Application of Machiavelli on Corporate Actions.
Introduction.
The Prince by Nicole Machiavelli refers to the actions of an individual. The actions of an individuacan also referrs to actions ocorporationses. Corporates are bodies that are legally identified as a person or a human being. Therefore, this paper shall rely on the ideas of Machiavelli to analyse a company known as McDonald’s. The analysis shall provide arguments and concept to understand if the company adheres, eschew or manifest the philosophies of Machiavelli. Also, the research paper shall examine critics on the Machiavelli idea in relation to the operation of a corporation.
Mc Donald’s is the leading food service food retailer that continues to grow worldwide. The corporation started in 1940 by dick and Mc Donald’s in San Bernardino, California. In 1959, it had 100 restaurant through the United States of America. Currently, the company operates in 119 countries. The history or timeline of Mc Donald’s is characterized by perpetual success and growth throughout the year. Machiavelli in his book “The Prince” provides an insight of such progress to power characterized mainly by growth and expansion of the prince’s territorial boundaries.
Firstly, the Mc Donald’s growth and expansion has been achieved due to the effort of maintaining and uphold the company image. The sustainability of the company is found from the effort it has in making a positive impact on society. The Mc Donald promotes its image through the use of well-established values of placing the customer and the community first. Such an idea agrees with the Machiavelli philosophy of maintaining the company image. “Concerning things for which men, and especially the prince, are praised or blamed” Machiavelli says
“But since my intention is to write something useful for understanding reader, it seems to me more beneficial to go behind to the effectual truth of the matter, rather than focusing on the imaging of it” (Machiavelli p. 71)
He argues that a person promotes himself through goodwill. Hence, the Mc Donald’s company tries to promote itself from its personal values to its community first and then such truth spread like a gossip in the form of goodwill. Therefore, mac Donald’s adhere to the Machiavelli idea that the myth of a company is built on the ripples of goodwill and let the reputation of the company become your objectives.
The leadership of Mc Donald’s depicts the essence of power sharing or decentralization of power. The structure of Mc Donald that starts from the CEO Don Thompson and his 6 executive presidents translates how the Machiavelli idea of power sharing manifests itself. Machiavelli believes in power sharing rather than centralization of power.
The Mc Donald’s inclusion and diversity tend to realize the power of employees as discussed by the Machiavelli “concerning secretaries of the princes.” Mc Donald’s value is the commitment to its people or employees by providing opportunities, develop leaders, nurture talent and reward the employees. Hence, the need to train employees to foster productivity and performance. Machiavelli argues
“The choice of ministers is a task of no little importance to a prince. Whether they are good or not, depends upon the prudence of the prince.” (Machiavelli p. 112)
Machiavellian tries to explain the importance of employees; the fate of the largest business lies in the hands of their junior employees. Therefore, the company should seek quality employees and train the existing to actualize their best in performance.
The issue of public relation is a perfect philosophy portrayed by Machiavelli and practiced by Mc Donald’s. Mc Donald’s have been offering free WI-fi to their customers in order to attract customer and maintain a good image between the company and the public. Machiavelli on “that one should avoid being despised and hated” says
“It makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate, mean-spirited, irresolute, from all of which a prince should guard himself as from a rock; and he should endeavour to show in his actions greatness, courage, gravity, and fortitude; and in his private dealings with his subjects let him show that his judgments are irrevocable, and maintain himself in such reputation that no one can hope either to deceive him or to get round him.” (Machiavelli p. 87)
In other words, the prince like any business should avoid those things that render the business odious and contemptible. Wherever the business avoids them, it will have fulfilled its job and will find that other evil actions pose no threat to the business at all. Hence Mc Donald’s strives to win the interest and the trust of its customers and stakeholders in general.
Mc Donald’s adhere to the idea of Machiavelli on the structuring of the business. Career development or the corporate careers whereby the refine skills for the growth of individual status to the new roles and position in the company. In the prince; are Fortresses, And Many Other Things to Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous Or Hurtful?
“There never was a new prince who has disarmed his subjects; rather when he has found them disarmed he has always armed them, because, by arming them, those arms become yours, those men who were distrusted become faithful, and those who were faithful are kept so, and your subjects become your adherents. Whereas all subjects cannot be armed, yet when those whom you do arm are benefited, the others can be handled more freely, and this difference in their treatment, which they quite understand, makes the former your dependents, and the latter, considering it to be necessary that those who have the most danger and service should have the most reward, excuse you” (Machiavelli p. 101)
Machiavelli tries to give an insight on the professional matter of how the business should restructure itself to benefit from such change.
