Running head: ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 1

Art of War and Business Applications

Name

Course

University

Date
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 2

Table of Contents

Abstract............................................................................................................................................2

Introduction/ Background................................................................................................................3

Literature..........................................................................................................................................4

Findings.........................................................................................................................................10

Analysis.........................................................................................................................................11

Summary and Conclusion..............................................................................................................15

References......................................................................................................................................17
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 3

Abstract

The book, Art of War, has been a very powerful book since its publication many years

ago, probably in the 6th century BC. Sun Tzu wrote this sentimental masterpiece that explains the

military strategies and tactics useful in battle. The paper seeks to explore and analysis the

usefulness of Art of War in business organizations. From previous study, authors have affirmed

how strategies used by modern business reflect strategies in the book. From findings, book

provides critical military adaptability techniques, which can be used to provide basic strategies

on how a business should adapt to the existing and emerging business dynamics. Art of War has

also elaborated on the need to familiarize with the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and use the

weakness to capitalize on gaining superiority over the enemy Art of War has established the

importance of planning, which ensure military victory on the battlefield. Sun Tzu has also

mentioned the essential of using foreknowledge to maximize the power of business intelligence.

The paper concludes by revealing that the book still has huge use in business world, especially in

the big data analytics.

ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 4

Introduction/ Background

The book, Art of War, has been a very influential book since its publication many years

ago, probably in the 6th century BC. Sun Tzu wrote this lyrical masterpiece that explains the

military strategies and tactics useful in battle. These strategies and techniques can be employed

to achieve victory over the victim (Giles, 2013). The book has heralded and remains a classic

item in the study of literature. The book continues to be examined by generation since it came to

the public limelight. The book shows the progression, intelligence, and culture of Chinese people

at limited resources and technology (Giles, 2013). The author wrote the book to give war tactics

through philosophical concepts. The author of this book employed different approaches to bring

out deep thoughts and understanding of the war, which has been used for strategic improvement

in many years and fields other than the military (Tzu, 2012). The book has found relevance in the

modern world, especially in human behavior, business, and leadership. The book has gained

much analysis, which has developed arguments ranging from its usefulness to morality to

authorship.

The text depicts a piece of literature, which has endured the test of time. When published

before the recording of Chinese history, the information concerning the author and book is

limited (Giles, 2013). There is no known time of Sun Tzu's life, but it has been argued among

authors. Irrespective of the era in which the book was written, war has been considered

important. Warfare was necessary because it affected the social and political attributes of a given

period. When the book was developing, the war was in the age of a multistate and unstable world

characterized by numerous conflicts over control of the people and land (Tzu, 2012). Therefore,

the book has been heralded for its advice on the effectiveness and success of military operations.

The advice developed across the books has found relevance in the modern world as it has been
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 5

co-opted by legions of managers and CEOs in the business domain. The books contain 13

chapters where each of the chapter emphasis on a different aspect of war. These chapters have

composed a smart text reflected by arcane, repetitive, and poetic elements.

During the time of Sun Tzu's life, there was a warring state era. It is believed that more

than 150 states were battling it out for power, where only 13 central states prevailed.

Nevertheless, only seven out of 13 states had more robust resources and an army. He was known

to be a great philosopher and military strategist in historical china, which led him to develop

military strategies for ancient china (Giles, 2013). The book is believed to had have helped China

have a superior military in ancient Asia. Art of War has been translated into numerous versions,

and in 1905 it was translated into the English language. The book has made the best-seller in

2001 and became more famous in business after Oxford University printed more than 20,000

copies (Giles, 2013). Despite being an ancient book, the book has offered fundamental principles

and give business leaders advice on how and when to make strategic moves in an organization. It

is even useful in the justice system where attorneys have these strategies to win trials (Giles,

2013). The above backdrop offers a brief relevance of the book in the modern world, especially

the business world. It is against this backdrop that this research paper explores and analyzes

relevant business literature relating to the book. It will evaluate the finding and develop a

comprehensive discussion of the text's relevance in the business world.

Literature

A significant number of past literature resources have developed the Art of War's

relevance in the business field. There have been developed theoretical and some practical models

on applying Art of War in the business field. In this section, different previous studies have come

up with literature related to how companies have used the military strategies in the book to
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 6

achieve a competitive advantage in the business fields. They have used it for business planning,

leadership, competition, and others.

