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In recent years, activity-based costing (ABC) has become a popular cost and operations management technique to improve the accuracy of firms' product or service costs in order to help the firms stay competitive. Since the product-mix decision is an important ABC application, most studies in the ABC literature were generally focused on the effect of ABC analysis on the product-mix decision or product cost calculation. However, these studies usually ignored some important factors, such as: capacity expansions, management's degree of control over resources, purchase discount, and change of product's price. Hence, in this paper, we consider these factors to propose a more general model. This model can help managers to make a product-mix decision and identify excess resources so that managers can redeploy them to optimise resource usage. Furthermore, since previous studies did not consider the impact of price changes on product-mix decisions, this paper also examines the impact of reducing product price with different price elasticity of demand (εD) on the simulated company's profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1984, CEO Zhang Ruimin took over a nearly bankrupt refrigerator factory in Qingdao, China. In 2003, Haier Group's global sales hit $9.7 billion with a growth rate of 70% [...]

Benchmarking, the search for the best practices within and across industries to improve performance, has become a popular management tool. Increased global awareness and intensified international competition together with the development of numerous benchmarking clearinghouses will provide more opportunities for firms to engage in benchmarking. While much has been written about benchmarking, few attempts have been made to integrate the literature and formalize a research framework which includes the role of management accounting. The goals of this paper are threefold. First, we integrate the literature and propose a research framework in which antecedent, contextual and outcome variables are developed. Second, we discuss the roles that benchmarking plays within the management accounting function. Finally, we illustrate how researchers can apply the research framework when conducting studies to determine whether benchmarking an activity based cost management system has been successful and which variables play critical roles in leading to success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has advocated the development of an accounting information system that combines concepts and theories from both database and knowledge base research. This paper develops a computational model and discusses results of a prototype designed to meet this objective. This prototype system uses a representation scheme based on the previous research in events accounting data models and systems as well as recent research into the integration of knowledge and data in artificial intelligence. Object-oriented programming is used to develop an example implementation of the computational model for a managerial accounting inventory management decision making situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer system cost is a major capital expenditure for most business organizations. The impact of the decision in selecting a particular computer system pertains to not only the immediate financial resources but also the long-term commitment to the chosen system. Since the installation of a computer system requires adjustments in organizational structure and human resources, subsequent change to a new system is usually costly and invites resistance. As a result, it is very important to thoroughly consider all the factors when choosing a computer system. This paper presents a multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) model for the selection of a computer system. The paper also provides a microcomputer system selection example with empirical data to demonstrate its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]