Tommy Gaertner

Business 1050
My Renaissance Essay

My Renaissance

A renaissance occurs when something or someone is essentially revived or awakened after a

period of hiatus. This has come in the form of entire civilizations going through a renaissance, or even an

individual going through one; my own personal renaissance is one of returning to school after an

extended period of not doing so. Returning to school was very important to me because I knew it would

allow me to further my education and also obtain a degree.

Going into a business course, one would ordinarily assume the topics discussed should at least

seem business related. I have to admit, after I did my first assignment for this class I found myself asking

"what does any of this have to do with business?" I then peaked at the list of remaining assignments for

the semester and again, found myself asking "what does physics, or writings by Plato, Adam Smith, or

the Vikings have to do with business?" The topic material seemed a bit strange to me and did not

necessarily scream "business". Upon diving deeper into the assignments and readings, I found my

former judgement of this course being not business-like completely inaccurate.

Business is unique in a sense that certain factors for success in business can also bring about

success if applied in other sectors. This point rings particularly strong in the reading of The Art of War

authored by Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu was a very skilled general. Both in battle, and in devising tactics and

strategizing for battles. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu states that if you give him an army that is

disciplined, high trained, consistent in both reward and punishment, diligently prepares both physically

and mentally, and has both tactics and strategy in place, he will give you the winning army. The same

could be said for any business. A business that is disciplined, highly trained, consistent in their work and

has a plan and strategy in place is a business that is more properly setup for success. This chapter really

provided some outside insight I did not previously have on how business extends beyond what most

people refer to as business. The reading on the Art of War was one of my favorite reading
Tommy Gaertner
Business 1050
My Renaissance Essay
assignments for this course. It was an extremely interesting perspective on both business and battle and

how they are connected.

Another subject of discussion that initially struck me as unrelated to business was the theory of

natural selection. I very much enjoyed this reading because it really changed my opinions and

perspective on my initial point of view. When someone talks about natural selection, we tend to think

about nature and do not often associate it with business. In business however, natural selection is rather

evident. Just like in nature, in business, there if life and death (success and failure). There is also an

element of diversity in business in a sense that multiple types of business and competition exist. The

businesses that succeed do so because they possess certain qualities or characteristics which give them

an advantage over their competitors. These advantages possessed by business are similar to the

advantages that more dominant aspects of nature possess in order to thrive. Since the ultimate success

of failure of a business is predicated on a variety of factors, its difficult to have any sort of predictability

in business just as it is with nature. Seeing as how my ultimate goal for school is to obtain a degree in

business, I feel this chapter certainly added value by providing a very interesting outside perspective on

how business and how it extends beyond what most people would refer to as business.

Throughout the history of business as well as in modern day business, critical thinking has

always provided a major contribution. Edward Engh labeled critical thinking as the most important tool

ever devised. With the use of critical thinking, someone can see both the opportunity and also the

danger or risk in something. This is crucial in business, as many risks lead to a reduction of profits.

Businesses must ensure that critical thinking is applied in any decision made due to the potential

outcomes which could follow This was another reading that appealed to me more so than the rest.

Throughout my own renaissance experience, critical thinking was required from the beginning to the

end; it was needed in order to determine a plan for my education. It is needed now while I am in school
Tommy Gaertner
Business 1050
My Renaissance Essay
executing my plan. And it will continue to be required after my schooling is complete and I am working

in my desired field.

Having now gone through all the readings for this course in a detailed manner, it is clear that all

of them are in fact related to business. It is also clear why they were chosen for this specific course. The

combination of readings included provided an excellent insight into the foundation of business, and how

certain aspects of business varied from society to society and era to era.