George W. Bush Administration Public Administration Reform Model

The dissertation is directed at the comparative and diachronic study of the public management reform of Bush administration with a view to gaining insight into the reform paradigm by identifying its historical phases, examining its theoretical basis as well as its basic notions and essential characteristics. Furthermore, the study investigates major problems arising in the reform and studies the future tendency of the reform in the hope that a better understanding is achieved on ways to apply public management theoretical models to the current political and administrative practice and in turn, develops related reform theories.Preliminary review interprets the significance of this PhD study, classifies basic notions herein and introduces some commentaries from American political circles on the public management reform. Meanwhile, research methods are introduced.Chapter One argues the inevitability for Bush's administration to launch public management reform, pointing out that the reform of the federal government plays a double role: political and administrative. It analyses the incentives and motives giving rise to the prevailing reform. That is, the reform is driven by President Bush himself in joint with his executive institutions and Parliament and Houses of Representatives.Chapter Two investigates the nature of Bush's public management reform. In this dissertation, American federal government is suggested to have experienced six models of administrative reform: personal leadership style, integration between politics and administration, depoliticalization, tech-efficiency-oriented model, expansionary model and the New Public Management Movement. Measured against its background and outline, the public management reform of Bush administration should be categorized as NPM.Chapter Three makes a comparative and synchronic analysis of Regan's administration, Clinton's administration and Bush's administration, all of which adopted NPM model of reform, in order to highlight the distinctive features of Bush's administrative reform. Differences are investigated in the following perspectives: measures to downsize federal government bureaucracy, reform social welfare system, apply service-administration that has long been practiced in enterprises and cooperation entities and develop new form of administration atfederal, regional and local levels.Chapter Four makes an overall assessment of Bush's public management reform, analyses possible reasons behind the on-going reform and works out its initial performance appraisal. It is concluded that Bush's administration has undertaken public management reform that is exceedingly forceful and thorough. Bush's administration made theoretical breakthrough by reinterpreting NPM, putting forward new forms of administration such as "comprehensive hiring system", "self-service welfare system", "enterprise-centered system" and "yield-administration-to-high-tech system."Chapter Five discusses existing difficulties confronting NPM and Bush's administration in their public management reform as well as problems arising in the process of "neo-federalism", privatization.Chapter Six opens up a new vision for American public management reform which is regarded as a breakthrough of conventional political framework. With fast development of high technology, high specialization of the society, maximization of profit and increasing competition, the key problem confronting federal government is decentralization. Possible ways out for the current decentralized federal government is the reinforcement of administration, the reconstruction of an accountable administration, the construction of elastic government on the basis of harmonious hierarchical relations between administrations of all levels through developing governance administration instead of service administration, making ways for more efficient and downsizing organization through information technology instead of political measures.