Asociatividad, liderazgo y visión organizacional. Una mirada desde la perspectiva de los asociados en organizaciones de recicladores

Abstract

This research aimed to understand those aspects that correspond to
the social constructions in the organizational reality of the associations
of professional recyclers, understood as the people who are involved in
the activities of recovery, sorting, collection, and transportation of solid
waste, to finally incorporate them into a new productive cycle. Given the
associative nature of these organizations, their sustainability depends
on the capacity of their members to find meaning in their associativity,
exercise leadership and share a long-term vision. The work is spatially located in the city of Tunja and has a synchronic logic insofar as the phe
nomenon is observed at a given moment, without interest in the evolu
tion over a period of time. It is assumed from the identification of the
existing organizations in the city and the sensitization of their directors
and associates about the research exercise, obtaining the willingness of
three associations, which represent 60% of the formalized community
of recyclers in the territory. The methodology used to approach the ob
ject of study is qualitative, with a phenomenological approach, seeking
under inductive reasoning to unveil the representations of waste pick
ers about the raison d’être of the associative organization, the role of
associates and the images of the future for their organizations. The data
collection techniques were in-depth interviews, focus groups and par
ticipant observations, all of which were applied in the context of par
ticipatory workshops conducted with the recyclers over a period of five
months, with meetings every 15 days. The results indicate that there is
no construction of meaning among waste pickers about what it means to
be an associate; they share the representation that they are subordinate
to the legal representative. In relation to leadership, there is no hint of
it being exercised; waste pickers do not take initiative in any organiza
tional matter; their role is limited to obeying orders. The organizational
vision, in turn, lacks a shared meaning for the base of associates, who
are understood to be the strategic governing body of the organization.