Applications of Machiavelli Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Applications of Machiavelli - Term Paper Example In this paper, I will look at the application of Machiavelli philosophy into Macy’s and Apo’s Inc. Power as applied to Macy’s and Apo’s The corporate scandals are very common in modern business world. These scandals have aversely affected the business performance. The scandals have led to the loss of revenues and a negative impact on the economy in the long run. These effects can be ascribed to corporate irresponsibility among the leadership. The application of Machiavelli can be related to the current power tussles in the corporations. Corporate leaders can be related to the prince in the work of Machiavelli. Matters related to power have been a source of conflict among the leaders in corporations (Machiavelli, 44). The Machiavelli principles on power and leadership have been used in applying in exercising power by leaders in the corporate world. According to Machiavelli, one can work with moral means and only resort to immoral means when circumstances de mand so. This was evidenced in the recent legal tussle between the Macy’s and Apo’s inc. versus J.C Penny in the Martha Stewart courtroom tussle. In the case, Macy’s and Apo’s were in a legal tussle to fight over the right to control Martha Stewart. This was a battle of power in which the corporation wanted to retain the right to continue being the sole distributor of Martha Stewart. In this tussle, the struggle for power and dominance is evident. Each side wants to have the exclusive rights which would enable them have high sales (Machiavelli, 46). According to work by Machiavelli, the original Machiavelli ruler had to exercise virtu which meant that he was having inner strength, shrewdness and decisiveness. This could be used to gain power, glory, security and expansion. This is evident in the court tussles over dominance (Karen). Every corporation wants to have the power to dominate the other. This is mostly done through shrewd deals which gives exclus ive rights to an individual corporation. To be successful, one has to choose the Machiavellian virtuous life. Choosing the Machiavellian life comes with its won challenges related to corruption and power tussles. Liberty according to Machiavelli comes from adoption of the virtuous or the Machiavellians life by everyone (Machiavelli, 50). Corruption Corruption is always present in human beings according to Machiavelli. Self interest is always placed above the interest of public by the leaders. There have been cases of corruption that have been exposed in Macy’s and Apo’s. In the year 2012, corruption and unethical dealing was unearthed from the corporation’s documents. One of such cases is the fixing of their competitors in unethical means to gain competitive advantage. This was done when the company accused Goodfellas of selling counterfeit merchandise and goods stolen from Macy’s. The corporation even went a step further to make sure it severed Goodfella s market by informing the retailers who had their contracts that Goodfellas were selling counterfeits goods. This is not only unethical but unfair competition based on power and greed. The power was being abused by Macy’s and Apo’s against the citizens and their competitors. In some cases, the abuse of power is kept in secrecy, and only the corporation knows about it. In the case of Macy’s and Apo’s, they employed private investigators in order to frame Goodfellas (Association Of Truth). There were