The bosses of firms utilising serviced offices in Edinburgh could be some of the people in management positions who may wish to consider the use of praxeology.
This refers to the study of how humans behave in terms of preference and relates to areas such as choosing and prioritising. Its principles date back to Greek philosophers.
Rory Sutherland, executive creative director and vice-chairman of marketing network OgilvyOne, explained to the Cambridge Judge Business School that large amounts of effort and skill are wasted in the business and political spheres because of "failure to really study what changes people's behaviours".
He added that in the 18th century, thinkers like Ludwig von Mises considered it the "prior science to economics" and thought financial markets to be a subset of people's decisions.
Mr Sutherland concluded by noting the usefulness of this area of research is "finally starting to be realised", as decisions based on assumptions of people's actions often are proven to be incorrect.
