Business Strategy and Competition | Assignment

Running head: BUSINESS STRATEGY AND COMPETITION
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND COMPETITION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Task 1 – Summary of the following articles
a. “The new empirical economics of management”
The article is mainly based on the lack of the study of management practices as a part of
economics. Although economics has been able to provide major contribution to actual
management practice and the study of business and management, the relationship between
business and economics has not been defined clearly. Management has not been a major part
of the economic analysis that has been made by researchers. The recent studies are however
aiming at fulfilling this gap in a huge manner by improving the study of management with
the proper implementation of economics (Van Reenen et al. 2014). Different questions have
also been raised in the article with respect to the relationship that is formed between
economics and management. The questions are mainly related to the need of economists to
study management which is mainly based on the role that is played by management of a firm
to enhance the economic growth and performance (Van Reenen et al. 2014).
The behavior and choice of the firm are dependent on decisions that are made by the
managers and the management as a whole. The article has also stated that the managers are
the most important part of production and distribution process of the organizations. The
quality of managers is able to improve the productivity of labor in a huge manner. The
hierarchies in different organizations are also decided with respect to better quality of the
managers. The managers thereby aim at crafting a strategy for the organization that can
further be implemented in the operations (Van Reenen et al. 2014). The development of
strategy is also based on information that is gathered by the managers. The managers also
have the ability to enhance the levels of employee motivation in the organizations in order to
generate the higher levels of performance. The management practices also have a major

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impact on the managerial style and the performance of employees in the organizations. The
article has also provided details related to The World Management Survey or WMS that had
been by Bloom and Van Reenen in the year 2007 (Van Reenen et al. 2014). The relationship
between the study of economics and management practices in the organizations have been
analyzed and established in the article in a detailed manner.
b. “Does management really work”?
The article has been able to provide a detailed analysis of the usefulness of management
practices for ensuring success of the organizations. The effectiveness of the management
practices in order to enhance the success levels of organizations has been analyzed by the
economists in different parts of the world. The three different aspects that have been taken
into consideration for the purpose of analyzing the effectiveness of management practices
include targets, incentives and monitoring. The research in the article is mainly based on the
open-ended questions that have been answered by the managers of different organizations
(Bloom, Sadun and Van Reenen 2012). Many different organizations are managed in an
ineffective manner by the managers and the management practices are not always considered
to be useful for the organizations. The measures of productivity and return on capital are
major aspects that have an impact on the management practices that are implemented by the
organizations. The analysis in the article has been able to establish that good management
practices have a major impact on the practical improvements of the firms (Bloom, Sadun and
Van Reenen 2012).
The manufacturers in different industries are also influenced in a huge manner by the
proper implementation of management practices. The influence of management practices on
the manufacturing of small and medium enterprises has been discussed in the article. The

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examples related to bad management in organizations can also depict the ways by which
management practices can influence manufacturing operations. Lean manufacturing
processes and their impact on the organizations have also been taken into consideration for
analysis in the article (Bloom, Sadun and Van Reenen 2012). The lack of proper management
practices and the influence that they have on the productivity of the organizations are not
always considered to be important by the leaders or managers. Although the management
practices are not considered to be the only aspect of effective operations of the organizations,
the importance of management operations are considered to be quite high (Bloom, Sadun and
Van Reenen 2012).
The research made in the article is mainly based on the interviews that have been
conducted in around 1,000 schools in the UK, US, Italy, Sweden, Germany and India. The
analysis has been able to depict that different schools and hospitals are managed in a poor
manner in comparison to the manufacturing organizations. The rewards that are provided to
employees in the public sector are also not considered to be effective for management of the
operations. The implementation of different management practices have an impact on the
rewards that are provided to employees and their satisfaction levels as well (Bloom, Sadun
and Van Reenen 2012).
The targets that are set by the organizations like schools are able to regulate the teachers
and pupils with respect to the clear goals that have been set by them. The article has also
provided an example of the Virginia Mason Medical Centre in Seattle has been able to
provide a picture of the efforts that are made by the organizations to improve the
management practices. The rise in levels of awareness and consciousness in different
industries has an impact on the proper analysis of management practices in the organizations.

