Incorporations and mergers: lessons form the corporate world to the State reform agenda

Abstract

This tum of the century poses an organizational challenge: to establish a compromise between flexibility, efficiency, effectuality, and effectiveness is the organizational challenge of this tum of the century. In order to face this new environment, private institutions are making use of many different
strategies, in the same way as corporate alliances, and that includes mergers and incorporations. In their adjustment to the new scenario, State structures are being reformed and have to adopt new managerial practices. Govemments are expected to adopt a managerial administration similar to that of a
corporation, committed to the citizens' demands - the public sector's clients. This paper proposes a new, although complementary path for the State reform debate: the incorporation and merger of counties. It is also an unexpected
proposal, beca use it goes against the general and prevailing practice of creating counties by means of separation. Based upon the literature, the paper presents the origins and the causes for the creation of counties, as well as the causes and advantages of corporate alliances. The proposition results from the fact that today no longer exist the primary causes that gave
birth to the municipal units. And, if those counties are artificially maintained (by political means), they will contribute for the rigidity, inefficiency, ineffectuality and ineffectiveness of govemment action, thus going against the successful trend of the corporate environment.