Research On The Incentive Mechanism For Civil Servants At The Grass-Roots Level In Trasition Period

In the administrative environment during the transition period characterized by multiple heterogeneities, overlap and formalism, many changes take place in the civil servants at the grass-roots level, who directly serve the public and have considerable discretionary power, in the aspects of roles, beliefs, demands and future expectations. During the transition period, the research on incentive mechanism of civil servants at the grass-roots level can be helpful in stimulating their enthusiasm for work, promoting their comprehensive development, and improving administrative efficiency, and is conducive to constraining the abuse of public power and promoting the construction of clean government as well.The present incentive mechanism for civil servants at the grass-roots level was mainly influenced by western motivation theory. It started very late, and is far from perfect at present. During the transition period, it has been under the control of a joint force including the government, the incentive objects and the public forces. The civil servants at the grass-roots level have been successfully made the gold medal occupation, their job satisfactions have been enhanced overall, and a harmonious interpersonal environment for them has been built up by the use of traditional culture. However, there are also some problems existing in the incentive mechanism, including lags of theoretical research, weakening of the effect of ideological and political incentives, the lack of precise motivation, and the lack of inner incentive mechanisms, etc.. In order to improve the incentive effectiveness for civil servants at the grass-roots level during the transition period, the paper suggests that it is necessary to further perfect the incentive mechanism for civil servants at the grass-roots level in China with the guide of the principle obeyed in the previous incentive theory research and according to the principles of meeting the core needs of the majority of the civil servants at the grass-roots level, combining the positive and negative incentives, associating spiritual inspiration and material incentives, integrating internal and external incentives, and the principle of being encouraged by customers. The fundamental measures are as follows. First, explore the incentive thoughts in ancient China according to local resources and based on the rational study of the advanced western incentive theory, and innovate local incentive theory depending on modern science and technology, and then use it to guide the practice of encouraging civil servants at the grass-roots level. Second, grasp the changeable core needs in civil servants at the grass-roots level through investigations and studies, make the incentive goals more clear, and make the incentive more effective. Third, enhance the accuracy of performance assessment through lifting up levels of job classification, so as to eventually achieve precise inspiration, improve the efficiency, and reduce incentive costs. Fourth, innovate incentive approaches which is suitable for the features of civil servants at the grass-roots level during the transition period, such as customer incentives, inner incentives, option incentives, creation innovation, etc. to arouse the their initiative and restrict their public power, which sets the base for building a service-oriented government.