The present work aimed to analyse the influence of the shift of administration on the strategies of an agricultural cooperative in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. The results showed the interviewees are aware of the environmental forces to which the cooperative is exposed but they agree that the response of the organization to environment has infrequent gatherings which in general present poor participation of the members. There are no strategical planning in the cooperative. The strategies limit themselves to the proposals divulged by the slates at the time of election, which during the mandate are seeked to fulfill. Such a fact may influence the strategies, both at the formulation and implementation level and cause its discontinuation at long term. The chief factors which may influence the strategies of the cooperative due to the shift of administration are: absence of strategical planning, managerial amateurism of the board of directors and political divergence of the concerned groups involved in power disputes. The last election for the board of directors in the studied cooperative was characterized as a critical incident for the organization, having affected the organizational climate with traumatic reflexes to all involved in the process: members in the winning and defeated slate, employees and members.
administration shift; election of the board of directors; strategy; cooperative; farming