Public Management Policy and Practice in Western China

Abstract

On the basis of our fieldwork conducted during the past two decades, in this article, we report our principal findings about the metapolicy and tacit knowledge of public management in western China. We focus on the deeper patterns of managerial and organizational behavior and argue that Chinese bureaucratic culture and practices (especially practices of the Communist Party of China) have transformed various Western approaches (New Public Management, performance audit, etc.). In the process, government officials are also being transformed. Genuine administrative reform, as has diffused globally, has not taken place in China. Implications for Chinese administrative studies and management innovation transfer are discussed.