cooperation by eguriase s. m. okaka
Cooperation
2
By Eguriase S. M. Okaka
Meaning of cooperation
Cooperation is defined as the act of working together to achieve results or people helping each other out to achieve a common goal. Cooperation generally means working together for a common goal or objective.
From time immemorial, cooperation among humans has been in existence. As one man cannot do it all in life, God in his infinite mercy created a woman called Eve to assist Adam in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, life becomes meaningful and worth living when people cooperate with one another to achieve a common goal.
For cooperation to take place in any community or organization there must be understanding, love, trust, commitment, tolerance, etc.
Examples of the act of cooperation are:
• When building a house, a laborer picks a brick (block) and hands it to the bricklayer and the bricklayer lays the brick.
• Teachers and principal of a school working together to improve the life of their students morally and academically.
• People in a community working together to clear the bushes and make the community clean.
Types of cooperation
There are two basic types of cooperation. They include:
• Direct cooperation
• Indirect cooperation
Direct Cooperation: This is when people or group members perform similar tasks to achieve a common goal. Example of this is laying of bricks in the course of building a house; and students sweeping together to make the school compound clean.
Indirect Cooperation: This is when people do unlike tasks together towards a common end; for example, when bricklayer, carpenter, plumbers and electricians play their respective roles while building a house.
Attributes of Cooperation
The attributes of cooperation include the following; (i) Sharing (ii) Caring (iii) Supporting (iv) Determination (v) Friend
(i) Sharing: It is one of the features of cooperation in which individuals must be willing to share ideals, exchange information and material things together for the same purpose of achieving a common goal. The act of exchanging ideals by teachers and the principal in a school, in order for the students to get a better result in an examination is an example of sharing and the common goal is for students to pass their examination.
(ii) Caring: This means showing love, kindness, affections, concern and interest in the affairs of others, groups and the community as a whole. The caring attitude of the individuals towards one another in a group or community aids cooperation to thrive in groups, organization and community. In a society where everybody is involved in caring for one another, the society functions effectively and there will be meaningful development.
(iii) Supporting: This means members helping each other for the benefit of the group or community in order to achieve a common goal. For example, a wealthy member of a community helping to train other members inthe schools, empowering others or providing social amenities. It could also be in the form of people helping in cleaning the community and providing security for the common aim of achieving better life for the community.
(iv) Friendship: For cooperation to exist in an organization there is the need to maintain cordial relationship and mutual understanding, peace, love, unity, and friendship among the people. Therefore, when members of a group or community are friendly to one another, cooperation will thrive in addition to being sustained.
(v) Determination: This means that all members of the group must be focused and determined to achieve the set goal.
Factors that promote cooperation (stop )
There are many factors that make cooperation work in every society. These factors include:
• Setting goals together: Members of a group or community coming together to collectively take decisions and set common goals that will give the group, community and society improved and positive standards of living. This method of involving members in setting goals gives them the beliefs that they are stakeholders and make them to have sense of belonging which greatly help in promoting cooperation.
• Trust: It is the belief or willingness to believe that one can rely on the goodness, strength and ability of somebody to do something. People tend to work better together and achieve positive results when they have mutual trust and sincerity among themselves. Trust is very important when people are working to together to achieve the same goal. Trust enables members to rely on one another for effective work to be done.
• Mutual understanding: For effective cooperation to exist in a group or community, members must understand themselves and have good knowledge of the common goal they intend to achieve. Having full knowledge of set goals and task to be performed help the group to work together effectively and achieve a better result.
• Needs: For proper fostering and promotion of cooperation among people in an organization or society, the people must know the essential needs and aspirations of the group. Providing these needs encourages and promotes cooperation in the group.
• Humility: Every member working in a group must humble himself or herself no matter the position and role he/she plays in the group. No member sees himself or herself superior to other member of the group. Cooperation thrives when people work together and humble themselves.
• Reliability: Reliability promotes cooperation when members working together confidently rely and depend on one another to achieve a common goal.
• Tolerance: Tolerance is the quality which makes us allows people to express their feelings, views and do things their own way, though we may not agree with them. Cooperation is promoted when members of a group endure and does not complain about some members who may not be flowing with the group in order to achieve their common goal.
• Honesty: Cooperation exists when members of a group or society are honest and deal fairly with one another in their assigned responsibilities to achieving the set goals of the group.
• Maturity and Discipline: This is another factor that promotes cooperation among people in a group or organization. It requires maturity, self-control, discipline and integrity for the group to achieve set goals.
• Team Spirit: Team spirit is very important for cooperation to thrive among people seeking to achieve common goals. When team spirit is in operation, people cooperate better to get to their destination and achieve their common goals.
Benefits of Cooperation
(i) Cooperation brings progress to the group.
(ii) Cooperation enables a group, organization or society to attain their goals.
(iii) There will be harmony among the people.
(iv) It promotes the spirit of team work that is devoid of hatred.
(v) It brings about growth and meaningful development in the society.
(vi) It encourages peaceful co-existence among the people.
(vii) It enables the individual or member of the society to have confidence and depend on the society to achieving result.
(viii) It helps to reduce conflicts and confusion of ideas in an attempt to achieving set goals. As the saying goes, ‘two good heads are better than one’.
Consequences of Lack of Cooperation
(i) Lack of cooperation in an organization or society brings disharmony. This means that there will not be good relations among the people trying to achieve a common goal.
(ii) It brings disunity and slows down the progress of the society.
(iii) Lack of cooperation in any organization makes it difficult to set common goals and achieve them. It means achieving set goals becomes impossible because the people cannot cooperate and work together in oneness.
(iv) It brings about inefficiency. This means that when there is lack of cooperation in an organization, the people may not put in their best in trying to achieve a common goal. This therefore affects their output (result) negatively.
Questions
• Explain the meaning of cooperation
• Give two examples of cooperation
• Explain two main types of cooperation
• Explain four attributes of cooperation.
• Mention six factors that promote cooperation.
• Enumerate four benefits of cooperation.
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