Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1969

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

Lawrence L. Durisch

Committee Members

Josh E. Kolus, Charles E. Patterson, Jr., Dewey H. Staller

Abstract

At the end of 1967, the Chinese government promulgated an administrative decree on delegation of authority, and established the Personnel Bureau directly under the Executive Yuan. These two occurrences, from the administration point of view, are milestones in the renovation of the Chinese Republic in modern history..

The aim of these actions is to improve the conduct of government and inspire efficiency in government personnel--problems encountered in government. Progress involves the analysis of theories of public administration as well as the practical problems presently existing in the government. The scope of this thesis does not permit consideration of the problems of the government and government personnel in their entirely. The main descriptions are concentrated on the following:

A. The problems encountered: the background and cause of the existing personnel administrative system in the government, and how to affect to the field of personnel problems.

B. The concrete content of the major change in the personnel organization in 1967, and how these actions might dispel the difficulties in the Chinese bureaucracy.

The study is based on the assumption that Chinese governmental organization forms and practices could be compared with the practices of the Western nations and with the prescriptions and descriptions of leading textbooks and monographs. Certain differences in the Chinese system might then profitably be redressed to conform to the Western model. Consequently, the study first compares practices with the model. Certain of the descriptions of the Chinese practices and mode of organization are based upon my own translation of Chinese studies, reports, and documents. Extensive use was also made of data obtained in a 1963 sample survey of the Chinese bureaucracy conducted by Professor Chang for the Chinese Association of Personnel Administration.

The thesis is developed in five chapters of which the first is employed to set out a short description of the traditional examination system and the organization of the government. Chapter II describes the characteristics of the present bureaucracy and examines the administrative process and personnel machinery. The third chapter focuses on current problems in personnel management and the fourth describes the major changes occurring in 1967 as a result of an extended reorganization study.Chapter V sets out a brief conclusion and a set of recommendations. Findings made in the thesis include the following:

The fact that executives do not want to delegate authority to their workers is directly related to the centralized type of organization. One of the purposes of adopting centralization is to maintain control over the machinery of administration. For this reason, executives have to depend primarily on a body of precise, complicated laws and rules. However, before long the laws and rules fail to act as a restraint upon worker behavior and the executives resort to the help of confidential appointments. This practice disrupts the personnel system, blocking out opportunities for other workers to get promotions, and in turn, deepening their sense of dissatisfaction with the organization. As a result, the situation is made worse with respect to efficiency and worker performance.

On the other hand, the independence and power of the personnel organization over administration causes a duplication of supervision over personnel workers and results in conflicts between the administrative organization and the examination system, thus breaking down the integration of administrative authority in an important aspect of personnel administration. The inadequate system and improper rules are left untouched and even good rules are only on paper and are not realistically practiced. As a result, examinations are divorced from employment and young and able people are prevented from entering government service. Efficiency evaluation is but a formality, and elimination of the inefficiency is impossible. Under such circumstances, it is useless to talk about the improvement of the quality of workers.

All these factors are something like a chain consisting of a series of rings which have bound the government agencies so tightly that there is no room for their movement. This chain of reactions constitutes the very problems existing in the administrative machinery. This binding chain can be broken only through the reorganization and re-orientation of personnel management. That is why, in 1967, the Chinese government adopted two measurements designed to adjust the authority as it relates to the machinery of organization. One is the system of delegation of authority, based on the importance of position, which is being realized through division of responsibility. The other is the transference of authority in the field of personnel through the establishment of the Personnel Bureau. It is predictable that the two measures will produce promising effects, for both are not only directed toward the needs of government, but also are consistent with theoretical principles of administration.

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