State, managerial training and the Brazilian graduate programs in administration: the PNTE case

Abstract This article aims to understand how the Brazilian government articulated the National executive’s Training Program (PNTE) in Brazil in the 1970s. The text discusses the importance of PNTE as a governmental effort to disseminate postgraduate studies in administration in the country. Besides offering graduate education, the program had an important role in the dissemination of management in Brazil. The focus of the FGV EAESP case is justified by the fact that it was pointed out by the Brazilian Federal Government as the leading school for the program, having participated in its design and coordinated its implementation. The data was produced using documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The text reflects on the use of documents and memory for historical research in administration and, consequently, to record the influence of the PNTE school agreement between the years of 1972 and 1976. Finally, this discussion tackles the difficulties caused by the reformulations promoted by the PNTE in the structure and courses of FGV EAESP, in addition to relating them to the Brazilian historical context of the time.