Lecture 5: Civil Service in China

Lecture 5: Civil Service in China Yijia Jing School of International Relations and Public Affairs Fudan University Lecture 5 (-20-)

An in-class survey: Is civil service a prestigious occupation in your country? Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil service: a hot occupation in China Lecture 5 (-20-)

Why is a governmental position so attractive in China? Lecture 5 (-20-)

Lecture 5 (-20-)

What do we expect from civil servants? • They implement law and regulations faithfully, equally, and strictly. • They not just abide by law, but abide by rule of law • They deliver services efficiently, effectively, and economically. • They are responsive to citizens demands. They are accountable to the citizens for their decisions and performance. • In a word, they are expected to deliver good governance. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Fundamental issues of civil service • A balance between inducement and contribution • Individual level • A balance between discretion/decentralization and control/centralization • Individual and organizational level • A balance between self-sufficiency and interdependence (this is also about functional areas of governments) • Organizational and institutional level • A balance between macro-values • Institutional level Lecture 5 (-20-)

Three models to organize civil service • 1. The cadre personnel management • Typically represented by China in its 1950s-1970s • 2. The Weberian bureaucracy • Typically represented by the Prussian bureaucracy in late 19th century • 3. The New Public Management (NPM) • Typically represented by the bureaucracies of the US, and some other Anglo-Saxon countries after the NPM movement in the 1980s Lecture 5 (-20-)

Cadre personnel management • People’s Republic of China (Between 1949 and 1978) • Cadre personnel management was under integrated political-administrative system • Recruitments were made by the Party, and were based on: • Family background: from working classes (Peasants, industrial workers, soldiers, and students) • Demonstrated political loyalty and activeness • Instrumental and technical capacity (technocrat tradition) • Promotion was based on a nonmenklatura system • Operation of bureaucracy was driven by politics • Party set goals, supervised the daily work, and evaluate performance. A revolutionary bureaucracy. • Highly centralized and order-driven bureaucracy • Upward accountability and the planned system • Cadres were responsible for/monopolous of various functions. Lecture 5 (-20-)

The Weberian bureaucracy • Max Weber, "Bureaucracy," in Gerth and Mills, eds., From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (New York: Oxford University Press, 1946). • Weber has the widely accepted generalization of the characteristics of bureaucracy, based on the Prussian practice. • This was also highly praised by Woodrow Wilson in this 1887 paper, “the study of administration”. • Fundamental, the Weberian bureaucracy is a system driven by instrumental rationality, namely, focusing on the maximization of efficiency. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Characteristics of Weberian bureaucracy (1) • Bureaucrats are politically neutral in fulfilling their missions. • They are not politicians. They implement policies. • Bureaucrats have only managerial accountability. • The Administrative Evil: Technical rationality, professionalism, or compliance with orders, may be used to serve bad purposes. • The system is hierarchically designed, whose coordination is based on: • 1) Top-down authority • 2) Division of labor based on specialization • A merit system is established for recruitment and promotion • Examinations based on administrative capacity • Professionalism is the key competence. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Characteristics of Weberian bureaucracy (2) • A separation between public life and private life • The office is split from the person who assumes it. • Bureaucrats are forbidden to use the powers for personal benefits. • A document-driven system • Rigorous compliance with laws, policies, and regulations is of fundamental importance. • Impartial and impersonal administration is emphasized. • Citizens are inclined to be treated as cases. • Standardization, rationalization and efficiency • Compensation • Decent compensation. • Safe and good pension. • Stable employment. • Relatively high social esteem. Lecture 5 (-20-)

