Adrian Furnham
Adrian Furnham hails
from KwaZulu, South Africa. Born to British parents in 1953, he grew up
in the country’s capital Pietermaritzburg where he thrived in all areas
of academia from debating to mathematics.
By 1975 Adrian Furnham found himself, having finished his B.A. honours at the
University of Natal’s Peitermaritzbug campu, traveling to England as a
masters student at London University where he would achieve his M.Sc.
with distinction in economics. Furnham proceeded to complete another
M.Sc., this time at Strathclyde University before being accepted into
Oxford University in 1977 where he gained a D.Phil.
Not only is Furnham a chartered health psychologist, a chartered
occupational psychologist and Fellow of the British Psychological
Society, but also the author of countless articles, columns and papers
as well as 50 books which explore in depth the multi faceted nature of
organizational psychology from The Psychology of Behaviour at Work
(1997) to Management Mumbo Jumbo(2006). His unique style of splicing
serious psychological critique with an ironic no-nonsense take on
management gives his books a readable quality that appeals to a wide
margin of readers, offering everything from serious textbooks to
humourous but thought provoking essays that disassemble the “silver
bullet” solution so often offered by the management industry.
Furnham never lost his enthusiasm for academia, learning and teaching.
In 1991 he obtained a D.Sc. from London University and in 1995 a D.
Litt. from the university of Natal, where it all began a quarter of a
decade before. He has spent almost thirty years as a professor and
lecturer at various prominent establishments including Oxford
University’s Pembroke College, the University of London and as visiting
professor to Hong Kong University Business School.
In 1985 Furnham founded his own management consultancy firm; Applied
Behavioural Research Associates who specialised in research on corporate
evaluation and design, performance appraisal, personal and corporate
assessment and selection as well as literature reviews. Their extensive
client list includes high street bank giants Barclays Bank and massive
national institutions such as British Rail and the British Foreign
Office.
Currently a Professor at the University of London, teaching applied,
occupational, personality and social psychology to under and post
graduates.
Adrian Furnham was educated at the London School of Economics where he
obtained a distinction in an MSc Econ., and at Oxford University where
he completed a doctorate (DPhil) in 1981. He has subsequently earned a
DSc (1991) and DLitt (1995) degree. Previously a lecturer in Psychology
at Pembroke College, Oxford, he is now Professor of Psychology at
University College London. He has lectured widely abroad and held
scholarships and visiting professorships at, amongst others, the
University of New South Wales, the University of the West Indies and the
University of Hong Kong. He has written over 650 scientific papers and
48 books including Culture Shock (1994), The New Economic Mind (1995),
Personality at Work (1994), The Myths of Management (1996), The
Psychology of Behaviour at Work (1997), The Psychology of Money (1998),
The Incompetent Manager (2003), The Dark Side of Behaviour at Work
(2004), The People Business (2005) Personality and Intellectual
Competence (2005) Management Mumbo Jumbo (2006) and Just for the Money
(2006)
Professor Furnham is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and
is ranked the second most productive psychologist in the world since
1980. He is on the editorial board of a number of international
journals, as well as the current elected President of the International
Society for the Study of Individual Differences. He is also a founder
director of Applied Behavioural Research Associates (ABRA), a
psychological consultancy. He writes regularly for the Sunday Times and
the Daily Telegraph and is a regular contributor to BBC radio and
television. More details in the latest ‘Whos Who’.
Like Noel Coward, he believes work is more fun than fun and considers
himself to be a well-adjusted workaholic. He rides a bicycle to work (as
he has always done) and does not have a mobile phone. He is however,
often sought after by bridge, tennis and squash players who like to win.
Adrian enjoys writing popular articles, travelling to exotic countries,
consulting on real-life problems, and going to the theatre.
References
http://www.bps.org.uk/downloadfile.cfm?file_uuid=91A8DC3E-1143-DFD0-7E2B-59E7A5C12E5A&ext=doc
http://www.mangurus.com/sections/gurus/?article_id=adrian_furnham&selected_seq_num=16
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