The Lithuanian Credit Union Reform Evaluation

Amendments to the Law on Credit Unions in Lithuania, as an essential element of the restructuring of the Credit Union Sector, entered into force in 2018, therefore it is getting relevant to assess the impact of these changes on the whole Sector from the perspective of Credit Union experts.

The stakeholder-empowering philanthropy of Edward Filene

Credit unions currently serve over 110 million members in the United States. This is surprising, given the challenges associated with forming cooperatives. This paper explains how grants were used to overcome these challenges and create the modern credit union sector. Edward Filene, a wealthy 20th-century department store owner, provided philanthropic funding and technical expertise to early credit unions, resulting directly in the creation of 26,000 American credit unions over a 45-year period. Filene's leadership helped overcome the various social dilemmas associated with creating cooperatives, reforming institutions, and establishing an institutional framework that enables and supports cooperatives.

Mission attachment and job embeddedness in the trade union sector of South Africa

The job embeddedness construct is a totality of forces that act as a web of attachments to mitigate employee turnover. This view has gained support from research by Holtom, Mitchell and Lee (2006) but further research is needed to expand our understanding of the concept. In this article the applicability of mission attachment as a fourth dimension of job embeddedness is tested, thereby adding to our understanding of the construct.Data from 134 (trade union) and 30 (comparison group) respondents were analysed quantitatively and it was found that within a social organisation such as a trade union there is a strong, consistent and positive ranking between mission awareness and organisational job embeddedness. The results also show that the different dimensions of mission attachment had a significant impact on employees in the trade union sample. An additional finding was that employees in the trade union sector who are highly attached to the mission of the organisation tend to be those who have been employed in that sector for a relatively short period and that mission attachment declines over time.

The Performance of Member-Owned Businesses Since the Financial Crisis of 2008

This chapter examines the performance of several types of member-owned businesses since the financial crisis. It summarizes evidence for three financial co-operative sectors (European co-operative banks, the worldwide credit union sector, and the UK building societies), finding that they have been less risky, more stable, and on a range of indicators more successful than conventional investor-owned banks. It then examines the performance of retail consumer co-operatives, insurance mutuals, retailer-owned wholesalers, and employee-owned businesses. The wider benefits of having a significant member-owned sector are then considered. The conclusion is that economic resilience cannot be taken for granted: it has to be competed for in each industry sector, and the results will vary depending on the extent to which, in each sector, they can realize the ‘co-operative advantage’.

Measuring the comparative performance of branches of a credit union for internal benchmarking

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the efficiency scores of branches and districts, the sources of inefficiency for branches and projections of variables for inefficient branches. It measures the comparative performance of branches of a credit union for internal benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach The paper measures the performance of 35 branches of a credit union in the USA and suggests managerial insights. Data envelopment analysis is used for measuring the relative performance of the branches and districts of the credit union. The paper also compares performance differences among the districts using non-parametric statistical analyses. Findings Parts of the findings indicated that branches should focus on cost containment by reducing operating expenses and increasing their loan balances. In addition, districts were operated in different market conditions, which were evidenced by scale efficiency. The major contributions of the study are filling the void of benchmarking studies at a branch level in the credit union sector, suggesting a framework for internal benchmarking, and providing practical insights to managers of credit unions. The framework of this study can be applied to similar financial institutions with minor revisions. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this study is found in the use of cross-sectional data, which is mainly due to the sensitivity of information disclosure of the credit union. Practical implications The paper includes implications for the development of benchmarking studies at a branch level in the credit union sector. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study how to identify source of inefficiencies so as to further improve the efficiency of branches.

Estilo de vida y estado nutricional del adulto mayor del pueblo joven La Unión, Chimbote

El presente trabajo de investigación, de tipo cuantitativo, con diseño descriptivo, se realizó con el propósito de determinar el estilo de vida y el estado nutricional del adulto mayor del P.J. La Unión, sector 7, Chimbote, 2012. El universo muestral estuvo constituido por 171 adultos mayores de ambos sexos. Para la recolección de datos se aplicó tres instrumentos: la escala de estilo de vida, la ficha de valoración nutricional del adulto mayor y la tabla de valoración nutricional según índice de masa corporal (IMC) para adultos mayores (> 60 años). El análisis y el procesamiento de datos se realizaron en el Software SPSS versión 18.0, elaborándose tablas y gráficos simples y porcentuales. Se llegó a las siguientes conclusiones: La mayoría de adultos mayores del P.J. La Unión, sector 7, presenta un estilo de vida no saludable y un mínimo porcentaje tiene un estilo de vida saludable. En cuanto al estado nutricional de los adultos mayores, tenemos que, cerca de la mitad presenta un estado nutricional normal; casi la cuarta parte presenta sobrepeso; un porcentaje menor presenta delgadez y una mínima parte, obesidad. Los adultos mayores del P.J. La Unión, sector 7, con estilo de vida no saludable presentan en mayor porcentaje estado nutricional normal, sobrepeso, delgadez y obesidad, respectivamente; y los adultos con estilo de vida saludable presentan en mínimo porcentaje obesidad, sobrepeso normal y delgadez, respectivamente.