Chapter 3. Regulating Nano-Enabled Products: Implications for energy storage
3.2.1 Case Study Method: Material Flow Analysis
CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Main Content
3.1 Inspection will keep the Secretary/Manager on Alert at all times
3.2 Education Duty of the Cooperative Assistant 4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor- Marked Assignment 7.0 Reference/Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The cooperative assistants regularly inspect the societies allocated to them on the advantages that may accrue to such societies.
In societies where majority of the members are illiterates or semi illiterates, there is need for regular inspection by the cooperative assistants. The officers will be able to educate and advise the members at the right time on investment strategies. The result of this is that the members would be able to take wise decisions especially when holding their meetings. This will certainly enhance the growth of their cooperative society. He will also study their income and expenditure proposals and advise them accordingly.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
explain the Inspection will keep the secretary/manager on alert at all times
describe the education duty of the cooperative assistant.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Inspection will keep the Secretary/Manager on Alert at all Times:
At the end of the inspection exercise , the cooperative assistant will write an inspection report which may be available for the consumption of the members management and the business partners of the society. This will give information about the state of affairs of the society and will boost the business of the society where the society’s business needs redress, the report will enable the members take timely action.
Cooperative Assistants as an Intermediary
The cooperative assistant serves as an intermediary between the director of cooperatives, the Area officer and the members of the society. Information advice instructions get to the members through him which will be delivered during inspection visits.
Inspection serves as caution
Inspection of Cooperative Societies will serve as caution to the management and members of the society from time to time.
Members will be able to ask Questions Regularly
When cooperative assistants visit and inspect the society regularly, members would be able to ask questions when necessary before taking decisions.
3.2 Education Duty of the Cooperative Assistant
In Nigeria, majority of the cooperators are illiterates. Hence they are not good businessmen.
Before they can be good businessmen they have to be educated. If the cooperative society is taken to be a business venture and it has to be run like a business before the members can be successful.
To be able to carry out their educational duty, the cooperative assistant needs to be educated.
He must possess at least the school certificate before he could be employed as a cooperative assistant into the relevant department of cooperatives. After this, he would undergo training in one of the cooperative colleges for an academic session. If he is successful in the
final examination, he becomes a qualified cooperative assistant and a holder of a certificate in cooperative Studies. It is after this course that he is qualified to be an educator of cooperative Societies. He would have at this stage been trained to be a trainer. He would have got a good knowledge of cooperative business principles, the cooperative law and regulations and the bye-laws of cooperative societies. He would also have a good accounting knowledge.
Apart from this training at the cooperative college, he must be having constant training from time to time in form of refresher course, workshops seminars etc.
Cooperative assistant may also enjoy in service training from time to time. He may go for further studies in the Polytechnic, University or diploma in cooperative studies at the cooperative College to enable him perform his job better in the field. Whenever the cooperative assistant is well equipped to carry out the educational duties effectively, he must direct the educational activities to the following groups.
3.2.1 Members Education
The cooperative assistant must teach the members of the societies allocated to him to be able to read and understand the bye-laws of the society. They must also learn to use the bye-laws to run their society.
The members must be educated on how to run the society effectively by utilising business principles. They must be taught what their rights and duties in the society are. He must teach the members how to hold meetings, how to discuss effectively in meetings, how to take decisions in meetings and the importance of meetings. They must also be taught how to choose their officers and committee members. They should understand that they must choose capable officers who are ready to work for the society selflessly and in line with the aims and objectives of the members.
The members of the society should also be taught to be able to discuss and evaluate reports on their society’s business. They should be able to formulate policies which will eventually lead them to making good decisions for the betterment of their organisation.
3.2.2 Officers of the Society
The officers of the society who are the President, Secretary, Treasurer,
these duties, most effectively. This is necessary since they run the society according to the mandate given to them by the members of the society. It is important for them to be well educated since any mistake committed by these officers will be detrimental to the success of the society.
3.2.3 Employees of the Society
The employees of the society are not members, nevertheless since they work for the society, they need to receive education on the organisation and members of the society they are working with.
The employees should know what the organisation is, the characteristics it has that make it different from other business organisations, the principles of cooperation, the cooperative law and the bye-laws of the society. They should know also how the organisation operates and how they can perform their duties effectively in such an environment.
The employees should not be selected on the of their social relationship with any of the members but on their qualifications, experience and their foreseen ability to perform the duties that will be assigned to them diligently. Apart from making the right selection, they should be trained and retrained from time to time. It is also important that the employees should be well remunerated so that they can decide to work with the organisation for a long time. The idea of losing experienced employees as a result of low remuneration will be minimised if the members are well remunerated. This will reduce the urge to defraud the society.
3.2.4 The Members of the Public
The cooperative assistant needs to educate members of the public on what a cooperative society is, the benefits people can derive by its formation, how to form a cooperative society, how to run and administer it, etc.
This action will give more enlightenment about cooperation to the members of the public and as a result they will embrace it and there will be tremendous increase in the number of society that will be formed in the area which the officer is supervising.
4.0 CONCLUSION
The Inspection will keep the Secretary/Manager on alert at all times because the tenets of cooperative fieldwork is all about getting feedback and improvement also the education duty of the cooperative assistant
5.0 SUMMARY
This unit as describe the significant of Inspection will keep the Secretary/Manager on alert at all times. The benefit of education duty of the cooperative assistant
6.0 TUTOR- MARKED ASSIGNMENT
Discuss the Inspection of the Secretary/Manager and the education duty of the cooperative assistant?
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Akubuilo, c.j.c .(2003). Cooperative Extension service, Mammographic:
Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki.
Bye-Laws of Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd.
Lawal,K.A.A and Adelowo. (2013). Cooperative Education and Extension, NOUN Publishers.
Okonkwo J.N.P. (). Hints on Cooperative Fieldwork. Enugu: Chuka Printing Company Ltd.
Owojuyigbe, S. (2007).Cooperative Administration and Fieldwork in Nigeria (3rd ed ) ,Samlolly Publishers.