The Management Guidelines to Strengthen the Education and Knowledge of Members of a Cooperative Credit Union in South Thailand

The aim of this paper is to study the key points of managing cooperative credit unions in south Thailand and how to strengthen the education and knowledge of the management team, staff and members. This paper is based on a qualitative method via in-depth interviews and a focus group with members and committees of cooperative credit unions in south Thailand; data were analyzed using content and descriptive analysis. Results showed that the most problematic issue is a lack of transparency in the management and patronage systems, leading to corruption. In addition, the key points for developing guidelines for this type of credit union include members' understanding and knowledge about the objectives of the cooperative system; updated regulations and legal measures concerning a deposit protection system; revised rules and regulations for loan policies, human resources, and information technology; government policies for strengthening cooperative credit unions; and allocating more budget to educate their staff and members, such as a training course and a visit to another cooperative credit union. In addition, the Cooperative Promotion Department and Cooperative Auditing Department of Thailand should improve the law and auditing method to strengthen and clarify the organization's operations.