Degree Name

MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management

First Advisor

John Vogelsang

Abstract

This paper attempts to give direction to the organizational development of the Oro Savings and Sharing Cooperative, a community-based financial cooperative that entered the market where established cooperatives of the same type had been established for years. Even though it came later onto the scene, the Oro Savings and Sharing Cooperative believes that it has a mission distinct from the others. This research paper attempts to articulate this distinct mission and recommend strategies for how Oro Savings and Sharing Cooperative can develop its competitive advantage.

To arrive at the recommendations, I compared and contrasted the existing open type coops with Oro Savings and Sharing Cooperative by soliciting ideas from members, officers and staff of the Oro Savings and Sharing Cooperative and from their counterparts in the other coops. Also covered were non-members and our funders. I observed operations of the various coops and asked questions in the process. I followed this with more interviews and distributed questionnaires, which were then completed by the respective respondents. From the gathered data, I learned that Oro Savings and Sharing Cooperative has its own unique potential, which, if fully developed, could be its competitive edge in the industry. This is very significant for the coop since maximizing such potential would enable it, alongside its major competitors, to play an important role in the industry and in the society as a whole.

Disciplines

Economics | Growth and Development

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