Emeritus Professor Christopher W Allinson
Colleagues will be sorry to learn of the death, on 23 January 2023, of Emeritus Professor Christopher W. Allinson, former Head of the Management Division, Leeds University Business School.
Chris was a long serving member of Leeds University Business School. He started his academic career as a Lecturer in the Department of Management Studies. After the creation of the Leeds University Business School, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer and subsequently Professor of Organisational Behaviour. On retirement he was awarded the title Emeritus Professor.
Chris’s research was largely concerned with person-job and person-organisation fit. His main interest was human information processing in the workplace, focusing on outcomes such as work performance, job satisfaction, occupational stress and leader-member exchange. His other research concerned the skills of performance appraisal and socialisation in bureaucracies.
Chris collaborated with a colleague to design and develop the Cognitive Style Index, a measure of intuition-analysis for organizational research. Their seminal paper, published in the Journal of Management Studies, has been cited more than 1500 times.
Christopher was an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Psychologist.
Chris taught across the full range of undergraduate, masters and executive degree programmes. Subjects included occupational psychology, organisational behaviour and research methods. He was also a respected PhD supervisor and at least four of his students went on to obtain chairs in other universities. The quality of his teaching was recognized by students who contributed supportive comments to the University Alumni Association survey of favourite lecturers.
In addition to teaching and research, Chris performed a number of administrative and managerial roles including those of Undergraduate Tutor, Admissions Co-ordinator and Head of the Management Division. He had wide experience as an external examiner and moderator. He also contributed as a lecturer and consultant to a variety of industrial, governmental and voluntary organisations.
Chris has always been interested in a wide range of sports. He was a life-long supporter of Grimsby Town FC, followed cricket and cycling and frequently visited France to observe the Tour de France. He was also interested in horse racing and owned a part share of a racehorse.
The funeral service will be held at 11.00am on Friday 17 February 2023 at St Luke’s Church, Cleckheaton. The committal will be at 12.30pm at All Hallows Church Kirkburton, followed by a wake at Willow Valley Golf Club. The flag on the Parkinson Building will be flown at half-mast on that day in Chris’s memory.
Posted in: Obituaries