Co-operative University of Kenya Journals
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Sustainable Cooperatives for economic expansion in Africa: Conversations with Co-operator, Ukhwah Cooperative Malaysia Multipurpose Cooperative - Case Report.
Full text linkThe purpose of this paper is, first, to bring out the diversity of Cooperative realities in the Asia-Pacific region, and, second, to construct a common conceptual framework which would allow to translate the cooperative realities into a more general concept so that other cooperatives may draw lessons. Using the Ukhwah Multi-Purpose Cooperative as a case study, it is shown that with good governance, professional management and separating the institution of Board of Directors from management the Cooperative has manage to produce good end year net profits and has consistently delivered 10% dividend to the shareholders since 2002. The activities of the multipurpose Cooperative include: housing development, buying and selling property and property leasing. It also provides taxi services through rental of cars at weekly intervals. Next is quarry manufacturer for premix of bitumen. Other activities are provision of homestay services which are located in Malaysia and in London and Melbourne. Lastly, it provides personal Loans to members. Through its activities, Ukhwah was recognized in 2017 by Co-operative Commission of Malaysia and was ranked 13 of 100 best co-operative in Malaysia. It was also awarded The Best Property Co-operator of Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan in 2017
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS ON COMPETITIVENESS OF LISTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA.
Full text linkManufacturing firms in the industrialized world are spending enormous resources in upgrading their production technology to cope with the increasing competition from non-industrialized countries and to also improve competitiveness. The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between industrial robots and competitiveness of listed manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive research design. The study targeted 14 listed manufacturing firms in NSE (2014). The study population comprised of 42 heads of departments oflisted manufacturing firms, 42 assistant heads of departments of listed Manufacturing firms, 14 CEO’s of listed manufacturing firms, 52 staff of KAM and 8 industrialization directorate of Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development. Pagano and Gauvreau (2006) formula was adopted to calculate the sample size of this study from a population of 158 respondents to give a sample size was 113 respondents. The sampling technique used was stratified random sampling method. The study collected primary data through use of a questionnaire and an interview schedule. The results were presented using tables, charts and graphs. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted to analyze the data. The analysis was aided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study results indicate that there was little use of industrial robots, Tele-operated robots, cognitive robots or even use of hybrid forms of tele-operated and programmed robots. The findings also reveal there was a negative and insignificant relationship between competitiveness of listed manufacturing firms and industrial robots. There was low application of industrial robots by manufacturing firms in Kenya which might be as a result of limited resources or low return on investments. The study concludes that industrial robots are not economically viable and realistic solution to securing immediate competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Kenya as the Kenyan economy is characterized by low wages and youthful population unlike developed countries. However, in the long term they can be a source of competitiveness. The study recommends that manufacturing firms should install industrial robots to carry out onerous, dangerous, repetitive or tedious tasks. The Kenya manufacturing firms should aim to improve the competitive capacities and enable their manufacturing firms to meet international competitiveness requirements, such as product quality and cost
THE EFFECT OF FORMAL STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF MEDIUM SIZED MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN KENYA: A STUDY OF SELECTED MEDIUM SIZED MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN NAIROBI, KENYA.
Full text linkOrganizational performance assesses how firms are able to meet their stated objectives over time. It is known that theultimate goal of any business organization is to be able to meet specific objectives such as customer satisfaction, profitmaximization and cost effectiveness. A firm that is able to meet these objectives is perceived as being more successfulthan one that is not able to meet them. There are many ways of measuring performance, which include profitabilityratios such as earnings per share, return on investment or return on equity. Many medium enterprises (MEs) have notadopted formal strategic management (FSM) and therefore cannot have competitive advantage in the industry. Thisstudy examined the effect of formal strategic management on organizational performance of medium sized manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya. The research was conducted through a survey of medium enterprises(MEs) in Nairobi, Kenya. Eighty MEs were selected using simple random sampling. Primary data was collected usinga semi-structured questionnaire. The respondents who were members of management team filled open and close ended questions. The data was analyzed statistically using the SPSS and R packages through tabulation, proportions and logit analysis. The results showed that organizations with formal strategic management (FSM) perform better thanthose without formal strategic management. MEs should therefore adopt formal strategic management to promoteperformance and counter competition
ANALYSIS OF CAUSES OF HIGH RATE OF CO-OPERATIVE BUSINESS FAILURE AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS IN TAITA TAVETA COUNTY IN KENYA.
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to establish and analyze the prime causes of high rate of co-operative business failure and possible interventions in Taita-Taveta County in Kenya. It was therefore an action research oriented study. The study was designed in August-December, 2014 and eventually executed in June, 2015. The study employed a mixedapproach paradigm that enabled adequate collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative datawas analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The qualitative data was analyzed by identifying objective thematic responses, together with their categorization and logical interpretations in accordance with the study objectives. Analytical tables were also appropriately utilized. The findings of the study revealed that major causes of co-operative business failure included lack of awareness of the functioning of the co-operative business model, inadequate professional skills, mismanagement and corruption among others. Key intervention strategies were identified as intensive co-operative education and training, adherence to co-operative principles and values, and enhancing professionalism in conducting day to day co-operative business affairs
The status of the cooperative movement in Uganda and lessons from the application of the cooperative principles by the Uganda Kolping Society’s Self Help Groups (Kolping Families).
Full text linkThis paper highlights the status of the cooperative movement in Uganda and draws lessons from the application of cooperative principles in the operations of the Uganda Kolping Society. The success of the Uganda Kolping Society approach is documented. The paper concludes that Kolping and cooperatives approach to member issues guarantees success of its members. Whenever people come together they get stronger and achieve much more than when they act individually
THE MODERATING ROLE OF LEGAL OWNERSHIP ON MARKET INNOVATION MANAGEMENT AND THE PERFORMANCE OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM HOTELS IN NAIROBI.
