Co-operation · Ch 2 — Correspondence of the Secretary of Co-operative Society
The Secretary of a Co-operative Society and His Role as Correspondent
The Secretary of a Co-operative Society and His Role as Correspondent
Every registered co-operative society is managed, in law, by its managing committee, but the day-to-day running of the office and the keeping of the society in touch with the outside world is entrusted to the secretary. The secretary is the chief executive and administrative officer of the society — the person who carries out the decisions of the managing committee and the general body, maintains the records, convenes and records the meetings, and, above all, conducts the correspondence of the society. In a small primary society the secretary may be an honorary office-bearer elected from among the members, while in a larger society he may be a paid, full-time officer; but in either case he is the officer through whom the society speaks and writes to others.
Because the secretary is the officer authorised to sign and issue letters on behalf of the society, he is in practice its official correspondent. When a member is to be told that his application has been accepted, when notice of a general meeting is to be sent out, when a return is to be filed with the Registrar, when the bank is to be instructed to operate the society's account, or when the auditor is to be requested to take up the audit, it is the secretary who drafts, signs, and dispatches the communication. He does this within the authority given to him by the bye-laws and by the resolutions of the managing committee — he does not write on his own personal opinion, but as the mouthpiece of the society. Every letter he sends is therefore an official act of the society, not a private message.
This position makes the quality of the secretary's correspondence a matter of real importance to the society. A well-drafted, timely, and accurate letter protects the society's interests, keeps its members informed, and preserves good relations with the Registrar, the bank, and the auditor; a careless, delayed, or wrongly worded letter can create misunderstanding, invite legal or departmental objection, or damage the society's reputation. For a Std XII Commerce student it is enough to grasp that the secretary is the executive officer of the society and its authorised correspondent, and that skill in correspondence is one of his most important practical duties.
The chief executive and administrative officer of a co-operative society who carries out the decisions of the managing committee and the general body, maintains the records and registers, convenes and minutes meetings, and conducts the official correspondence of the society on its behalf.
The officer authorised to write, sign, and issue letters and other communications on behalf of an organisation. In a co-operative society this role is performed by the secretary, who writes not in his personal capacity but as the mouthpiece of the society within the authority given by its bye-laws and the managing committee's resolutions.