Solution Manual for Managerial Accounting: Creating Value in a Dynamic Business Environment, 12th Edition

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-1CHAPTER 1The CrucialRole of Managerial Accounting in aDynamic Business EnvironmentFOCUS ON ETHICS (Located before the Chapter Summary in the text.)The focus-on-ethics inset for Chapter 1 is the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice.Instructors can use this list of ethicalprinciples andstandards to lead a class discussion.The discussion can also range to consideration of how these standardsmay have beenviolated by accountantsand managersinvolved in the variousethicalscandals uncoveredover the past several years. It is also useful to discuss thepros and cons of theproceduresthatIMA suggests for its memberswhen they believe they know about ethical lapses in theirorganizations.ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS1-1The explosion in e-commerce will affect managersin significant ways. One effect willbe a drastic reduction in paper work. Millions of transactions between businessesarenow beingconducted electronically with no hard-copy documentation.Along withthis method of communicating for business transactions comes the very significantissue of information security. Businesses need to find ways to protect confidentialinformation in their own computers, in cloud computing data centers, and whilemoving across the internet, while at the same time sharing the information necessaryto complete transactions. Another effect of e-commerce is the dramatically increasedspeed with which business transactions can be conducted. In addition, there will bedramatic changes in the way managerial accounting procedures arecarried out, oneexample being cloud-basedbudgeting, which is the enterprise-wide and electroniccompletion of a company’s budgeting processusing cloud-based software and datastorage.

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1-2Solutions Manual1-2Plausible goals for the organizations listed are as follows:(a)Amazon.com: (1) To achieve and maintain profitability, and (2) to grow on-linesales oftheir many products.Amazon is also famous (infamous) for wanting tohave every product in the world on its site.(b)American Red Cross: (1) To raise funds from the general public sufficient to haveresources available to meet any disaster that may occur, and (2) to provideassistance to people who are victims of adisaster anywhere in the worldon shortnotice.(c)General Motors: (1) To earn income sufficient to provide a good return on theinvestment of the company's stockholders, and (2) to provide the highest-qualityproduct possible.(d)Wal-Mart: (1) To penetrate the retail market in virtually every location in the UnitedStates, and (2) to grow over time in terms of number of retail locations, total assets,and earnings.Also, to be competitive with Amazon in the e-retail space.(e)City of Seattle: (1) To maintain an urban environment as free of pollution aspossible, and (2) to provide public safety, police, and fire protection to the city'scitizens.(f)Hertz: (1) To be a recognizable household name associated with rental carservices, and (2) to provide reliable and economical transportation services to thecompany's customers.1-3The four basic management activities are listed and defined as follows:(a)Decision making: Choosing among the available alternatives.(b)Planning:Developingadetailedfinancialandoperationaldescriptionofanticipated operations.(c)Directing operations: Running the organization on a day-to-day basis.(d)Controlling: Ensuring that the organization operates in the intended manner andachieves its goals.

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-31-4Examples of the four primary management activities in the context of a national fast-food chain are asfollows:(a)Decision making: Choosing among several possible locations for a new fast-foodoutlet.(b)Planning: Developing a cost budget for the food and paper products to be usedduring the next quarter in a particular fast-food restaurant.(c)Directing operations: Developing detailed schedules for personnel for the nextmonth to provide counter service in a particular fast-food restaurant.(d)Controlling: Comparing the actual cost of paper products used during a particularmonth in a restaurant with the anticipated cost of paper products for that sametime period.1-5Examples of the objectives of managerial-accounting activity in an airline companyare described below:(a)Providinginformationfordecisionmakingandplanning,andproactivelyparticipating as part of the management team in the decision making and planningprocesses: Managerial accountants provide estimates of the cost of adding a flighton the route fromDallastoMiamiand actively participate in making the decisionabout adding the flight.(b)Assistingmanagersindirectingandcontrollingoperations:Managerialaccountants provide information about the actual costs of flying thecompany’sAsianroutes during a particular month.(c)Motivating managers and other employees toward the organization's goals: Abudget is provided for the cost of handling baggage atChicagoO'Hare Airport.The budget is given to the airline's baggage handling manager, who is expected tostrive to achieve the budget.(d)Measuring the performance of activities, subunits, managers, and other employeeswithin the organization: Quarterly income statements are prepared for each of theairline's major geographical sectors, and these income reports are used toevaluate the earnings performance of each sector during the relevant time period.(e)Assessingtheorganization'scompetitivepositionandworkingwithothermanagers to ensure the organization's long-run competitiveness in its industry:Information about industry-wide performance standards is obtained and comparedwith the airline's own performance. For example, how does the airline stack upagainst its competitors in ticket prices, on-time departures, mishandled baggage,customer complaints, and safety?

