Term Paper on "Sun Tzu and Machiavelli Business Is War"

Term Paper 3 pages (1300 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sun Tzu and Machiavelli

Business is war, and the tactics of warfare and diplomacy make good business. Long before modern business leaders gave advice breaking down a market into different strategic target areas or segmenting competitors into a 'Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats' framework known as SWOT, the Chinese warrior Sun Tzu wrote the "art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are: (1) the Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) the Commander; (5) Method and discipline." (I.3-4)

In other words, a leader in a military or a business environment must have a full and accurate appraisal of him or herself as a leader. He or she must have an accurate internal and external appraisal of the characters of the individuals he or she is leading, as well the environment into the army or product proceeds. Likewise, Machiavelli's classic the Prince is broken down into a series of analytic rubrics of different environments to show a leader must proceed in different ways, depending on how a principality was acquired, if by force, for example, or by democratic means.

Both Machiavelli, and to a lesser extend, Sun Tzu have been criticized for their ruthlessness. But they were not amoral philosophers. Sun Tzu wrote in "The Art of War" that without ethics, or moral law, "people will not be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger," as they must in a combative situation. (I.5) Loyalty is key when entering a competitive environment, from a practical perspective. People must fight for someone and something they believe, else their loyalty to the leader and to the cause will be in doubt. Hence the need for basic training in the army today, and corporate orientations that stress the philosophy of the company, as well as technical aspects of work. Yet this sense of loyalty is not enough -- heaven and earth must also be strong, that is the leader must also have an accurate appraisal and a calculate response to the seasonal needs, of the market, the environment of the outer lying word, to be able to show wisdom as a commander, and infuse discipline in his troops. (I.6) a leader moves differently when he or she has lesser troops at his or her command than the enemy, just as small company may adopt a more specific and targeted strategy when releasing a new product in a market dominated by a larger corporation.

This stress on morality as well as tactical strategy may seem antithetical to Machiavelli's advice to the Prince, which is often read as a purely strategic text. But both leaders counsel not higher aims, but what is tactically practical, and having a rallying cause is necessary to inspire the troops, ad well as to know one's enemy. Both leaders also give advice as to how to win over different nations, and stress the need to stay in power, as well as to purely acquire power. And Machiavelli notes, it "cannot be called talent to slay fellow-citizens, to deceive friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; such methods may gain empire," in the short run, "but not glory," and long-lasting security for the ruler. (IIV)

Of course, in employees in a corporation today are paid for their labor, much like mercenary soldiers, and they do not simply serve loyally to a leader, like they owe loyalty as soldiers to their nation. The contemporary employee's loyalty is bought like the mercenary soldiers Machiavelli calls the mercenaries of his day "useless" for these soldiers are "disunited, ambitious and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for… READ MORE

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