Desenvolvimento, participação e gestão social: análise interpretativa do processo de gestão de uma organização não governamental

Abstract

This work discusses the management of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under the perspective of social movements and their role in the consolidation of participative democracy. The objective is to recognize the influences of the institutional and cultural environment in the management of the studied NGO (Centro de Agricultura Alternativa do Norte de Minas - CAANM), emphasizing the limits and extent of participative management. The interpretative approach was used as theoretic-methodological perspective of the social investigation. We attempted to a) recover the history of the CAA-NM, trying to understand the moment of its creation, critical incidents faced for its constitution and insertion in the contemporary macro social context, and b) analyze its mission, objectives, structure of the thematic action programs and the decision making and communication processes in relation to the challenges of the management of the administrative day by day. The dissertation details some aspects related to Brazilian development, public agriculture policies, emphasizing the role of social movements in the construction and consolidation of social demands. We also emphasize the specificities of the management of NGOs, especially in relation to the market, State and civil society. Elements from the debate about social construction of the reality and challenges inherent to the consolidation of democracy, considering the dilemmas of collective action, are part of the theoretic-methodological references. The results evidence the incipient social organization of the north of Minas Gerais, where development happens in a dual and unequal form, especially in relation to the social meanings considered modern. Because the management of CAA-NM is participative and because it is mainly a political organization and is inserted in a complex reality (social, economical and climatic inequalities), it faces the main dilemmas of democracy, which are: representation and bureaucracy. CAA-NM attempts a greater legitimation of social demands through political socialization, creating communication paths between the social movements and the market,State and civil society.