...The Medici Family operated on the most influential commercial organizations of the Renaissance period (Roover, 1966). According to Heldon (1995) the Medici Family started out as part of the patrician class, not nobility and was seen by most as friends to the common people. The Medici’s would eventually become Dukes of Tuscany and are credited by historians as the first family to set up an empire with money, while previous empires were created with the use of military force (Kim, 2005). The Medici Family history and the enormous impact it had on Italian history is archived in the Archive di Stato in Florence (Roover, 1966). The Medici Family combined banking and commerce to generate great wealth and acclaim (Heldon, 1995). The Medici Family was at the centre of the banking universe (“The Economist,” 1999). The Economist (1999) explains how this banking family provided services to four popes and two queens for over 400 years. The Medici Family Bank was considered the most powerful financial institute in all of the early 15th century Europe. The first Medici Bank was set up by Giovanni di Bicci de Medici in 1392 (“The Economist, 1999). However, due to the depression and the aggression of the French, the Medici Bank eventually failed (‘The Economist,” 1999). The Economist (1999) explains that although the Medici Family were not considered great innovators, they did keep great banking records. The Medici’s were able to take advantage of new techniques they developed to...
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...The Medici Family and Medici Bank in 14th century The Medici had an inestimable impact and effect upon Florence and the surrounding Italian peoples however this effect was not always positive or beneficial.[] The Medici, through carefully planned moves and states craft and at other times direct violence, worked tirelessly to remove Florence from its republican framework and replace it with a principality of their own. Indeed, by 1537 Florence was no longer a republic and named a duke to lead it now that it had become a principality, that duke was Duke Cosimo De’ Medici I. The move away from republicanism and towards this principality began with three generations of Medici; Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo De’ Medici. Their changes undermined a carefully laid constitution that was intended to keep one or more factions from gaining too much control over the city or for a single person to gain the sole leadership of the republic. However the Medici were able to slowly chisel away those devises of freedom and turn them into instruments of power. In order to fully understand the extent of the Medicean efforts it is important to observe the highlights of the complex system of government that the framers used. The Florentines in the thirteenth century developed a constitution that determined how the republic should be operated. The Florentine constitution was not a single document but rather a series of laws passed as the Ordinances of Justice in 1293 C.E. By this constitution...
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...Matthew Reikowsky Professor Kirk Humanities February 17 2011 The Medici Bank During the time of the Renaissance there were many advances and going on in Florence and at the center of one of the industrial movements was banking. This movement was spurred on and enhanced by one of the most powerful families during that time. The Medici family. The Medici family was responsible for supplying the world with four popes, two queens of France, and they controlled Florence, with a few interruptions, for almost 400 years. One of the more famous things the Medici family is responsible for is the forming and rise of the Medici Bank. Founded by Giovanni di Bicca de’ Medici in 1397. Giovanni had managed a bank in Rome before moving to Florence. The Medici Bank lasted up until 1494, when it collapsed due to depression, internal strife and French aggression. Fortunately the Medici Bank kept excellent records and could later be used by other banking organizations and a building stone for their banks. While the Medici family were not the great innovators of the Renaissance like many people are famous for in this time, they did however use techniques that were being newly developed in Italy to the advantage, for instance double entry accounting. Which even as technology has advanced, the double entry accounting and bookkeeping is still being used widely on an electronic scale by just about all banks. Currently under GAP regulations in order to be certified by GAP a financial institution...
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...Corporate Machiavellianism. It is an interesting story as to how the Machiavellian analogy to “deceiving, self-centered, ends justify the means” came in to general use. Or as the Oxford English Dictionary defines, “the employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct". Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian historian, diplomat, philosopher, politician and a humanist writer based in Florence during Renaissance. He was Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, during which the Medici were out of power. Before which he was responsible for the diplomatic and military affairs in the Florentine Republic. He penned the greatest work of his life; “The Price” after the Medici had regained power and, held no obligatory responsibilities towards the Florentine Republic. In this seminal work he elaborated an ideology, which has been often interpreted as, “Ends justify the means”. Machiavelli prosed to the prince- the ruler of the state, that the prince has to always focus on achieving the objectives towards the welfare of the state (has to be result driven, for the output any action can be justified), even to the extent of suspending the rights, liberties of its populace. In the current context, this seems to be the hidden agenda of some of major corporations. Like the example of a major American burger franchisee which did not hesitate to include a highly carcinogenic ingredient in their products. Or like a few corporations...
