In the 16th century, an Italian diplomat by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli created a piece of literature called “The Prince”. This writing was created by Machiavelli to give advice to the prince on how to rise to power and how to maintain it once obtained. It has been the guide to many great leaders in history. In today’s business culture, the principles explained in “The Prince” can be seen used by many corporations. A company can apply many of the principles that Machiavelli introduced. These practices can be seen in the ways that the Walt Disney Company operates. Disney uses Machiavelli’s ideas of acquisitions, changes in laws, and honor in promises.
[Machiavelli’s idea of acquisitions and Disney acquiring some media properties]
Machiavelli discusses that there are multiple forms of acquiring new states, but the more notable form of acquisition is through “one’s own arms and prowess” (Machiavelli 19) which is difficult when it comes to “maintaining his rule” (Machiavelli 19). A prince uses their resources and skills to take over new states, but encounters problems of respect and loyalty when they accomplish it through their means. This being said, once they do gain that respect and loyalty, they remain at a secure and powerful position. In order to get to that state, one must eliminate those “who were envious of their abilities” (Machiavelli 21)
Disney has not always been where they are today. They followed these principles from Machiavelli to become the giant corporation that they are. When the Walt Disney Company started out, they were just a small time cartoon company. Over time Disney began to grow as a company, acquiring new properties and creating new ones, but they still did not have the respect that they have toda...
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... work productivity. Eisner promised multiple people about the presidency seat, stating that if they worked hard enough, he would eventually reward them with the position. He would even go to the extent of manipulating Jeffery Katzenberg, “who had been among his closest colleagues and friends for nearly two decades” (Stewart)
Eisner had become the fox, but he also needed to become the bear to ward off threats towards him.
[Transition to conclusion]
[Conclusion that restates the thesis]
Machiavelli has become an extremely influential figure in the business world. He has led to the success of multiple corporations’ in today’s business world. In recent years, Disney has been following some of The Prince’s advice. This can be seen with the acquisition of multiple media properties, Disney not changing the newly acquired properties, and Eisner’s techniques of leadership.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a man who lived during the fourteen and fifteen hundreds in Florence, Italy, and spent part of his life imprisoned after the Medici princes returned to power. He believed that he should express his feelings on how a prince should be through writing and became the author of “The Qualities of a Prince.” In his essay, he discusses many points on how a prince should act based on military matters, reputation, giving back to the people, punishment, and keeping promises. When writing his essay, he follows his points with examples to back up his beliefs. In summary, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince,” provides us with what actions and behaviors that a prince should have in order to maintain power and respect.
The Walt Disney Company is a highly diversified media and entertainment company that has been growing by leaps and bounds since its inception in the late 1920’s. In the past few decades, The Walt Disney Company has expanded into numerous markets and diversified its business greatly. The company states that their corporate strategy is targeted at creating high-quality family content, exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and expanding internationally. Upon studying the happenings of the company throughout the years, it is easy to see that the company is executing this strategy well through numerous strategic moves in the industry.
We view The Prince as a guide for political power plays and remains a polarizing piece of literature that still guides politics today. However, much of what Machiavelli refers to in The Prince is out of date and doesn’t apply to the leaders of the United States. In some ways, The Prince helps guide those involved in politics because to be involved you must be ruthless and unforgiving, however, The Prince was written at a different time in history, when rulers used military might to obtain
This is apparent throughout the study because in order to be a good prince, a man must obtain certain types of qualities and characteristics. Consequently, if exhibited properly they will bring him security and prosperity among the state. Throughout a comprehensive analysis of the case, it is obvious that the skills learned in order to become a good prince are adapted from the norms of elders and other successful princes. An example is when discussing in the case on how to ,“strive for mastery” (p. 104). In the study Machiavelli speaks on how Achilles, known for being one of the mightiest Greeks who fought in the Trojan War, was raised on norms and discipline. Due to Achilles bold characteristics and fame, other princes wanted to obtain the same qualities of success and survival. In turn, this was paramount to the princes and human nature did not see much change back
"The Prince," written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1513, is a political treatise addressed to the Medici family of Florentine. "The Prince" was written to analyze and explain the acquisition, perpetuation, and use of political power in the west. Machiavelli’s theories in the work describe methods that an aspiring prince could possibly use to acquire power, or an existing prince could use to keep power. Though this work was written in 1513 and published in 1532, its context can be applied to foreign policy in today’s world. The principles suggested by Machiavelli provide insight into the issues that arose with the war on Iraq and issues involved with occupation and transition to a new government.