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1-4Solutions Manual1-6Four important differences between managerial accounting and financial accountingare listed below:(a)Managerial-accountinginformationisprovidedtomanagerswithintheorganization, whereas financial-accounting information is provided to interestedparties outside the organization.(b)Managerial-accounting reports are not required and are unregulated, whereasfinancial-accounting reports are required and must conform to generally acceptedaccounting principles.(c)Theprimarysourceofdataformanagerial-accountinginformationistheorganization's basic accounting system, plus various other sources. Thesesources include such data as rates of defective products manufactured, physicalquantities of material andlabor used in production, occupancy rates in hotels andhospitals, and average takeoff delays in airlines. The primary source of data forfinancial-accounting information is almost exclusively the organization's basicaccounting system, which accumulatesfinancial information.(d)Managerial-accounting reports often focus on subunits within the organization,such as departments, divisions, geographical regions, or product lines. Thesereports are based on a combination of historical data, estimates, and projectionsof future events. Financial-accounting reports focus on the enterprise in itsentirety. These reports are based almost exclusively on historical transaction data.

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-51-7The cost-accounting system is one part of an organization's overall accountingsystem, the purpose of which is to accumulate cost information. Cost informationaccumulated by the cost-accounting system is used for both managerial-accountingand financial-accounting purposes. Managerial accounting is the broad task ofpreparing information for making decisions about planning, directing, and controllingan organization's operations.1-8Managers in line positions are directly involved in the provision of services or theproduction of goods in an organization. Managers in staff positions support theorganization's overall objectives, but they are indirectly involved in operations.Examplesof line positions in a university are the president, who is the university'schief executive officer, and the business school dean, who is responsible for runningthe “division” called the business school. Examples of staff positions in a universityare the university counsel, who is the university's chief lawyer, and the director ofmaintenance, who is charged with maintaining the university's facilities.1-9An organization's controller (or comptroller) is the chief managerial and financialaccountant. The controller usually is responsible for supervising the personnel in theaccounting department and for preparing the information and reports used in bothmanagerial and financial accounting. The treasurer typically is responsible for raisingcapitalandsafeguardingtheorganization'sassets.Amongthetreasurer'sresponsibilities is the management of an organization's investments, credit policy,and insurance coverage.1-10A college or university could use the balanced scorecard as a management tool justlike any other business. There is one important difference, however, between a profit-seeking enterprise and a nonprofit organization like a university.A profit-seekingenterprise generally has long-term profitability as its foremost goal, and the otherpoints on the balanced scorecard are oriented toward helping the enterprise achievethat goal of profitability. Universities, on the other hand, usually have multiple goals,which are sometimes in competition with each other.For example, a land-grantuniversity may have teaching, research,and public service as its three primary goals.Nevertheless, it is possible for a college or university to develop performancemeasures for each of the areas in the balanced scorecard. Some examples follow:Financial:Amount of the unrestricted endowment supporting the university’sactivities, and the extent to which the university operates with a balanced budget.Internalbusiness processes:Tenure rates for faculty, and the extent to which theuniversity’s facilities are up to date and well maintained.Customer: Class evaluations by students, and job placement rates for students.Learningand growth:Dollars of research grants obtained, and publication ofjournal articles and books by faculty.

