Machiavelli and modern management

Abstract

Shows how Machiavelli influenced modern management in much more fundamental ways than simply his well‐known advice to be ruthless, upon which many management writers focused. First, it explains his reputation for advising ruthlessness by discussing his life and times and the subject‐matter on which he wrote. Second, it details his positive teaching with regard to the modern world, the division of that world into a public and a private sector, and his foundation for the modern executive. In that context, ruthlessness is a tool for his executive figure to maintain stability in the public sector, so that people can focus more of their attention on the private sector in a modern world devoted to people serving their own needs.

Citation

Swain, J.W. (2002), "Machiavelli and modern management", Management Decision, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 281-287. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740210420237