The Moonlight Effect: Debunking Business Myths to Improve Wellbeing

by Moss, Simon; Callanan, John; Wilson, Samuel

• ISBN13: 9780734611024
• ISBN10: 0734611021
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-15
• Publisher: Casemate Pub & Book Dist Llc

Summary

The moonlight effect is the inclination of people to overrate the wisdom, insight and utility of leaders and other senior figures. It explains the proliferation of many ineffective policies and problems that pervade our society. The moonlight effect does not only explain many futile practices, but also increases each of the expenses on a profit and loss statement.

Author Biography

Simon Moss is a Research Fellow at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. His primary expertise revolves around how policies and practices at organizations affect the resilience, capabilities, progress and wellbeing of individuals. Simon has written several books and over 50 scientific papers on leadership, personality, motivation, integrity and stress. John Callanan is a psychologist who works in problem gambling. He is also researching the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy, the so called 'third wave of psychological interventions', within that setting. Samuel Wilson is a lecturer in psychology at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. His primary expertise is in social and organizational psychology. Sam has published a number of theoretical and empirical papers on dehumanization, situated cognition and bioethics.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. i
An illustration of the moonlight effect	p. ii
Contents of this book	p. iii
	p. 1
The moonlight effect	p. 1
The journey begins	p. 1
The evolution of competition	p. 2
Inflated contributions	p. 3
Inflated control	p. 4
Inflated characteristics	p. 6
Inflated competence	p. 7
Features of the moonlight effect	p. 8
	p. 10
Does executive pay really pay? Curbing bonuses	p. 10
Overview of the chapter	p. 11
The price of prestige	p. 12
In defense of executive salaries	p. 13
Does excessive pay entice excellence individuals?	p. 14
The love of money and the decline of society	p. 14
Flexing versus flexibility	p. 16
Legitimized versus unrecognized qualities	p. 17
Cats and rats	p. 20
Reputation and remuneration	p. 21
A solution	p. 22
The secret to these solutions	p. 24
	p. 26
The downside of downsizing: Reducing casual salaries	p. 26
Overview of the chapter	p. 27
The necessity of redundancies	p. 28
Conspicuous costs	p. 28
Return on retrenchments	p. 29
Are previous findings patently flawed?	p. 30
The flaws of faultfinding	p. 30
The decrease in expenses and the decline in expertise	p. 31
Unchanging practices in changing times	p. 33
The necessity of redundancy	p. 34
Underrated solutions: The inane inevitability of ruthless retrenchments	p. 36
Optimizing solutions: Translating obvious suggestions into operational solutions	p. 38
	p. 40
Recent developments in leadership training: Diminishing consulting fees	p. 40
Overview of the chapter	p. 42
Do leadership development programs develop leaders?	p. 43
Selection of successful, but not useful, consultants	p. 44
Useful practices should not be universal practices	p. 46
Artificial archetypes	p. 47
Practicing the practices	p. 49
The solution: Reflection	p. 50
The solution: Resilience versus rigidity	p. 52
	p. 55
Is the expertise of recruiters an oxymoron? Curbing legal fees	p. 55
Overview of the chapter	p. 56
The recruitment industry	p. 57
The intriguing benefits of insightful recruiters	p. 58
Disorted desires	p. 59
Undistorted desires	p. 60
The attraction to aggression	p. 61
The pronounced neglect of personal needs	p. 62
Genuine resilience	p. 64
Which features should fit	p. 65
Best practice recruitment is not always the best practice	p. 67
A solution	p. 68
	p. 71
Challenging managers about challenging targets: Decreasing borrowing expenses	p. 71
Overview of the chapter	p. 72
Mechanical humans	p. 73
The difficulties with challenges	p. 75
The expenses that emanate from errors	p. 76
Suboptimal optimism	p. 77
A solution	p. 78
The secret to these solutions	p. 80
	p. 81
The drawbacks of achievements: Curbing energy expenses	p. 81
Overview of the chapter	p. 82
Onerous outcomes and productive processes	p. 84
The origin of these obstacles	p. 85
Power diminishes the pertinence of processes	p. 86
Best practice versus actual practice	p. 88
The causes of this contradiction	p. 89
The incurred costs of inefficiency	p. 91
A solution	p. 91
	p. 94
Dear without cheer: Reducing rental expenses	p. 94
Overview of the chapter	p. 95
When luxury is a necessity	p. 96
Luxury at a steal	p. 97
Managers with no material possessions	p. 98
Unequal opportunity boards	p. 99
Past purchases and future threats	p. 100
The costs and solutions	p. 101
The many benefits of two zones	p. 102
	p. 104
Unnatural inclinations: Regulations that increase the costs of office supplies	p. 104
Overview of the chapter	p. 105
The unjust disdain towards the unemployed	p. 107
Incentives versus inspiration	p. 107
Rewards are not rewarding	p. 109
Directives curb direction	p. 110
Jobs versus careers	p. 112
Policies to maintain fairness promote injustice	p. 113
Regulations versus restrictions	p. 114
Regulations about relationships	p. 115
The incurred costs of inefficiency	p. 116
The regrettable effects of regulations on the managers	p. 118
Physiological toughness	p. 119
Solutions	p. 120
	p. 122
Questionable surveys: Decreasing recruitment costs	p. 122
Overview of the chapter	p. 123
A survey of questionnaires	p. 124
Chalk and cheese	p. 126
Optimal responses are not the optimal response	p. 126
The brazen disregard of academic axioms	p. 128
Perception is sometimes the opposite of reality	p. 130
The costs and the solutions	p. 131
	p. 133
Stretched genes: Decreasing regular wages	p. 133
Overview of the chapter	p. 134
The genesis of genetics	p. 136
The inflated role of inherited traits	p. 137
Removing the uniform	p. 139
The repercussions of misconceptions about genetics	p. 139
The capacity to change	p. 141
Solutions	p. 142
The pretense of progress	p. 144
	p. 146
Desirable dejection: Diminution of health expenses	p. 146
Overview of the chapter	p. 147
The inhibition of inhibitions	p. 148
Does infallibility improve credibility?	p. 149
Perfection in leaders can evoke dejection in followers	p. 152
The costs of concealment	p. 154
A solution	p. 154
	p. 156
The adversities or advertising: Curbing marketing costs	p. 156
Overview of the chapter	p. 157
The ugly truth about attractive individuals	p. 158
Does sex always sell?	p. 159
Sexy commercials are not as sexy anymore	p. 160
The unanticipated adversities of advertising	p. 160
Devices and deception: Shapes and sizes	p. 161
The regulation paradox	p. 163
How to age gracelessly	p. 164
Nobody feels attracted to themselves	p. 166
Accommodation costs	p. 168
A solution	p. 169
	p. 171
Conclusion	p. 171
Origin of the moonlight effect	p. 171
The importance of resilience	p. 172
The source of resilience	p. 173
References	p. 175
Index	p. 199
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