Econ 332

Cooperatives

Board Assign. #7 (100 pts)

ACTUAL CO-OP CASE STUDY

NOTE: Before starting on this assignment, your team will need to obtain permission from your instructor to work with your chosen co-op. Chosen co-ops will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Your team (or at least a subpart of your team) needs to interact with at least one board of director member (past or present) of an actual cooperative or a representative of management. Based on information obtained, prepare a report that follows the suggested outline/format for previous case studies. However, there are a few subtle differences for this report including:

1) Give a brief overview of the cooperative including facility locations, products/services sold, size of the co-op (income), and size of the board. Include in Section I.

2) Identify the source(s) of your team=s information (e.g. persons interviewed, dates of interviews, publications, etc.). Include in Section I.

3) Summarize an actual case-study problem that the co-op=s board of directors either recently dealt with or currently is resolving. Include in Section I.

4) Identify alternatives considered by the actual board. Identify any alternatives your team thinks were overlooked by the actual board, if any. Include in Section I.

5) Identify relevant criteria to be used in evaluating the alternatives (again, those used by the actual board plus any your team would add). Include in Section I.

6) Critique the decision(s) made by the actual co-op board (i.e. indicate things that your board agrees and disagrees with as well as things that your board might have done differently). If the actual board has not made a decision yet, pick an alternative that your board would recommend and explain why. Include in Sections II, III, IV.