Administrative paradigms and the values of ethics: The case of Portugal

Considerable attention has been given in administrative and organizational literature to the values that guide organizational behavior and public and private management. However, the separation between public and private management remains with its ups and downs and over time continues to be a recurring theme in literature specifically focused on management, public policy and administrative law. The influence that New Public Management (npm) has had on Portugal's administrative reform has been widely recognized by Portuguese authors. In several OECD countries governments have taken similar initiatives. Nevertheless, there is a significant difference between the administrative reform found in countries of Anglo-Saxon heritage and the countries of continental Europe. Such a difference seems to be rooted in the role that administrative law plays in these European countries and the role it has in Common Law systems.