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1-6Solutions Manual1-11This quote from a managerial accountant at Caterpillar suggests that managerialaccountants arephysically locatedthroughout an organization where the day-to-daywork is being done, rather than being sequestered off by themselves as was thetendency some years ago. Managerial accountants are increasinglydeployedas keymembers of management teams.1-12Managerial-accountinginformationoftenbringstotheattentionofmanagersimportant issues that need their managerial experience and skills. In many cases,managerial-accounting information will not answer the question or solve the problem,but rather make management aware that the issue or problem exists. In this sense,managerial accounting sometimes is said to serve an attention-directing role.1-13Both manufacturing and service industry firms are engaged in production. Theprimary difference between these types of companies is that manufacturing firmsproduce inventoriable goods, whereas the services produced by service industryfirms are not inventoriable. Services, such as air transportation or hotel service, areconsumed as they are produced.1-14(a)Practical capacityis an organization’supper limit on production of goods orservices, calculated after taking into accountnormal occurrences such asequipmentdowntime,employeefatigue,illness,andbreaks,andplannedinterruptions in production such as holidays and shutdowns.(b)Cost of resources suppliedis a measure of the spending on production resources,such as labor, machinery,and various overhead costs, that have been madeavailable for in support of the production planned during a particular period oftime.(c)Cost of resources usedis a consumption-oriented measure that attempts toquantify the spending on the production resources usedto create the actualamount of product or serviceoutput. It considersonly the amount of resourcesprovided that were actually needed for production.(d)Cost of resources unusedis the difference betweencost of resources suppliedandcost of resources used, i.e., the cost of the various production resources thatwereavailable for production but not needed for the amount of output actuallyproduced. Often referred to ascost of excess capacity.1-15The statement is accurate:capacity supplied in the current period but not used forproduction is gone. If a pizza maker is available for four hours to make pizzas but onlyone pizza is ordered, she still has to be paid for four hours. There is no way to storethat capacity to useit another time.However,if an experienced store manager,realizing it is going to be a slow night, tells her after an hour to “go home and we’llschedule you for three extrahourslater in the week,” then the capacity is neversupplied, and therefore it does not go unused and is not “lost forever.”

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-71-16CMA stands for Certified Management Accountant. This title is the professionalcertification for managerial accountants administered by the Institute of ManagementAccountants. The requirements for becoming a CMA include fulfilling specifiededucational requirements, obtaining relevant experience,and successfully passingthe CMA examination.1-17(a)Competence: Ongoing development of knowledge and skills, performance ofduties in accordance with relevant laws, adherence to regulations and technicalstandards, and preparation of complete and clear reports for management.(b)Confidentiality: Refraining from disclosing confidential information, except whenlegally required, and from using confidential information for unethical or illegaladvantage (personal or professional).(c)Integrity:Contribute to a positive ethical culture by mitigatingconflicts of interest,avoiding activity or conduct that wouldprejudice carryingout duties ethicallyordiscredit the profession, and placing the integrity of the profession above personalinterests.(d)Credibility: Communication of information fairly, objectively, and fully, includingdelays or deficiencies, as well as professional limitations or constraints that wouldpreclude responsible judgment or successful performance.1-18Non-value-added costs are the costs of activitiesin the value chainthat can beeliminated with no deterioration of product quality, performance, or perceived value.1-19As a quick glance at the internet will make clear, Disney’s ESPN both produces andbroadcasts a variety of sporting events via several cable channels. There are manyways in which big data and data analytics are important to ESPN, and answers couldinclude (but are not limited to) such uses as:analyzing viewer demographics by regionof the country to choose which football games to broadcast;studying viewer behaviorpatterns to help sell advertising time more effectively;and analyzing employeeperformance across several dimensions to determine the characteristics of the mosteffective employees.A successful answer mustspecifytheinsight thatsuch ananalysiswould provide for the benefit of the company.1-20Managerial accounting is just as important in nonprofit organizations as it is in profit-seeking enterprises. Managers in nonprofit organizations also need managerial-accounting information for decision making, planning, directing, and controllingoperations.While the organization’s goal is not profit, it still has important goalsrelating to its mission that its managers need to achieve with support from managerialaccounting tools and perspectives. A common saying is, “No money, no mission!”1-21Becoming the low-cost producer in an industry requires a clear understanding bymanagement of the costs incurred in its production process. Reports and analysis ofthese costs are a primary function of managerial accounting.

