The Implementation Of The Flat Management In The Prison’s Work

The theory of ‘Flat Management’, originated from the business administration, thus introduced into the field of government management, is the latest development of the management theory. Prison serves as a department of the government, and the defects of its traditional bureaucracy-managing mode are becoming increasingly prominent, such as the unreasonable setup and overlapping functions of its internal agencies, the unscientific and irrational distribution of police-officers, intensive effect is not ideal to play. How to carry out the reform and innovation in prison management, how to improve the effectiveness of the internal management is where the significance of promoting ‘Flat Management’ in the prison system lies. This article consists of three chapters, the 1st Chapter lays more emphasis on the statement of ‘Flat Management’ and summarizes its two theoretical origins, that is, ‘the theory of organizational structure’ and ‘the theory of new public management’. ‘The theory of organizational structure’ derives from the theory and practice as well as the innovation of business administration. ‘The theory of new public management’ is the new trend of thought toward the reform of government management since 1970 s. The above two theories are the direct sources of ‘Flat Management’. The analysis of prison’s own characteristics is considerably crucial to carry out the ‘Flat Management’ in the system, which could be divided into form element and functional element. The core of ‘Flat Management’ is to reduce the layers of management to policy-makers and operators, and set aside more law-enforcement officials. By means of ‘Flat Management’, great benefit will be brought in downsizing the organs, improving the capability of police-officers, preventing the cell-blocks from being bureaucratic, delivering timely and accurate information, strengthening the immediacy in the work and increasing work efficiency. The 2nd part comes to the conclusion of the three limitations with regard to the traditional bureaucracy-managing mode, namely, the undermanned workforce, inefficient management and unclear definition of rights and responsibilities. The prisons in Shanghai have solved the problems mentioned above through the promotion of “Flat Management’. Measures have been taken such as reducing the layers of management, being self-aware, and adjusting the functions as well as facilitating the operating mechanism, etc. Meanwhile, quite an accomplishment has been made in facilitating the reform of ‘Flat Management’. However, four major issues have been pointed out during the process of the reform in the paper, that is, the undermanned workforce, the capabilities of the police-officers, the function of the police group, and the traditional management system. Through the analysis of the reasons, the basis on which the reform will be further intensified could be worked out. Some suggestions for improvement have been put forward in Chapter 3, based on how to further intensify the flat management. In the field of operating mechanism, clear definition of rights and responsibilities should be built, operating system and incentive mechanism should be improved, and process should be optimized. In the aspect of specialization, professional standard should be established and the classification of the police-officers should be advanced. In terms of the talents, the integration is suggested to be strengthened, an overall plan should be made as well as the training and incentive system should be set up. Regarding the informatization, more information technologies are required to be made use of and standardization construction should be fortified to provide support for ‘Flat Management’.