On March 1 1, 2008, the institutional reform plan of the State Council, which has attracted much attention from the society, finally surfaced. The institutional reform in the State Council involves adjusting and changing 15 institutions, establishing 5 new ministries and reducing 4 ministerial-level institutions. The reform of the Ministry system in 2008 has become a hot topic in China people's political life, and it has also become a milestone in promoting the democratic political process in China. So, how to understand the connotation of the Ministry system? How to examine the reform of the Ministry system? What did the reform of the Ministry system bring us? What impact does it have on the lives of ordinary people? This series of questions brings us a lot of thinking.

one

From June 5, 2007 to 2007 10, the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out that the goal of China's administrative management system reform in the next five years is to build a service-oriented government. The Ministry system is an important part of building a service-oriented government. The so-called multi-department system means that in the setting of government departments, those matters with similar functions and business scope are relatively concentrated and managed by one department, so as to avoid overlapping government functions, multi-head administration and multi-head management to the greatest extent, thus achieving the purpose of improving administrative efficiency and reducing administrative costs. Ministry system is the inevitable product of social and economic development in China, and it is also the government management mode widely adopted by most countries in the world.

At home, China's economic system reform has achieved fruitful results. Over the past 30 years of reform and opening up, China's market economy system has been improving day by day. In order to give full play to the basic role of the market in resource allocation, the government is objectively required to withdraw from the microeconomic field and change its role of "omnipotence" and "supervision". Because, in today's increasingly detailed social division of labor, only the successful transformation of government functions can create a good external environment for economic development. The Ministry system is a useful attempt to adapt to the needs of transforming government functions and reforming administrative management system. Throughout the previous institutional reforms of our government, we have never tried the practice of large-scale system at the operational level, so there is naturally no ready-made way to follow. Therefore, how to ensure the success and efficient operation of the reform of the Ministry system is not only a theoretical problem, but also a practical problem.

In contrast, the practice of large-scale system in western developed countries is worth learning.

In the western world, Britain is the first country to try the ministerial system reform. As early as 1950s, the British government began to explore the merger and reorganization of some departments with similar functions. In the 1960s, three ministries were formed and merged (Ministry of Health and Social Security, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of National Defense). In the 1970s, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Environmental Affairs came into being. Later, due to the functional evolution and energy crisis, the Ministry of Energy was separated from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. A few years later, due to the financial crisis and administrative inefficiency, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Environmental Affairs had to be split. 1983, the British government reorganized the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Industry. For the sake of national defense security, the United States established a super-large Department of Homeland Security after the 9. 1 1 incident, including 12 institutions and 17000 staff. The Swedish authorities have set up the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which has many responsibilities, such as labor protection, trade and transportation, and industrial development planning.

From this point of view, the reform of the Ministry system is not only the inevitable result of China's social and economic development, but also the institutional reform that is constantly being promoted in the field of public administration all over the world.

In addition, the implementation of the reform of the Ministry system is also an inevitable choice to overcome the disadvantages of administrative organizations.

As we all know, rational bureaucracy, which is widely known in the theoretical circle, is an important concept upheld by administrative organs in various countries. How to overcome the inherent defects of bureaucratic design has always been a hot issue in theoretical circles. Scholar Peters once pointed out that developing countries and countries in system transition "must attach importance to establishing a predictable, universal and upright Weber-style bureaucratic government while pursuing the greatest economic interests of government departments." Parkinson's law reveals that the administrative department has an inherent tendency of self-expansion, and the continuous growth of institutions and personnel is its survival instinct. The school of public election believes that the expansion motivation of bureaucratic administrative departments follows such a formula, that is, "the bigger the department itself = the more the budget = the greater the power". They pointed out that in the eyes of government officials, the pursuit is the maximization of utility function, including votes, salary, organization size, honor, extra income, power and status. In recent years, some major corruption cases exposed by various countries are concentrated manifestations of rent-seeking and abuse of power under the bureaucratic system.

At the same time, we can also analyze the Ministry system from the perspective of system theory. We know that the system is an organic whole, which is composed of interdependent, interactive and mutually restrictive elements. The development of the system depends on the functions of each element and their coordination and matching. The method of system theory requires us to base ourselves on the whole, observe the overall situation, and focus on the relationship between system and elements, structure and function, system and environment to comprehensively investigate the object, so as to realize functional optimization. The government organization itself is a self-organizing and adaptive organic system. Only by ensuring the coordination and matching of various elements within the government system can the self-organization and self-adaptation function of the government be brought into play, and then the synergistic effect of the system can be realized. As a subsystem of the whole social system, the government undertakes the function of realizing social public interests. Only by ensuring the coordination and matching of administrative ideas, personnel allocation and institutional arrangements within the system can the government's ability to perform its duties be comprehensively improved. Therefore, in the process of the reform of the Ministry system, only by optimizing personnel allocation, reasonably defining functions and improving system design can public resources be reasonably concentrated and integrated to maximize public interests. This is not only the need to improve government governance, but also the need to improve the level of government management. Looking back on the course of previous institutional reforms, we can easily find that there are still many problems to be solved urgently at the level of system design. The reform of administrative system is a systematic project. Therefore, in the process of promoting the Ministry system, system designers must comprehensively and systematically plan and adjust government institutions, fully absorb opinions and suggestions from all sectors of society, make overall consideration under the social background, and steadily promote the reform of government institutions. Only in this way can the public's governance benefits be brought into full play, and the increasingly mature reform of the Ministry system is undoubtedly the ideal choice to achieve the above goals.

