.29) 0 7 (100)
0 7 (100)
Transparency 6 (85.71) 2 (10.0) 1 (14.28) 7 (100)
2 (10.0) 0 7 (100)
Predictability 5 (71.44 2 (10.0)
1 (05.0)
Accountability 6 (85.71)
3 (17.65)
Representative of Member Coops 5 (29.41)
3 (17.65)
Participation 16 (80.0) 4 (21.53) 2 (10.0) 20 (100)
Transparency 14 (70.0) 4 (20.0) 20 (100)
Predictability 14 (70.0) 4 (20.0) 20 (100)
Accountability 15 (75.0) 4 (20.0) 20 (100)
Employees
Participation 12 (70.59) 2 (11.76) 17 (100.0)
Transparency 8 (47.06) 4 (21.53) 17 (100.0)
Predictability 8 (47.06) 6 (35.29) 17 (100.0)
Accountability 10 (58.82) 3 (17.65) 17 (100.0)
Figures in brackets are percentages to row total
The survey revealed that the level of concern about the practice of pillars of
co-operative governance among management committee members higher than
that of representatives of member co-operatives. As for level of concern about
the practice of participation, it is revealed that cent percent of the management
committee members have high concern; because they believe in participation leads
to success and good governance. As for transparency and accountability, except one
management committee member all others have high concern; predictability only
5 (71.44%) out of 7 members has high concern. Among representatives of member
co-operatives, 80 percent have high concern about the practice of participation as a
pillar of governance; transparency and predictability 70 percent; and accountability
75 percent as high concern. The employees have moderate and low level of concern
about transparency, predictability and accountability; but somewhat high concern
about the practice of participation as a pillar of governance. The general manager
81
as an employee has high concern about the practice of all pillars of governance Volume 7 2011
whereas all other employees (secretarial and sub staff) have moderate and low level
of concern except a few with the concern about participation.
At the outset, this women SACCOs union is adhering to co-operative principles and
values; has more concern about the practice of pillars of co-operative governance.
Co-operative Good Governance Indicators
Good governance is good government. The co-operative governance concept
relates to the quality of the relationship between the government and the citizens
ie., the co-operative system and its members for whom it exists to serve, promote
and protect. The indicators for good governance in co-operatives compiled with
corporate culture and ethical climate in co-operatives would be: the awareness
of the leaders and members about the principles, philosophy and the basic
values of cooperation; the difference between co-operatives and other kinds of
organizations; the consciousness of the board members about their duties and
responsibilities; the extent of delegation of powers to the chief executives; the
smoothness of the communication channels between the chief executive and
the board, between the chief executive and members, and members and board;
the accountability of the elected representative and professional managers; the
accountability and answerability of members; the level of transparency in the
decision making process; participation of members in all respects of the helm of
affairs of the co-operatives; the aim of attaining the objectives of the co-operative
enterprise; and the relationship with the external environmental factors which
influence the operations of the organization.
Governance Issues Report Card
The Governance Issues Report Card was administered among the members (both
individual member of the union and selected members from primary member
co-operatives) of the women SACCOs union regarding certain issues related to
co-operative good governance. This good governance report card is the simplest
and best way to participate and improve the governance system of co-operatives.
This good governance issues report card can be administered among any type of
stakeholder in co-operatives. During FGD among members, this card was used to
elicit more information about the good governance indicators in women SACCOs
union. Based on the issues on governance of women SACCOs union the results
were explored from among members and given in Table 3.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies82
The scales used were grade 1 to grade 5. First grade is very good (85% - 100%);
second grade is good (65% - 84%); third grade is fair (50% - 64%); fourth grade is
poor (35% - 49%); and fifth grade is very poor (below 35%). Almost all the issues
related to co-operative good governance as good governance indicators were chosen
to administer the governance issues report card shown / listed out in the table. Under
each governance indicator four issues were addressed and scores were given. The
percentage was arrived by using the simple formula: Percentage = Total score / 20
X 100. After arriving at the percentage for each indicator of good governance, the
overall grade for good governance was prepared and given in the Table.
