The Ethic Dilemma Of The Modern Bureaucracy And The Human Healing

The concept of "bureaucracy"bears two meanings. What Web did research historically is a broad concept; therefore, it covers both ancient Chinese and western bureaucratic systems. The concept of bureaucracy employed by present academic circles is a narrow one; it refers to modern bureaucracy that develops with modern societies, namely, the current bureaucracy. This thesis attempts to explore it based on this. Modern bureaucracy, as a theoretic category, is defined by Max Web who is seen as the designer of bureaucratic formation. In the mid-20th century, modern bureaucracy as a rational and efficient current formation and government system is extensively adopted and fully developed in executive management in the governments and large enterprises and public institutions all over the world. The structure has not yet substantially changed ever since. On the one hand, it meets the objective requirements of the mass production in industrial societies and the complexity in executive management; on the other hand, its characters of impersonalization and systemization gain cultural reorganization in scientifically rational era. Indeed, the theory of bureaucracy's emergency and its extensive adoption enhance the government's technological levels, and fulfill the governments'functions with high efficiency. However, with the great changes of times, especially the approaching of information economical era and post-industrial society, the innate shortcomings such as formal reasonableness and instrumental rationality, responsibility ethic and religion ethic etc. of the modern bureaucracy are exposed , and they get the bureaucracy into the ethical dilemma. A series of executive reforms of "reshaping the government"or "recreation of the government"in western countries since the 1970s are indeed the response to the defects of modern bureaucracy. But they are rather revision and corrections through the idea of the bureaucracy's scientization, technologization, are adjustment of minor problems in the bureaucracy; they never seek the way out that can resolve the bureaucracy's dilemma. The ideal pattern of modern bureaucracy designed by Web holds high the banner of ration, technology and impersonalization, but denies and overlooks human's value, human's subjectivity as well. So it will surely get modern bureaucracy into ethic dilemma during the practices. Only aiming at interior parts of the bureaucracy itself , and introducing culture, ethic and other value factors, and coming back to humanity, is it possible to release it from the ethic dilemma. The modern bureaucracy is the product with the development of western culture and history. Although it existed in China since ancient times, it was a traditional hereditary bureaucracy, which is substantially different from the modern bureaucracy discussed in this thesis. Owing to the influence of traditional bureaucracy, China at present is still in the underdevelopment of bureaucracy. As for Chinese executive reform, it is necessary to learn from and draw on the experience of management in the bureaucracy, even is necessary to introduce the bureaucratic factors in designing executive systems; but it is undesirable to constructing the Chinese bureaucracy according to formal reasonableness and instrumental ration. China should choose its path conforming to its reality, transcend the bureaucracy's instrumental ration and avoid getting into its dilemma. Through carrying out the administrating by virtue, embedding ethics, value factors and awareness of service into executive organizations and staff's mind to remove the negative effects of modern bureaucracy and get out of ethic dilemma.