Full text linkThis paper studies the moderating role of legal factors on the relationship of market innovation management and onfirm performance. Non employer firms generally do not perform well. Over the years however, many sole owned firmshave proven this theory wrong by being highly industrious and yielding positive returns. This has been especially thecase with micro firms. Most studies on firm performance concentrate on factors that directly affect the growth of firmssuch as resources, markets, training but fail to look at enterprise characteristics. Of concern in this study is that legalownership can have a moderating role on the relationships between market innovation management and the growthof micro, small and medium enterprises
Engendering cooperatives to address structural violence among the Maasai of Kajiado Central Sub-county, Kenya.
Full text linkStructural violence in the form of gender inequalities is reproduced by well-meaning cooperatives that fail to consider resource access and ownership dynamics in communities. In many patriarchal communities resources are gendered, creating boundaries for these genders that give them power. Among the Maasai, milk and its products belong to women as the cattle belong to the men. Rapid urbanization and climate change, seems to have led to loss of men’s ability to fulfil their provider societal expectation, as their herds had become smaller and could not be sold with ease as they provided a constant income from milk sales in cooperatives. This study sought to answer the question of how engendered cooperatives address structural violence in Kajiado Central Sub-county. The study utilized descriptive survey research design which allowed for the use of mixed methods approach. The milk cooperatives were purposively sampled while the respondents were randomly and purposively sampled to describe and compare the benefits derived from cooperative membership and nonmembership. It was established that women’s space in the livestock production industry had improved tremendously with the introduction of the cooperatives. Women were earning a steady income from sale of milk. However, the change in the power relations between Maasai men and women resulted in vulnerable Maasai men who indirectly engaged in the milk business considered a female domain to mitigate their societal expectations. Those who felt that they could not be engaged in that space, became physically violent, neglected their duties or divorced and separated from their spouses. In conclusion, cooperatives are critical empowerment tools that need to comprehensively empower all. Engendering cooperatives should move beyond tokenism to critically reviewing gender identities, power relations and roles. This would, expose diverse agencies and vulnerabilities hence a comprehensive empowerment
Knowledge Sharing and Diffusion strategies in Savings and Credit Cooperatives in Kenya
Full text linkSuccessful SACCOs generate, share and diffuse unique knowledge within their value chains. This study investigated the strategies successful SACCOs use to share and diffuse the knowledge they generate or gather as a means of enhancing their sustainability. Data for this study was collected through structured interviews from 30 employees of select successful SACCOs in Kenya using online structured questionnaires. The SACCOs were selected based on their annual financial turnover, membership size and staff establishment. Additional data was collected from relevant organisational as well as government and other reports. The findings show that SACCOs in Kenya currently hold knowledge in the form of business products and services; legal and compliance requirements; operational knowledge; markets; relational knowledge on networks and contacts; and institutional memory. Discussion forums and conferences are the most popular knowledge sharing strategies used by successful SACCOs in Kenya while the least popular strategies are storytelling, knowledge café; log files; exit interviews; and demonstrations. Mobile phones are the most popular tools used by SACCOs for knowledge sharing and diffusion. Organisational culture and leadership greatly influence knowledge sharing and diffusion in SACCOs in Kenya
Board members’ Characteristics, Dispersion, Managerial cognition and Performance of Saving and Credit Co-operatives in Nairobi County
Full text linkThe SACCO sector is a key contributor to Kenya’s attainment of Vision 2030. However, poor governance and management of the sector remains a challenge and threat to its survival. It is without no doubt that the sector influence will continue to be felt, however this may not be guaranteed if management of SACCOs is not well addressed. In the past several SACCOs have gone under, researchers and even authorities have emphasized that governance and management of SACCOs remain a challenge to the sector. Equally the number of dormant SACCOs continues to rise. This paper presents findings of a study on the influence of board members’ characteristics, dispersion and managerialcognition on SACCOs performance. The study was anchored on upper echelons theory, resource-based view and dynamic capabilities view. The study used descriptive crosssectional survey research design and targeted 2,528 SACCOs that were in operation by the end of December 31st 2015. A sample of 254 was selected using simple randomsampling. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire that targeted board members of the sampled SACCOs. Multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses and to make conclusions on the presumed relationship between variables. Board’s characteristics (age, functional background, and education level) were found to predict SACCOs performance. Gender was not significance in predicting performance when combined with other variables. The linear regression test revealed that managerial cognition was not a significant mediator, with the reported indirect effect being too small (0.63%). Through hierarchical multiple regression managerial dispersion was found to moderate between the board’s characteristics and SACCOs performance, and that this was an enhancing moderation. It is concluded that age, functional background, and education level are important predictors of SACCO performance and that this relationship is moderated by the social distance between the board members
Co-operative Development and practices in selected Eastern and Southern African Countries: Is there a mismatch between practices and co-operative principles?
Full text linkThe co-operative sector in the East and Southern African region was established to cater for marginalized communities in the Agricultural and the financial sectors in the 1930s. It now covers almost all sectors of the economy. African Governments have and continue to promote co-operatives as vehicles for socio-economic development. Growth of co-operatives even though first propelled by utopian views it now has outlived the philosophy of the past. Adherence to the co-operative principles as pronounced by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is no longer the practice for most large and highly successful co-operatives. This paper calls for study on the schools of thought upon which current co-operatives are based upon and craft the future of the sector in the region