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...The Power of Machiavelli’s The Prince Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a “training guide” for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all “training” must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case. The Prince was one of the first humanist works of the Renaissance. Indeed it is a work of art, a literary masterpiece of sorts. Yet this work has been vehemently debated over the centuries and remains one of the most controversial pieces of writing today. (Nederman) Niccolò Machiavelli was brave enough to give the leaders of his day a how-to guide. In this work, The Qualities of a Prince, we are given a point-by-point description of what a leader should do to effectively lead his country. Machiavelli’s philosophy is basically to become a good leader you must do anything even it is immoral and wrong. He first writes that a prince’s duty concerning military matter must always think of war only, even in times of peace. They must know their surroundings exactly so they can defend and make effective strategies to counter the enemy’s attack. They must also know historical battles so they will be able to learn their tactics and improve on it. (Jacobus) Machiavelli explains that, because leadership is obviously a position of command, “war is the only profession which benefits one who commands...
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...of the importance of the Cesarean Section procedure in Italy. Park states that due to the inability to organize among the female midwives, Florentine women began looking to male medical physicians for childbirth. Park stress though, that role and responsibilities between the midwives and the Italian male physicians were different and, “ This did not represent a “usurpation” of the functions of midwives by physicians…”. Male physicians were more involved in the pregnancy of the women and were present in difficult births, while the midwives were usually just present at the moment of birth. With the gaining of creditability, the profession grew, for example, Park presents the evidence of the wife of Lorenzo de ‘Medici demanding a physician be involved. The de ‘Medici family was the most wealthy and powerful of the Florentine families, and their use of the physicians also added of the status of the practice of...
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...main issue in the order was how E&Y failed to properly evaluate Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporations’ (Or Medicis Company’s) method on estimating sales returns and allowances. According to the PCAOB order, Medicis was allowing their customers (whom were mainly wholesale distributors) to return expired or nearly expired products. Medicis was reporting allowances for sales returns based on replacement cost rather than sale price, which resulted in their revenues being materially overstated. The order sites SFAS 48 (also consistent with ASC 605-15-25) which provides guidance criteria for sales transactions with rights to return. PCAOB concluded that the transactions in the scope of this issue have met all the necessary criteria from Paragraph 6 of SFAS 48 (for the sake of space Paragraph 6 was omitted from this memo). The requirement for measurement recognition for returns is cited in paragraph which 7 states: 7. If sales revenue is recognized because the conditions of paragraph 6 are met, any costs or losses that may be expected in connection with any returns shall be accrued in accordance with FASB Statement No. 5, Accounting for Contingencies. Sales revenue and cost of sales reported in the income statement shall be reduced to reflect estimated returns. Regardless of Medcis’s departure from GAAP, E&Y issued an unqualified opinion, which resulted in action from the PCAOB. Exception Rule Medicis and E&Y initially justified the use of replacement cost for their...
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...Florence in the Renaissance was the home of a galaxy of men of talent and genius who find no parallel in history except in ancient Athens. A sketch of the history of the city cannot "explain" the presence of so many outstanding individuals nothing can do that. It can only present some idea of the conditions in which they flourished. From at least as far back as the eleventh century we can discern some features of Florentine history that were to remain fairly constant. The governing class at this time consisting of small nobles and rich merchants was divided by bitter conflicts among its members; the city was expanding into the surrounding countryside, and it was coming into conflict, economic and military, with neighboring cities. The struggle with Pisa was to last for centuries. Until 1250, when the last great medieval emperor, Frederick II, died, Florence had to struggle against the attempts of emperors to assert lordship over the city. That none of these struggles prevented Florence from prospering is shown by the coinage in 1252 of the gold florin, which became a medium of international exchange, like the Venetian ducat already mentioned, because of the consistency and reliability of its gold content. The Florentine coin may not be the earliest gold coin created in this period; at about the same time, and perhaps a little earlier, Genoa began issuing its first gold coins. In the next century, the example was followed not only by other Italian cities but by the states of Europe...