According to McNeilly & McNeilly (2012), Sun Tzu, the author of the book, emphasized

the need to know an enemy in a military war. In the business domain, the author has highlighted

the relevance of companies to understand and know their competitors in terms of capability and

resources. McNeilly & McNeilly (2012) claims that by using the book's concept, the corporate

world should not cease at just analyzing the weakness and strengths of a business rival. The

authors identify the importance of comprehending the disposition of the business rival, especially

in competitive markets. When companies focus on the competitive force, they gain the advantage

of pushing to a more flexible, adaptive, and responsive business strategy. In their books,

McNeilly & McNeilly (2012) argue that it is vital for the business world players to how dynamic

and flexible management, which will be responsive and adaptive to business changes. Knowing

your competitors in the corporate world helps businesses win by avoiding competitors' strengths,

irrespective of business' weaknesses. The authors have provided manufacturing companies in

Japan as an excellent example of this strategy in 1950 and 1960, dominating the world

automobile market.

McNeilly & McNeilly (2012) continues to claim that Art of War's idea of knowing one's

enemy, which translate to learning competitor in business, relate to the Japanese economic

development after WWII. During and after WWII, the Japanese economy became weak, and it

was hard and challenging for manufacturing firms to compete and chose the market. However,

they utilized the needs that were ignored by the western industries. At the time, the

manufacturing industries in the West's world were ideal in making big models of vehicles,

applications, and motorcycles. However, the Japanese saw a weakness in their business rivals
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 7

from West's world west begab, making some cars for the middle-income people. In this

perspective, McNeilly & McNeilly (2012) claims that by using the Art of War's strategy of

avoiding the strength of one's enemy, they avoided the Western industries' resilience.

Japanese automobile industries began manufacturing better quality but cheaper cars in

the 1960s and 1970s (McNeilly & McNeilly, 2012). During this time, the western automobile

companies' main focus was on the local western market and assumed the market in Southeast

Asia and some African region parts. Japanese market strategy and product strategy was the

opposite of western companies, as they emphasized more using their efforts to develop products

for Southeast Asia, Africa, and another Asian market. They produced cheap and quality products

for these markets (McNeilly & McNeilly, 2012). With time, the Japanese manufacturing

companies in the automobile world developed the diversification model. They later produced a

big model range of vehicles for different markets worldwide (McNeilly & McNeilly, 2012).

They had a tremendous amount of time to improve their product by learning from the western

automobile industries. As time went by, Japan's automotive sectors produced superior quality

products that commanded high prices across the world, especially in the West.

Dimovski et al. (2012) bring out the relevance of principles for the business world's

battlefield. According to Dimovski et al. (2012), war principles are beneficial in small and

medium-sized business leaders. The authors claim that the Art of War techniques are helpful for

leaders managing small businesses because they teach the concept of maximizing resources.

Dimovski et al. (2012) claim this is a wise approach to win without involving themselves in a

much competitive business war. They claim that the text offers leaders in small and medium-

sized companies the knowledge of using their limited capital and another resource to overwhelm

the more budgeted companies (Tzu, 2012). Through low-budget marketing strategies, small
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 8

business has different digital marketing channels such as social media to influence customer

decision. Dimovski et al. (2012) advise the small business to use the battlefield principles in Art

of War to focus on the weaker forces of the larger competitor by influencing decisions and win

customers. The authors claim that small and medium-sized companies should give the right

resources to their workforce to maximize the weakness of their bigger competitors.

Moreover, the author argues that these principles are useful in achieving competitive

advantage at large companies' expense. The authors confirm that the Art of War offers business

leaders ways to leverage customer and market experience (Giles, 2013). They are advised to

work with the local professionals in untapped markets to familiarize their products and services

among the target customers. Leaders should overcome their anger and develop the art of patience

to win such customers.

Krieg & Rickli (2018) demonstrate that speed is important in war, as shown in the Art of

War, and is also essential in business. The change in business dynamics influences the face of

companies. Krieg & Rickli (2018) show speed is a vital element, as shown in the Art of War.

Thus business firms should keep up with the economic, political, technological, and social

changes. They should accelerate to adapt to these factors for them to remain competitive. In the

business field, speed is an instrumental tool in the marketplace because it enables companies to

take advantage of the fleeting chances and maintain the competition off balance. Krieg & Rickli

(2018) continue that some companies have continually brought new products to the marketplace

or develop new ways of delivering convenience and choice to the customers through innovation.