Table 3: Overall Grade for Good Governance in Women SACCO Union
S.No Good Governance Indicator Grade (1-5) %
1 Awareness of Leaders 2 81
2 Coop Principles & Values 1 88
3 Coop Proclamation 2 76
4 Participation (meeting / business) 1 90
5 Board Duty / Responsibility 2 83
6 Delegation to Manager 1 85
7 Transparency / Communication 1 89
8 Relationship (at all levels) 1 90
9 Decision Making 2 81
10 Consensus Orientation 1 86
11 Accountability 2 82
12 Planning, Implementation and Control 2 84
13 Strategic Vision 2 80
14 Social Responsibility 3 63
15 Elections / Voting (Democracy) 2 83
16 Committees 2 79
17 Risk Management 2 80
18 Financial Stability / Profitability 2 81
19 Recovery Rate 1 98
20 Auditing 1 95
21 Overall Governance 2 83
Source: Compiled from Survey
83
The governance indicators such as, co-operative principles and values, delegation of Volume 7 2011
power and authority to general manager, transparency, participation in meetings and
business, relationship at all levels, recovery rate, consensus orientation, and auditing
of accounts of the women SACCOs union have scored first grade (very good) while
governance indicators like, awareness of leaders, co-operative proclamation, board
duty and responsibility, decision making, accountability, planning, implementation
and control, strategic vision, elections and voting, committees, risk management, and
financial stability and profitability have scored second grade (good). The governance
indicator social responsibility is given third grade (fair) because of moderate concern
about social responsibility. The concentration on business may be the reason for
this grade given by the members. The overall governance as an indicator of good
governance has scored second grade (good).
By seeing the results out of Good Governance Issues Report card, it is indicated that
the overall governance of the women SACCOs union is “good” and it is suggested that
the union should work for getting the grade very good in co-operative governance.
During FGDs among members, they reported:
We participate in all affairs of our co-operatives at the maximum possible manner, if
any absence in the meeting, the committee members along with the general manager
used to come to members’ (absentees) house and enquire the reasons. Though we
have appreciated the governance system of the union, some of the indicators like
accountability, risk management, social responsibility, and decision-making need to
be concentrated to increase the grade of such governance indicators. Otherwise the
overall governance system is good in our co-operatives and union.
Design for Good Co-operative Governance in the Union
The union has adopted a mixed governance model i.e., traditional, policy governance,
corporate, constitutional representational of models focus on structure and functions;
representational theory (democratic model), stewardship theory (partnership model)
of focus on motive and behaviour; and blend of both guideline based and principle
based governance models. The general manager is delegated to perform the union’s
activities. He is doing everything on behalf of the board by following stewardship
theory (partnership model) based governance. He is committed and sincere in his
duties and responsibilities. The employees are also supporting him in all tasks of the
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies84
co-operative union. The union has committees for various purposes and they follow
the traditional governance model, but sometimes they follow policy governance model
where the committees are not given due weight. The primaries (20 coops) are members
and their representatives are with board and various committees and in this context,
the union adopts constitutional representational governance model. Democratic model
of governance is adopted in terms of meetings, decision-making process, elections,
etc. Moreover, the union follows more prescriptive and less prescriptive based on
the situations and the context of doing business.
Observing this, the Women SACCOs Union may go for redesign its governance
system thereby it can be more successful. The appropriate governance model can
be evolved and designed to suit all situations and based on their business activities.
The committees can be given powers and the general manager can be delegated with
the same functions, and democracy must be maintained as such. They can blend and
merge traditional, stewardship and democratic models and come up with a redesigned
model for more success of the Women SACCOs union.
However, the women SACCOs union is an example of good governance model/
framework. Successful and sound business activities, participation of stakeholders,
transparent financial management and co-operative governance influence the success
of this Union. It can be a model women co-operatives union, which practice good
governance for creating a better standard for other co-operatives in the country.
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Karthikeyan M. (2008). “Co-operative Governance – Training Manual”, England Africa
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From-a-Management1.html.
