Niccolo Machiavelli Theory Applying to Macys and Apos - Case Study Example

Unit: Lecturer: Introduction In modern business world, Niccolo Machiavelli teachings are very relevant. The organizations are all based on power and dominance. The day to day operations are all driven by the power that is in the company. Machiavelli teaching remains viable to modern corporate world despite having existed centuries ago. This is due to the matters of power and morality. Power and morality is what drives the modern day corporations in their performance. As I look at a corporation such as Macy’s and Apo’s inc., the application of the Machiavelli principles is so clear that it can not be ignored. 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 demand 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 exclusive 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 Goodfellas 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 allegations that Macy’s and Apo’s used their corporate power to influence the ruling leading to the loss of the case by the competitors. This way led to them gaining the market from their competitors in a shrewd manner. The main way in which corporations mislead the people is by the guise of corruption. The only way to end this is by forceful removal of the leaders who are behind corruption. According to Machiavelli, a successful prince works in attaining, “fame for being great and excellent”. This is what many corporation leaders strive to attain in their corporations. This can be only achieved through good governance which requires prosperity for all (Machiavelli, 56.) Competition and success One of the most evident characteristic for Macy’s and Apo’s is a success. The corporation is a big success in the world of business. The leadership has ensured that the corporation has survived for the future generations. The long term existence of a corporation is one of the most sought after by most of the leaders. The great enemy of the survival of such organizations lies in corruption. The enemy can be controlled, prevented or eliminated according to Machiavelli. Using wealth gained by the corporations, it is possible to gain loyalty from the consumers (King, 65). There should be safeguards to prevent and counter corruption in any organization. Looking at the chief executive officers of corporations such as Macy’s and Apo’s, they can be compared to prince. The executives can gain the power using several methods, and once in power, they can utilize it in several ways. The executive of corporations receives great rewards and power is in their reach. The leadership in today’s corporate world is very competitive and can only be compared to political leadership of the renaissance Italy that Machiavelli was talking about. In the corporate world, the leadership is tasked with waging a business war just like the prince who is supposed to wage war. This is evident in Macy’s and Apo’s where the top management is responsible for competing with other corporations. The management is supposed to make the strategies to counter the competitors. The success of Macy’s and Apo’s can be attributed to having well defined business war plans against the competitors. Like the prince of the renaissance Italy, the modern day executive lives in a competitive and ruthless environment. The success of the corporations depends on how well the executive has made the plans (Machiavelli, 125). The Machiavelli philosophy is very important to the modern day executives. For Macy’s and Apo’s to have arrived to the position they are in the corporate world, it has taken well equipped leadership. According to Machiavelli, he praised the prince who had used the power techniques to build a solid and successful kingdom. The modern executives can take advice from the Machiavelli philosophy to build a successful and growing corporation just like Macy’s and Apo’s. The success of Macy’s and Apo’s can be seen through the corporation sales and turnover. In the year 2013, the corporation recorded a fiscal their quarter earning rise of 22 percent. The current executive is very optimistic that the corporation will continue with the trend in the following quarter. The main goal of the executive is to create an organization that is growing and making profit (Machiavelli, 140). Division of power Another aspect that is utilised by Macy’s and Apo’s is division of power. The corporation can not survive by having a single person organizing it. The structure that is present at Macy’s and Apo’s allows power to be shared in hierarchical order. This helps in distributing duties and responsibilities which ensures success. According to Machiavelli, “although one man should organize the government, yet it will not endure long if the administration of it remains on the shoulders of a single individual...” (112). This implies that the organization can not be led by a single individual. Division of labor helps in decision making and also division of power. The main problem that arises from the division of power is the possible conflict and competition. In the corporate world, sometimes the enemies turn out to be friends. Acquiring any secret favor by the executive may lead to the failure of the business. Sometimes these favors require a pay back that can have a negative effect on the corporation management. It may prove to be too hard to maintain these friends who are after favors in the long run. This according to Machiavelli, it is important for the prince to make friends with the enemies who are not after any favor rather than those after some reward. The enemies are referred to as those from the former kingdom who had been content with previous leadership (Machiavelli, 94). Fair dealings The corporate world is not above the law and hence should not be justified in using notorious methods to gain wealth. The executives are supposed to use the powers bestowed on them to build successful corporations only but not for personal gains. Misuse of powers for personal gains is highly prohibited as in the case of allegations of Macy’s and Apo’s unfair dealing with the Goodfellas. Having a well organised management is the main aim behind the Machiavelli philosophy in the modern world. The work by Machiavelli has received numerous interpretations. One of such interpretation is that a successful corporate prince should utilize unscrupulous methods to gain success in the organization. According to this explanation, the executives should utilize questionable methods to gain success and later forget them once the success has been achieved. These methods though they may seem unethical are deemed necessary to save the corporation and ensure its success (Machiavelli, 110). The use of illegal procedures and methods fro the corporation gain is hard to distinguish from the use for personal gain. In their operations, Mac’s and Apo’s have been able to engage in the methods that are purely for the corporation gain. The existence of such methods is all confounded in allegations such as the one with Goodfellas. The corporations can lie to protect their business operations according to Machiavelli philosophy. According to Machiavelli, a prudent leader should not keep his word especially when by keeping it will damage him as well as in a situation where the reason to keep it are no longer relevant. In their court battle with J.C penny over Martha Stewart, there is clear evidence that Martha Stewart had failed to keep her word. Macy’s claimed that the agreement they made with Macy’s Stewart was based on having exclusive rights to distribute their branded home goods. This agreement had been broken, and Martha Stewart had signed another deal with J.C penny. Keeping the agreement in some cases is impossible according to Machiavelli with prudent leaders (Machiavelli, 114). Conclusion The rising pressure on the executives to perform and show their results quarterly have led to certain behaviors related to Machiavelli. The executives have acted to use unscrupulous and unethical means against their competitors as seen in the case of Macy’s and Apo’s and Goodfellas. The Machiavelli principle on the leadership has led to different interpretations. One of such misinterpretations is misuse of power and corruption. Corporations have embarked on deals that will enable them gain monopoly or exclusive right to be able to compete in the market appropriately. The current corporate world is very competitive, and only those who are able to obtain a competitive edge can survive. In the case of Macy’s against Martha Stewart and J.C penny, the corporation is trying to gain a competitive edge. J.C penny and Macy’s and Apo’s are competitors in the same market. The main aim that Macy’s and Apo’s are after is having exclusive rights to sales and manufacture of Martha Stewart’s products. This is what most of the executives are after. Having control of the corporate market requires well defined war strategy. Just as the prince was entitled to strategize the war, the executives are supposed to come up with marketing strategies fro success and power. References Association Of Truth, Documents Expose Corporate Corruption By Macy’s Inc, 11 Feb, 2012. Web. 28 Sept 2013. Read More