Applications of Machiavelli’s The Prince, in General Electric
General Electric has had exceptional leadership that has kept the company at the top of their business. This success is attributed to both individual efforts to spur the corporation and the consequential results achieved collectively. GE has established the entire organization based on creativity and innovation, as they tend to inspire the public and improve their present lifestyles. However, this subject needs thorough discussion by distinguishing between standalone innovators and the one who rely on others, that is, gauging the difference between the leaders who accomplish their purposes through force or those who use persuasion (Machiavelli, p.21). This ideology of GE has
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He simply says that the firm was at risk of losing its market share to its competitors in more than a few areas, mentioning that only the motors, lighting, as well as the power systems trailed at first and second place in their corresponding markets. He also said, on the other hand, that the economy was changing from local prominence to international recognition. Moreover, in the foreign markets, the only part of their business that led was the gas turbine unit (Slater, p. 9).
Another characteristic desirable by a leader as displayed by most CEOs of General Electric, according to Machiavelli, was being feared rather than loved. He reiterated that a feared leader gains more admiration and is at the end of the day less harsh than a leader who strives to acquire love. A feared leader like Jack Welch upheld respect by making illustrations of only a few instances that needed intervention in the organization. On the other hand, leaders who endeavor to receive the love and admiration constantly lose respect and tolerate communities to incline into chaos (“murder and rapine”). As soon as such circumstances come into play, the leaders resort to radical and universally ferocious solutions to reestablish order. Consequently, it is better to murder a few people than to be forced to abolish an entire city. Most essentially, a feared leader has less motive to concern himself about wrongs. Men are less expected to attack a feared leader compared to
Niccolo Machiavelli was a unique politician, philosopher, and writer who lived in Florence, Italy during the European Renaissance period of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is most famously known for writing his ruthless handbook for rulers, The Prince, during his time in exile in 1513. This contentious piece of literature has been fondly referred to as “the guidebook for tyrants and totalitarians,” according to the documentary, Machiavelli: The Prince by director Jett Rink. However, the document has also been credited with positively paving the way for ethnic and religious toleration, individual rights, and modern democracies all throughout history; and it inevitably set the stage for future governments to come. In this way, it is
The political situation that prompted Machiavelli to write The Prince was that Italy wasn’t a unified country yet. It was a bunch of city states.
Machiavelli’s ideal prince is one that isn’t afraid to make cruel decisions, because despite the reaction of the people, Machiavelli says "it is better the be feared than loved” (43). Machiavelli states that “Love is held by the tie of obligation, which… is broken on every whisper of private interest; but fear is bound by the apprehension of
In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses ways in which a ruler should obtain power and maintain power, emphasizing the concept of gaining power through virtue versus fortune. Virtue, or virtu in the original Italian, is defined as the masculine quality of power, and not necessarily tied to ideas of morality as it is in the English definition.
Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, was born in Italy in 1469 and raised in
Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, politician, historian, and writer who wrote “The Prince” which coined the word Machiavellian, which is used to describe a person that is ruthless in the way that they pursue their goals and or means. I believe that when putting the work of “The Prince” by Machiavelli into conversation with the film “The Marriage of Maria Braun” that the main character Maria Braun is acting in a very machiavellian way, and since the character Maria Braun is an embodiment of post war Germany, it showed the status that Germany was in at the time and the lengths at which the country was going to survive and rebuild.
It placed emphasis on being an active and engaging citizen. They wanted to apply the approaches and insights of humanism to civic life especially noteworthy in the Italian city states and republics like Florence. They used classical scholarship from the medieval period to challenge prevailing ideas and practices. Machiavelli’s The Prince provides a striking example as he talks about dynamics of power and politics.
In addition to the concerns of the people, another important factor a ruler must consider is how easily it is for him to be blamed for something; actions among his kingdom can very quickly be trailed back to his decisions. Machiavelli suggests that, “it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how now to be good, and to use this knowledge and not us it, according to the necessity of the case” (p. 63). Again, we see Machiavelli arguing that a prince must use the most basic practicality in addition to understanding the various virtues that complement it. This use of common sense for the benefit of the state calls for generosity, mercy, and craftiness as well as an appropriate level stubbornness and imperiousness.
One trait that any Machiavellian Prince has to have is the ability to to strike fear into his people. A well known verse from Machiavelli’s, The Prince, is, “It
Written over 500 years ago, The Prince by Machiavelli, was crafted as guideline for rulers of this era. Contained within the novel are rules and ideas formulated to ensure that the prince had the longest lasting and best rule that he could. Although it was written so long ago it is fun to think about what kind of kingdom, or in our case, a business would look like according to ideas laid out in The Prince.
Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli advocates for the use of force to achieve the Prince’s goals. However, these acts are justified because they are done to benefit the state. Moreover, Machiavelli’s political philosophy repetitively stresses the fact that the Prince should not act in a way as to cause hatred. In this, constant cruelty is inappropriate and unjustifiable because it provokes contempt towards the ruler. In The Prince, Machiavelli discerns that good acts of cruelties “are carried out in a single stroke, done out of necessity to protect oneself, and are not continued but are instead converted into the greatest benefits for the subjects” (Chapter VII, 1984). These three principles of rapid, necessary, and discontinuous cruelty
Niccolo Machiavelli’s political treatise “The Prince,” a gift given to the ruler of the Florentine Republic Lorenzo de Medici, explains Machiavelli’s beliefs on the most effective way for a ruler to conquer and keep his state. He supports his beliefs by using examples of the past and imagery. The most dominant theme’s he carries throughout the whole book is a ruler’s fortune and whether they should be loved or hated. He argues that fortune and the way a ruler is perceived can either be a good thing or a bad thing. To Machiavelli fortune, in the sense of chance, fate or luck, controls half of one's time ruling and the other half is through their ability.
Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a "training guide" for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all "training" must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case.
Niccolo Machiavelli and Karl Marx developed theories concerning wealth and poverty in our society, as well as different types of governments. For instance, Machiavelli supported a capitalist economic system, unlike Marx, who embraced socialism in the society. Machiavelli wrote a book "The Prince" that explained how to be an effective leader. The theme of the book is "the end justifies the means." A person could or should do whatever is necessary to achieve the desired goal. According to Machiavelli, there is no concept of a perfect ruler, but only effective or ineffective leaders. Therefore, he claims that there are no fair fighters, but only losers and winners. Contrary, Marx embraced democracy as good practice for the government. This paper will analyze whether Marx would buy Machiavelli 's thought that states "desired ends justify undesirable means" (Weng 1).
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli presents a detailed analysis of how to acquire political power and maintain it. The author discusses how great men should conduct themselves and the desired principles of a princely government. Utopia by Sir Thomas More illustrates what the character Raphael Hythloday, its narrator, suggests to be the perfect human society found in the island of Utopia. This essay looks at why Machiavelli thinks a prince needs to have virtù in order to rule well, and whether Fortuna can actually foster the prince’s virtù. It will also look at the extent to which Utopia provides an argument that a leader has to have virtù in order to govern well. The essay will explore if there is any proof in Utopia that Fortuna plays a role in fostering virtù.