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A Case Method Approach to Teaching Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis
Susan Machuga
University of Hartford
This paper presents a Multi-Disciplinary Case-Method approach to teaching Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP)
Analysis allowing students to use their own assumptions to simulate a real-life business startup analysis.
The proposed business venture is one of starting a milkshake shack in the island of Hawaii. Students will learn to distinguish between fixed and variable costs, apply some of their own assumptions, and determine whether it would be profitable to open up a new business.
INTRODUCTION
I present an alternative, more comprehensive teaching approach, for Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis from the commonly used approach which simply teaches students how to use a series of equations to solve various questions related to CVP analysis, in which unit selling price, total fixed costs, and unit variable costs are assumed to remain constant (Garrison et al. 2010; Choo and Tan, 2010). I use a multi-disciplinary approach in the context of a realistic case-analysis. I believe this approach offers useful insights and provides a useful learning tool for students pursuing an advanced Master’s Degree. The case at hand requires students to: (a) make assumptions about costs in a dynamic and interactive way, and (b) research a variety of marketing issues for the proposed business that simulates a real life business situation. This paper’s approach also helps students see the interrelationships between several concepts learned in basic graduate courses taken in their Master Degree program, and how CVP analysis can be an extremely useful tool for determining the potential success of a business they might consider opening one day. Particular attention is given to important concepts such as break-even analysis and the effect of changing working assumptions on final results.

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