O 5º princípio cooperativo como base para a prática do cooperativismo: um estudo de caso em cooperativa de saúde

Abstract

The materiality of mutual help between people has been part of the early days of humanity. With the complexity of human sociability, it broke out in different ways of organizing itself. Cooperativism is a very clear representation of man's efficiency in organizing himself economically in favor of a common goal. The objective is to try to understand how cooperative education practiced in the Health Cooperative X interferes in the practice of cooperative principles in the daily life of the institution, especially in relation to the cooperative with its associates. The company cooperated in the area of dentistry, besides being a company that provides services to society, fulfills an important social and economic role, especially with the community of which it is part. In the process of the cooperative's work, it is necessary to look at the seven principles that constitute the cooperative system. Among the seven, this paper highlights the 5th principle: Education, training and information, is understood and defended by many authors as a basis for the others and for the good development of the cooperative. The research was developed from qualitative and quantitative analysis, and based on theoretical studies on cooperativism and cooperative education. Methodologically, a structured questionnaire was applied, on the theme of the research, to the members of a health cooperative and one hundred answers were obtained about the role of the cooperative and the practices in relation to the 5th principle. From the analysis of the answers it was evidenced that the cooperative under study fulfills its responsibility in the training and cooperative education of the partners. Also, that 96% of the respondents pointed out that the action of this principle is necessary in the daily life of the cooperative. Finally, 89.9% of the members interviewed see the differences between their cooperative and the other competing companies, which shows that, by the 5th principle, they perceive cooperativism and understand their role so that this cooperative is strong in the market and, consequently, fundamental for the personal and professional lives of its associates.