simkins (ibid, p.155) concludes that there is a strong case for a rational approach to financial management but points out this does not mean it happens in practice:
the case for making both management in general and budgeting in particular more rational is a strong one, espeially at a time when educaional institutions are foced by increasing demands on scarce resources yet to argue for ratinality is not necessarily to ensure its occurrence the rational model becomes intrinsically problematic where goals are ambiguous contested or conflicting or where the relationship between means and ends is unclear.