People Styles at Work by Robert Bolton - Book Report/Review Example

 BOOK REPORT: PEOPLE STYLES AT WORK The central premise of the book “People Styles at Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton” is that, we have difficulties/problems to work with others since we are different-we work, think, play, fight, communicate, emote differently and hence all these factors influence our working relationships with one another. Another major premise the author tries to demonstrate in his work is that, the behavior of individuals is flexible and predictable but if we spend some good time understanding our styles and those of others working with us, then we can manage working together with them effectively. Therefore, in essence, Bolton tries to articulate on how relationships influence our working relationships with colleagues at the workplace, by trying to demonstrate that if we make bad relationships good and make good relationships better, we can create a conducive working environment for us all. The Boltons tries to bring out the concept of personality conflict, and how it can be overcome by understanding the differences of other people lieu of emotionally merely reacting to them, by presenting a behavioral science model, which can help understand the four different styles of people which include analyticals, expressiveness, drivers, and amiables. The author further, explains how readers can identify their own styles and their appearance to others; effectively relate with them regardless of how they react to them by creating a prevalent ground with different persons while maintaining their individuality to help them evaluate the styles of other people to enable them discover how they can ‘flex’ their styles to match the other people’s styles. Therefore, the author trying to assert that it’s possible overcoming other people’s differences by understanding their differences rather than reacting to them emotionally thus, presenting a fair complex picture of styles of personality. As the authors state, “Whether at work or at home, success and happiness involve relating to others across a chasm of significant behavioral differences; Clearly, if you could figure out how to bridge the gap between yourself and others, you could make your life - and theirs - much easier, happier, and more productive”. Therefore, in my view I believe the book is valuable to the understanding of public relations and management. For instance, the behavioral inventory used by the authors is helpful in understanding the personality styles of individuals if a statement that most closely reflects how they think others view them is chosen hence this can help us understand our ourselves & how we relate with one another, which is an important aspect of public relations. Further, given that currently the workplace relationships are becoming more complex than in the past, when rigid command lines and strict lines procedures governed behavior, today good work relationships have become an imperative managerial skill that every manager should possess in order to effectively manage the workplace. In addition, statistically it is estimated that at least three-quarters of the people you work with are unique or different from you ; hence, react, work differently or are motivated differently. Thus, as a manager you do not have the inclination or time delving into the psychology of workers or seniors thus, necessitating the need to predict how they wish to be treated or do things, for you to work productively with them. Therefore, flexing styles, which are part of the pillars of the authors’ work come into effect to help you change, or adjust your behavior or communication meeting the needs of the workers or seniors at the workplace. Therefore, I believe this book is essential in helping management create good working relationships with workers, which is a major concept of public relations. Ultimately, although the book can be critiqued based on model and information structuring by the authors, the book is a good managerial tool. ‘The people styles of work’ asserts that overcoming personality conflicts are possible if we comprehend other people’s differences instead of simply countering to them in an emotional manner. I agree with this assertion. The book vividly brings out the behavioral science model for comprehending four main different ‘people styles’. It further explains how readers can discover their style in relation to other people. The book reveals the weaknesses and strengths of the four different types of the people styles, giving important techniques that can work both off and on the job. In the People Styles at Work by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton, the most surprising and rather disappointing aspect to me is the firing or forced earlier retirement of the twenty-one managers. The past records had indicated rise in their managerial roles but ironically they are ended up being fired or forced to earlier retirement. Reason? They had difficulties to relate well with other people. As much as people relationship is vital in the management, there are other aspects of management worthy considering when making such decisions. The human diversity in terms of work, communication, fight, think, and many other spells that we always have problems in working with others. Additionally the other surprising aspect of the book is its focus on the different aspects between the people’s ‘outer behaviors’ rather than the differences in their inner states. The book is base on the assumptions that in any organization setting you are bound to meet ‘only four different styles of people’ either in the workplace or out. These are drivers, amiables, expressives, and analyticals. This assumption raises eyebrows or rather questions because for every assumption there is an exception. Though the book has adequately given the information and further clarified that the four styles of people operate dependently, its solid stand on assumption that there is ‘only four styles of people’ shuts the room for more research or discovery. The organization and style of writing of the book reflect the outstanding piece of literature that is well-organized not only to educate, but also to entertain-enjoyable to read. One amazing thing about the book is the way it has approached the ‘people’s styles of at work’. The author first draws the attention of the readers by explaining why relationship of people in a work setting is important. He proceeds to give the four different styles of people in the workplace, and each differs from the other. The organization, language used, and presentation of this piece of literature presents accessible and practical type of handbook for social style. The simplicity of the Social Styles used provides a good point in understanding the essence of people relations at work. I strongly recommend the book for my classmates in PRL 497. They should take time from their busy schedules to read this book. The book touches on the basic fundamental skills on the people relations, something that is not only important to my class but also to other classes. This piece of literature is important to someone aspiring to become a Public Relations Manager. In the modern business, the ability to have a smooth relationship with the people you are working with is increasingly becoming of vital for the success of any modern post. As a Relations Public Manager, you need developing excellent communication and relationship with your workmates. Thus, this is where the book's relevance comes in; it educates and gives guidance on aspiring and already working Public Relations Managers on ways to monitor and maintain excellent relations with the people. People’s Styles at Work presents a comprehensible, proven, and practical method Public Relations Managers can use to solve any situation. References Bolton, R. B. D. G. (1996). People styles at work. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Read More