Websites: http://www.ica.coop/ica/issues/governance.html
http://www.australia.coop/cg_pub.htm
http://www.australia.coop/why_fail
www.co-operativegrocer.coop
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies86
AUTHORS’ BACKGROUND
Dr. M. Karthikeyan is a lecturer at the Department of Co-operatives,
Faculty of Business and Economics, Hawassa University, Ethiopia. He
has been in the field of teaching and research for more than 15 years. He
has published 19 books and more than 35 papers at the regional, national
and international journals. He has participated and presented papers in
the conferences, seminars and workshops at state, regional, national and
international levels. M. Karthikeyan has associated in many major and
minor research projects funded by national and international agencies
such as England Africa Partnership Project, ILO-CoopAfrica Health
Co-operative Feasibility Project (Core Committee member), and Kenya
Training Needs Assessment Peer-Partnered Project (Ethiopia-Kenya)
initiated by Lorna Young Foundation, UK. He initiated and succeeded
in entering into MoU between Department of Co-operatives, Institute of
Co-operatives & Development Studies, Ambo University and Euricse,
Trento, Italy.
CABARAN KOPERASI PENGGUNA DALAM AKTIVITI
PERUNCITAN DI SEMENANJUNG MALAYSIA
Norazlan Hasbullah, Noranita Mohd Nor, Mohd Faisal Shariff,
Ju Samsuddin Safian & Arfizawati Abd Hadi
Maktab Koperasi Malaysia (Co-operative College of Malaysia)
ABSTRACT
This research studies the challenges faced by the Consumer Co-operatives in retail
activities in Peninsular Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed using the simple
random sampling to obtain the perception of respondents from co-operatives. 154
respondents were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The result of the study shows that
five key challenges faced by Adult Consumers Co-operative in Peninsular Malaysia are
(1) Competition from the private sector, (2) Lack the knowledge and skills of the board
member in the retail sector (3) The size of co-operative store is small; (4) Most of the
credit facilities provided by the supplier is in a short period, and (5) Difficulty in obtaining
co-operative store employees, qualified and skilled.
ABSTRAK
Kajian ini memperlihatkan cabaran yang dihadapi oleh Koperasi Pengguna dalam
menjalankan aktiviti peruncitan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Soal selidik telah diedarkan
menggunakan kaedah persampelan rawak dan sebanyak 154 responden telah dianalisis
menggunakan kaedah analisis diskriptif. Kajian menunjukkan lima cabaran utama
yang dihadapi oleh Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa di Semenanjung Malaysia adalah;
(1) Persaingan dari sektor swasta yang menjalankan perniagaan peruncitan; (2) Ahli
Lembaga Koperasi(ALK) kurang pengetahuan dan kemahiran dalam bidang peruncitan;
(3) Saiz kedai koperasi yang kecil; (4) Kebanyakan kemudahan kredit yang diberikan
oleh pembekal adalah dalam tempoh yang pendek; dan (5) Kesukaran mendapatkan
kakitangan kedai koperasi yang berkelayakan dan berkemahiran.
PENGENALAN
Koperasi Pengguna boleh ditakrifkan sebagai koperasi yang menjalankan aktiviti
kepenggunaan seperti pasar mini, pasaraya, kedai runcit, stesen minyak, kedai alatan
rumah dan lain-lain (SKM, 2009). Koperasi Pengguna memainkan peranan yang
penting dalam menyediakan barang-barang keperluan harian dan perkhidmatan
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies88
kepada anggota dan bukan anggota pada harga yang berpatutan. Peruncitan merujuk
kepada semua aktiviti yang berkaitan secara langsung dengan jualan barangan atau
perkhidmatan dalam kuantiti yang kecil untuk memperoleh keuntungan, menjual
barang-barang keperluan pengguna kepada pengguna akhir dan bukannya kepada
pengguna perniagaan (Mohd Said, 1990). Perdagangan runcit merujuk kepada
‘penjualan semula (tanpa pengubahsuaian) barangan baru dan terpakai kepada
pengguna akhir untuk kegunaan isi rumah atau persendirian’. Ini termasuk jualan
yang dilakukan oleh kedai, stor aneka jabatan, gerai, Koperasi Pengguna dan
sebagainya (Perangkaan Ekonomi Malaysia 2007). Perniagaan runcit melibatkan
jualan pelbagai barang-barang dan perkhidmatan daripada barangan keperluan rumah
tangga hingga kepada makanan dan aksesori, Guy (1980) telah mengkategorikan
aktiviti peruncitan kepada tiga kumpulan iaitu; i) Barang-barang mudah beli seperti
barang runcit dan barang keperluan harian, ii) Barang beli belah di mana harganya
lebih mahal dan jarang dibeli, iii) Barang istimewa di mana barang tersebut memiliki
ciri-ciri unik dan menjadi pilihan kepada pelanggan yang berpendapatan tinggi.