The most astounding aspect of The Prince is Machiavelli’s view that princes may indeed, be cruel and dishonest if their ultimate aim is for the good of the state. It is not only acceptable but necessary to lie, to use torture, and to walk over other states and cities. Machiavellianism is defined as “A political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the relevance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power (Def.)” This implies that in the conquest for power, the ends justify the means. This is the basis of Machiavellianism. The priority for the power holder is to keep the security of the state regardless of the morality of the means. He accepts that these things are in and of themselves morally wrong, but he points out that the consequences of failure, the ruin of states and the destruction of cities, can be far worse. Machiavelli strongly emphasizes that princes should not hesitate to use immoral methods to achieve power, if power is necessary for security and survival.
Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince is a book of philosophy that suggests or condemns various methods to ascend as a prince and ways to rule newly acquired principalities. In order to convince the readers, Machiavelli integrates different forms of logical arguments, including syllogism and enthymeme.
Machiavelli’s The Prince was written more than 500 years ago and it is “one of the most influential and controversial books published in Western literature.” (Article A) It was about Machiavelli’s political philosophies and the basic principles of what he believes a politician or “prince” should be. The three main ideas of the Prince were “Liberality and Stinginess”, “Cruelty and Mercy: Is It Better to Be Loved Than Feared, or the Reverse?”, and “How a Prince Should Keep Their Promises” and for the most part many of his concepts should or are already instilled in our government.
The Disney corporation is easily the greatest empire of entertainment in the world thanks to the creator Walt Disney and his brother. Disney’s influence has been great within culture and society and I learned how much of an influence Disney has had through our course this semester. This influence is reflected and broadcasted through the many works and readings that we examined in class. The articles gave me new knowledge about Disney that I was previously unaware of.
Possibly the most controversial book ever written, The Prince by Machiavelli, focuses on how a Prince or leader should rule. Many of the techniques that are stated in the text have caused many debates ever since it’s publication. When Machiavelli composed the Prince, his contemporaries were shocked at the ideas and themes presented. The Prince introduced a whole new way of thinking that was almost completely contrary to present beliefs. For that reason, in 1559 the Pope banned the printing of the Prince and the rest of Machiavelli’s writings.
[1] Information was mainly taken from the Harvard Business Case Study “The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King”
Many empirical things can often still be debated and refuted by experts, but there is a general admittance to the idea that power is the root of many evil things. In all fairness, we must admit that a many evil things can in their essence, be great. And that is one of the many theories advanced by Niccolo Machiavelli in his well-known work, The Prince. The Prince serves a dual purpose of both teaching a person how to attain power, but also how to retain it. Incredibly enough, history has proven most of Machiavelli’s findings and theories to work well, while some have failed to effectively secure power for the rulers who did, in fact try them. His work, does obviously highlight one main fact, which is, that power is a well sought-after attribute, and most who attain are willing to do whatever is necessary to keep it.
This case provides a brief history of management conflict and change at Walt Disney Company. Former CEO Michael Eisner was considered to be controversial because of his abrasive style and tendencies toward micromanagement. It was this style that strained several important relationships to the Disney Company. Though his reign as CEO during the 80’s and 90’s helped advance Disney Company, it was his conflicting management style that led to his demise and the beginning of Robert Iger’s epoch at Disney. Since Iger has taken the helm as CEO Disney was ranked 67th in the Fortune 500 list for largest companies, it has become the largest media conglomerate in the world, and relationships and disputes stemming from Eisner have been reconciled.
Although Machiavelli gives numerous points on what it takes to excel as a prince, he also shows some raw examples of how he feels a prince should act in order to achieve maximum supremacy. First, when he says, "ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern" proves Machiavelli feels mighty adamant about his view that being mean will help a prince achieve success (332). It is absurd to imagine the meanest prince as the most successful. Also, when Machiavelli states, "our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft" revealing his attitude to manipulate people into fearing and respecting the prince (335). Also, Machiavelli shows that for a prince to be successful, he must not think about good faith.
The book The Prince was a book of advice to politicians regarding how gain power and keep that power. The title The Prince is not about someone who has inherited land and a decedent to a king. In Machiavelli’s perspective a prince was a man of the citizens....