Numerous companies have coped up with the dynamic business world through diversification

and development of new products to meet the ever-changing customer preference. Good

examples of this company are Samsung Electronics, Apple Inc., Toyota, and Coca-Cola.
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 9

In his article, Bhandari (2018) demonstrates that Sun Tzu's Art of War is a briefly written

book but very useful and insightful in the modern business world. The author attests that the

book has 13 chapters, which is easier to understand. The book brings in-depth wisdom and

thought in a short piece of literature. Its current translation to numerous languages worldwide has

got its usefulness in the 20th and 21 centuries business world. The author highlights that the

obtained reveals the necessity of having a thorough knowledge of oneself, and the enemy is

bound to become victorious in all battles. However, Bhandari (2018) indicates that the Art of

War shows that a person who only knows about himself but not the enemy has slim chances to

become a victor. Bhandari (2018) reveals that these ideas are beneficial and necessary in the

business, especially in teaching marketing. According to Bhandari (2018), Tzu provides the

essence of acquiring a thorough understanding of oneself to succeed in battles. Bhandari (2018)

relates this concept with a successful marketer who should use the above principles to have

fruitful marketing outcomes.

Bhandari (2018) continues to shows that an effective marketing campaign should start

with planning. Planning has been a core principle in the Art of War (Bhandari, 2018). Thus,

planning is useful in the business world because it defines and directs achieving goals and

objectives. From the Art of War's principle of planning, Bhandari (2018) reveals that the business

world is the same as a battleground. Many militaries have collapsed in human warfare history

because of poor planning.

In the same way, a significant number of business companies across the world have

collapsed due to ineffective planning, which has resulted in a massive loss of employment and

capital. Bhandari (2018) insinuates that Art of War brings out careful and in-depth planning,

which helps the military win battles. Careless and less sketchy planning fails to yield any
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 10

positive achievement on the battlefield. From this thought, Bhandari (2018) insinuates that a

good plan should be conducted only after a considerate and careful evaluation of a company's

weaknesses and strengths against those of the business rival. Bhandari (2018) indicated that Sun

Tzu affirmed the value of understanding the terrain and weather in the military, which has an

enormous positive impact on influencing a military victory on the battlefield. Similarly, a

marketer should understand the product or service of a company to ensure the company's

competitive advantage is not threatened or compromised.

Sheh (2019), in his article, asserts that Sun Tzu provided insightful information in

comprehending the strengths and weakness of an army through careful assessment of the

different factors. Sheh (2019) reveals that this applies to marketing in the business world, where

a company should explore their controllable factors. Knowing the controllable factors ensures an

effective and productive marketing campaign. Sheh (2019) shows that different successful

business firms employ corporate planners to evaluate the competitive edge by using other

instruments such as SWOT analysis to utilize any marketing opportunity. Art of War emphasis

the importance of appraising the five primary factors to win a war (Sheh, 2019). One of the

elements is a doctrine, which has been associated with long term goals and business objectives.

The second factor is generalship, which has been related to the team leader or marketing

manager in the business world. The third factor is terrain linked with the business environment

and structure (Sheh, 2019). The fourth factor is climate, which is linked with the real business

environment. Lastly, the moral influence factor is connected to the understanding the leadership

in a business setting (Sheh, 2019).

ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 11

Findings

From the reading and comprehending the text alongside core research materials, the

following are the significant findings of the research on the relevance and usefulness of the Art

of War in the business world. One of the key results is that the book provides critical military

adaptability techniques, which can be used to provide basic strategies on how a business should

adapt to the existing and emerging business dynamics.

Art of War has also elaborated on the need to familiarize with the enemy's strengths and

weaknesses and use the weakness to capitalize on gaining superiority over the enemy. In the

business world, the concept is useful in studying and understanding the major competitors and

how to employ their weaknesses to gain a competitive edge.

Art of War has demonstrated the importance of planning, which ensure military victory

on the battlefield. The concept is applicable in business as planning ensures achieving the long-

term goals and objectives in the business domain.

Sun Tzu has clarified the importance of getting early into the battlefield, where he says,

"Generally, those who reach and occupy the battleground early will have time to rest and wait for

the enemy” (Tzu, 2012). The concept is useful in the business field as the "reach and occupies

the battlefield early" can be a perfect reflection of market entry. The enemy mirrors business

rivals or competitors.

Sun Tzu has also mentioned the essential of using foreknowledge to maximize the power

of business intelligence, wherein business case links with collecting information, interpreting and

analyzing it to gain a perfect perspective of the customers and market trend.

ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 12

Analysis

Art of War offers the critical techniques of military adaptability, which can provide

essential strategies for adapting to the existing and emerging business dynamics. Therefore,

applying this technique in the business world insinuates that business firms should always

compete in the marketplace and their respective industries (Giles, 2013). They should indulge

themselves in a business environment that equals their unique expertise and competitive edge.

Companies should avoid getting into a foreign market without a clear and elaborative strategy. In

the same manner, companies should desist from producing products or offering services that they

lack essential expertise and skills. According to the Art of War, the author advises a military

leader not to move an army without familiar knowledge of the terrain conditions. Some

companies have failed due to a lack of adaptive to emerging markets. For instance, the initial

entry of Nike into European markets was characterized by challenges and subsequent failures.

The company attempted to execute all the successful marketing strategies in the United States

while entering Europe's marketplace. They tried to associate their brand with some celebrities to

seize the European audience's attention, but they failed. However, they understood the market

needed a new approach and had developed some insights into the market. They managed to adapt

to marketing strategies suitable for the European market. They gradually became successful in

this market. Pacific-Asian companies are perfect instances of business that have become

successful in the Asian market. Companies such as Samsung and LG electronics have

demonstrated a high level of understanding of society's needs by adapting their products and

services to that particular business environment.

Art of War has also elaborated on the need to familiarize with the enemy's strengths and

weaknesses and use the flaw to capitalize on gaining superiority over the enemy. In the business
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 13

world, the concept is useful in studying and understanding the major competitors and how to

employ their weaknesses to gain a competitive edge. Trying to dodge the strength and capitalize

on your competitor's fault provides one with a competitive advantage. Sun Tzu argues that a

military may be associated with water, similar to flowing water that avoids the hastens and

height of the lowland (Tzu, 2012). The military avoids the strengths and attack of the weakness

of their enemy. Relative to this concept, many businesses establish direct attacks on their

business rivals in the hope of attaining profit.

Nevertheless, head-down, unsubtle, and direct attacks on the strengths of the competitors

seldom operate. As a result, such companies end up draining their capital and human resources

that fail to match the other companies' strong response (Giles, 2013). Therefore, the business

needs to pursue its competitors' weakness and use it to exploit market opportunities. A good

instance is Costco Company. As opposed to giving enormous stock keeping units for a specific

product category like its business rivals Target and Walmart, the retail company only sold bulk

products through its warehouses-based stores and maintained the frills to a minimum. Combing

this annual subscription fee, the company's customers got access to what was usually the best

deal around. The company concentrated on the weakness of Walmart and Target to capitalize on

gains while optimizing the use of resources. Thus, the increased profit in the company made it

overwhelm Target and Walmart in the USA.

Sun Tzu has clarified the importance of getting early into the battlefield, where he says,

"Generally, those who reach and occupy the battleground early will have time to rest and wait for

the enemy” (Tzu, 2012). The concept is useful in the business field as the "reach and occupy the

battlefield early" can be an ideal reflection of market entry (Tzu, 2012). The enemy mirrors

business rivals or competitors. Some years back, many southeast Asian countries opened up their
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 14

market for overseas multinational companies, especially India, South Korea, Vietnam, and

China. They provided an attractive market for global companies with worldwide established

brands. They opened their markets for the vast international firms from the cosmetic production

firms to electronics to automobile manufacturing firms. As a result, they witnessed an influx of

massive investment from these companies, which made brand and established loyal customers,

leading to an increase in their profitability and share (Giles, 2013). Therefore, understanding the

battlefield and getting into it early gives such an army an upper hand. Early movers in any

market achieve a substantial competitive edge. For instance, companies such as Samsung and

Huawei have established themselves as first movers into the market as they continuously enter

markets with new products. These companies have committed themselves to introduce new

products and advancing their work's technological ability to increase their share and profits.

Art of War has demonstrated the importance of planning, which ensures military victory

on the battlefield. The concept is applicable in business as planning ensures the business

domain's long-term goals and objectives. According to Sun Tzu, a military should first occupy

the land and assault on a particular battlefield. In the business setting, it means allowing the

market to come in the reinforcement of its plan. The business should have plans to oversee its

competitors' long-term movement and maintain a secret of the final objective of action. They

should be attentive to any breach in the market and being fast in decision and action. Strategic

planning help business to develop a robust structure that uses the weakness of their primary

opponents. Planning has been an essential value in the Art of War. Therefore, planning is

valuable in the business world because it outlines and directs achieving goals and objectives. The

Art of War's value of planning discloses that the business world is the same as the battleground.

