UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTANCY

THE ART OF WAR BY SUN TZU

BA111A: Strategic Management Term Paper

Submitted by:
Carmel Theresa O. Lim

Submitted to:
Fr. Jose Rivas Suson, SVD

September 20, 2016

CONTENT SUMMARY
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The Art of War is divided into thirteen chapters. The first chapter is
devoted to the importance of strategy. In terms of military operations, the book
presents five things that are to be assessed before undertaking any action: the
Way, Heaven (weather), Ground (terrain), General (military leadership), and Law
(discipline).
The Way or Tao has to do with civil leadership, or the relationship
between political leadership and people. Sun Tzu refers to the Way as inducing
the people to have the same aim as the leader.
Assessment of weather also related to concern for the general public and
the military personnel. The essential point here is to avoid disruption of the
productive activities of the people, which depend on the seasons, and to avoid
extremes of weather that would handicap or harm troops in the field.
Terrain is the terms of distance, degree of difficulty of travel, dimensions,
and safety. The fourth item to be assessed is military leadership to which a criteria
was established intelligence, trust-worthiness, humaneness, courage and
sternness. The last item to be assessed, discipline, refers to organizational
coherence and efficiency.

The second chapter, on doing battle, stresses the domestic consequences of

war, even foreign war. Emphasis is on speed and efficiency, with strong warnings
not to prolong operations, especially far afield. Considerable attention is devoted
to the importance of conversation of energy and material resources.
The third chapter, on planning a siege, also emphasizes conservation the
general aim is to gain victory while keeping as much intact as possible, rather
than destroying whoever and whatever stands in the way. In this sense, it is best to
win without really fighting.
The fourth chapter is on formation. Sun Tzu asserts that the keys to victory
are adaptability and inscrutability. Here, inscrutability presents a more in-depth
meaning, which means perception of what is invisible to be others, and response
to possibilities not yet discerned by those who look only at the obvious. By seeing
opportunities before they are visible to other and being quick to act, the uncanny
warrior can take control of the situation.
The fifth chapter is force or momentum, the dynamic structure of a group
in action. It emphasizes organizational skills, coordination, and the use of both
orthodox and guerilla methods of war. Here, change and surprise, employing
endless variations of tactics and using opponents psychological conditions to
maneuver them into vulnerable positions are heavily stressed.

The sixth chapter discusses emptiness and fullness. The idea is to be filled
with energy while at the same time draining opponents, in order to make oneself
invincible and take on opponents only when they are vulnerable.
The seventh chapter is on armed struggle. It deals with concrete field
organization and combat maneuvers. This chapter stresses the importance of
gathering information and preparation and only acting after having made
assessments.
The eighth chapter is devoted to adaptation, which naturally depends on
readiness, which encompasses material preparedness, suitable mental state, and
sheer physical power. A victorious leader is must beware of five dangers too
willing to die, too eager to live, too quick to anger, too puritanical, or too
sentimental. Any excess of these creates vulnerabilities that can easily be
exploited by skilled opponents.
The ninth chapter takes on maneuvering armies under three aspects
physical, social and psychological. Sun Tzu places significance on social and
psychological factors, both of which can overcome the sort of power that can be
physically quantified.
The tenth chapter on terrain continues the ideas of tactical maneuvering
and adaptability, outlining types of terrain and appropriate ways of adjusting to
them. It requires some thought to transfer these types of terrain to other contexts,

but the essential point is in consideration of the relationship of the protagonist to

the configurations of the material, social, and psychological environment.
The eleventh chapter, nine grounds, presents a more detailed treatment of
terrain, in terms of the relationship of a group to the terrain. The nine grounds in
the chapter are ground of dissolution, light ground, ground of contention,
trafficked ground, interesting ground, heavy ground, bad ground, surrounded
ground, and deadly ground.
The twelfth chapter, on fire attack, impassions the plea for humanity,
which emphasizes that weapons are instruments of misfortune to be used only
when unavoidable.
The thirteenth and final chapter, using spies, deals with espionage. The
chapter defines five kinds of spy local spy, inside spy, reverse spy, dead spy, and
living spy. The chapter emphasizes the importance of intelligence. The effective
use of spies depends on leadership. Sun Tzu concluded that only a brilliant rule or
wise general who can use the highly intelligent for espionage is sure of great
success.