New Public Management (NPM) • NPM is originated from conservative philosophy that argues for: • The rule of market, decentralization, privatization, entrenchment, and deregulation. • In a word, less and smaller government. • NPM-style government started from the reform in Anglo-Saxon countries like New Zealand, Australia. • It was presented by Reinventing Government in the US. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil service under NPM • 1. Results-oriented rather than process-oriented • 2. Entrepreneurial government • 3. Market-based government • Market engagement • Customer-driven • 4. Cutting back to basics • 5. Restructuring of civil service as administrative and productive components Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil service reform in China: A gradual and zigzag process • On the one hand, cadre personnel management has been in a process of reform according to the principles of modern civil service • On another hand, the emerging Chinese civil service has been in a process of reform according to the principles of NPM • China is in a difficult situation to accommodate these two sets of conflicting ideas and practices • We want law-abiding, rational, and transparent bureaucracy • Meanwhile, we want them to be innovative, entrepreneurial, result-oriented, and responsive. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil service reforms in the 1980s • In 1980 Deng Xiaoping proposed 4 General Principles of cadre team building as revolutionary, young, knowledgeable, and professional (革命化、年轻化、知识化、专业化). • Job responsibility system was adopted in mid 1980s. • Performance evaluation and accountability systems were introduced. • In 1987, 13th Party Congress proposed to divide officials as political and career civil servants. • In 1988 the Ministry of Personnel was founded. • In 1989, the central government started State Civil Servant Examination for non-leading administrative positions • The labor allocation system was ended. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil service reforms in the 1990s • The 1993 Provisional Regulations on State Civil Servants (PRSCS), with a focus on scientific management. • Systematical prescription of basic civil service institutions like recruitment exam, training, appraisal, promotion, compensation, retirement, occupational rights and obligations, and rewards and punishments. • This led to a significant development of professionalization. • Develop a new framework of personnel management • Formally introduce a new category of positions, namely, non-leading positions, which enlarges officials’ promotion spaces • Develop a more rational wage system which ensures regular wage adjustments according to CPI and one’s working experience • Develop a more complete set of rules and regulations governing personnel management • According to this regulation, only state employees in the governmental agencies are state civil servants. • The regulation does not clearly touch the relation between the bureaucracy and the party. • It did not reflect the essential role of the Party. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil service reforms in the new century • In 2000, the Outline to Deepen the Cadre Personnel Institution Reform was issued by the Party, providing comprehensive guidelines for cadre personnel reforms. It emphasizes three principles: • 1) A dual emphasis on virtue and talent (德才兼备) • 2) Party manages cadre (党管干部) • 3) Rule by law (依法办事). • The 2005 Civil Service Law was enacted by the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress, to replace the PRSCS. • 1) It legally recognized the principle of “Party manages cadre ” . • 2) It expanded the scope of civil servants. • The CSL highlighted a dual emphasis on political loyalty and technical competence. • In 2009, the Outline of the Plans to Deepen the Cadre Personnel Institution Reform between 2010 and 2020 was issued by the Central Party Committee. • It requires cadres to have both virtue and talent, and virtue first (德才兼备，以德为先） Lecture 5 (-20-)

Civil servants according to the CSL • Personnel who are • 1. Brought into an established post, • 2. Are paid by state funds, and • 3. Exercise policy making, executive, and supervisory powers in state and public affairs. • Personnel other than manual workers in the following six types of entities are civil servants • Party organizations and democratic parties • People’s congresses • Administrative agencies • People’s political consultative conferences • Judicial agencies • Procuratorial bodies • In 2010, China had 6.89 million civil servants • Central government accounts for about 6%. • 0.88 million employees in social groups and public service units were managed “as” civil servants. Lecture 5 (-20-)

New trends of development • 1. A dual emphasis on exam performance and previous working experiences. • 2. Job classification • Flexible contract-based employment • 3. Compensation reform: sunshine income reform. • 4. More competition, democracy, and transparency in cadre selection. • 5. Rising outsourcing and the shadow of government • Essentially, China has been introducing a hybrid civil service system as a mixture of its previous cadre personnel management, the modern civil service, and the NPM ideas. Lecture 5 (-20-)

Lecture 5: Civil Service in China