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...In The Prince, by Machiavelli, he discusses the nature of the prince, how he should arise to power if not inherited by blood, and the rules in which to rule his domain. He primarily wrote this for the sake of the Medici family who would later transcend history as an infamous banking family that produced not only a queen but two Pope’s. The contents of this book were extremely controversial and were not published until after Machiavelli’s death but to this day it still holds to some degree influential power. As a Prince one must appear to have righteous qualities such as mercy, kindness, faithful, etc. but that is only the outward appearance that he must give off. The Prince should always have the capabilities of doing evil, he must be able use these qualities without hesitation when the need arises. For example, in the case of generosity versus parsimony, he claims that being too generous will lead to his depreciation as well as loss of his own major resources, which will be needed to be made up for in taxes. While on the other hand, either discontinuing or limiting your generosity will not be good for your reputation. So the Prince would rather be more frugal than generous. Several other guidelines that an excellent Prince must follow is not that of what laws to pass or who to execute but that of the emotions. The Prince, Machiavelli claimed needed to be feared yet loved all at the same time. Fear keeps his people in place but taken too far and the people begin to hate you...
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...Technology in the Renaissance and Early Modern Period I. Science and Technology in the Renaissance - Texts and works that were lost at one point were now refound - European scholars were now studying those texts that got translated into Arabic during the dark ages - The works of Plato etc become popular, not so much Aristotle anymore - “rebirth”; interest in newly recovered classical texts – humanists - travel, adventure and navigation - increased use of military technology results requires lots of money: increased taxation, wealth - leads to formation of new nation-states that can afford to engage in such enterprises (i.e. France emerges as state in 15th century) - costs associated with producing technologies (i.e. gunpowder), building and maintaining armies - many texts recovered after fall of Constantinople to Turkish army in 1453; transferred to Italy and retranslated - Catholic church challenged with Protestant Reformation; increased role of patronage and royal courts - Higher status for role of engineer - change in values: knowledge for wealth, power and status over standard theological considerations and attaining salvation turning point in the story of technology - changes in attitudes toward natural philosophy and technical arts, and change in relationship between science and technology - natural philosophers: justify search for knowledge on utilitarian and not just theological reasoning; this...
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...Brand Management Over the past years, large groups of people have experienced an increase in their living standards. People have become wealthier and they posses a larger buying power. Nowadays, most consumers are more likely to choose branded products that are established over products of an unknown make. It is a norm that human beings tend to change their consumption patterns in different situations. In this case, they are better off now, than they were before, thanks to strong economic growth. Due to the current state of affairs, many businesses have employed skilled individuals, better known as brand managers, to anticipate this trend and in return, increase profits. Brand managers are people who formulate marketing plans for the product that they manage. However, these brand managers have come to realize that consumers are now demanding for products that focus on special values that enhance their loyalty towards that particular brand and its products. In other words, consumers are now demanding for products that are authentic. The term ‘authentic’ can be defined as conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief. Brands have always been commercial agents and brand managers take pride in their ability to meet the needs of their target market. However, these two desires are in conflict with the recent trend towards positioning brands as “authentic,” emphasizing the timeless values desired by consumers while downplaying apparent commercial motives....
