ABSTRACT
Organizations, from a bureaucratic perspective, are "rationally ordered instruments for the achievement of stated goals". Bureaucratic principles are so inculcated into modern living that they are often considered inherent parts of daily life. Bureaucracy is an undeniable and enduring perspective through which to view organizational functions in higher education. Weber built rationality into every principle and characteristic of bureaucracy. This rationality is particularly expressed in the goal orientation that underlies all organizational activities. True to the modernist perspective, people in bureaucratic organizations assume that progressive movement toward goals is essential. Bureaucratic theory holds that organizations should follow an ideal, natural, or perfect order, one in which human action follows the hierarchy of nature. The move away from the nepotism and patronage systems of pre-bureaucratic, paternal-istic organizations introduced meritocratic organizational practices. The bureaucratic principle of appointment to a role was and is best exemplified in assembly lines and fast-food companies such as McDonald's.