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The research has been able to address the levels of motivation that are provided to
organizations so that they are able to implement changes (Bloom, Sadun and Van Reenen
2012).
c. “Needed-More Economic Analyses of Management”
The article is mainly based on the World Management Survey or WMS that has been
conducted with the help of data related to firm level management practices in different
countries and sectors. The differences related to total factor productivity or TFP have been
analyzed as a major part of the survey. The variation that has been depicted in the
performance of different firms has been a major focus of the theoretical and empirical
interest throughout social sciences that also include economics (Roberts 2018). The project
named World Management Survey or WMS had been developed for the purpose of
understanding the use of management practices in enhancing the productivity levels of the
firms. Different theories have been able to put the managerial and entrepreneurial abilities as
a major aspect of the usefulness of management practices of the organizations. The
differences or variations that exist in the process of management in different organizations
have been discussed in the article (Roberts 2018).
The levels of competitive intensity have also been taken into consideration for proper
analysis of management practices in order to ensure effective governance in the firms. The
variation in levels of productivity in the organizations is also considered to be a major factor
that is discussed in the article. The relationship between GDP per capita of the countries and
productivity of the organizations has been considered for the purpose of understanding the
use of management practices. The heterogeneity of firms within the countries have been
analyzed with the help of data related to the large scale operations (Roberts 2018). The

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competitiveness of the industries and the production functions have been taken into
consideration for understanding the management practices. The differences in productivity
are also quite prevalent in the organizations that manufacture homogenous goods. The higher
levels of total factor productivity have a positive relationship with growth, firm size and the
survival probabilities of the organizations. The differences in technologies that are used by
organizations can have a major impact on their productivity levels and operations (Roberts
2018).
The ways of proper evaluation of management practices have also been discussed in the
article in detail. The data related to WMS management have also been taken into
consideration in the article that are mainly related to the manufacturing processes of the
firms. The drawbacks of World Management Survey or WMS have also been discussed in
the article. The aspects that have not been discussed in the World Management Survey
mainly include, pricing, innovation, advertising, leadership, mergers and acquisitions and the
decisions related to entry in the new markets as well (Roberts 2018).
Task 2 – Theoretical framework of relation of management practices to firm productivity,
decline, growth and future
Firm productivity
Growth
Decline
Management practices

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Dependent variables Independent variable
Figure 1 – Theoretical framework
Source – Created by author
The four different aspects that have been mentioned as a part of the theoretical
framework mainly include productivity of the firm, growth, decline and failure. These are
considered to be the dependent variables. On other hand, the management practices are
considered to be independent. The management practices that are developed and implemented by
the organizations can have a major impact on productivity of the employees and in turn in will
influence the productivity of the firm as a whole. The growth of revenues of different
organizations will also be facilitated in a huge manner by the effective management practices
that are developed by the managers (Bender et al. 2018). On other hand, the ineffectiveness of
management practices can lead to a decline in the revenues that are gained by the organizations.
The operations of firms can in turn lead to a major failure if the management practices are not
effective enough. The analysis of the three articles has been able to depict the importance of
effective management practices in proper operations of the firms. On the other hand, the link of
economics with the management practices are mainly based on the levels of revenues that are
gained by different organizations in their respective industries (Bloom et al. 2019).
Task 3 – Ways by which the findings can help in improving performance of Collins
Aerospace
Failure

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Collins Aerospace is subsidiary organization of the United Technologies that is one of the
biggest suppliers of defense and aerospace products which is headquartered in West Palm Beach,
Florida. UTC Aerospace Systems or UTAS was mainly developed in the year 2012 when the
parent organization named United Technologies Corporation had merged its existing subsidiary
named Hamilton Sundstrand along with a newly acquired firm named Goodrich Corporation
(Utcaerospacesystems.com 2020).
United Technologies had announced completion of the acquisition of Rockwell Collins
after which the newly acquired organization along with UTC Aerospace Systems in order to
form Collins Aerospace. Collins Aerospace is mainly engaged in the designing, manufacturing
and proper servicing of the systems and components that are required for regional, commercial,
military and business aircraft operations (Utcaerospacesystems.com 2020). Collins Aerospace is
also considered to be a major supplier to the different international space based programs.
Collins Aerospace has two major segments that include Aircraft Systems and Power and Sensing
Systems. The segments are further broken down into different business units. Collins Aerospace
is also the owner of Ithaco Space Systems Inc. that is formerly owned by an organization named
Goodrich Company (Utcaerospacesystems.com 2020).
The relationship between economics and management practices of organizations can have
an impact on the operations of Collins Aerospace. Management practices that have been
implemented in Collins Aerospace can be influenced in a huge manner by the economic studies.
The study of management practices by economists can have an impact on the policies and
practices that used by Collins Aerospace in order to maintain the relationship with organizations
in the industry. The technical efficiency of Collins Aerospace is influenced in a huge manner by
the management based practices that are implemented by the organization (Kianto, Sáenz and