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1-8Solutions Manual1-22According to Miriam-Webster, aprofessional is a personwhoconformsto thetechnical or ethical standards of a profession.And the Oxford English Dictionarydescribes a professional as someone who is “competent, skillful, or assured.”According to thesedefinitions, a managerial accountantwould be a professionalifshe conducted herself according to the IMA’s principle and standards of ethicalprofessional practice.1-23Some activities in the value chain of a manufacturer of cotton shirts are as follows:(a)Growing and harvesting cotton(b)Transporting raw materials(c)Designing shirts(d)Weaving cotton material(e)Manufacturing shirts(f )Transporting shirts to retailers(g)Advertising cotton shirtsSome activities in the value chain of an airline are as follows:(a)Making reservations and ticketing(b)Designing the route network(c)Scheduling(d)Purchasing aircraft(e)Maintaining aircraft(f)Running airport operations, including handling baggage(g)Flying passengers and cargo1-24Strategic cost management is the process of understanding andmanaging, to theorganization'sadvantage,thecostrelationshipsamongtheactivitiesinanorganization's value chain.

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-9SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISESEXERCISE 1-25 (20 MINUTES)1.Estimates of any operating costs associated with the proposed luxury cars would berelevant. For example, estimates of the cost of gasoline, routine maintenance, andinsurance on the new vehicles would be useful.2.Data about the cost of maintaining the machine weekly or biweekly would be relevant.In addition, the production manager should consider information about the likely ratesof defective products under each maintenance alternative.3.Estimates of the cost of lost merchandise due to shoplifting and the cost of employingsecurity personnel would be relevant to this decision.4.Estimates of building costs for the library addition as well as estimates of benefits tothe population from having the addition would be useful. Estimating the benefits mayrequire value judgments about the benefits to the public from having additional libraryspace and more books.EXERCISE 1-26 (25 MINUTES)1.Developing a bonus reward system for managerial personnel is an example ofmotivating managers and other employees toward the organization's goals. To beeffective, the bonus system must provide incentives for managers to work towardachieving those goals.2.Comparing actual and planned costs is consistent with two objectives of managerialaccounting activity: (1) assisting managers in controlling operations, and (2) measuringthe performance of activities, subunits, managers, and other employees within theorganization.3.Determining manufacturing costs is related to all of the objectives of managerialaccounting. It is especially closely related to the objective of providing information fordecision making and planning.4.Measuring inventory costs is most closely associated with the first two objectives ofmanagerial accounting activity: (1) providing information for decision making andplanning, and (2) assisting managers in directing and controlling operational activities.Since inventory costs are used in external financial reports, they are also relevant tomeasuring the performance of managers and subunits within the organization.5.Estimating costs is particularly relevant to the objective of providing information fordecision making and planning.

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1-10Solutions ManualEXERCISE 1-26 (CONTINUED)6.Measuring operating costs,such as wagesand property taxes,is relevant to all of theobjectives of managerial accounting activity, because a clear understanding of costs isnecessary for a clear understanding of profit or other financial outcomes.7.Comparing operating statistics such as those mentioned for a hotel is particularlyrelevanttothefollowingobjectiveofmanagerialaccounting:Assessingtheorganization's competitiveposition and working with other managers to ensure theorganization's long-run competitiveness in its industry.EXERCISE 1-27 (30 MINUTES)Answers will vary widely for this exercise, depending on the company chosen by eachstudent. Companies’ financial goals often include profitability, earnings per share, growth inthe stock price, sales growth, and so forth. Managerial accounting can makean importantcontribution to all of these goals.EXERCISE 1-28 (30 MINUTES)Answers will vary widely forbothrequirements inthis exercise, depending on the companychosen by each student (or group of students).

