Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.

Length
This case is 14 pages in length and its case teaching package is 10 pages.

Abstract

This case deals with the design and use of formal "profit planning and control" systems. It is set in an ice cream company in 1973, a few years before the advent of "designer ice cream."

Linkages to Textbooks or Journal Articles/Fit Within a Course

This is one of the "classic" cases in conventional managerial accounting. It has been used over the years in many of the leading business schools in the world. It was published in 1974, along with a commentary, in the leading academic journal in accounting, The Accounting Review. It has been reprinted and translated many times in many places. The current version has been updated to reflect many of the teaching issues which have surfaced over the years.

The case is a clear, practical example of a formal profit planning and control system in action. A fifth question has been added to the Teaching Package to explore the SCM perspective on the case. The Kinkead Equipment case ties in well with an examination of the latter perspective.

Study Questions

1. What changes, if any, would you make in the variance analysis schedule proposed by Frank Roberts? Can the suggestions offered by Jim Peterson be incorporated without making the schedule "too technical"?
2. Can you speculate about how John Parker might structure the variance analysis report? For example, Parker felt it was Marketing’s responsibility to set prices so as to recover all commodity cost increases.
3. Indicate the corrective actions you would recommend for 1974, based on the profit variance analysis. Also indicate those areas which deserve commendation for 1973 performance.
4. The approach to "profit planning and control" described in the case is still very common in the 1990s. Many people still consider this approach to be "bread and butter" management theory. What do you see as the main weakness in this approach to management? What is your overall assessment of this "management tool", from a contemporary perspective?

The downloadable file for this case is in Microsoft® Word 7.0 for Windows®.

If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download the free Microsoft® Word Viewer 97 right here:   For Windows 3.x   For Windows 95

©1996  South-Western College Publishing, All Rights Reserved  webmaster@swcollege.com