Search results for ""Author Adrian Furnham""

A surprisingly large number of people claim to have worked for a manager who was clearly incompetent. Some people even believe, that in certain sectors, the incompetent outnumber the competent. This book looks at when, why and how managers become incompetent and what to do about it. It does so with both science and humour by reviewing what we know about competences, about personality theory and about various salient psychiatric disorders. So many management books are unrealistically optimistic. They portray management as a simple task once one has absorbed the magic silver bullet message of the book. But managing people is, and will remain difficult as any manager knows. Management is about ability and skills, attitude and values, knowledge and understanding, but also about personality and mental stability. This text investigates normal and abnormal incompetence. The former is where people have a poor fit between themselves (personality and ability) and the job. Through post selection, inadequate training, changes in the job or unwise promotion misfits occur which leads to incompetence. The longest chapter in the book looks at abnormal incompetence and what are called personality disorders. Well-known psychiatric disorders are described in detail and how to spot these in managers. Thus, the paranoid or sociopathic, narcissistic or passive-aggressive types are described in everyday language as well as how to deal with them. More importantly, the book considers how the pathologically incompetent managers influence organizations and groups to fulfil their often bizarre needs and wishes. The final section of the book attempts to help the reader correctly diagnose incompetence. It also offers various possible cures: the emphasis is that cure follows correct diagnoses. Some cures for incompetence actually accentuate it. The book is both serious and funny. The incompetent manager is no laughing matter for those managed by them. But the sort of thing some incompetent managers believe and do can be, at least for the onlooker, very funny indeed.

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The third book of Adrian Furnham's "The Incompetent Manager" trilogy. It takes the form of short essays on managerial dilemmas arranged as in a dictionary. The text has multiple messages: it does not belong to the silver bullet, magic formula school of business books. Rather it is a series of anthropological observations about business and business people by a psychologist settled comfortably in his ivory tower. The essays are opinionated in the best sense of the word. They are strident, funny and valid. Some people aspire to management and others have it thrust upon them sometimes as a reward, sometimes as a punishment. It is therefore not uncommon to come across managers who can't manage and who are a liability to themselves, their staff and their companies. This text is for those who deal with them.

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How different are men and women's brains? Does altruism really exist? Are our minds blank slates at birth? And do dreams reveal our unconscious desires? Psychology is everywhere in today's society. No crime fiction, documentary, chat show or medical consultation is complete without the introduction of a psychological angle. Psychology seeks to understand and explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour through a dizzying array of ideas and theories, shedding light on everything from memory, social mobility and attitude formation to delusions of grandeur, alcoholism and computer phobia, to name a few. In 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Adrian Furnham explains the central ideas of psychology in 50 concise and accessible essays. Packed with the latest research, most important case studies and arguments of key thinkers, this book is the perfect introduction to psychological theory. Contents include: Placebo effect; Kicking the habit; Hallucinations; Positive psychology; Emotional intelligence; IQ and you; Multiple intelligences; The Rorschach inkblot test; Detecting lies; Obedience to authority; Self-sacrifice or selfishness; Gambler's fallacy; Remembrance of things past; Artificial intelligence; Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon; Psychosexual stages; Tabula rasa; Phrenology; Dyslexia.

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Is management any more than common sense? Do employers really know how to recruit the best people for their firms? How important is training to employee development? Which management techniques motivate employees best? Is money the best motivator? These are key questions which every ambitious organisation should be asking about itself and the way it operates. Or do they simply represent the latest fashionable management fads promoted by trendy consultants?

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Economic Socialization is the most comprehensive and up-to-date book on how children and adolescents come to understand the economic world.The citizen of contemporary Western societies, while often lacking formal training in economics, is a skilled user and interpreter of the economy. International and interdisciplinary in scope, the chapters in this volume examine the social determinants of economic attitudes, beliefs and values, as well as opening out the concept of economic understanding to include social and macroeconomic factors. Specific issues addressed include the evolution of young people's ideas about wealth distribution, public ownership and the market, as well as the role of children as consumers and the association between economic beliefs and social class.Economic Socialization is a major contribution to economic psychology and brings together research and analysis, developing our understanding of the ways in which children learn about and engage in the economy.

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In a series of 50 accessible essays, Adrian Furnham introduces and explains key theories around clinical and developmental psychology, behaviourism, society and personality, cognitive psychology and individual differences.From understanding emotions to detecting perception, Freud's psychosexual stages to the placebo effect, 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know is a complete introduction to the most important psychological concepts in history.