Peruncitan wujud dalam skala yang kecil dan skala yang besar (Ahmad et al.,
1996; Nik Yacob et al., 1992; Cox, 1988). Perniagaan runcit dalam skala yang kecil
merujuk kepada peruncit yang memiliki kedai atau tanpa kedai seperti penjaja dan
gerai. Peruncit besar-besaran merujuk kepada superstore, discount store, department
store, supermarket, hypermarket dan pusat membeli belah.
Pernyataan Masalah
Perkembangan koperasi di Malaysia telah mencecah usia 85 tahun. Namun ia masih
belum mencapai kejayaan yang boleh dibanggakan sepertimana gerakan koperasi
di negara-negara maju di dunia seperti United Kingdom, Jepun, Korea Selatan,
Eropah, Belanda, Switzerland dan New Zealand (Khalid, 2008). Gerakan koperasi di
Malaysia hanya menyumbangkan sebanyak 1 peratus bagi Keluaran Dalam Negara
Kasar (Arkib Utusan Malaysia Online 14 Julai 2010). Ini berbeza dengan gerakan
koperasi di beberapa buah negara di dunia yang menunjukkan gerakan koperasi
memberikan sumbangan yang besar dalam sektor ekonomi seperti negara Portugal
menyumbangkan sebanyak 5 peratus KDNK, Iran sebanyak 6 peratus, Vietnam
8.6 peratus, Kenya sebanyak 45 peratus, dan New Zealand sebanyak 22 peratus
(ICA, 2005). Mengikut laporan SKM (2009), kebanyakan saiz kedai koperasi di
Malaysia adalah berskala kecil dan sederhana dan ditambah pula dengan kuasa
beli koperasi juga agak rendah, maka koperasi tidak mendapat faedah daripada
diskaun harga atas belian pukal. Menurut sumber dari SKM lagi, sebanyak 184
Koperasi Pengguna telah dibatalkan pendaftarannya dari tahun 2000-2008.
Berlandaskan perangkaan tersebut, perbandingan sumbangan Koperasi Pengguna
terhadap gerakan koperasi keseluruhannya telah dianalisis.
89
Secara keseluruhannya, sumbangan Koperasi Pengguna dewasa dari segi bilangan Volume 7 2011
anggota, modal syer, aset dan keuntungan masih lagi rendah jika dibandingkan dengan
bilangan Koperasi Pengguna yang ada iaitu melebihi 30 peratus daripada jumlah
populasi koperasi dewasa. Oleh itu kajian ini akan mengenal pasti cabaran-cabaran
yang dihadapi oleh koperasi pengguna yang mana menyebabkan status koperasi
pengguna kini masih belum berada pada tahap yang membanggakan.
Objektif
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti cabaran-cabaran yang dihadapi oleh
Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa dalam aktiviti peruncitan di Semenanjung Malaysia.
SOROTAN KAJIAN
Status Koperasi Pengguna di Malaysia
Koperasi Pengguna pertama di Malaysia yang didaftarkan adalah ‘Ulu Langat Malay
Co-operative Shop Society’ iaitu pada tahun 1936 dan telah bertambah kepada dua
buah Koperasi Pengguna pada tahun 1940. Dari tahun 1941 hingga 1950, Koperasi
Pengguna tidak menunjukkan sebarang perkembangan disebabkan faktor politik yang
kurang stabil. Di awal 1960an, sebanyak 44 buah Koperasi Pengguna telah ditutup
akibat penamatan pemberian bantuan kemudahan bekalan barangan oleh kerajaan.
Faktor penutupan ini turut didorong oleh kegagalan koperasi untuk mengutip hutang
tertunggak. Berikutan kejayaan penubuhan MCSS pada Jun 1973, banyak Koperasi
Pengguna telah mengambil peluang untuk menubuhkan premis berkonsepkan pasar
mini seperti Shamelin, Koperasi Polis, Koperasi Tentera, FELDA, FELCRA, RISDA,
jabatan-jabatan kerajaan dan swasta serta KOMART. Pada tahun 1996, bilangan
koperasi yang terlibat dengan aktiviti pasar raya, pasar mini dan kedai telah meningkat
sebanyak 1,852 buah koperasi dengan bilangan anggota seramai 1.9 juta orang.
