THE RELATION BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE EXECUTIVE IN CO-OPERATIVES

Management .in a co-operative society has a distinguishing feature.Unlike the management in other forms of enterprise, it has to operate within the framework of democracy. The members of a co-operative society are not mere shareholders but are patrons as well. Their main interest is not in the rate of return on capital contributed by them, but in the quality and cost of the services rendered by the society to them, and accordingly they exercise control over the society as memberpafrons on the basis of ‘one man, one vote’, and not as mere shareholders. Therefore, their control over the co-operative is deeper and democratic. Accordingly, the management in a co-operative is subject to a complex system of democratic decision-making, which is why it is often found slow and cumbersome. This poses the problem of whether managerial efficiency is compatible with democracy