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-11SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMSPROBLEM 1-29(25 MINUTES)1.Managerial accounting can be of significant benefit when it comes to solving thecompany’s problems. Managerial accounting is defined as the process of identifying,measuring, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating information in pursuit of anorganization’s goals. Several of the problems lie in this area and may be attributed toa lack of formal planning, controlling, directing, and decision-making expertise.For example, bulging inventories and the fact that growth “…has occurred in spite ofwhat we’ve done” may indicate the absence of a formal planning systemone thatinvolves developing a detailed financial and operational description of anticipatedactivities. Dangerously low cash balances and the need for short-term loans may beeliminated by the use of a cash budget, which depicts cash inflows and outflows overa period of time. The addition of ski equipment may or may not have been the properdecision.Did Nelson correctly identify all possible alternatives and then make theproper selection?The canoe-building activities and white-water rafting trips may be losing money. Arecosts skyrocketing hopelessly out of control? It is difficult to tell because the incomestatementdoesnotprovideadequateinformationitisasummaryofpasttransactions for the entire business.A performance report that identifies thecompany’s major areas of activity would be of assistance, especially if the reportmeasured budgeted vs. actual costs and highlighted (directed attention toward)significant deviationsfor management attention.If such a report were prepared,managers could better direct operational activities and ensure that the companyachieves its goals (i.e., the control function).2.Yes, a cross-functional team would be useful in this situation.Several of thecompany’s problems affect multiple functional areas within the firm.For example,bulging inventories, which impact profitability and cash balances, may be the resultof poorordering practices and/or ineffective marketing programs. Issues related tothe operation of a seasonal business may be overcome with the selection of different“off-season” product lines and aggressive marketing campaigns.These problems,coupled with the fact that a number of the key executives manage in “silos” and lackthe “big-picture” outlook for the firm, seem to indicate the desirability of teams thathave different employee backgrounds and interests (such as marketing, operations,and finance) represented.

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1-12Solutions ManualPROBLEM 1-29 (CONTINUED)3.Nelson’s business is operating in the tourism industry, which is notoriously cyclical.In that context alone, there are many constrained resources: for example, number ofrafts for raft trips and employees to guide them. In the busiest season, the summermonths of July and August, Nelson can probably keep a large number of rafts andguides profitably busy. Other times of the year, he has to lay off some of the guidesand some of the rafts sit empty because he offers fewer rafting trips each week. Buthe is fortunate that these are resourcesthatcan be scaled to meet demand: some raftscan be put in storage and every rafting guide knows that his employment is seasonal.Still, resource capacity has to be considered in managing the company.What about other resources that are not so easily adjusted?The buildings, forexample. They are a resource to the company and many of their costs (depreciation,for instance) continue year round. Does that mean that a t-shirt sold in winter shouldbe viewed as less profitable (or marked up more) than a t-shirt sold in summer,because there are fewer t-shirts sold to cover the cost of the building?Managerialaccounting says no, that the extra cost of the building in winter is unused capacityand shouldn’t count against the cost of the t-shirt.There are many other resources that could be listed. For each, you should describewhat causes the capacity issue.4.Data analytics is an attempt, via data governance and data science, to rigorouslyanalyze the operations of a company and the broader context it operates in. It is anempirical, evidence-based approach to understanding a company’soperations and assuch is indeed the opposite of “gut feeling.”This does not mean that the intuition(aka gut feeling) of experienced managers is without value. However, data analyticscan provide greater confidence about their intuition and often can sometimes findpatterns and relationships that even the most experience manager would miss ormisinterpret.Nelson’s case is a good illustration of a problem that occurs in many start-ups.Founderscan manage “by the seat oftheirpants” until the company hits a certain sizeand then their intuition fails. It simplycannot process the “big data.” Data analyticscould help Nelson by, forexample, showing the characteristics of customers most andleast likely to convert to internet sales, allowing him to tailor his communicationsaccordingly and perhaps suggesting how he might succeed with a targeted internetapproach without alienating hisface-to-face customers.