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...Cosimo di Giovanni de’ Medici eventually disobeys that order, which is why he will later be reverently known as Cosimo pater patriae, father of his country. His dates are 1389 to 1464 which makes him the longest lived of our five wealthy men. Having survived brief imprisonment and exile, Cosimo takes the Medici bank to its maximum extension and profitability and moves decisively into politics to the point of more or less running the Florentine Republic. He is a friend to philosophers, architects and painters, a patron to the arts and benefactor of major public works. At his death the bank has already entered a decline from which it will never recover. Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici came to be known as Piero the Gouty. Many male members of the Medici family suffered from gout, a hereditary form of arthritis involving painful and ultimately chronic inflammation of the joints. If Piero was the one singled out for the unhappy nickname, it was simply because he didn’t outlive his father long enough to be known for much else. To Piero, however, goes the merit, or blame, of establishing a principle of succession there where no succession should have been. Piero was head of the Medici bank by hereditary right, but there was no constitutional reason why he should have taken over from Cosimo as key man in the Florentine state. Frail, bedridden and bad-tempered, he was nevertheless more determined and effective than his republican enemies. Born in 1416, Piero ran the show for just five years...
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...Art and Intention Colleen Claus ART/101 August 16, 2013 John Lennox Art and Intention The statue of David was created to symbolize the city of Florence’s freedom from foreign, papal, and Medici rule by depicting the triumph of David over the giant, Goliath. The unveiling met with public resistance. Supporters of the Medici family hurled stones at it during the night. Other citizens objected to its nudity. To protect the sensibilities of the viewers, a copper skirt was made to go around it (Sayre, 2009). Marcel Duchamp’s painting, “Nude Descending A Staircase” is a captivating piece. By viewing it from a distance one perceives the graceful flow of movement. This is an abstract painting using cubism and inspired by stop-action photography. The public expected a realistic painting and did not understand the work. They thought the artist was mocking them. A reporter challenged anyone to find a woman in the picture (MyArtsLab, 2012). This painting is not a study of the human body but a study of movement. The inspiration for this piece was a book by Etienne Jules Marey, pictures of a horse trotting in stop-action photography, and an illustration that used a system of dots to indicate the point of each movement made (MyArtsLab, 2012). Duchamp depicted motion with the study of a figure in kinetic motion, represented by successive superimposed images of the subject. At first viewing the painting seemed to depict chaos and confusion. Knowing the artist’s...
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...the female nude but also for representing three-dimensional space on a canvas. Michelangelo’s David it is one of the world’s most famous sculptures, considered a masterpiece of Renaissance art. But it did not meet with universal approval when it was first dis played in Florence, Italy, in 1504. The thing that contemporary viewers find objectionable about each work was the plaza where public political meetings took place on a raised platform called the arringhiera from which the English word “harangue” derives). Its political context, in other words, was clear. It represented David’s triumph over the tyrant Goliath and was meant to symbolize Republican Florence the city’s freedom from foreign and papal domination and from the rule of the Medici family as well. Les Demoiselles d’Avingnon has often been interpreted as commenting on the anxiety surrounding venereal disease, a life-threatening sexual affliction that widely affected prostitutes in Paris during the 1900s. The reasons behind Duchamp’s innovative approach to human form were inspired by a popular exhibition of African objects held in Paris in the 1800s. Frequently carried modern European perceptions of cultural superiority and often appropriated the art without understanding its original meaning function. Yes the artist’s inspiration enhanced my appreciation of Nude Descending a Staircase there were so many details on the paintings and it explains so much of each painting on what it all means. This art work is expressing...
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...from the influence of Gothic realism by Botticelli's study of the antique. During the World War Two, “Primavera” was moved to Montegufoni Castle. It was returned to the Uffizi Gallery where it remains to the present day. The painting being restored in 1982 and had darkened with time's cruel passage. Who is the target audience? Primavera, known as “Allegory of Spring,” is the greatest works at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy. The origin of the painting is unclear, but we can detect the Primavera’s target audience by knowing the history of painting. The powerful families such as Medici family gave the funding of Patrons to artist such as Botticelli to complete the masterpiece. In 1477, the painting was probably commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’Medici, (second cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent). The painting had been commemorate of the marriage of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici in May, 1482. The painting was found in an anteroom to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici’s bed-chamber....
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