two

According to the requirements of Scientific Outlook on Development, it is the theme of the system reform to plan the overall strategy of the reform of the Ministry system and ensure the fairness, justice and scientific efficiency of the administrative system reform. Therefore, in the process of promoting the reform of the Ministry system, we must make overall consideration, scientifically plan the overall plan of the Ministry system, identify key links, improve various mechanisms, and strengthen institutional legislation, so as to lay a solid foundation for the reform of the Ministry system to embark on a scientific and standardized development track.

(A) overall consideration, scientific planning of the overall plan for the reform of the Ministry system.

In accordance with the requirements of building Socialism with Chinese characteristics's democratic politics, we should comprehensively, comprehensively and scientifically plan the overall plan for the reform of the Ministry system at present and in the future. The so-called master plan is not only a concept of time, but also a concept of space, a concept of field and a concept of hierarchy. It should be understood that through years of efforts and efforts in all aspects, efforts should be made to build an administrative management system with consistent powers and responsibilities, reasonable division of labor, scientific decision-making, smooth implementation and strong supervision. Further, we should reasonably define the specific objectives of the reform of the Ministry system. That is, to build a government credit system and improve the government service system; Standardize the power operation mechanism and strengthen the supervision and restriction mechanism; Optimize the organizational structure of the government and rationally divide the functional structure. Only by scientifically and reasonably planning the blueprint for the reform of the Ministry system can we lay a solid foundation for the reform of the administrative management system.

(2) Identify key points, break through difficulties, and promote the reform of the Ministry system in a targeted manner.

The transformation of government functions is the fundamental purpose of the administrative management system. Only by relying on the government responsibility system and public service system can the transformation of government functions be realized. At present, there are many loopholes in the construction of government responsibility system and public service system. This requires the theoretical circle and management to go deep into the grassroots, understand the current situation of the administrative management system, collect and sort out information from all directions and angles, listen to the opinions and voices of grassroots cadres and masses, comprehensively grasp the key problems existing in the current government responsibility system and public service system, and put forward targeted solutions to provide empirical materials for studying the reform of the Ministry system. The difficulty of the reform of the Ministry system is the adjustment of the interest mechanism. Undeniably, there is an administrative pattern of interest division and fragmented management in China. At the central level, the three plans of ministries and commissions are the basis for departments to perform their duties, and the inherent "power view" has penetrated into their concepts. If the government performs its duties in the process of departmental interests rather than public interests, it will definitely affect administrative efficiency and harm public interests. Therefore, in the process of promoting the reform of the Ministry system, it is necessary to introduce the interest mechanism as an analytical tool into the study of administrative management system, and build a harmonious government interest mechanism between the central and local governments on the basis of banning departmental interests, including fully mobilizing interest motive mechanism, interest coordination mechanism and interest relief mechanism. In the process of promoting the reform of the Ministry system, another problem that needs attention is the overlapping of departmental functions, multi-head management and decentralized management. The long-standing problems of unclear responsibilities and multi-head management of departments have caused difficulties in national economic and social strategic management, led to the lag and failure of macro-control, affected the realization of the overall interests of the country, and caused high administrative costs and serious waste of resources. Only according to the principle of scientific and reasonable function allocation can we build a scientific, fair and efficient government system.

(3) improve the mechanism, strengthen legislation, and push the reform of the Ministry system onto a scientific and standardized development track.

According to the overall requirements of the announced institutional reform plan, further adjust the functions of government agencies at all levels and rationally divide the government's power and responsibility system; Improve the public service mechanism, clearly define the public service responsibilities of governments at all levels, and determine the work content of departments; Deepen the reform of public finance budget, adjust and improve the transfer payment system, improve and strengthen budget constraints, standardize expenditure behavior, strengthen budget supervision mechanism, and establish and improve a public finance service system that matches financial power with administrative power; Strengthen the construction of civil servants, strengthen on-the-job training of civil servants, improve the quality of civil servants and enhance their ability to perform their duties.

