Management and Administration

When using the concept of management, it is the activity of a subject that impacts the management objects, using management tools and methods to achieve the proposed goals. The concept of management, with a broader meaning, not only refers to the activities of a subject, but also extends to other subjects.

Therefore, the most fundamental difference from management systems is that there will not be a single subject that can completely control the collective decision-making process in multi-subject governance relationships.

State management activities, as we know, are the management tasks of the State entity for all organizations and citizens in socio-economic activities. Governance not only refers to the activities of state entities, but also extends to non-state entities. This diverse network of entities gradually reduces the notion of boundaries between units in the government, between the public and private sectors, or domestic and international.

Up to now, there are still different understandings of the concept of “governance” among different scientific disciplines. Considering only the solution of common problems of the community, “governance” or “public administration” is generally understood as the establishment, application, and enforcement of “rules of the game”.

More specifically, it is a set of collective decision-making principles in multi-actor contexts, and between them there is no formal control system to govern the terms of the relationship between the subjects participating in the governance system.

The difference between “state management” and “national governance”

What are the main features of national governance?

The first is the multi-stakeholder nature. The governance system will include not only the government, laws, administrative principles and regulations, and state agencies, but also private actors, non-profit organizations, as well as an increasingly active and proactive role for each citizen.

As a result, public interest is no longer the sole basis for governance decisions. In a multi-stakeholder framework, the interests of different stakeholders must be respected. As a result, policies and governance decisions tend to be driven more by diverse interests than just public interest.

Second, narrowing the gap and narrowing the public-private boundary. The governance system integrates administrative systems with market and non-profit mechanisms, thereby narrowing and blurring the boundary between state and society.

Third, cooperative relationships between partners will gradually replace the hierarchically imposed relationships as in the traditional government model. Due to the participation of diverse subjects in governance relationships, the form of those relationships will gradually shift to a horizontal relationship, more partnership, cooperation, and equality.

Fourth, governance is interconnected – governance patterns and models include institutions and people at all levels of government and across policy domains, and are not limited by local territorial borders.

We are living in a rapidly changing and interdependent world. Therefore, since the late 1990s, governance thinking has become an increasingly popular trend in the world. The concept of “national governance” appeared in the documents of the 13th Party Congress, which reflects the Party’s viewpoint on reforming the political-administrative system in the direction of respecting and promoting the people’s right to mastery.

Reality also shows the limitations of the state’s ability and resources in solving community problems. Therefore, we are also witnessing the increasingly active participation of businesses, social organizations, and individual citizens, working side by side with the government to solve collective problems.

Governance systems require governments to gradually adapt to the role of coordinating the differences in expectations and interests of governance subjects. This also means that governments cannot easily impose their will on stakeholders as in the traditional state management model.

Dr. Vu Truong Son - Institute of Postgraduate Training