The department offers research expertise and post graduate supervision in the Research Focus Areas (RFA's) listed below. A brief summary is provided for each RFA. Click on the title of the RFA to open a document with detailed information on its scope and methodological focus.
For prospective Masters and Doctorate students: carefully read the detailed content of the RFA you are interested in, to ensure that your application is well aligned with its purpose and scope.
The research agenda recognises the significance of critiquing the dominant industrial and organisational theory and research paradigms as it relates to African phenomena or reality. It aims to contribute to developing an Afrocentric paradigm providing an authentic view of African phenomena and include topics such as Afrocentricity and the decolonisation process, including decolonisation of education and curricula.
The focus is on technology and the role that automation is predicted to have on jobs and the workplace, with the aim to produce new knowledge on how organisations and individuals perceive technological innovations (STARA), in the context of the 4IR and how the continuing march of technology, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) affect where people work and how people work in the 4IR.
Coaching Psychology research focuses on addressing methodological, practice and theoretical gaps regarding psychology in a coaching context. It relates to how, through the study of psychology, the practice and theory of coaching could be enhanced, consequently leading to materially different outcomes of the coaching process.
The Integrity and Ethics research agenda focuses on addressing methodological, practice/policy and theoretical gaps regarding integrity and ethics and their related constructs in business. This research focus area aims to produce new knowledge that extends current perspectives on the universal and indigenous psychology of integrity, ethics and risk.
The research focus is on innovation and transformation in an education context using technology in (higher) education in general and in resource-poor environments. Topics include assessment, instructional design, open educational resources (OERs), online learning communities, students-as-partners, student success, student support. Including professional development of educators, lifelong learning, quality assurance in online, distance and higher education.
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field that refers to research about the brain and it’s functioning in the broadest sense. Organisational neuroscience “translates” and applies findings from neuroscience research to the study of human behaviour in the workplace. It is thus about understanding why employees and leaders do what they do, but also about how they adapt to a changing environment.
The research agenda focuses on addressing methodological, practice and literature gaps in the following and related areas: Employee retention and work engagement, Employee assistance programs, wellness, burnout and stress management, Emotional labour/contagion, Organisational development, culture and values; Organisational effectiveness and high performance models; Employee satisfaction and motivation ; Organisational change models and frameworks, commitment and employee engagement, justice and labour practices.
Performance Management, Reward and Remuneration:
The Research Focus Area intends to establish a standardised practice in performance management and reward and remuneration in public and private sector organisations.
Psychology of career & human capacity development and retention:
This research focus area is about producing new knowledge that extends current perspectives on the universal and indigenous psychology about the career management behaviour of emerging adults, early-, mid- and late-career adults, career-life design, career construction, talent retention and development, and sustainable employability. The context of the research is the Afrocentric and evolving Industry 4.0 (digital era) employment settings of the contemporary world of work.
Research focuses on addressing methodological, practice and literature gaps in: Measurement of Individual characteristics or of Organisational behaviour; Development and validation of psychometric instruments; Multicultural assessment, CTT and IRT research methodology; The use, design, and feedback processes in Developmental Assessment Centres (DAC); Using e-technology in assessment, Cultural influences in the design and practice of Assessment Centres and Assessment centre validation studies.
Qualitative Wellbeing and Adjustment:
Research focus on studying the well-being, coping and adjustment of employees in unique and/or exceptional work circumstances/ occupations by applying in-depth qualitative methodologies. This includes quality of work-life challenges, identity transitions, coping dynamics, resilience and flourishing in work settings exposed to violence, indirect/direct trauma, crime, as well as women leadership in gendered work environments.
Research focuses on applying and/or exploring the value of socio-analytic methods as research and consulting tools in organisations and other social settings. Socio-analytical methods includes for example social dream drawing, listening posts, socio-dream matrix and socio-photo matrix in the study of unconscious processes of human systems.
The systems psychodynamic perspective enables the researcher to explore various pertinent constructs in Industrial and Organisational psychology from a depth perspective. The system psychodynamic lens is applied to understanding unconscious dynamics relevant to for example Leaders/Leadership, Managers/Management, Coaching, Diversity/Transformation, Intercultural competence, Positive organisational behaviour etc.
Work-related sense of coherence:
This research agenda focuses on addressing methodological, practice and literature gaps with regards to Work-SoC, especially in African or South African settings. For example, addressing the measurement properties of Work-SoC scale in the African or South African context; Work-SoC as a personal resource and as predictor/mediator/moderator to various IOP constructs; the enhancement of Work SoC; and its use for health-related interventions in an organisation.
Last modified: Tue Oct 17 08:53:30 SAST 2023