Study On Counterme Asures For Administrative Ethic Disorder Of Public Servants In China

Ever since the 1970 s, the study on administrative ethics has attracted more and more social attention. The outbreak of Watergate became an important driving force behind the study and development of administrative ethics. However, to date, the administrative ethic anomie is still frequently seen among civil servants. It is evident that study on counter measures for the problem still bears significant realistic meaning. In this study, starting from the human nature assumption, with analysis on the effect of basic features of Chinese society in the transforming period on civil servants, the manifestation and causes behind administrative ethic anomie are summarized, leading to exploring of countermeasures for the administrative ethic anomie among Chinese civil servants. Through documentary method, the theoretic study is conducted based on the existing academic achievement, with analysis and discussion of the “ought-to-be” problem in administrative ethic anomie among civil servants. By borrowing the perspective of dividing the control over civil servants’ behaviors into external control and internal control of Terry L. Cooper, the countermeasures for administrative ethic anomie are explored. It should be noted that the precondition for internal and external control is to satisfy the basic material demand of these civil servants, without which, any behavioral or thought control to them would be castle in the air and would not hold up in a long run. The logic start point of external control study is that civil servants are “economic men”, with the philosophic basis of “evil nature of human”. Therefore, the main method to prevent the administrative ethic anomie should be by means of “killing off the human desire”, which are not only the “hardware methods” of laws and regulations, but may also be the “software methods” of organization culture and public opinions. But be it “hardware” or “software”, these methods are still in the domain of heteronomy. The logic start point of internal control is the recognition of civil servants as “social men” and “self-actualizing men”, with the philosophic basis of “good nature of human”. It focuses on the methods of improving “self-discipline” of civil servants. For internal control, it is believed that inner quality of civil servants can be improved through education and study, etc., so that when external control fails, they can still behave in the interest of the public. Both internal and external control has advantages and disadvantages, which is why they should be combined. Although it can be effective immediately, external control is inevitably lagging behind, since it cannot solve the ever-changing administrative affairs all at once. In other words, external control is relatively stable, but stability isn’t always the answer. Therefore, external control cures the “symptoms”, while internal control targets the “cause”. The combination of the two is the solution. In addition, the study also adopts empirical research method to design a questionnaire from four aspects—social environment on the macro level, organization system on the medium level, individual ethic decision-making skills on the micro level, and internal and external factors. We study the actual effect of the four aspects on civil servants’ administrative ethic behaviors and thoughts, exploring the “to-be” problems, and providing realistic basis for solving the administrative ethic anomie in a more specific manner.