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Aramburu 2017). The managers of Collins Aerospace are able to play a major role in proper
development of the distribution of the firm. The products and after-market services that are
provided by Collins Aerospace can be managed in an effective manner by the manager of the
organization. The managers of Collins Aerospace are mainly responsible for the time that is
allocated to the employees in different projects that are a part of the organization (Bloom et al.
2016). Collins Aerospace is mainly known as a production-oriented firm that aims at fulfilling
the needs of consumers. The research and development activities that are performed by the
organization have a major impact on the ways by which Collins Aerospace can maintain the
services to its consumers. The managerial choices are considered to be an important aspect that is
able to influence the operations of Collins Aerospace in the industry (Saeed et al. 2019).
The management practices that are implemented by Collins Aerospace have an impact on
the production and manufacturing processes of the organization. The targets and incentives that
are provided by Collins Aerospace have a major influence on the work processes of the
employees. The managers of Collins Aerospace have a major responsibility to maintain the
management practices that are implemented in the organization. The manufacturing activities
that are performed by Collins Aerospace will also be managed in an effective manner with the
proper implementation of the management practices (Blader, Gartenberg and Prat 2016). The
productivity of the facilities and the organization as a whole will be influenced in a huge manner
by the management practices that are implemented by managers. Rewards and incentives have
also been planned by Collins Aerospace in order to maintain the productivity of the employees.
Good management and the implementation of practices can play a major role in ensuring the
proper operations of Collins Aerospace in the industry (Chowhan, Pries and Mann 2017).

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The levels of awareness within an organization are able to influence the decisions that are
made by the managers of Collins Aerospace. The concept of total factor productivity or TFP has
been taken into consideration for the purpose of analyzing the operations of Collins Aerospace.
The different factors that can have an impact on an organization like Collins Aerospace mainly
include governance, competition, informational frictions and human capital. The variation in
performances of organizations that are a part of the industry can also be considered for the
purpose of understanding the operations of Collins Aerospace (Al-Sarayrah et al. 2016). The
levels of competition in the industry are also able to influence the management practices that are
implemented by the managers in Collins Aerospace. The microeconomic and macroeconomic
factors have a major impact on the operations that have been developed by Collins Aerospace
(Bloom, Sadun and Van Reenen 2012).
The operations of Collins Aerospace in different countries are also affected in a huge
manner by the per capita based GDP of different countries. The heterogeneity of the firms have
been able to play a major role in the development of policies that are implemented by Collins
Aerospace. The analysis that has been made as a part of World Management Survey is able to
provide the details related to the importance of managerial ability to improve the operations of a
major organization like Collins Aerospace. However, the impact of management practices on the
levels of innovation, advertising and pricing of Collins Aerospace cannot be explained with the
help of the results of World Management Survey (Van Reenen et al. 2014).

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References
Al-Sarayrah, S., Tarhini, A., Obeidat, B.Y., Al-Salti, Z. and Kattoua, T., 2016. The effect of
culture on strategic human resource management practices: A theoretical
perspective. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 7(4),
pp.704-716.
Bender, S., Bloom, N., Card, D., Van Reenen, J. and Wolter, S., 2018. Management practices,
workforce selection, and productivity. Journal of Labor Economics, 36(S1), pp.S371-S409.
Blader, S., Gartenberg, C.M. and Prat, A., 2016. The contingent effect of management
practices. Columbia Business School Research Paper, (15-48).
Bloom, N., Brynjolfsson, E., Foster, L., Jarmin, R., Patnaik, M., Saporta-Eksten, I. and Van
Reenen, J., 2019. What drives differences in management practices?. American Economic
Review, 109(5), pp.1648-83.
Bloom, N., Lemos, R., Sadun, R., Scur, D. and Van Reenen, J., 2016. International data on
measuring management practices. American Economic Review, 106(5), pp.152-56.
Bloom, N., Sadun, R. and Van Reenen, J., 2012. Does Management Really Work? How three
essential practices can address even the most complex global problems. Harvard Business
Review, 90(11), pp.76-82.
Chowhan, J., Pries, F. and Mann, S., 2017. Persistent innovation and the role of human resource
management practices, work organization, and strategy. Journal of Management &
Organization, 23(3), pp.456-471.

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Kianto, A., Sáenz, J. and Aramburu, N., 2017. Knowledge-based human resource management
practices, intellectual capital and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 81, pp.11-20.
Roberts, J., 2018. Needed: More Economic Analyses of Management. International Journal of
the Economics of Business, 25(1), pp.3-10.
Saeed, B.B., Afsar, B., Hafeez, S., Khan, I., Tahir, M. and Afridi, M.A., 2019. Promoting
employee's proenvironmental behavior through green human resource management
practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(2), pp.424-438.
Utcaerospacesystems.com 2020. UTC Aerospace Systems. [online] Collins Aerospace. Available
at: https://utcaerospacesystems.com/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].
Van Reenen, J., Bloom, N., Sadun, R., Lemos, R. and Scur, D., 2014. The new empirical
economics of management.