Beau Monde, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of health and beauty products, made the following disclosure about its compensation program: Our compensation philosophy is based on two simple principles: (1) We pay for performance and (2) management cannot benefit unless our shareholders benefit first. Executive compensation at Beau Monde consists of three elements: base salary, bonus, and stock awards. Frankly, we see base salaries and the underlying value of restricted stock as what you have to pay to get people in the door—fixed costs, if you will. Incentives, in the form of annual cash bonuses and gains tied to increases in the price of our stock, are the performance drivers of our pay equation—the variable costs. The first element is base salary. Our philosophy is to peg salary levels at median competitive levels. In other words, we pay salaries that are sufficient to attract and retain the level of talent we require. The second element of our executive compensation is our bonus plan. This plan is based on management by objectives. Each year, the compensation committee approves objectives and performance measures for the corporation, our divisions, and our key individual managers. At year end, bonuses are paid on the basis of measurable performance against these objectives. The third element of our executive compensation program is stock incentives, namely, restricted stock and stock options. Our restricted stock program is very straightforward. Stock option grants are made each year at market value. Our options vest over time periods of two to six years to encourage long-term equity holding by management. In 1998, we instituted an innovative stock incentive plan called the Stock Option Exchange Program. Under this program, management can purchase stock options by exchanging other forms of compensation, such as the annual bonus or restricted stock, for the options. The price charged for the options is determined by an independent investment banker using pricing mechanics. Our compensation committee is made up entirely of independent outside directors. We have no interlocking directorates, in which I serve on the compensation committee of one of my director’s companies and he or she serves on mine. The compensation committee uses outside advisers chosen independently to ensure that recommendations are fair to all shareholders. Required Evaluate this incentive compensation plan.
> What is profit sharing?
> What is a cash bonus?
> What type of organization is best suited to incentive compensation? Why?
> What is incentive compensation?
> What is an extrinsic reward?
> What is an intrinsic reward?
> Refer to the University of Leeds’ strategy map at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/Strategy_map_aw.pdf Required (a) What is the strategy for the university? (b) What will make it distinctive or unique? (c) What are its advantages and scope? (d) What
> What is budget slack?
> What is a stretch target?
> What is the most motivating type of budget with respect to targets?
> What are two essential elements in employee empowerment in MACS design?
> What is the single most important factor in making major changes to an organization?
> What is data falsification?
> What is meant by gaming a performance indicator?
> List three qualitative measures of performance.
> List three quantitative nonfinancial measures of performance in a manufacturing organization of your choice.
> What are some choices that individuals can make when ethical conflicts arise?
> Either by visiting a website or from a description in a published article, find a description of the implementation of a Balanced Scorecard. Required (a) Document in detail the elements (objectives, measures, and targets) of the Balanced Scorecard. (b)
> What is the human resources model view of motivation?
> What is the human relations movement view of motivation?
> What is the scientific management view of motivation?
> What are the four major behavioral considerations in MACS design?
> What four components should MACS designers consider when addressing the relevance of the system’s information?
> What are the four stages involved in keeping an organization in control?
> What are the six attributes of effective performance measurement systems?
> What are the three most common methods of setting a budget?
> What are the two interrelated behavioral issues in budgeting?
> What is an example of earnings management or smoothing?
> In the mid-1990s, Mobil Corporation’s Marketing and Refining (M&R) division underwent a major reorganization and developed new strategic directions. In conjunction with these changes, M&R developed a Balanced Scorecard around fo
> List three quantitative nonfinancial measures of performance in a service organization of your choice.
> List and explain the two categories in task control.
> How does task control differ from results control?
> How do diagnostic control systems differ from interactive control systems?
> What is an ethical control system, and what are its key elements?
> Megan Espanoza, manager of the Wells Division of Mars, Inc., a large credit card company, recently received a memorandum describing the company’s new budgeting process for the coming year. The new process requires Megan and the other division managers to
> Explain how participating in decision making and being educated to understand information received in an organization contribute toward employee empowerment in MACS design.
> Suppose that you are the manager of a production facility in a business that makes plastic items that organizations use for advertising. The customer chooses the color and quantity of the item and specifies what is to be imprinted on the item. Your job i
> Under what circumstances should both quantitative and qualitative performance measures be used to evaluate employee, work group, and divisional performance? Provide examples to support your answer.
