BUREAUCRACY IN A COLLEGE OF ADVANCED EDUCATION
| Published date | 01 February 1974 |
| Date | 01 February 1974 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009717 |
| Pages | 123-134 |
| Author | N.F. DUFTY |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XII, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1974
BUREAUCRACY IN A COLLEGE OF ADVANCED EDUCATION
N.
F. DUFTY
This paper reports the results of a questionnaire survey of academic
staff at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT). On the
question of bureaucracy in its technical rather than its pejorative sense, the
organization is perceived as being much more bureaucratic on some
dimensions that others. Staff evaluation of bureaucracy indicates that
some dimensions are highly valued and some are not, with no major
discrepancy overall between evaluation and perception although significant
differences do occur on some dimensions. Job satisfaction data indicate
that senior staff have more favourable attitudes than lecturers and senior
tutors.
A number of questions were asked on authority relations and it was
apparent that those in the sample perceiving a clear hierarchy of authority
did not differ from the rest of the sample in their perception of the
centralisation of organizational power. Respondents who saw the basis of
authority as expert and referent were more satisfied than those who did
not. Staff above the rank of head of department were seen as having less
referent and coercive authority than heads of departments and senior
lectures.
INTRODUCTION
The study reported here had the full support of the Institute's Manage-
ment Board and the Academic Staff Association; the response rate was not
good, 42 per cent, but was evenly distributed between departments.1 There
did. not seem to be any obvious reason for the low response rate. One
follow-up reminder was sent but no further action was taken in case it was
seen as an attempt by the "administration" to apply pressure.
PERCEPTION AND EVALUATION OF BUREAUCRACY
It is common enough to class certain organizations as bureaucratic and yet,
as Gouldner has pointed out, the bureaucratic model is an ideal type. This
may be used as a yardstick to determine the extent to which an organization
is bureaucratized.2 Furthermore, work done by Hall has indicated that
bureaucracy is multi-dimensional. He identified six dimensions which were
DR. NORMAN F. DUFTY is Dean of Social Sciences at the Western Australian Institute
of Technology. He holds the degrees of M.Ed. and Ph.D. of the University of Western
Australia, M.A. of the University of Illinois and A.Met. of Sheffield University. He is the
author of
Industrial
Relations in India (1964),
Managerial Economics
(1966),
Essays
on
Apprenticeship (1967) and Industrial Relations in the
Australian Metal
Industry (1972).
He has been visiting professor at the Universities of Alberta and Wisconsin and has had
international experience with the ILO and OECD.
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