Jumlah jualan yang telah dicapai pada tahun tersebut ialah sebanyak RM526.7 juta
dan memperolehi keuntungan sebanyak RM132.4 juta.
Sehingga tahun 2008, didapati bahawa bilangan Koperasi Pengguna dewasa mewakili
sebanyak 31.6 peratus daripada jumlah keseluruhan koperasi yang berdaftar tetapi
jumlah keanggotaannya hanya mencatatkan sebanyak 14.6 peratus dari jumlah
keseluruhan keanggotaan koperasi dewasa. Modal syer dan aset yang berjaya
dikumpulkan masing-masing hanya 2.8 peratus dan 1.7 peratus, serta keuntungan
tahunan hanya pada 2.2 peratus sahaja berbanding dengan jumlah keseluruhan
sumbangan koperasi dewasa. Perbandingan tersebut adalah seperti di Jadual 1.
90
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies Jadual 1: Perbandingan Perangkaan Am Koperasi Dewasa dengan Koperasi Pengguna
Dewasa sehingga 31 Disember 2008
Perkara Keseluruhan Koperasi Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa
Jumlah
Bilangan Koperasi Jumlah Peratus(%)
Bilangan Anggota 4,051 Buah
Modal Syer 4,487,557 Orang 1,283 Buah 31.6
Aset RM 8,400,467,072
Turnover RM 55,580,825,717 658,029 Orang 14.6
Untung / Rugi RM 7,589,041,394
RM 1,919,148,802 RM 237,702,053 2.8
RM 988,115,272 1.7
RM 803,752,797 10.5
RM 42,954,235 2.2
(Sumber: Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia, 2008)
Manakala statistik koperasi mengikut fungsi Pengguna dewasa, mencatatkan
sebanyak 1,283 buah koperasi dan bilangan anggota sebanyak 658,029 orang, modal
syer-yuran sebanyak RM237,702,053, jumlah aset sebanyak RM988,115,272 dan
meraih jumlah keuntungan sebanyak RM42,954,235 (SKM, 2008). Perangkaan
Am koperasi mengikut fungsi adalah seperti Jadual 2 di bawah:
Jadual 2: Perangkaan Am Koperasi Dewasa Mengikut Fungsi sehingga 31 Disember 2008
Bil Fungsi Bil. Anggota Modal Syer Aset (RM) Turnover Untung/ Rugi
Kop. (RM) (RM) (RM)
1 Perbankan
2 Kredit/ 2 828,484 2,199,709,013 42,208,732,138 3,551,004,345 1,254,943,822
353,658,419
Kewangan 551 1,962,834 3,969,003,533 7,620,467,830 1,747,350,390
3 Pertanian 132,336,678
4 Perumahan 842 248,526 239,016,392 964,366,413 520,805, 179 38,860,369
5 Perindustrian 88 89,102 131,592,122 540,551,689 103,492, 753
6 Pengguna 75 11,997 6,953,639 49,874,089 42,628,043 41,824
1,283 658,029 237,702,053 988,115,272 803,752, 797 42,954,235
Dewasa
7 Pembinaan 108 62,111 15,248,402 57,049,368 23,366,543 417,739
8 Pengangkutan 336 116,918 47,338,371 182,006,579 391,607, 704 14,343,117
9 Perkhidmatan 756 509,556 1,553,903,547 2,969,662,339 405,033, 640 81,592,599
4,051 4,487,557 8,400,467,072 55,580,825,717 7,589,041,394 1,919,148,802
Jumlah
(Sumber: Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia, 2008)
91
Cabaran Koperasi Pengguna Volume 7 2011
Sejak di peringkat awal lagi, penubuhan Koperasi Pengguna menghadapi pelbagai
cabaran dan masalah dalam menjalankan perniagaan. Mengikut perangkaan SKM
sehingga tahun 2008 gerakan koperasi masih belum dapat menubuhkan sebuah pasar
raya koperasi yang berjaya dan boleh membantu anggota mendapatkan bekalan yang
murah, berkualiti dan berkhasiat.
