Bureaucratic Theory and Its Influence on Workers’ Productivity Improvement in Nigerian Universities

The study examined the contribution of bureaucratic theory to workers’ productivity improvement in Nigerian universities. A descriptive research design of the survey type was used for the study. A sample of 10 universities in the south west Nigeria – five state-owned and five federal-owned – using simple random sampling technique was selected. Also, simple random sampling was used to select 20 respondents including academic and non-academic staff (senior staff) amounting to 200 respondents. The study developed and used a questionnaire titled: “Bureaucratic Principles and Workers’ Productivity Questionnaire (BPWQ)” with a reliability correlation coefficient (r) of 0.90. Multiple regression analysis was employed to analyse the data, while the null hypotheses developed for the study were tested at .05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there was significant composite influence of bureaucratic principles on workers’ productivity improvement in Nigerian universities. Also, there was significant influence of division of labour and specialization, hierarchy of authority, stipulated rules and regulation, records, impersonal orientation, and employment and promotion of staff based on technical competence on workers’ productivity improvement in Nigerian universities. It is therefore recommended among others that skilful and qualified workers should be employed at every level in Nigerian universities, their appointments and promotions should be based on merit and competence as established by bureaucratic principles.