Ethics in Business
Consumers and attorney generals in more than 40 states accused a prominent nationwide chain of auto repair shops of misleading customers and selling them unnecessary parts and services, from brake jobs to front-end alignments. Lynn Sharpe Paine reported the situation as follows in ''Managing for Organizational Integrity," Harvard Business Review, Volume 72 Issue 3:
In the face of declining revenues, shrinking market share, and an increasingly competitive market... management attempted to spur performance of its auto centers.... The automotive service advisers were given product-specific sales quotas−sell so many springs, shock absorbers, alignments, or brake jobs per shift−and paid a commission based on sales.... [F]ailure to meet quotas could lead to a transfer or a reduction in work hours. Some employees spoke of the "pressure, pressure, pressure'' to bring in sales. This pressure-cooker atmosphere created conditions under which employees felt that the only way to satisfy" top management was by selling products and services to customers that they didn't really need.
Suppose all automotive repair businesses routinely followed the practice of attempting to sell customers unnecessary" parts and services.
Required:
1. How would this behavior affect customers? How might customers attempt to protect themselves against this behavior?
2. How would this behavior probably affect profits and employment in the automotive service industry?
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INTRO MGRL ACCT LL W CONNECT
- Consider the following conversation between Leonard Bryner, president and manager of a firm engaged in job manufacturing, and Chuck Davis, certified management accountant, the firms controller. Leonard: Chuck, as you know, our firm has been losing market share over the past 3 years. We have been losing more and more bids, and I dont understand why. At first, I thought that other firms were undercutting simply to gain business, but after examining some of the public financial reports, I believe that they are making a reasonable rate of return. I am beginning to believe that our costs and costing methods are at fault. Chuck: I cant agree with that. We have good control over our costs. Like most firms in our industry, we use a normal job-costing system. I really dont see any significant waste in the plant. Leonard: After talking with some other managers at a recent industrial convention, Im not so sure that waste by itself is the issue. They talked about activity-based management, activity-based costing, and continuous improvement. They mentioned the use of something called activity drivers to assign overhead. They claimed that these new procedures can help to produce more efficiency in manufacturing, better control of overhead, and more accurate product costing. A big deal was made of eliminating activities that added no value. Maybe our bids are too high because these other firms have found ways to decrease their overhead costs and to increase the accuracy of their product costing. Chuck: I doubt it. For one thing, I dont see how we can increase product-costing accuracy. So many of our costs are indirect costs. Furthermore, everyone uses some measure of production activity to assign overhead costs. I imagine that what they are calling activity drivers is just some new buzzword for measures of production volume. Fads in costing come and go. I wouldnt worry about it. Ill bet that our problems with decreasing sales are temporary. You might recall that we experienced a similar problem about 12 years agoit was 2 years before it straightened out. Required: 1. Do you agree or disagree with Chuck Davis and the advice that he gave Leonard Bryner? Explain. 2. Was there anything wrong or unethical in the behavior that Chuck Davis displayed? Explain your reasoning. 3. Do you think that Chuck was well informedthat he was aware of the accounting implications of ABC and that he knew what was meant by cost drivers? Should he have been well informed? Review (in Chapter 1) the first category of the Statement of Ethical Professional Practice for management accountants. Do any of these standards apply in Chucks case?arrow_forwardIdentify the major problems in this situation and explain how they impact the organization. You will need to consider both behavioral and analytical factors. Specifically, how might managerial accounting concepts, tools, or techniques be applied to help resolve this dilemma? What are possible consequences of applying the same to this dilemma? Briefly explain Orange Electronics has been experiencing declining profit margins and has been looking for ways to increase operating income. It cannot raise selling prices for fear of losing business to its competitors. It must either cut costs or improve productivity. The company uses a standard cost system to evaluate the performance of the soldering department. It investigates all unfavorable variances at the end of the month. The soldering department rarely completes the operations in less time than the standard allows (which would result in a favorable variance). In most months, the variance is zero or slightly unfavorable. Reasoning that…arrow_forwardConsider the following conversation between Gary Means, manager of a division that produces industrial machinery, and his controller, Donna Simpson, a certified management accountant and certified public accountant: Gary: Donna, we have a real problem. Our operating cash is too low, and we are in desperate need of a loan. As you know, our financial position is marginal, and we need to show as much income as possibleand our assets need bolstering as well. Donna: I understand the problem, but I dont see what can be done at this point. This is the last week of the fiscal year, and it looks like well report income just slightly above breakeven. Gary: I know all this. What we need is some creative accounting. I have an idea that might help us, and I wanted to see if you would go along with it. We have 200 partially finished machines in process, about 20% complete. That compares with the 1,000 units that we completed and sold during the year. When you computed the per-unit cost, you used 1,040 equivalent units, giving us a manufacturing cost of 1,500 per unit. That per-unit cost gives us cost of goods sold equal to 1.5 million and ending work in process worth 60,000. The presence of the work in process gives us a chance to improve our financial position. If we report the units in work in process as 80% complete, this will increase our equivalent units to 1,160. This, in turn, will decrease our unit cost to about 1,345 and cost of goods sold to 1.345 million. The value of our work in process will increase to 215,200. With those financial stats, the loan would be a cinch. Donna: Gary, I dont know. What youre suggesting is risky. It wouldnt take much auditing skill to catch this one. Gary: You dont have to worry about that. The auditors wont be here for at least 6 to 8 more weeks. By that time, we can have those partially completed units completed and sold. I can bury the labor cost by having some of our more loyal workers work overtime for some bonuses. The overtime will never be reported. And, as you know, bonuses come out of the corporate budget and are assigned to overheadnext years overhead. Donna, this will work. If we look good and get the loan to boot, corporate headquarters will treat us well. If we dont do this, we could lose our jobs. Required: 1. Should Donna agree to Garys proposal? Why or why not? To assist in deciding, review the corporate code of ethics standards described in Chapter 1. Do any apply? 