Many armies have collapsed in human warfare history because of poor planning.
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 15

Similarly, a significant number of business companies across the world have collapsed

due to ineffective planning, which has resulted in a massive loss of employment and capital.

Bhandari (2018) implied that Art of War brings out cautious and exhaustive planning, helping the

army win encounters. With careless and less sketchy planning, it fails to yield any positive

achievement on the battlefield. From this thought, Bhandari (2018) suggested that a good plan

should be accompanied by a considerate and careful evaluation of a company's weaknesses and

strengths against those of the business rival. Sun Tzu stated the importance of understanding the

terrain and weather in military, which substantially impacts a military victory on the battlefield.

Similarly, a marketer should understand the product or service of a company to ensure the

company's competitive advantage is not threatened or compromised.

Lastly, Sun Tzu has also mentioned the essential of using foreknowledge to maximize

business intelligence's power. The business case links with collecting information, interpreting,

and analyzing it to gain a perfect customer and market trend. Art of War stresses the need to

know the enemy and know oneself because, in many battles, you never be exposed. Success in

competitions is built on the technique of surpassing and suppressing the capacities of enemies,

which can be achieved entirely or partially through adept creation and exploitation of beliefs,

knowledge, and information (Giles, 2013). Companies need to gather data about their

competitors, customers, and market trends in the business realm. The concept is useful in the

business world since big data has become a valuable asset in many organizations. The idea

mentioned above from the Art of War relates to modern business intelligence. From the book's

perspective, small and medium-sized businesses can employ data to reshape how they do

business and achieve prospective customers (Giles, 2013). Like understanding the beliefs,

knowledge, and information of the battlefield, business data can be used to comprehend
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 16

customers. As a result, this will help in streamlining the inner processes and operations of a

company. A significant number of companies collect, store, and analyze customer data to

understand their preference change and have detailed insights on the market. Amazon Company

is an excellent example of a company that has utilized this strategy. The company has been

collecting data for careful analysis, which has translated to the successful use and

implementation of the information. It reflects today's business intelligence, just like the war

intelligence as stipulated in Art of War. The enormous amount of information and knowledge as

putting in the Art of War helped achieve battleground success. It has found relevance and

usefulness in the digital business world. The companies are using the strong capability of big

data and business intelligence to target customers and develop more loyal ones. The fashion

industry can tap into this knowledge by using it to understand its market trend and its customers'

ever-changing preference. Fashion giants such as H&M and Zara have employed artificial

intelligence and big data analytic to study their customers' behaviors and changes in the fashion

marketplace. Therefore, they have used it for decision making.

Summary and Conclusion

The book, Art of War, has found massive relevance in the modern business world. The

books offered well-thought wisdom and advice for military leaders, which guaranteed success if

implemented. However, the book has been a reference tool in other fields, especially in the

business world, where business leaders use the developed principles for business and market

strategic management. From this research, it can be deduced that Sun Tzu. finding is that the

book provides critical techniques of military adaptability, which can be used for providing basic

strategies on how a business should adapt to the existing and emerging business dynamics. Art of

War has also intricate on the need to familiarize with the enemy's strengths and weakness and
ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 17

use the weakness to capitalize on the gaining superiority over the enemy. In the business world,

the concept is useful in studying and understanding the major competitors and how to employ

their weaknesses to gain a competitive edge. Art of War has established the importance of

planning, which ensure military victory on the battlefield. The concept is applicable in business

as planning ensures the business domain's long-term goals and objectives. Sun Tzu has

elucidated on the prominence of getting early into the battlefield, where he says, "Generally,

those who reach and occupy the battleground early will have time to rest and wait for the enemy”

The concept is useful in the business field as the "reach and occupy the battlefield early" can be

an ideal reflection of market entry. The enemy mirrors business rivals or competitors. Sun Tzu

has also mentioned the essential of using foreknowledge to maximize the power of business

intelligence, where it links with collecting information, interpreting and analyzing it to gain a

perfect perspective of the customers and market trend.

ART OF WAR AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS 18

References

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Dimovski, V., Marič, M., Uhan, M., Đurica, N., & Ferjan, M. (2012). Sun Tzu's" The Art of

War" and implications for leadership: Theoretical discussion. Organizacija, 45(4).

Giles, L. (2013). Sun Tzu on the art of war. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Krieg, A., & Rickli, J. M. (2018). Surrogate warfare: the art of war in the 21st century? Defence

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McNeilly, M., & McNeilly, M. R. (2012). Sun Tzu and the art of business: Six strategic

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