Position restructuring at Peking University Library

摘要

Peking University, located in the northwestern part of Beijing, the People's Republic of China, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in China. There are more than 13,000 undergraduate students, 9,000 graduate students, and 7,000 faculty and support staff at the university. Of the university's 7,000 employees, 66 percent are administrative personnel, support staff (including the university library, media services, and the university computing center), and physical plant personnel; 34 percent are teaching and research faculty. Like many government-supported institutions in China, for a long time, all the positions at Peking University have been permanent appointments. That is, after an individual was hired to take a position at the university, he or she would have lifelong employment with the institution, unless this individual voluntarily resigned from the job. Although the majority of individuals through such employment became productive members of the institution, some were less productive than others. In the old system, it was difficult for the university to replace this group of employees. At the end of June 1999, the university began a campuswide restructuring of all positions. The goals of the restructuring were to reduce the number of employees from 7,000 to 5,000 and at the same time to enhance the responsibilities of each position in all units in order to build strong academic programs and supporting functions. Through the restructuring, the traditional system of lifelong employment would be phased out. The chain of "Iron Rice Bowl" (the nickname for a secure job) would be eliminated. The environment in which competition was encouraged would be created, and talented individuals would find room to grow. The university required each college, department, academic program, and support unit to provide head counts of active employees (excluding those who took long leaves) at the time of the restructuring.