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This book is about the identification, measurement and assessment of business potential among possible future or existing employees. It examines research on using biographical information about individuals to determine their potential in a specific organisational environment. Such biodata can be used by managers when recruiting new staff, and when selecting staff for promotion. This is a valuable source book for managers and students who need to gain a better understanding of the prediction of business performance at the level of the employee.

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The fundamental aim of this book is to provide accessible, detailed, good practice guidelines that also address the political and ethical problems of conducting surveys within the health professions. A book to demystify, educate and provide the kind of practical tips that will make the process as straightforward as possible.

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All in the Mind: Psychology for the Curious, Third Edition covers important, topical, and sometimes controversial subjects in the field of Psychology in an engaging alternative or supplement to traditional student textbooks. The third edition of a successful and uniquely readable textbook – includes more than two thirds brand new material, with all retained material thoroughly revised and updated. All in the Mind, 3rd Edition offers a new and engaging way to consider key theories and approaches in psychology; providing an original alternative or supplement to traditional teaching textbooks.

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All in the Mind: Psychology for the Curious, Third Edition covers important, topical, and sometimes controversial subjects in the field of Psychology in an engaging alternative or supplement to traditional student textbooks. The third edition of a successful and uniquely readable textbook – includes more than two thirds brand new material, with all retained material thoroughly revised and updated. All in the Mind, 3rd Edition offers a new and engaging way to consider key theories and approaches in psychology; providing an original alternative or supplement to traditional teaching textbooks.

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Many organizations approach the issue of employee engagement and motivation by tapping into age, gender and other stereotypes. Motivation and Performance challenges these notions, bringing together evidence that group differences are often exaggerated and that getting to the heart of what really motivates individuals is what's most important. This book is a practical guide to ensuring that organizations consider all motivators - job security as well as the need for personal growth - to improve employee satisfaction, boost organizational productivity and reduce staff turnover. Underpinned by original research, Motivation and Performance features case studies from finance, retail, the public and other sectors to show how the principles of motivating employees apply at all levels of the organization, not just at the leadership level, and how values and motivation can be changed and developed. Complete with a framework for conducting effective visits to front-line locations, it will help HR professionals ask the right questions, choose whether to implement external motivation-building programmes and make a real impact on an employee's desire to progress in the company.

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This volume provides a balanced and even-handed review of the evidence and assesses the claims of both advocates and critics of complementary medicine. It draws the empirical literature together and examines the effectiveness of complementary medicine for both patients and practitioners by providing an overview of the major alternative therapies, together with their methods and philosophies; explaining the appeal of complementary medicine to patients; investigating its relationship with the medical profession; analysing methods of evaluation and the role of placebo effects; reviewing the evidence for each of the major therapies; and seeking out a research agenda for the future.

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A Brand New European Text and Interactive E-Book for the Introductory Course! This exciting new textbook from Comer, Gould and Furnham, will help students to understand that psychology is around them every day and that its principles are relevant to a whole host of life questions. In addition to showing the relevance of psychology outside of the classroom, the text also allows students to see the big picture by stressing the interconnected nature of psychological science. Recurring sections throughout the chapters on human development, brain function, individual differences and abnormal psychology will help students see a more complete picture of psychology. These ‘Tying it Together’ themes highlight how the different fields of psychology are connected to each other and how they relate to everyday life. A strong focus on neuroscience is integrated throughout in an exciting and accessible way, including features that demonstrate what happens in the brain when people are performing common behaviours such as eating pizza, learning a second language and getting a good night’s sleep. Chapter summaries review the main concepts presented and provide students with the opportunity to review what they have learned and how the key topics fit together. An interactive e-book is included with every copy and uses media such as videos, quizzes and exercises to put the student in the driver’s seat to explore and understand key concepts in the course. All the media is embedded in the text right where the student needs it, enabling easy access to tools that will spark their interest. To view a demo, go to our showcase site and follow the link: www.wiley-comerpsychology.com The interactive e-book can be accessed using a code packaged with the print book. Please note that the inclusion of the accompanying interactive e-book with the print book requires the addition of VAT, and the final price, inclusive of VAT, will be shown at checkout.

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The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Individual Differences provides a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of recent research, current perspectives, practical applications, and likely future developments in individual differences. Brings together the work of the top global researchers within the area of individual differences, including Philip L. Ackerman, Ian J. Deary, Ed Diener, Robert Hogan, Deniz S. Ones and Dean Keith Simonton Covers methodological, theoretical and paradigm changes in the area of individual differences Individual chapters cover core areas of individual differences including personality and intelligence, biological causes of individual differences, and creativity and emotional intelligence

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