...1. Context 1.1 Brief analysis of the situation The management of Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division began implementing a new performance measurement system in January 1991. Bob Nenni, Director of Finance for the Midwestern Steel Division, explained the rationale for this new system: The old system had managers spending more time explaining why changes in cost were due to accounting system problems than they did fixing the problems. The new system will provide for management better management focus on the things that are most important for managers to worry about, earlier warning of problems, and improved commitment to achieve objectives. 1.2 Background on Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division Armco Inc. is a producer of steel products. Within the Armco Inc. Midwestern Steel Division, the Kansas City Works was the largest entity, accounting for approximately $250 million in sales. However, business at Kansas City Works had declined significantly in the last decade. The Kansas City Works produced two primary products: grinding media and carbon wire rod. Armco was recognized as the leading supplier of grinding media products in the United States. Carbon wire rods, on the other hand, were made by Armco’s rod mill, which used relatively old technology and was not cost competitive, so rods were not a profitable product. But the rods did generate volume and helped cover some of the fixed costs of the plant. The Kansas City Works was not a low-cost...
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...Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division 34. J. Roberts, The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth (New York, Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 181; and D. L. Wenner and R. W. LeBer, “Managing for Shareholder Value From Top to Bottom,” Harvard Business Review, 67, no. 6 (November–December 1989), pp. 2–8. 35. S. Datar, S. L. Kulp and R. A. Lambert, “Balancing Performance Measures,” Journal of Accounting Research, 39, no. 1 (June 2001), pp. 75–92; G. A. Feltham and J. Xie, “Performance Measure Congruity and Diversity in Multi-Task Principal–Agent Relations,” The Accounting Review, 69, no. 3 (July 1994), pp. 429–53; R. A. Lambert, “Contracting Theory and Accounting,” Journal of Accounting and Economics, 32, no. 1–3 (December 2001), pp. 3 –87; and G. Baker, “The Use of Performance Measures in Incentive Contracting,” American Economic Review, 90, no. 2 (2000), pp. 415–20. 36. D. Solomons, Divisional Performance: Measurement and Control (Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, 1965), p. 83. 37. K. J. Arrow, “Control in Large Organizations,” in M. Schiff and A. Y. Lewin (eds), Behavioral Aspects of Accounting (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), p. 284. Case Study Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division In January 1991 management of the Kansas City Works of Armco’s Midwestern Steel Division began implementing a new performance measurement system. Bob Nenni, Director of Finance for the Midwestern Steel Division, explained: With our old system, our managers...
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...Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division Armco Inc. is a steel manufacturer that used to be the sixth largest in its industry in US (in 1990). The Kansas City Works within its Midwestern Steel Division was hit by the decline in the business in the US steel industry despite its good performance in the past. Consequently, it downsized and incurred significant losses in most of the 1980s. This entity produces two primary products including grinding media and carbon wire rod, one being recognized in the industry for its durability while the later being non profitable and only covering some of its fixed costs through volume. The Objective of Armco Inc. is maximizing profits and sustaining its position among the leaders in the US manufacturing steel industry. To achieve this objective, Armco has adopted a cost leadership strategy with a broad appeal and has managed to grow bigger through joint ventures and expansion of its product lines in implementing its strategy. However, the strategy adopted by the Kansas City Works is based on differentiation due to its cost disadvantages such as union labor costs and inefficient plant infrastructure. In addition to this inconsistency with the strategies of the company as a whole, the management control system put in place at Kansas City Works is holding the entity back from potential improvements in performance. The management at this entity is introducing a new performance measurement system to replace the old one that was based on production...
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...Armco Inc. Armco Inc is a steel manufacturer that used to be the sixth largest in its industry in United States in 1990. The Kansas City Works within its Midwestern Steel Division was hit by the decline in the business in the US steel industry. The firm produces grinding media and carbon wire rod. The first on has been successful in the industry with its great durability compared to the competitors. Carbon wire rods on the other hand were non profitable and covered only some of its fixed costs through its production volume. The old performance measurement system used by Armco Inc did not work properly because it had some problems. First, it did not provide information on the product mix being produced while it provided data on total tonnage produced but didn’t breakdown what was produced. Second the measurement system compared actual to objective but didn’t provide data on what factors exactly caused variance. Third, the costs were not broken down by fixed costs, variable costs and relevant range. Also the reports were generated on the 15th day following every month ending so I think managers could not take immediate corrective actions which would have been sometimes very necessary. In my opinion, also the fact that the system did not measure Key Performance Index for each department such as the new system, is one important reason why the old system was inadequate. there was inconsistency with organization’s current strategy. The objective of Armco Inc. is maximizing profits...
