The real cost of the control

A multidimensional perception analysis

Resumo

The main goal of this paper is to analyze the perception of managers about the unfolding of control in public administration. The literature lists three aspects of control costs, the administrative cost, the economic cost, and the social cost. A multidimensional analysis was carried out, through interviews, with public servants/managers, to verify how the manager/federal public servant perceives the control of public administration and the costs associated with this activity. The analysis culminated in eleven perceptions of control, namely: social control; control as an inducer of public policies; internal expenses; control costs; divergences between control bodies; the existence of systems specific to the control bodies; the time spent with control bodies; the "blackout of pens"; the auditor as alien to reality; the preventive action of the control bodies; the performance of control as beneficial. It was observed that the costs of controlling actions are known to public servants and managers, but these costs do not seem to be scaled.
Key words: Public Administration. Control. Cost. Perception