> Cite two settings or jobs where each of the following approaches to control would be appropriately applied. Identify what you feel is the definitive characteristic of the setting that indicates the appropriateness of the approach to control that you have
> Domestic Auto Parts (DAP), a $1 billion subsidiary of a U.S. auto parts manufacturing company, manufactured and marketed original and after-market parts for automobile producers in the United States. It distributed products directly to original equipment
> You are a management accountant working in the controller’s office. Rick Koch, a very powerful executive, approaches you in the parking lot and asks you to do him a favor. The favor involves falsifying some of his division’s records on the main computer.
> During data collection for the transition from an old management accounting system to a new activity-based cost management system, you see a manager’s reported time allotments. You know that the data supplied by the manager are completely false. You conf
> Suppose you are the chief executive officer of a manufacturing firm that is bidding on a government contract. In this situation, the firm with the lowest bid will win the contract. Your firm has completed developing its bid and is ready to submit it to t
> Refer to “Does Cheating at Golf Lead to Cheating in Business?” in the In Practice box on page 347. Discuss reasons why individuals might feel justified in cheating at golf and whether individuals who cheat at golf are likely also to cheat in business.
> List the four key behavioral considerations in MACS design and explain the importance or benefits of each.
> Explain why an understanding of human motivation is essential to MACS design.
> Four broad approaches to distributing the proceeds of a bonus pool in a profit-sharing plan are listed here: 1. Each person’s share is based on salary. 2. Each person receives an equal share. 3. Each person’s share is based on position in the organizatio
> Marie Johnston, the manager of a government unemployment insurance office, is paid a salary that reflects the number of people she supervises and the number of hours that her subordinates work. Required (a) What do you think of this compensation scheme?
> Belleville Fashions sells high-quality women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing. The store employs a sales staff of 11 full-time employees and 12 part-time employees. Until recently, all sales staff were paid a flat salary and participated in a profit-sha
> Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)14 The “Balanced Scorecard”15 article seemed to address the concerns of several division managers who felt that the company was over-emphasizing short-term financial res
> Denver Jack’s is a large toy manufacturer. The company has 100 highly trained and skilled employees who are involved with six major product lines, including the production of toy soldiers, dolls, and so on. Each product line is manufactured in a differen
> During the late 1970s, Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle manufacturer, was losing money and was very close to bankruptcy. Management believed that one of the problems was low productivity and, as a result, asked middle managers to speed up production. The
> Knox Company manufactures consumer products such as cleansers, air fresheners, and detergents. During a recent quarter, the value of the products made was $50 million, and the labor costs were $3 million. The company has decided to use a Scanlon plan wit
> Sakura Snack Company manufactures a line of snack foods, such as cheese crackers, granola bars, and cookies. The production workers are part of a gain-sharing program that works as follows: A target level of labor costs is set that is based on the achiev
> Peterborough Medical Devices makes devices and equipment that it sells to hospitals. The organization has a profit-sharing plan that is worded as follows: The company will make available a profit-sharing pool that will be the lower of the following two
> Hoechst Celanese, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, has used a profit-sharing plan, the Hoechst Celanese Performance Sharing Plan, to motivate employees. To operationalize the plan, the Hoechst Celanese executive committee set a target earnings from operati
> DMT Biotech is a biotechnology research and development company that designs products for the needs of life science researchers. The company consists of an administrative unit, a research laboratory, and a facility used to develop prototypes of and produ
> Suppose that you are the owner/manager of a house-cleaning business. You have 30 employees who work in teams of three. Teams are dispatched to the homes of customers where they are directed by the customer to undertake specific cleaning tasks that vary w
> Answer the following two questions about the organization units listed below: • What behavior should be rewarded? • What is an appropriate incentive compensation system? a. A symphony orchestra b. A government welfare office c. An airline complaint desk
> What are some pros and cons of tying an individual’s pay to performance?