One of the biggest drawbacks of institutional reform in the past was the neglect of the role of organic law, which eventually led to the failure of institutional reform. Therefore, the construction of institutional legal system is imperative. In the process of the reform of the Ministry system, we should pay special attention to the normative role of the law. At present, it is necessary to further revise and improve the Organic Law of the State Council, the Organic Law of local people's governments and people's congresses, and promptly formulate the Basic Law of administrative organizations. Provisions are made on basic issues such as the administrative subject system, administrative organization forms, administrative organization procedures, and accountability for violations of laws and regulations to ensure that the reform of the Ministry system is on a scientific and standardized development track.

three

The reform of the Ministry system is a complex project, involving many departments, and it is difficult to balance interests. This requires a lot of patient and meticulous work, and we can't rush. We should follow the arrangements of the central authorities, actively and steadily, and step by step. We are at the critical stage of reform, with all kinds of deep-seated contradictions and fierce competition for interests. The complexity and arduousness of deepening the reform of administrative management system cannot be underestimated. At present, we should pay special attention to the following issues:

(a) to achieve proper separation and effective operation of decision-making, implementation and supervision.

The report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized that it is necessary to "establish and improve the power structure and operational mechanism of mutual restraint and coordination among decision-making, implementation and supervision". This reform idea means reconstructing the power structure and operating mechanism within the government. At present, China implements a political system that combines deliberation with execution. According to the Constitution, the government is supervised and restricted by the state power organs (people's congresses). The government's customary practice is to perform administrative functions, and most government agencies have no experience in decision-making and supervision, which is also one of the obstacles to implementing the reform of the Ministry system. In the process of implementing the Ministry system, how to divide the decision-making power, execution power and supervision power? How to divide the boundaries of power? How to set up an organization? Many problems are also puzzling the theoretical circles and decision-making authorities. The previous reform of government institutions has never tried to explore and study this aspect, so it is particularly important to promote strategies and methods. In this regard, we can refer to the practice of western countries, and set the constituent departments of the State Council as institutions that make policies and make special decisions, the directly affiliated institutions as executive and service institutions, and the organs that handle affairs and coordinate deliberations as supervisory organs; We can also consider refining the internal institutional functions of large departments, centralizing the decision-making power of departments in one department, setting up a policy and regulation department, appropriately separating executive affairs from departments, and setting up an executive board specifically responsible for implementation, so as to realize mutual supervision and restriction between decision-making power and executive power. After the separation of decision-making and implementation, the management of relatively independent policy departments and executive committees should be based on setting performance indicators, determining budget scale and signing service contracts, and put forward higher expectations for their tasks.

(B) to overcome the hidden problems in the process of promoting the Ministry system

China has long been accustomed to the centralized management mode, and the civil servants of state organs have also adapted to the "coordinated linkage" working mode of listening to commands and dividing tasks. After the institutional reform in the State Council, some state-level departments will be merged. Local counterparts will still exist in a short time, and local departments under the old system may have resistance to the work of the new departments at higher levels, and "guilty consciousness" will arise in their minds. This requires government agencies at all levels to attach importance to the ideological education of their staff, help them abandon the narrow old department complex and establish a sense of the overall situation. Secondly, after the reform of the Ministry system, the management authority of ministers will increase, and their overall control ability will also be a new test of their own ability. Under this system design, department leaders must improve their ability to control the overall situation and be good at using various leadership skills to deal with complex interpersonal relationships. Thirdly, we should pay attention to the problems caused by blind merger of institutions. Especially at the local level, it is forbidden to set goals, grab blocks, and bind immature departments to engage in "matching". Because, regardless of reality, blind merger will inevitably bring many negative effects. As a result, it will either split again or reduce the efficiency of public governance and damage the credibility of the government. Therefore, in order to better promote the reform of the Ministry system, local governments can carry out pilot projects first, and then gradually promote them after the experience is mature.

(C) continue to deepen the theoretical research on the reform of the Ministry system

In the past, the institutional reform in China was often forced by the pressure of the situation, and the reform plan was put forward in an "emergency" way. Due to insufficient theoretical preparation, the reform ultimately lacks scientificity and foresight. In other words, the problem that theory lags behind practice has increasingly become a prominent problem that restricts the reform of our government. Under the current situation, to speed up the reform of administrative management system and promote multi-sector system, we should focus on the rational reflection of previous reforms of our government, and explore the relationship between government reform and the development of market economy, the realization of institutional innovation and the improvement of government administrative ability from the perspective of value choice; It is necessary to strengthen the academic research of government governance and reform, especially the research of public organization theory; Adapt to the development trend of globalization and worldwide government governance and reform, and actively learn from the experience of others through international comparative research; Pay attention to investigation and study, summarize the experience and lessons of administrative system reform at home and abroad through empirical analysis, extract theoretical achievements with guiding significance, and promote institutional innovation and mechanism innovation with theoretical innovation.

In short, the reform of the Ministry system is a systematic project, and it will never happen overnight. This requires us to analyze rationally, treat objectively, be good at finding problems and sum up deficiencies. Only in this way can we really improve the value of empirical research and achieve the expected purpose.