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-13PROBLEM 1-30(25 MINUTES)1.The balanced scorecard is a business model that helps to assess a firm’s competitiveposition and ensures that the firm is progressing toward long-term survival. Althoughbalanced scorecards differ from one firm to the next, most have a combination offinancial measures, customer measures, internalbusiness processmeasures, andmeasures of learningand growth.2.Functionalareasfortheairlineincludemarketing,finance,operations(e.g.,maintenance, reservations, customer service, and scheduling), human resources,purchasing, accounting, planning, and information systems/technology.3.Financial measures:Net incomeOperating expenses per seat mileEarnings per shareCost per meal servedPassenger revenue per seat mileRevenue growthCustomer-measures:Load factorsNumber of bags lostNumber of passenger complaintsMarket shareAverage wait time when callingResponse time for resolvingreservations centercustomer problemsInternalBusiness Processmeasures:Percentage of on-time arrivalsNumber of cities/new cities servedPercentage of on-time departuresNumber of aircraft in fleetAverage trip length (in miles)Average age of aircraft in fleetPercentage oftickets sold throughAircraft turnaround time betweentravel agents, reservationflightsagents, and the InternetLearningand Growthmeasures:Enhancements to product lineEmployee turnover(new class of service)Employee satisfaction scoresNew unique features of frequent-flierEmployee training programsclub4.Yes.By focusing on only one factor, other important facets of the business areignored, which could lead to long-run problems.For example, paying too muchattention to load factors may result in a decrease in profitability (e.g., the sale of toomany inexpensive seats). A significant focus on profitability could result in the airlineproviding marginal service to its customers (poor meals; long wait times when callingreservations centers; a large number of lost bags by a small, poorly-trained crew,andso forth).

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1-14Solutions ManualPROBLEM 1-31(45 MINUTES)1.Allen's considerations are determined largely by her position as an accountant, withresponsibilities to AccuSound Corporation, others in the company, and herself.Allen's job involves collecting, analyzing, and reporting operating information.Althoughnot responsible for product quality, Allen should exercise initiative and goodjudgment in providing management with information having potentially adverseeconomic impact.Allen should determine whether the controller's request violates her professional orpersonal standards or the company's code of ethics, should the company have sucha code. As Allen decides how to proceed, she should protect proprietary informationand should not violate the chain of command by discussing this matter with thecontroller's superiors.2.a.The controller has reporting responsibilities and should protect the overallcompany interests by encouraging further study of the problem by those in his orher department, by informing superiors in this matter, and by working with othersin the company to find solutions.b.The quality control engineer has responsibilities for product quality and shouldprotect overall company interests by continuing to study the quality of reworkedrejects, by informing the plant manager and his staff in this matter, and by workingwith others in the company to find solutions.c.The plant manager and his or her staff have responsibilities for product quality andcost and should protect overall company interests by exercising the stewardshipexpected of them. Plant management should be sure that products meet qualitystandards.Absentee owners need information from management, and the plantmanagement staff have a responsibility to inform the board of directors elected bythe owners of any problems that could affect the well-being of the firm.3.Allen needs to protect the interests of the company, others in the company, andherself. Allen is vulnerable if she conceals the problem and it eventually surfaces.Allen must take some action to reduce her vulnerability. One possible action would betoobey the controller and prepare the advance material for the board withoutmentioning or highlighting the probable failure of reworks. Because this approachdiffers from the long-standing practice of highlighting information with potentiallyadverse economic impact, Allen should write a report to the controller detailing theprobable failure of reworks, the analysis made by her and the quality control engineer,and the controller's instructions in this matter.

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Managerial Accounting, 12/e1-15PROBLEM 1-32(30 MINUTES)1.Line activities are primary to the purpose of the organization. They are the activitiesthat create anddistribute the goods and services of the organization. Line reportingrefers to the reporting relationship between different hierarchical management levelsin line activities (e.g., the reporting relationship between the general supervisor andthe plant manager).Staff activities are services provided by departments in the organization in support ofits line activities. The role of the division controller in the division is an example of astaff activity. The reporting relationship between the division controllerand thedivision manager is an example of a staff reporting relationship.2.a.The division controller is responsible to both the corporate controller and thedivision manager. The corporate controller assigns the division controller to thedivision and has final responsibility for promotion and salary. Thus, the divisioncontroller is an employee of the controller's department and reports to thecorporate controller. At the same time, the division controller serves as a staffresource to the division manager. The division controller is required to file anindependent commentaryon the division's financial results, which could well differfrom the division manager's commentary.The division manager evaluates the division controller's performance and makessalary and promotion recommendations to the corporate controller.b.The motivation of the division controller would be affected by this dual reportingrelationship. The division controller is being evaluated by two people whoseresponsibilities arenotalways congruent.Whatmaybeconsideredgoodperformance by one personmay be considered unsatisfactory by the other. Thus,the division controller will have difficulty knowing what factors influence his or herprogress in the company. The circumstances described in the problem do notprovide positive motivation for the division controller.
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