This article presents and discusses concepts and views that help understand features and peculiarities of the organizational culture in public organizations in Brazil. It begins by discussing the concepts and different approaches to culture and organizational culture, specifically by Fleury, Frost, Schein, and Hofstede. It then deals with the culture of public organizations, presenting a brief history of these organizations in Brazil, as well as their concepts and features, among which bureaucracy, centralized authoritarianism, patronizing, lack of continuity, and political interference stand out. Such characteristics interfere with the way people work in these organizations, where attachment to rules and routines, hierarchy overrating, patronizing, and attachment to power can be identified. This is important for the definition of internal processes, for the way people relate to innovation and change, for the construction of organizational values and beliefs, and for human resource policies. The article concludes by pointing out the fundamental features to be considered when dealing with the culture of public organizations in Brazil.
culture; organizational culture; public organizations in Brazil