NPM Reforms and Professionals in Health and Higher Education in Portugal

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze comparatively how academics, physicians, and nurses positioned themselves in relation to the reconfiguration of power structures and decisional processes, under New Public Management influence, in the hospitals, and higher education institutions. The empirical data are gathered from a survey applied to the three professional groups. Quantitative results show that the three groups have similar positions concerning power concentration at institutions’ top governance. However, relevant differences emerge in their views concerning the organization and control of the social division of work and also of their professional practices.

Keywords:

• higher education institutions
• hospitals
• organizational decision-making
• professional groups

Notes

¹ The Portuguese HE system is a binary one. Universities are more research and knowledge production oriented, while polytechnics are more teaching and vocational oriented.