ECONOMIC RELEVANCE
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Although the Art of War is not written as an economic work, the book
dabbles heavily on various economic aspects of military operations and discusses
several ideas, which can be interpreted from the perspective of modern
economics.
Recurring ideas on economics were distinct in most chapters of the book.
Sun Tzu had placed significant attention to economic affairs, regarding it as
among the most important in strategic operations.
One of the main key economic principles Sun Tzu had emphasized was
the importance of resource allocation. Economic efficiency, which is maximum
output from minimum input, in both physical and human terms has been a key
guiding principle in the themes presented.
This is quite relevant to the current issue that we currently face as we are
quickly depleting most of our natural resources through the most inefficient
means. As presented in the book, the deliberate reckless use of our resources will
eventually catch up to us and eventually we will have to deal with the
consequences of our actions.

Sun Tzu councils that the wise must contemplate the intermixture of gain
and loss. Business organizations heavily relate to these, as management must
obtain a balance in achieving profit goals and expanding market share.
Another key point is the similarities between strategic insight and
entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship envisions alertness and discovery to be vital
forces in economic change, which makes sense, as strategy formation is an
essential factor in both military combat and business.
It can be observed that the teachings found in the Art of War can be
applied to different aspects in the economy be it financial, operational or
political; from microeconomics to macroeconomics, from a regular student to top
executives in corporations.
In my perspective, the economy lives and breathes the principles found in
the Art of War. Despite primarily directed during the warring states period in
China, the book presents themes that are still applicable to this day.

POLITICS
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The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

The Middle East has been suffering from horrifying losses and political
instability. With the rise of ISIS, along with bombings and the killings of civilians,
lives have been wrecked and pummeled to the ground. Children have seen the
dangers of war and meaningless killings.
Although it may seem as a reckless military takeover, it dabbles heavily in
political aspects of authority and control. Sun Tzus Art of War, despite being
written centuries ago, presents principles that are still heavily correlated to issues
of present times.
How are world leaders reacting to the war-stricken countries? How is the
U.N. addressing the shocking number of lost lives? The Art of War expands and
encompasses the responsibilities of leaders in their ability to lead based on the
criteria of intelligence, trust-worthiness, humaneness, courage and sternness.
Leaders must perceive what is invisible to be others, and respond to
possibilities not yet discerned by those who look only at the obvious. By seeing
opportunities before they are visible to other and being quick to act, then we can
take control of the situation.

The political aspect could also be related to our current local issues on
President Dutertes methods of the dealing with the increasing drug-related crimes
in the country. With international media meddling in and the circulation of articles
that hold no factual or credit-worthiness, it is important to discern and seek the
facts of the matter. As discussed in the seventh chapter, Sun Tzu stresses the
importance of gathering information and preparation and only acting after having
made assessments.

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

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Despite having been written for over 2500 years, it is clear that the
principles and teachings of the Art of War are still applicable to this very day. Sun
Tzus influence expanded through many great leaders and military men such as
Mao Tse Tung and Ho Chi Minh to Napoleon Bonaparte and General Douglas
MacArthur. Now, it has expanded to various fields such a business, economics,
psychology and politics. it has proven countless times to be more than just a set of
strategies but as a philosophical guide in understanding ones self and dealing
with the current challenges with face as an individual and as an entire race.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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McCaffrey, Matthew, The Political Economy of 'The Art of War' (2014).

Comparative Strategy, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 354-371, 2014.
M. I. Handel, Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought (2nd ed. Portland, OR:
Frank Cass, 1996).
Tzu, S. (2010 ). The Art of War: Spirituality For Conflict . (T. Huynh, Trans.)
Woodstock , Vermont , USA : Jaico Publishing House .
Tzu, S. (1988 ). The Art of War . (T. Cleary, Trans.) Boston , Massachussets :
Shambahala Publications, Inc.