BA 422 Course Syllabus

COST MANAGEMENT II

BA 422 - Spring 2005

SYLLABUS

Instructor: Professor Dennis Caplan

Office: 218 Bexell

Phone: 737-2727

Email: capland@bus.oregonstate.edu

Class hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00 – 1:50; 207 Bexell Hall

Office hours: Tuesdays 9 – 10; Wednesdays 10 – 11; Thursdays 3 – 4; and by appointment

Class	Date	Topic	Assignment
1	March 29	Introduction: (1) Discuss course objectives, resources and requirements; (2) Just-in-Time Production; (3) Total Quality Management	HFD: pp. 654 – 663, 697 – 700
2	March 31	The Barbary Pirates and sound economic decision-making	The required reading assignment for this topic will be distributed on the first day of class.
3	April 5	(1) More about sunk costs; (2) Backflush Costing and the cost of information	HFD: pp. 700 – 707, on backflush costing.
4	April 7	Pricing issues: (1) cost-plus contracts; (2) price discrimination; (3) the downward demand spiral	HFD: Chapter 12. HFD: Chapter 9, p. 303, the section entitled “Pricing Decisions and the Downward Demand Spiral.”
5	April 12	Outside speaker; Mike Williams, Vice President of Finance, HemCon
6	April 14	Designing a reward system with incentives for honest budgeting and high achievement	The article in the course packet by Gonek. HFD: skim Chapter 6, pp. 176 – 180, 192 – 194.
7	April 19	Transfer pricing: (1) goal congruence; (2) international tax planning	HFD: review pp. 758 – 773 on transfer pricing.
8	April 21	Midterm I	This exam covers lectures 1 through 7
9	April 26	Polysar Ltd., Part I: introduction, standard costing, and variances	Read and prepare the Harvard Business School case “Polysar” contained in the course packet; Review HFD, Chapter 7 on standard costing and variances, as necessary.
10	April 28	Polysar Ltd., Part II: transfer pricing, the volume variance, and conclusion	Review HFD, Chapters 8 and 9, as necessary.
11	May 3	A smorgasbord of performance measures	Review HFD, Chapter 21, through p. 727. Also, skim Chapter 23.
12	May 5	The Balanced Scorecard, sustainability, and the triple-bottom line.	HFD: Chapter 13, pp. 445 - 453.
13	May 10	Full costing, Part I: theory and practice	Read the article in the course packet by Schiff.
14	May 12	Full costing, Part II: Timberland, a case of Murder on the Orient Express	The assignment for this topic will be distributed in a previous class.
15	May 17	Full costing, Part III: pros and cons	The assignment for this topic will be distributed in a previous class.
16	May 19	Relevance lost	The assignment for this topic will be distributed in a previous class.
17	May 24	Midterm II	This exam covers lectures 9 through 15
18	May 26	The Goal, by Eliyahu Goldratt, the Theory of Constraints, and Throughput Costing	You should have finished reading The Goal by this class session
19	May 31	To be determined
20	June 2	Review of learning objectives

HFD refers to the textbook: Horngren, Datar and Foster, 11^th edition

Course Administration

Learning objectives: The objective of this course is to help students develop a conceptual framework for understanding the role of managerial accounting, and a set of tools for analyzing managerial accounting information and systems. Specifically, we will investigate in more depth than in BA 321 the following topics:

1. The relationship between managerial accounting and economics. We will examine the economic foundations of managerial accounting.

2. The relationship between managerial accounting and financial accounting. We will examine why accounting information used within organizations differs from accounting information provided to external entities, and the impact of financial reporting standards on management accounting.

3. The relationship between managerial accounting and marketing, and the role of cost information in establishing prices for products and services.

4. The relationship between managerial accounting and operations management and strategy. Specific topics include the Balanced Scorecard, Total Quality Management, just-in-time production, and the Theory of Constraints.

5. When and how to use the managerial accounting techniques of transfer pricing, absorption costing, throughput costing, accounting rate of return, and fixed overhead volume variance analysis.

Course prerequisites:

- BA 321 (Cost Management I) with a grade of C or better.

- BA 357.

- Students should be reasonably proficient at expressing themselves in writing, and in performing simple mathematical calculations without a calculator.

Course materials:

- There is a required Course Packet containing cases and articles, available in the bookstore.

- Other required materials will be distributed in class or will be available from the College website.

Course format: Class time will consist of a combination of lectures, cases, team exercises, outside speakers, and possibly student presentations.

Course requirements: Your course grade will be based on the following components:

Component	Points	Dates
Exam 1	20	April 21
Exam 2	25	May 24
Student-determined component	25
Final exam (this exam is cumulative)	30	during finals week
Total points	100

Exams during the term: There will be two exams during the term. The format of these exams will be explained in class approximately one week prior to the date of the exam. If you become aware of a conflict that might cause you to miss an exam, you should inform me immediately.

Student-determined component: Before the end of the first week of class, you must choose one of the following three options for how this portion of your grade will be determined:

1. A research paper, approximately 10 pages in length, on a topic agreed upon between you and the instructor. There will be various due dates during the term for the determination of the topic, the compilation of a list of source materials, an outline of the paper, and a first draft of the paper. The final paper will be due June 3. The paper will be graded both on content and on the quality of the exposition.

2. An additional exam, approximately two hours in length, administered during the final two weeks of class. This exam will not be comprehensive, but rather, will cover two or three topics that you will choose, from a list of approximately five topics that will be made available to you. This exam may include numerical, multiple-choice, and essay-type questions.

3. Class participation, as determined by attendance, the frequency of your participation in class discussions, the quality of responses when called upon during case discussions and other in-class activities, and at least one 10-minute presentation to the class on a topic agreed upon between you and the instructor.

It is anticipated (but not guaranteed) that grades for the student-determined component of your grade will be distributed in such a way that the mean grade will be approximately equal across each of these three options. In most cases, your choice among these options becomes irrevocable after the end of the first week of classes.

Final exam: The final exam will be held during finals week, and will be comprehensive. If you become aware of a conflict that might cause you to miss the final exam, you should inform me immediately.

Blackboard: Grades will be posted to Blackboard throughout the term. Blackboard will only be used for posting grades. Please do not send me email via the communications link in Blackboard. Email correspondence should be sent to capland@bus.oregonstate.edu.

Calculation of Overall Grade: I intend to grade on a scale no stricter than the following:

90% = A- ; 80% = B- ; 70% = C- ; 60% = D-.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the grading, please speak with me as soon as possible.

Students with disabilities: Students with documented disabilities who need special accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, and no later than April 1.

Academic Integrity: I define academic dishonesty in this class as offering or receiving help on an exam, or otherwise compromising or attempting to compromise the integrity of any component of the course that constitutes a formal part of your grade. With regard to the research paper, if your paper contains material that would constitute a violation of copyright law, were your paper to be published, there will be a presumption that you have violated standards of academic integrity. This condition is sufficient, but not necessary, for a determination of plagiarism; and hence, it is a useful guideline for students who are attempting to follow the rules. All cases of suspected academic dishonesty are handled in strict accordance with University policy.

Tips for success: Plan on spending about eight hours weekly on this course outside of class. Read the assigned textbook material, articles and case materials before class. Be an active learner and an active participant in class. Focus on following class discussion, not on taking extensive notes. When preparing for exams, focus on solving numerical problems that will be suggested or made available to you, that test your conceptual understanding of the material. Most students will benefit from working in study groups.