Management of the third sector: a social practice?

Abstract

Considering growth of the Third Sector in the Brazilian scenario and the changes and processes required in the management and activities of these institutions, it is believed that characterizing these management practices and the action of the managers as a social practice will lead to a better understanding of procedures and managerial roles through which the changes and professionalization of organizations in the Third Sector occur in society. The methodological procedures were qualitative in nature, using a structured interview to collect data. The approach adopted favored the area of management that emerges as one of the major challenges experienced by these organizations. The sample was composed of 20 managers, 12 women and 8 men, with at least 3 years of effective work responsibility in different areas of Third Sector organizations in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte. Results confirmed that in recent years aspects such as volunteers, partnership, stature and management itself are some of the transformations in the context of the Third Sector. But the highlight of these changes in the sector is management, which is in an accelerated advance searching for professionalism. For effectiveness and consolidation, it is essential that management be conceived and realized from a practical perspective, because the management field in the Third Sector was shown to be a consolidated social practice.