Business History Personal Essay

Chris John Lim Reaction paper on the journal articles of N. S. B. Gras

Business History

According to the articles I have read, business history is about firms and how they became to being. It is how a firm is organized, managed and controlled through administration. Business history covers the inside and outside environment of the firms. Business history concentrates upon a stream of living efforts held together by a quest for profits, distinction and service. Also, Business history combines both constitutional history and administrative history because it deals with constitution and control of business. Business history covers the ancient way of business to the present. It gives us a view in which we can learn from on how businesses flourished and or died.

Business history can be divided into 2 parts, the history of policy formulation and the history of business management. In the history of policy formation, there are 5 stages, petty capitalism, mercantile capitalism, industrial capitalism, financial capitalism and national capitalism. The second part which is the history of business management is the great reality of day-to-day business. It deals with the history of production, marketing and private finance. In this history, we can learn how people used to operate businesses and how they manage it to keep the firm in good shape. Much of the work in managing a business is routine. In the history of business management, we can also learn how competition works and how intense it can get.

So why should we learn business history? The second article answers this question. The second article states that we should not confuse business history and economic history because they are both different matters but it will be helpful if it is studied together. In studying business history, we may learn the essentials in making a business. Business history can help us know how realism, idealism and pragmatism can teach us in business. As stated in the...