According to the timeline or history of Mc Donald’s corporate, the history of growth and success purely manifests from the philosophies of Machiavelli. The mac Donald’s came to the peak of success because of the effort of two people, Dick and Mc Donald’s. The actions of the two individuals gave rise to the expansion of the business. Under the philosophy of Machiavelli on the subject of “Dedication: to His Magnificence Lorenzo de’ Medici,” he intends to show the relationship between the patron and protégés;
“Those men who are anxious to ingratiate themselves with a prince are normally in the habit of greeting him either with those things they consider of the greatest value from amongst their own possessions or with objects they perceive give him the most pleasure. For this reason, one often sees princes presented with horses, weapons, gold-embroidered fabrics, precious stones and similar ornaments commensurate with their grandeur. Being eager, therefore, to offer my services to your Magnificence with some token of my subservience towards you, I have found nothing amongst my most precious and valued possessions of greater worth than my knowledge of the actions of great men, learned through extensive contact with contemporary events and a continual study of the ancients. Now that I have carefully considered and examined these matters at length, I have drawn them together in a small volume which I send to your Magnificence.” (McAlpine p. 1)
Machiavelli gives a general observation of a how business leaders like Mc Donald’s rise to their positions through their own efforts and mostly, at some stage, have benefitted from the assistance of a patron. The patron should be selected out of his good qualities and merits so as to assist in building as a foundation of success of the corporation.
In addition, the civil principalities from the Machiavelli idea is depicted and manifests itself in the Mc Donald’s corporate. Whereby the rise to power has been initiated by the loyal consumers of California and the very support of the customers made it possible for the company to expand its empire to the far lands approxomately119 countries. The sustainability of the Mc Donald’s states that rich heritage is from the fact of making a positive impact on its stakeholders or society. According to Machiavelli concerning civil principalities, he says
“ Where a leading citizen becomes the prince of his country, not by wickedness or any intolerable violence, but by the favour of his fellow citizens — this may be called a civil principality: nor is genius or fortune altogether necessary to attain to it, but rather a happy shrewdness” (Machiavelli p. 43)
Also, Machiavelli principles are seen to manifest in the case of Mc Donald’s dedication in the market positioning with their brand worldwide. MC Donald tend to reinforce their brand into the mind of customers through dedicating themselves in value creation for a remarkable image of the business. Such theory or idea manifest in Mc Donald philosophy; How a Prince Should Conduct Himself as to Gain Renown, whereby Machiavelli tries to explain the need for dedication to win the good reputation of your organization. He says
“Nothing makes a prince so much esteemed as great enterprises and setting a fine example. We have in our time Ferdinand of Aragon, the present King of Spain. He can almost be called a new prince because he has risen, by fame and glory, from being an insignificant king to be the foremost king in Christendom; and if you will consider his deeds you will find them all great and some of them extraordinary” (Machiavelli p. 107)
Therefore, the image and reputation of the business depends on how the managements market its brand or market positioning even though the business is big and performs. Mc Donald’s manifests the philosophy of Machiavelli in understanding the need for dedication in maintaining and retaining the reputation and values of its corporate even though it’s number one in the provision of food services.
On the other hand, Mc Donald’s eschew the idea of Machiavelli on the issue of loyalty. Machiavelli believes that loyalty is not a reliable factor in the workplace. This is against the values of Mc Donald’s and do not justify its performance. Hence the Mc Donald lives with loyalty, trust and respect among its workers.
The Machiavelli principles have been criticized in different angles and aspects as far as businesses and corporations are concerned. Firstly, the Machiavelli principles do not consider the issue of morality and ethics in business dealing and operations. It confines itself on the issue of power and leadership not necessary ethics in the business operation. In addition, the critics on the issue of ethics is portrayed on the business competition; Machiavelli on the subject concerning “A Prince on the Subject of the Art of War,” he says;
“A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank.” (Machiavelli p. 67)
Although, Machiavelli spearheads the need to be competitive in the business environment, but the fact of ethics is not put into consideration. What about the integrity and honour of the competitors? What of customers’ opinions and perception of your business. The impact of the stiff competition can have a fatal effect without considering ethics on the firm itself and business environment in general.
Conclusion.
Nicole Machiavelli’s ideas and philosophy have a fundamental application on the corporate or business. From the Mc Donald’s company, the concepts of “The Prince” manifests and applies in different aspects of the business since its history of growth. Therefore, Mc Donald’s gives an insight of how the Machiavellian principles can be applied to yield productivity and good performance of the company. On the hand, not only the Machiavelli’s principles do apply in business, need to understand and consider business ethics is essential when using such ideas and philosophies.
WORK CITED
Machiavelli, Nicolo. The prince. Randy Dillon, 2009. books.google.co.ke/books?isbn=1442131195.
McAlpine, Alistair. The New Machiavelli: The Art of Politics in Business. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. books.google.co.ke/books?isbn=0471350958.
McDonald's. aboutmcdonalds.com. 2013. http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html. 18 November 2013.
