According to classical administrative theory，administrative discretion should be resolved by rule making.However，the increasing uncertaintiesin modern society have led people to begin to rethink the issue of discretion.How to understand and deal with discretion is a core difference between bureaucratic administration and post-bureaucratic administration.New public management theory and experimental governance，based on different philosophical foundations，offer two different solutions to retain discretionary accountability.This article compares these two solutions based on cases of policing reforms in New York City and Cincinnati.This is followed by a discussion of practical prospects for Chinese governance.