2. Assume that Donna refuses to cooperate and that Gary accepts this decision and drops the matter. Does Donna have any obligation to report the divisional managers behavior to a superior? Explain. 3. Assume that Donna refuses to cooperate; however, Gary insists that the changes be made. Now what should she do? What would you do? 4. Suppose that Donna is 63 and that the prospects for employment elsewhere are bleak. Assume again that Gary insists that the changes be made. Donna also knows that his supervisor, the owner of the company, is his father-in-law. Under these circumstances, would your recommendations for Donna differ?arrow_forward
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- Matt Holmes recently joined Klax Company as a staff accountant in the controller’s office. Klax Company provides warehousing services for companies in several midwestern cities. The location in Dubuque, Iowa, has not been performing well due to increased competition and the loss of several customers that have recently gone out of business. Matt’s department manager suspects that the plant and equipment may be impaired and wonders whether those assets should be written down. Given the company’s prior success, this issue has never arisen in the past, and Matt has been asked to conduct some research on this issue. Instructions If your school has a subscription to the FASB Codification, log in and prepare responses to the following. Provide Codification references for your responses. a. What is the authoritative guidance for asset impairments? Briefly discuss the scope of the standard (i.e., explain the types of transactions to which the standard applies). b. Give several examples of…arrow_forwardD. The Hilal Company uses a responsibility reporting system to measure the performance of its three investment centers: A, B, and C. Segment performance is measured using a system of responsibility reports and return on investment calculations. The allocation of resources within the company and the segment managers' bonuses are based in part on the results shown in these reports. Recently, the company was the victim of a computer virus that deleted portions of the company's accounting records. This was discovered when the current period's responsibility reports were being prepared. The printout of the actual operating results appeared as follows. A Service revenue 24 $450,000 $ ? Variable costs 5,000,000 320,000 Contribution margin 180,000 380,000 Controllable fixed costs 1,500,000 Controllable margin 70,000 176,000 Average operating assets 25,000,000 1,600,000 Return on investment 12% 10% Instructions Determine the missing pieces of information above.arrow_forwardBoxes-and-Stuff, a box-packing and mailing company in a small town along the Gulf Coast, lost a key employee last month when its accounting manager was fired for embezzling company money. Now, the owners of Boxes-and-Stuff, Jerome and Natalia, need to find another accounting manager fast. But as they hurry to fill the position, they don't want to select a dishonest or incompetent employee. They need to be cautious. Fortunately, the police chief found the embezzled funds in a bank account set up by the former employee and authorized the return of the money. This means that Boxes-and-Stuff will not lose the embezzled amount, after all. However, Jerome and Natalia are already thinking of ways to protect their company from other risks. They want to be prepared for risky situations in the future. Questions: 1. Which risks do you think Boxes-and-Stuff might face?arrow_forward
- The Carla Vista Burkett Company uses a responsibility reporting system to measure the performance of its three investment centers: Planes, Taxis, and Limos. Segment performance is measured using a system of responsibility reports and return on investment calculations. The allocation of resources within the company and the segment managers' bonuses are based in part on the results shown in these reports. Recently, the company was the victim of a computer virus that deleted portions of the company's accounting records. This was discovered when the current period's responsibility reports were being prepared. The actual operating results appeared as follows. Determine the missing amounts. (Round Return on Investment to 1 decimal place, e.g. 52.7%.) Service revenue Variable costs Contribution margin Controllable fixed costs Controllable margin Average operating assets Return on investment $ Planes 5,018,000 1,518,000 25,018,000 12% Taxis $459,000 $ 189,000 79,000 10% Limos 329,000 389,000…arrow_forwardBoxes-and-Stuff, a box-packing and mailing company in a small town along the Gulf Coast, lost a key employee last month when its accounting manager was fired for embezzling company money. Now, the owners of Boxes-and-Stuff, Jerome and Natalia, need to find another accounting manager—fast. But as they hurry to fill the position, they don’t want to select a dishonest or incompetent employee. They need to be cautious. Fortunately, the police chief found the embezzled funds in a bank account set up by the former employee and authorized the return of the money. This means that Boxes-and-Stuff will not lose the embezzled amount, after all. However, Jerome and Natalia are already thinking of ways to protect their company from other risks. They want to be prepared for risky situations in the future. 1. Which risks do you think Boxes-and-Stuff might face? 2. How do you think the company should handle the risks you’ve identified?arrow_forwardIn a strategy meeting, the computer manufacturing company's president said, "If we raised the price of our product, the company's break-even point will be lower." The financial vice president responded by saying, "The company will also be less likely to incur a loss." As a management accountant would you agree or disagree with these statements and why?arrow_forward
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