Author

Jenny Gail T. Agyao*
former Bookkeeper of a cooperative at Tabuk City, Kalinga (Provincial Engineering Office Personnel MPC), Lacnog West, Tabuk City, Kalinga, Philippines

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the challenges facing management of a cooperative to motivate policy formulation that can promote improved performance and sustainability of the cooperative. The design used to conduct the study was phenomenology. This design focuses on the effect of the challenges to performance and sustainability of the cooperative which resulted in policy formulation. The participants in the research are cooperative managers, officers, and workers that are involved in governance and decision-making procedures. The problems that cooperative managers usually face in their everyday life are lack of management skills, insufficient participation of members, lack of funds, and unstable cash flow, among others. Leadership and Governance Challenges that are common in cooperative management include: lack of clear role definitions among officers, high turnover rates of leadership, and political influence in leadership positions. Cooperative Management’s performance is affected by government regulation, which acts as a strength and limitation, technological limitations, and leadership fatigue. Some of the ways cooperative leaders address the management challenges include: improving internal communication system, capacity building through peer learning, task delegation, formation of functional committees, internal policies and standard operating procedures. Finally, the study recommends that cooperative leaders should continue offering training, encourage member participation, apply strategic interventions in areas where the cooperative cannot offer services, and feedback mechanism for policy formulation. It also suggests that cooperative leaders should adopt a proper ethical and organized structure of leadership, prioritize the welfare of cooperative members, manager, and encourage knowledge sharing.

Keywords: Issues, challenges, running a cooperative, basis for policy formulation.

*Corresponding author/ Email: jennygail.agyao@deped.gov.ph
DOI: http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS0502998

Recommended citation:
Agyao, J. G. T. (2026). Issues, challenges, and coping strategies in managing a cooperative: A case study. Pantao (The International Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences) 5 (2), 1570-1586. http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS0502998

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