Global Utilities

Core Areas of Research

Business and Managerial Psychology

We specialise in leadership and organisation-related psychology. We have research and consulting expertise with military as well as civilian organisations, and with both the public and private sectors. Research has found that sometimes as few as 17 percent of employees are fully engaged in their work. The remainder appear to be disengaged (turning up for work but contributing very little to the organisation).

How many organisations can sustain such low input and productivity levels? Part of the blame for this low level of employee engagement is attributed to a lack of psychological identification with the organisation, a lack of meaningfulness of the work in which people are employed, and a declining sense of trust between employees and their supervisors/managers. We specialise in diagnosing such issues and identifying causes and cures to enable the organisation to gain greater traction on the landscape.

We also undertake research in the area of terrorism, understanding its causes and impacts, as well as attempting to identify methods of reducing the incidence of terrorism. We have published a number of cutting edge articles discussing methods of re-engineering the underpinnings of terrorist memes and their methods of communication.

Related Research Publications
  • Pech, R.J. and Slade, B.W. (2005), "Imitative terrorism: A diagnostic framework for identifying catalysts and designing interventions", Foresight: Journal of Future Studies, Strategic Thinking and Policy, 7, 2, (forthcoming).
  • Pech, R.J. and Slade, B.W. (2004), "Memetic engineering: A framework for organisational diagnosis and development", The Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 25, 5, pp. 452-465.
  • Pech, R.J. and Durden, G. (2004), "Where the decision-makers went wrong: From capitalism to cannibalism", Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 4, 1, pp. 65-75.
  • McGregor, J., Tweed, D. and Pech, R. (2004), "Human capital in the new economy: Devil's bargain?" Journal of Intellectual Capital, 5, 1, pp. 153-164.
  • Pech, R.J. (2003), "Memes and cognitive hardwiring: Why are some memes more successful than others?" European Journal of Innovation Management, 6, 3, pp. 173-181.
  • Pech, R.J. (2003), "Inhibiting imitative terrorism through memetic engineering", Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 11, 2, pp. 61-66.
  • Pech, R.J. (2003), "Memetics and innovation: Profit through balanced meme management", European Journal of Innovation Management, 6, 2, pp. 111-117.
  • Pech, R.J. (2003), "Developing a leadership knowledge architecture: A cognitive approach", The Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 24, 1, pp. 32-42.
  • Pech, R.J. (2001), "Termites, group behaviour and the loss of innovation: Conformity rules!" Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16, 7, Nov. pp. 559-574.
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Last Updated: 3 September, 2008