Publications

October 1988
Case

Digital Communications, Inc.: Encoder Device Division

Explores the issues surrounding the determination of the product cost of a subassembly in a firm that has never had to determine subassembly costs. Asks students to change the cost system by adding allocation bases and developing a step-down allocation process. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Resource Allocation; Manufacturing Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Electronics Industry

December 1997
Case

Baylor Books, Inc.

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Jeremy Cott

The owner of a trade book publishing company must consider proper accounting for books returned and potentially returnable by book stores. Company and industry data are supplied. Costs of failure to publish books under contract and a cost accounting system for books... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Publishing Industry

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August 1997
Background Note

Accounting for Manufacturing Companies

By: Srikant M. Datar

The accounting for a manufacturing company is examined, including the flow of costs from raw materials to work in process to finished goods and the distribution between an inventoriable or product cost and a noninventoriable or period cost. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Product; Cost; Distribution; Accrual Accounting; Accounting; Manufacturing Industry

23 Jul 2013
News

Rosabeth Moss Kanter: It’s Time to Innovate

April 1993 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: In Service for Sight, The

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Starting as a modest 20-bed hospital, Aravind had grown into a 1,400-bed hospital complex by 1992. It had by then screened 3.65 million patients and performed 335,000 cataract surgeries, nearly 70% of them free of cost for the poorest of India's blind population.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Social Marketing; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Welfare; Expansion; Health Industry; India

April 2019
Case

Barber Cardiosystems

By: Ranjay Gulati and Paul S. Myers

Barber Cardiosystems, based in Melbourne, Australia, designs and manufactures therapeutic devices used for treatment of coronary conditions. Over four decades, it has grown to be among the top 200 medical device companies in the world. It competes against much larger... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Strategic Alignment; Cost Management; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Strategy; Leadership; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Australia

April 1987 (Revised October 1989)
Case

Winchell Lighting, Inc. (A)

By: Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan

Designed to teach students how to trace marketing costs to products. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Marketing; Consumer Products Industry

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August 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Accenture Human Capital Strategy

By: Paula A. Price, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Accenture is a leading global consulting, technology, and outsourcing company. It has clients and its own operations throughout the world. This case describes the human resources and related activities necessary to deliver its services to clients. It allows students to... View Details

Keywords: Management Consulting; Technology Consulting; Outsourcing; Human Resources; Activity Based Costing and Management; Management Practices and Processes

September 1986 (Revised April 1990)
Case

Mueller-Lehmkuhl GmbH

Mueller-Lehmkuhl sells apparel fasteners and rents attaching machines. It views these two products as effectively a single item and prices them accordingly, the fasteners at high profit and its attaching machines at a loss. The cost system allocates the cost of the... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Profit; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Japan; Germany

December 2010
Article

Altruistic Dynamic Pricing with Customer Regret

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

A model is considered where firms internalize the regret costs that consumers experience when they see an unexpected price change. Regret costs are assumed to be increasing in the size of price changes and this can explain why the size of price increases is less... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Price; Change; Inflation and Deflation; Cost Management; Customers; Practice; Announcements; Forecasting and Prediction

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October 2000 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Merck & Company: Evaluating a Drug Licensing Opportunity

By: Richard S. Ruback and David B Krieger

This explores the valuation of an opportunity to license a compound before it enters clinical trials. Describes Merck's decision tree evaluation process is presented. Information required to evaluate a specific licensing opportunity is provided, including the costs of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Opportunities; Valuation; Outcome or Result; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 2003
Tutorial

ABC Pen Factory Tutorial

By: Robert S. Kaplan

To preview this online product, Authorized Faculty can call our customer service department at 1-800-545-7685 or 617-783-7600. Illustrates, via a guided audio tour accompanied by dynamically changing spreadsheets, the role for activity-based cost systems. The numerical... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants

February 2005 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Tots R Us

By: Thomas D. Fields and Susan L. Kulp

Presents an overview of many issues associated with cost accounting and control. View Details

Keywords: Management; Cost Accounting

23 Feb 2022
News

Can WEB3 Bring Back Competition to Digital Platforms?

02 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

When Goal Setting Goes Bad

It's the rare manager who doesn't partake in quarterly or annual goal-setting exercises. And woe to those who don't make their goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely). But do these goals really work? Researchers from four top business schools... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

July 2020
Case

Applying Data Science and Analytics at P&G

By: Srikant M. Datar, Sarah Mehta and Paul Hamilton

Set in December 2019, this case explores how P&G has applied data science and analytics to cut costs and improve outcomes across its business units. The case provides an overview of P&G’s approach to data management and governance, and reviews the challenges associated... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Analytics; Analysis; Information; Information Management; Information Types; Innovation and Invention; Strategy; Analytics and Data Science; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Ohio

November 2000 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Activity-Based Management at W.S. Industries (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Sanjay Pothen

W.S. Industries undertakes the design and implementation of an activity based costing (ABC) system, and the ABC information empowers workers to make process improvement decisions. Workers' incentive pay is tied to cost savings from process improvements. View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Evaluation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Knowledge Management; Energy Industry; India

February 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Sandlands Vineyards

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte

Approximately 80% of the wineries in the U.S. break even or lose money. An even greater percentage lose money on an economic basis (i.e., after a charge for the cost of equity). Tegan Passalacqua is a successful, young, Californian winemaker who specializes in making... View Details

2012
Report

Better Outcomes, Lower Costs: A Conversation with Dr. Atul Gawande

By: Mark R. Kramer

In the face of increasing health care costs and uncertainty about health care quality in the United States, community-based collective impact initiatives driven by regional funders offers a new way to improve patient outcomes at the local level. Collectively,... View Details

Keywords: Community Foundations; Health Outcomes; Health Care and Treatment; Quality; Cost Management; United States