Machiavellianism in the workplace Machiavellianism in the workplace Machiavellianism in the workplace is the employment of cunning and duplicitous behavior in a business setting. The term "Machiavellianism" is from the book "The Prince" by Machiavelli which lays out advice to rulers how to govern his or her subjects. Machiavellianism has been studied extensively over the past 40 years as a personality characteristic that shares features with manipulative leadership tactics. It has in recent times been adapted and applied to the context of the workplace and organizations by many writers and academics. The Machiavellian typically manipulates on occasions where it is advantageous to achieve the
The Golden Ass (Machiavelli) The Golden Ass (Machiavelli) L'asino (also called L'asino d'oro; English: The Golden Ass) was an unfinished satirical poem of eight chapters written by the Italian political scientist and writer Niccolò Machiavelli in 1517. A modernized version of Apuleius' "The Golden Ass" (rather than a translation of it), it is written in terza rima. It also concerns the theme of metamorphosis, and contains grotesque and allegorical episodes. In the poem, the author meets a beautiful herdswoman surrounded by Circe's herd of beasts (Canto 2). After spending a night of love with him, she explains the characteristics of the animals in her