Niccolo Machiavelli Versus Ricardo Semler

Introduction

Niccolo Machiavelli and Ricardo Semler were two individuals that offered two very different perspectives in regards to managing people. In fact, they offer a complete dichotomy of management styles. Each of their thoughts was influenced by the current events in their surrounding environment which included politics, economics, culture and religion. Neither style was right or wrong. In fact, many companies today use various parts of each style to influence the way they manage its human resources.

In today’s fast paced, information driven, competitive environment, management of human capital cannot be taken for granted. I believe it is one of the keys to becoming a successful and profitable organization. Which of these two gentlemen’s thought processes would fit best in today’s business world?

In order to answer this question, we need to address the following questions:

1. What is each of their views on the Nature of People?

2. What kind of people advice relative to human resource management would each individual provide today?

3. What is my management style and why have I chosen it?

Machiavelli View on the Nature of People

During the tumultuous and warring times of the 1500’s, political instability was more common then not. This, of course slanted the view of the nature of people by Machiavelli. In fact, in writing The Prince, Machiavelli’s main objective was trying to establish political stability in the prince’s domain by gaining and maintaining power.

During adversity, he viewed people as selfish, deceitful, manipulative and opportunistic. Machiavelli even says, “For a man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not so good.” His view during prosperous times is that people may be trustworthy, but they will quickly turn to be selfish and deceitful when times become adverse. Hence, Machiavelli believed that people can be persuaded, but it was difficult to hold them...