Why (African) business schools need more business history
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Early retail and distribution? Parade sales in early twentieth-century Cape Town. On Monday, when stock markets crashed globally, Larry Summers tweeted: "As in August 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008 we could be in the early stage of a very serious situation." The first thing Summers did was to reference financial history. Implicitly he asked: what can we learn from the past to make sure we adapt, survive and prosper when conditions in the present change? I would think that the same applies to the world of business too: CEOs, directors and managers need to know how to react when change inevitably comes, either externally to the firm – for example, when the economy is heading into a recession (as the South African economy seems to be doing) or when the state decides to intervene – or internally to the firm – for example, when the firm grows beyond what it's organisational structure can support or when developing a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. And one source of wisdom to learn from (not the only one, granted, but an underappreciated one) is history.
Why (African) business schools need more business history
Why (African) business schools need more…
Why (African) business schools need more business history
Early retail and distribution? Parade sales in early twentieth-century Cape Town. On Monday, when stock markets crashed globally, Larry Summers tweeted: "As in August 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008 we could be in the early stage of a very serious situation." The first thing Summers did was to reference financial history. Implicitly he asked: what can we learn from the past to make sure we adapt, survive and prosper when conditions in the present change? I would think that the same applies to the world of business too: CEOs, directors and managers need to know how to react when change inevitably comes, either externally to the firm – for example, when the economy is heading into a recession (as the South African economy seems to be doing) or when the state decides to intervene – or internally to the firm – for example, when the firm grows beyond what it's organisational structure can support or when developing a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. And one source of wisdom to learn from (not the only one, granted, but an underappreciated one) is history.