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...Case Armco Case Study: Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division What do you think was the problem with the implementation of the new performance measurement system? In January 1991, Top management of the Kansas City Works of Armco’s Midwestern Steel division began implementing its new performance measurement system. It was designed to give better management focus on the things, which are most important. The new system included less data’s: it allows managers to focus on the 5-6 more important which cause 80% of the costs. In fact, the old system was not enough efficient. « Managers spent more time explaining why changes in costs were caused by problems with the accounting system than they did fixing the problems. ». Managers are focused on their objectives rather than the performance of the entire company: that may cause some problem if objectives of top management and those of middle and lower managers are not the same. Hence, for top management appeared the need to create a new system to increase competitiveness, and to avoid unnecessary expenses.But the way the implemented it leaded to were problems: The operating managers’ initial reaction to the sample reports they were given was dissatisfaction. Indeed, Top management didn’t take managers’ reactions and feelings into account: for example; “Paul Phillips, the Rolling and Finishing manager, liked having the monthly and annual trends and the information comparing actual costs with objectives”. So that managers...
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...1.0 Introduction Armco Inc. is a steel manufacturer that used to be the sixth largest in its industry in US (in 1990). The Kansas City Works within its Midwestern Steel Division was hit by the decline in the business in the US steel industry despite its good performance in the past. Consequently, it downsized and incurred significant losses in most of the 1980s. This entity produces two primary products including grinding media and carbon wire rod, one being recognized in the industry for its durability while the later being non profitable and only covering some of its fixed costs through volume. 2.0 What’s wrong with the old system? (a) Inconsistency with organization’s strategy The Objective of Armco Inc. is maximizing profits and sustaining its position among the leaders in the US manufacturing steel industry. To achieve this objective, Armco has adopted a cost leadership strategy with a broad appeal and has managed to grow bigger through joint ventures and expansion of its product lines in implementing its strategy. However, the strategy adopted by the Kansas City Works is based on differentiation due to its cost disadvantages such as union labor costs and inefficient plant infrastructure.Union labor costs in Kansas City were higher than those of some of its nonunion competitors, particularly those located in the Southeastern U.S. and non-U.S. locations. The Works had an inefficient plant infrastructure because the plant was designed to accommodate five times as many employees...
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...Introduction Armco Inc., is the sixth largest producer of stainless, electrical, and carbon steels and steel products in the United States, and the Armco Inc Midwestern Steel Division is its largest division. The largest subdivision of the Steel Division is the Kansas City Works which produces two products: grinding media and carbon wire rod. In January 1991, a new performance measurement system for Kansas City Works was implemented by Bob Nenni, the Director of Finance, with the aim of providing managers the best information that would better enable them to enhance company performance. According to Mr. Nenni, the new system was designed so that managers would prioritize certain key objectives and not the numerous details provided by the old Operating Statistics Report that they have used in the past. The new system also aims to provide an improved basis for evaluating operating managers and manufacturing supervisors. This includes a balanced set of performance measures, including quality, schedule achievement, and safety, in addition to costs. The cost reports were changed to include only those that are controllable by each individual operating manager. Lastly, one of the most significant changes from the old system is the elimination of the Cost Above measure, therefore decreasing the cost detail in the new performance reports considerably. Although the new system intends to help the managers and increase their focus on relevant data, some are still complaining and dissatisfied...
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...rmco – implementation of the new performance measurement system My task was to write my opinion about the problems of the implementation of the new performance measurement system in Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division, Kansas City. First, I think there wasn’t a problem with the new performance measurement system itself, as it was stated by the numerous employees. The old system suffers from lack of direction, as employees didn´t really understand the relationship between their responsibility and their final results. Thus managers didn´t comprehend what´s expected of them. The new system came up with better “explanation” of employee’s responsibility. Managers could much better understand how their actions and decisions are related to the final economic results of the company. However, there were some difficulties in the form of implementation, in my opinion. From what I understood, new system lacks communication between creators and employees. I don´t think managers felt and understood the necessity of change. More communication in form of meetings and seminars would improve their attitude towards progress in the company. Misinterpreting of implementation of the new system is proved when managers complained “It almost seems like the operating managers finally understood the old report, so they decided change it." This is the evidence that managers didn´t understand the purpose of writing reports and weren´t able to recognize the importance of specific information in the...
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...eam 4 Case #4 Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division 1. The old performance measurement system had the following problems: - It did not provide information on the product mix being produced. It provided data on total tonnage produced, but did not breakdown “what” was produced. - The system compared “actual” to “objective” but did not provide data on what factors caused variance. - Costs were not broken down by: o Fixed costs o Variable costs o Relevant Range - Reports were generated on the 15th day following each month end. Therefore, time lag would not allow the managers to take immediate corrective actions. - It did not measure Key Performance Index (KPIs’) for each department. - The system did not highlight data that was outside the norm. - Between 1985 – 1989, Melt Shop man-hours (MH) have been reduced by 20.4% but $/NT has only reduced by 8.4% - Reports generated by the system had too much information and not easy to read. The melt shop report (Exhibit 3) alone had 46 separate expense categories. Gary Downey, the melting shop manager, acknowledged that “some of the items were quite small in dollar value.” - The system did not provide information on bottlenecks related to the melt shop. - The system also did not provide any information on quality control. It did not provide breakdown on what percentage of production met quality standards, what percentage failed, and what percentage of items...
