This case study is the result of research carried out over a two year period at a firm located in Rio Grande do Sul that was taken over by former employees and became an industrial cooperative. The analysis described in this article focuses specifically on the issue of the participation of the members of the cooperative in the management of the organization. Based on the observations made during the field study, it was decided to present the topic participation or participative management in the organizational environment from a Tragtenbergian perspective, in which the subject is often dealt with like in the story "Alice in Wonderland". This is because the phenomenon found in the cooperative, at least with regard the organizational practices, illustrates the critical thinking of Tragtenberg concerning participation practices used as mere managerial tools. In order to explain the case, we have intercalated the empirical study with the theory to facilitate comprehension on the part of the reader, as well as avoid unnecessary fragmentation between the theory and the practice.
Organizational practices; Worker recovered company; Participation