What can the Businessman Learn from History, especially Business History?

In this essay I should like to put forward a few arguments in support of the thesis that commerce and economics graduates working in companies can benefit from a study of history, especially business history. In my view history imparts a knowledge of how to act that can help target identification and the allocation of means in a company. This thesis is contrary to the results of a recent survey, which showed that the majority of businessmen interviewed and the researcher who evaluated the answers thought a study and knowledge of economic history was not necessary for the commerce or economics graduate who wanted to work in a business1.