Criticism to the transposition of tools from private administration to public administration: a debate on modernizing public administration in Brazil

Abstract

This article was built in an essay style, that is, it intentionally exposes the subject/object relationship, prioritizing content over form. Thus, the text does not present a traditional form of division, but reflections that will be guided by the questions: Does it make sense to directly transpose business management tools to public management? Is the public administration a field equivalent to the field of business management or are these differences substantial? In order to answer them, a reflection was made on the concept of modernization in public administration, the differences between public administration and business administration and, finally, starting from an analysis of government documents on modernization and reports of experiences on the incorporation of Business Management Tools, it was concluded that it is up to the field of public administration to build its notion of modernization and to forge its own management tools to make this modernization possible.