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...Team 4 Case #4 Armco, Inc.: Midwestern Steel Division 1. The old performance measurement system had the following problems: - It did not provide information on the product mix being produced. It provided data on total tonnage produced, but did not breakdown “what” was produced. - The system compared “actual” to “objective” but did not provide data on what factors caused variance. - Costs were not broken down by: o Fixed costs o Variable costs o Relevant Range - Reports were generated on the 15th day following each month end. Therefore, time lag would not allow the managers to take immediate corrective actions. - It did not measure Key Performance Index (KPIs’) for each department. - The system did not highlight data that was outside the norm. - Between 1985 – 1989, Melt Shop man-hours (MH) have been reduced by 20.4% but $/NT has only reduced by 8.4% - Reports generated by the system had too much information and not easy to read. The melt shop report (Exhibit 3) alone had 46 separate expense categories. Gary Downey, the melting shop manager, acknowledged that “some of the items were quite small in dollar value.” - The system did not provide information on bottlenecks related to the melt shop. - The system also did not provide any information on quality control. It did not provide breakdown on what percentage of production met quality standards...
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...Vance Packard With an Introduction by Mark Crispin Miller PUBLISHING Brooklyn, New York Copyright © 1957, 1980 by Vance Packard Originally published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Introduction Copyright 2007© by Mark Crispin Miller All rights reserved. Printed in Canada Reissue Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher. Please direct inquiries to: Ig Publishing 178 Clinton Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11205 www.igpub.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Packard, Vance Oakley, 1914The hidden persuaders / Vance Packard ; [new] introduction by Mark Crispin Miller. p. cm. Originally published in 1957 by McKay and reissued in 1980 by Pocket Books with a new afterword. ISBN-13: 978-0-9788431-0-6 ISBN-10: 0-9788431-0-X 1. Advertising--Psychological aspects. 2. Consumers--Psychology. 3. Advertising, Political. 4. Propaganda. 5. Control (Psychology) I. Title. HF5822.P3 2007 659.101'9--dc22 2007027043 To Virginia CONTENTS Introduction by Mark Crispin Miller 1. The Depth Approach PERSUADING US AS CONSUMERS Z. The Trouble With People 3. So Ad Men become Depth Men 4. ....And The Hooks Are Lowered 5. Self-Images for Everybody 6. RX for Our Secret Distresses 1. Marketing Eight Hidden Needs 8. The Built-In Sexual Overtone 9. Back to the Breast, and Beyond 10. Babes In Consumerland 11. Class and Caste in the Salesroom 12. Selling Symbols...
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...62118 0/nm 1/n1 2/nm 3/nm 4/nm 5/nm 6/nm 7/nm 8/nm 9/nm 1990s 0th/pt 1st/p 1th/tc 2nd/p 2th/tc 3rd/p 3th/tc 4th/pt 5th/pt 6th/pt 7th/pt 8th/pt 9th/pt 0s/pt a A AA AAA Aachen/M aardvark/SM Aaren/M Aarhus/M Aarika/M Aaron/M AB aback abacus/SM abaft Abagael/M Abagail/M abalone/SM abandoner/M abandon/LGDRS abandonment/SM abase/LGDSR abasement/S abaser/M abashed/UY abashment/MS abash/SDLG abate/DSRLG abated/U abatement/MS abater/M abattoir/SM Abba/M Abbe/M abbé/S abbess/SM Abbey/M abbey/MS Abbie/M Abbi/M Abbot/M abbot/MS Abbott/M abbr abbrev abbreviated/UA abbreviates/A abbreviate/XDSNG abbreviating/A abbreviation/M Abbye/M Abby/M ABC/M Abdel/M abdicate/NGDSX abdication/M abdomen/SM abdominal/YS abduct/DGS abduction/SM abductor/SM Abdul/M ab/DY abeam Abelard/M Abel/M Abelson/M Abe/M Aberdeen/M Abernathy/M aberrant/YS aberrational aberration/SM abet/S abetted abetting abettor/SM Abeu/M abeyance/MS abeyant Abey/M abhorred abhorrence/MS abhorrent/Y abhorrer/M abhorring abhor/S abidance/MS abide/JGSR abider/M abiding/Y Abidjan/M Abie/M Abigael/M Abigail/M Abigale/M Abilene/M ability/IMES abjection/MS abjectness/SM abject/SGPDY abjuration/SM abjuratory abjurer/M abjure/ZGSRD ablate/VGNSDX ablation/M ablative/SY ablaze abler/E ables/E ablest able/U abloom ablution/MS Ab/M ABM/S abnegate/NGSDX abnegation/M Abner/M abnormality/SM abnormal/SY aboard ...
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