Menurut SKM (2009), masalah atau cabaran yang dihadapi oleh Koperasi Pengguna
di Malaysia ialah:
Cabaran dari Segi Kewangan
i. Kebanyakan saiz kedai koperasi di Malaysia berskala kecil dan sederhana serta
mempunyai kuasa beli agak rendah. Oleh demikian koperasi tidak mendapat
faedah daripada diskaun harga atas belian pukal. Di Malaysia, kita dapat melihat
koperasi seperti berada dalam satu prinsip tetapi sebenarnya mereka bergerak
dan beroperasi dalam rumpun atau cluster yang berasingan. Pengasingan ini
sebenarnya tidak memberikan keuntungan kepada gerakan koperasi, malah
menjadi semakin lemah dan kian terhakis kekuatan ekonominya.
ii. Kurang modal pusingan. Selain daripada memperolehi jumlah kredit yang kecil
daripada pembekal atau tiada langsung, sumbangan daripada anggota sedikit.
Kebanyakannya bergantung kepada pinjaman luar.
iii. Kos overhed tinggi kerana menggajikan kakitangan.
Cabaran dari Segi Tadbir Urus
i. Ketidakcekapan pengurusan seperti tadbir urus yang tidak sempurna malah ada
rekod-rekod perakaunan yang gagal diselia dan dikemaskini sebagaimana yang
dikehendaki oleh Akta Koperasi.
ii. Pemberian pinjaman kredit tidak terkawal dan tidak ada sistem kutipan
yang berkesan.
iii. Mengikut Raja Maimon(1999), Anggota Lembaga Koperasi (ALK) juga kurang
faham tentang falsafah dan prinsip koperasi serta peranan mereka sebagai ALK.
Mereka juga kurang kemahiran dalam pengurusan perniagaan. Oleh itu semua
urusan perniagaan kedai dibebankan kepada pengurus tanpa garis panduan.
Terdapat ALK yang jarang mengadakan mesyuarat.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies92
iv. Kebanyakan pengurus dan kakitangan koperasi yang dilantik tidak mempunyai
kecekapan yang diperlukan untuk mengurus kedai serta kurang pengetahuan dari
aspek kejurujualan dan perakaunan. Sebagai contoh, rekod-rekod perniagaan tidak
disimpan dengan betul dan ini menyukarkan penyediaan penyata kewangan dan
melewatkan mesyuarat agung. Selain itu, pengurus dan kakitangan koperasi tidak
cekap membuat keputusan pengurusan seperti menetapkan harga jualan yang
kompetitif, membuka cawangan baru dan membeli aset tetap tanpa mengambil
kira faktor kualitatif dan kuantitatif yang ada pada koperasi.
Cabaran dari Segi Penglibatan Anggota
i. Kurangnya pendidikan kepenggunaan dalam koperasi kepada anggotanya.
ii. Kurang komitmen anggota. Terdapat anggota yang telah diberi kemudahan kredit
pengguna oleh koperasi tetapi gagal melunaskan hutang mereka sebagaimana
yang dikehendaki. Keadaan ini menyebabkan koperasi berhadapan dengan krisis
aliran tunai dan akhirnya operasi kedai terpaksa ditutup.
iii. Tiada semangat sayangkan koperasi. Anggota menyertai koperasi hanya untuk
mendapatkan dividen dan pinjaman sahaja.
iv. Anggota dan bakal anggota kurang faham mengenai falsafah dan prinsip koperasi.
Mereka tidak tahu akan hak dan tanggungjawab mereka sebagai pemilik dan
anggota. Ini menyebabkan penglibatan mereka dalam aktiviti koperasi menjadi
terhad; (Raja Maimon, 1999).
Cabaran dari Segi Pemasaran
i. Pelaksanaan hadiah langganan (rebat) menjadi semakin tidak popular di dalam
amalan kedai pengguna koperasi. Sedangkan amalan rebat ini semakin meningkat
popular di kalangan sektor swasta. Amalan rebat menjadi tidak popular di kalangan
koperasi kerana pendekatan yang diamalkan masih kekal konservatif sedangkan
menggunakan amalan rebat melalui konsep yang diubahsuai semula.
ii. Barangan yang dijual oleh kedai koperasi seringkali gagal menawarkan harga
yang kompetitif berbanding dengan pesaing. Keadaan ini menyebabkan koperasi
kehilangan pelanggan yang berurusniaga secara tunai dan koperasi kehilangan
pelanggan yang berkualiti.
iii. Kekurangan modal untuk program promosi yang dinamik menyebabkan maklumat
pemasaran tidak sampai kepada anggotanya yang merupakan pelanggannya.