> Wells Fargo’s web page (https://www .wellsfargo.com/pdf/invest_relations/VisionandValues04.pdf) states that the company’s vision is “to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.” The brochure also describes the follow
> Mike Shields was having dinner with one of his friends at a restaurant in Memphis. His friend, Woody Brooks, a local manager of an express mail service, told Mike that he consistently overstated the amount of resources needed in his budget requests for h
> Manoil Electronics manufactures and sells electronic components to electronics stores. The controller is preparing her annual budget and has asked the sales group to prepare sales estimates. All members of the sales force have been asked to estimate sale
> Budgets are usually set through one of three methods: participation, authority, or consultation. Required Write an essay stating the circumstances under which each method is most appropriate. If you disagree with a particular method, justify your answer
> Why is it important that people understand what performance is measured, how performance is measured, and how employee rewards relate to measured performance?
> When should an organization use profit sharing?
> Why should performance measurement systems and rewards focus on performance that employees can control?
> What distinguishes data falsification from gaming activities?
> Can goal congruence be increased if rewards are tied to performance? Explain.
> In a company that takes telephone orders from customers for general merchandise, explain how you would evaluate the performance of the company president, a middle manager who designs the system to coordinate order taking and order shipping, and an employ
> The City of Charlotte, North Carolina, states its vision and mission as follows:12 City Vision The City of Charlotte will be a model of excellence that puts citizens first. Skilled, diverse, and motivated employees will be known for providing quality and
> Think of any setting in need of control. Explain why you think that task control or results control would be more appropriate in the setting that you have chosen. Do not use an example from the text.
> What should a person do if the organization’s stated values conflict with practiced values? What are the individual’s choices? Why do you think such conflicts exist?
> What should a person do if faced with a conflict between his or her values and those of the organization?
> List and describe the hierarchy of ethical considerations.
> How do the scientific management, human relations, and human resource schools differ in their views on human motivation?
> Identify the four components that MACS designers should consider when addressing the relevance of the system’s information and explain why each component is important.
> Eni Corporation’s mission statement includes the following: “Our mission is to continuously improve the company’s value to shareholders, customers, employees, and society.” Interpret how each of Eni Corporation’s stakeholder groups may interpret “the com
> How would you reward a group of people that includes product designers, engineers, production personnel, purchasing agents, marketing staff, and accountants whose job is to identify and develop a new car? How would you reward a person whose job is to dis
> When should an organization use stock options?
> When should an organization use gain sharing?
> Why do a company’s operators/workers, managers, and executives have different informational needs than shareholders and external suppliers of capital?
> What does the controllability principle require?
> When should an organization use a cash bonus?
> You work for a consulting firm and have been given the assignment of deciding whether a particular company president is overpaid both in absolute terms and relative to presidents of comparable companies. How would you undertake this task?
> Explain when one would reward outcomes or outputs, reward inputs, or use knowledge-based pay.
> Do you believe that people value intrinsic rewards? Give an example of an intrinsic reward that you would value and explain why. Why are extrinsic rewards important to people? If you value only extrinsic rewards, explain why.
> What are budgeting games, and why do employees engage in them?
> What are the pros and cons of building slack into the budget from (1) The point of view of the employee building in slack and (2) From a senior manager’s point of view?
> How does participation in the budgeting process differ from consultation?
> What are the advantages for the individual in being able to participate in decision making in the organization, and what are the advantages for the organization in allowing the individual to participate in decision making?
> Can you think of instances when gaming behavior is appropriate in an organization?
> List some methods of gaming performance indicators.
> What is management accounting?
> In December 2002, Time magazine named Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley, and Sherron Watkins as its Persons of the Year. Cynthia Cooper was vice president of internal audit for WorldCom and informed the firm’s audit committee that the firm had improperly tre
> Chow Company is an insurance company in Hong Kong. Chow hires 55 people to process insurance claims. The volume of claims is extremely high, and all claims examiners are kept extremely busy. The number of claims in which errors are made runs about 10%. I
> Frits Seegers, President of Citibank California, was meeting with his management team to review the performance evaluation and bonus decisions for the California branch managers. James McGaran’s performance evaluation was next. Frits felt uneasy about th
> What is a quality function deployment matrix, and how does it relate to value index computations for target costing?
> What is target costing?
> What three substages typically occur in the postsale service and disposal stage of total life- cycle costing?
