A bureaucracy is an organization whose claim to legitimacy is based in rational-legal authority, which when functioning properly, fulfills externally determined goals through use of skills brought to the organization by regular, salaried, and task-specialized administrative staff. Staff follow rules clearly outlined in a formal, hierarchical system that supports extensive record-keeping, redundancy, and production stability. In general, when the term bureaucracy is employed in political theory, it should be viewed as a political-economic concept, not merely a political or economic one.