To Introspect And Choose: Rational Bureaucracy In The Time Of New Public Management

As one community control administration management paradigm adapting modern socialization production way, rational bureaucracy was popular after being appeared and becomes the modern society worldwide destiny. Since the 1980's, a strong movement with slogan of Banishing Bureaucracy for New public management has been developing. Western countries began to drive market-orientated administrative reform tide. The bureaucracy system was widely animadverted and denied by reformative theories. The corrective and reasonable capacity also was doubted by public in this post-industrial time. It is reasonable to see and find the difference between self-conditions and western new public management society conditions to avoid following the others without target. It is better to imitate carefully western new public management and to modify and consummate rational bureaucracy system for China. This article has three parts: The first part is rational bureaucracy theory of Max Weber. Bureaucracy system is the most pure style of law principle controlling. It is the most rational style which being applied for human being and having remarkable performance in definition, stability, stringency and predictability aspects than other control style. Even though bureaucracy paradigm also has self-fault, such as appearing humanistic dissimilation and stiff hierarchy for over-developing, double predicament for adapting to post-industrial time. But Max Weber's Bureaucracy theory still has its value as one kind of ideal-type. Its legal foundation is not shift. Meanwhile the marrow of the rational bureaucracy theory is rational, not efficiency. The efficiency is just one of attached result of the modal-rationality. The rational bureaucracy changes the situation of family management with impersonality and professionalism and institutionalism characters to accelerate the change from experience administration to scientific administration. At the same time, these characters also form the paramount merit with the predictability of management. Being one kind of rational administration management system, it has undoubtedly historical rationality and actual rationality for it is still not finished even with the slogan of Banishing Bureaucracy and it still to be the framework of public administration. The topic of part II is the impacting of new public management to rational bureaucracy system. The new public management which has new public theory and innovation based on management directly makes the challenge for rational bureaucracy system. It is very important influence for western countries administration reformation; it is proved the laws and trends of this public administration development to a certain extent. But the theories of new public management are from different disciplines without reasonable analyzing and studying, The inherent contradiction and defect still is appeared, it is short of essential character to be public management paradigm. Taking a positive attitude for these contradictions within new public management theories will help us serious understanding the true matter in this new public management improvement and ensure our confidence when we apply this form. The new public service originated in the animadversion about new public management and founded on public benefit conception, paid more attention for democratic value. It will become the new theoretic selection for modern public management activities. Part III: Our choice in new public management time –imitating carefully new public management and consummating rational bureaucracy. Even we are staying with this time, but we fail to have all society conditions to execute new public management system reformation. Meanwhile rational bureaucracy system can meet the requirement of our country founding new style industrial country target. Comparing with western mature bureaucracy paradigm, we still can't found strictly, Max Weber's rational bureaucracy. So we should take further procedure in organization style, management style and organization culture to reform and consummate ou...