93
Cabaran dari Segi Kerjasama Volume 7 2011
i. Tidak melaksanakan prinsip kerjasama antara koperasi di mana koperasi yang
ada kerjasama boleh menawarkan faedah yang sama kepada mana-mana anggota
kepada koperasi tersebut.
ii. Sukar mewujudkan gabungan Koperasi Pengguna kerana sejarah gabungan
Koperasi Pengguna yang banyak menemui kegagalan.
Cabaran dari Segi Hubungan Pembekal
i. Kebergantungan kepada pembekal daripada pengusaha di pasaran bebas yang tidak
terjamin dari segi pembekalan dan harga barangan. Keadaan ini menyebabkan
harga barangan di koperasi tidak dapat dijual dengan harga yang berpatutan.
ii. Saiz belian yang kecil menyebabkan koperasi bergantung kepada orang
tengah/vendor. Ini menyebabkan kos belian tinggi dan harga barang yang
dijual menjadi mahal.
iii. Kurang mendapat kemudahan kredit daripada pembekal, kerana tiada hubungan
rapat dengan pembekal.
Cabaran dari Segi Produk
i. Rangkaian atau jenis barangan yang dijual terhad dan mutunya kurang
memuaskan.
ii. Teknik amalan perniagaan yang kurang berkesan. Misalnya, tiada mesin tunai
(cash register), sistem perakaunan yang tidak sistematik, teknik pesanan dan
penerimaan yang kurang berkesan, penyimpanan rekod stok yang tidak lengkap,
imej kedai kurang memuaskan seperti berhabuk, terdapat barang/stok yang sudah
lama dan rosak.
iii. Mengikut Raja Maimon (1999), kebanyakan Koperasi Pengguna tidak cekap
dalam memenuhi objektif utamanya untuk menjual keperluan barangan pengguna
pada harga yang berpatutan.
Cabaran dari Segi Persaingan
i Persaingan harga dengan pasaraya seperti Carrefour, Tesco, Mydin dan lain-lain
kedai pengguna yang dapat menawarkan harga dan barangan lebih kompetitif.
ii. Persaingan hebat daripada sektor swasta dan perniagaan keluarga.
Malaysian Journal of Co-operative Studies94
Cabaran dari Segi Motivasi Pekerja
Kebanyakan pengurus dan kakitangan tidak berpuashati dengan bebanan kerja yang
ditanggung kerana tidak berbaloi jika dibandingkan dengan gaji yang diterima.
Kakitangan juga kurang berminat untuk bekerja di kedai koperasi kerana faktor waktu
bekerja yang panjang (biasanya jam 8.00 pagi hingga 9.00 malam). Koperasi tidak
mampu membayar upah yang tinggi atau berpatutan, tiada inisiatif kenaikan pangkat
dan jarang mendapat peluang untuk menghadiri kursus.
METODOLOGI LATIHAN
Kajian ini dilakukan ke atas Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa di Semenanjung Malaysia
yang terlibat dalam aktiviti perniagaan kedai runcit, pasaraya/pasar mini dan kedai
menjual barangan harian. Kajian ini mengenalpasti cabaran yang dihadapi oleh
Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa di Semenanjung Malaysia. Soal selidik yang dibangunkan
telah menyenaraikan 29 cabaran yang dihadapi oleh Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa
dalam aktiviti peruncitan dan kaedah pensampelan secara rawak telah digunakan iaitu
sebanyak 292 buah koperasi pengguna dewasa (tidak termasuk koperasi sekolah) telah
menjadi responden dan bagi setiap sebuah koperasi hanya seorang responden dipilih
di kalangan Pengerusi, Setiausaha, Bendahari atau Pengurus koperasi. Kesemua 29
cabaran ini diukur menggunakan kaedah skala dari (1) Sangat Tidak Setuju hingga
(5) Sangat Setuju.
Bagi proses pengumpulan data, borang soal selidik telah dihantar ke semua
negeri dengan meminta bantuan dari Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM).
Para penyelidik telah melantik Pegawai SKM wilayah sebagai pembanci untuk
mengumpul data. Ini memudahkan proses pengumpulan data dengan pertolongan
pegawai tempatan yang mahir dengan geografi tempatan di wilayah masing-masing.
