THE DIFFERENT PATHS OF AMERICANIZATION IN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION, IN BRAZIL: EAESP/FGV AND FEA/USP

Abstract

This paper presents the conclusions of research on the founding and development of two important Management schools in Brazil: São Paulo University’s College of Economics, Management and Accounting, and the Getúlio Vargas Foundation’s São Paulo School of Management. Both institutions were deeply influenced by the spread of US Management ideas following the end of World War II, but the manner in which the American influence arrived to each school was different. The São Paulo School of Management had a mission of American professors academically running the school for over a decade. This same group of professors also made their influence felt at the University of São Paulo, first at the College of Engineering and then at the management department of the College of Economics, Management and Accounting. However, the final products were different, since each school developed its own identity and way in which they approached management teaching and research. Nowadays, both maintain outstanding positions among Brazil’s institutions. The methodology used was historiographical and can be considered a contribution to the growing literature on the spread of US Management education worldwide. It also summarizes the Brazilian context in the 1950s and 1960s as it relates to the first steps by the influence of US Management education in the country.