Tempoh masa yang diberikan untuk memulangkan borang soal selidik ini ialah
selama tiga minggu dari tarikh surat dikeluarkan. Kumpulan penyelidik telah
membuat tindakan susulan melalui telefon ke setiap SKM negeri untuk memastikan
borang soal selidik telah lengkap diisi dan dihantar semula ke Maktab Kerjasama
Malaysia (MKM). Sebanyak 292 borang soal selidik telah diterima dan hanya 154
borang sahaja digunakan untuk keseluruhan analisis kajian ini, iaitu menunjukkan
peratusan sebanyak 52.7 peratus.
Data yang diperolehi telah di analisis menggunakan kaedah diskriptif analisis.
Diskriptif analisis merupakan kaedah yang paling sesuai bagi mengenal pasti cabaran
utama yang dihadapi oleh Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa dalam aktiviti peruncitan di
Semenanjung Malaysia.
95
ANALISIS Volume 7 2011
Taburan jawatan yang disandang di koperasi daripada 154 responden adalah 34 (22.1
peratus) terdiri daripada Pengerusi dan Bendahari, 51 (33.1 peratus) adalah Setiausaha
dan 35 (22.7 peratus) Pengurus Koperasi. Kaedah diskriptif analisis telah digunakan
dalam kajian ini bagi mengenal pasti cabaran utama yang dihadapi oleh Koperasi
Pengguna Dewasa dalam aktiviti peruncitan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Kesemua 29
cabaran di analisis melalui kaedah diskriptif dengan menggunakan perisian SPSS.
Nilai min yang tertinggi telah diambil bagi mengukur cabaran utama yang dihadapi
oleh Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa dalam aktiviti peruncitan di Semenanjung Malaysia.
Kebolehpercayaan analisis menggunakan Cronbach’s alpha merupakan darjah
ketepatan yang diukur serta nilai Cronbach’s alpha 0.5 atau ke atas boleh diterima
dalam sesuatu instrumen kajian (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000, cited in Mokhlis & Sparks,
2007). Nilai Cronbach’s alpha bagi kesemua instrumen cabaran yang dihadapi semasa
menguruskan aktiviti peruncitan koperasi adalah 0.947. Ini bermakna kesemua
cabaran yang di senaraikan boleh digunapakai dalam kajian ini.
Tahap persetujuan responden dalam 29 cabaran yang dihadapi semasa menguruskan
aktiviti peruncitan koperasi telah diambil dalam kajian ini menggunakan 5-Point
Skala Likert bermula daripada 1 (Sangat Tidak Setuju) hingga (5) Sangat Setuju.
Bagi tujuan analisis ini, cabaran yang menunjukkan nilai min sekurang-kurangnya 3
di dalam Skala Likert bermaksud responden bersetuju dengan cabaran yang dihadapi
oleh Koperasi Pengguna dalam menguruskan aktiviti peruncitan di Semenanjung
Malaysia. Manakala, cabaran yang menunjukkan nilai min antara 1 hingga kurang
daripada 3, bermaksud responden tidak bersetuju dengan cabaran yang dihadapi
oleh Koperasi Pengguna dalam menguruskan aktiviti peruncitan di Semenanjung
Malaysia. Jadual 3 menunjukkan nilai min kesemua 29 cabaran yang dihadapi oleh
Koperasi Pengguna Dewasa di Semenanjung Malaysia dalam menguruskan aktiviti
peruncitan. Daripada 29 cabaran yang disenaraikan hanya 26 cabaran sahaja yang
mempunyai nilai min 3 dan ke atas.
Cabaran yang paling utama(1) dihadapi oleh koperasi ialah persaingan dari sektor
swasta yang menjalankan perniagaan peruncitan dengan nilai min 3.95. Cabaran
yang kedua (2) tertinggi menunjukkan min 3.71 iaitu ALK kurang pengetahuan
dan kemahiran dalam bidang peruncitan sebagai salah satu cabaran yang dihadapi.
Diikuti dengan cabaran ketiga (3) iaitu saiz kedai koperasi ini yang kecil dengan
nilai min 3.56. Seterusnya, kedudukan cabaran yang keempat (4) menunjukkan min
3.52 bersetuju bahawa kebanyakan kemudahan kredit yang diberikan oleh pembekal
adalah dalam tempoh yang pendek.
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