Economics Thesis:标准定价的起伏 Rise and Fall of Standard Pricing

本文的总体目的是研究运营管理领域内的成本或精益会计及其不可预测的上升和下降，使企业能够不断地学习和利用知识管理作为核心价值。同样重要的是要有一个更大的组织，它有卓越的运营历史和以客户为中心的服务。这项调查将需要深入研究工作过程、沟通和领导能力，将知识管理作为团队建设中的一个价值，同时研究如何反映学习型会计原则。为了适应不断变化的经济，雀巢有哪些工具可供选择？这如何改变知识管理和通信公司？这项研究认为，由于不断变化的商业计划，会计惯例正在发生变化。这是一个走向现代会计的运动，重要的是要看到成本会计及其波动之间的关系，以及它们如何影响整个组织的健康，在生产力和工作满意度方面。

一个组织如何将成本计算方法应用于其费用核算框架及其在产品生命周期期间的直接升降，直接影响到全球化公司的生产、经营、分配和雇员保留。事实上，会计惯例的变化导致了许多已经不再存在的真实的商业模式。成本及其上升与市场的成功和竞争优势有着直接的关系。然而，本研究的目的是探索和思考会计实务如何改变经营管理和供应链管理模式，作为管理者和团队成员的一种工具。事实上，正是会计惯例改变了商业惯例，因为新的立法着眼于欧洲和美国的全球公司。会计成本、费用和损失反映了公司的健康状况，而变化则是混乱。这项研究认为，随着这些变化的出现，缺乏对公司在市场中的价值的定义，同时也降低了它对员工的价值，因为他们成为积极的参与者和投资者。

 

The Rise and Fall of Standard Pricing and Its Effect on Everyday Operations For European and American Firms 标准定价的起伏及其对欧美企业日常操作的影响

 

The overall purpose of this paper and study is to investigate cost or lean accounting within the operations management realm and how its unpredictable rise and fall allow organisations to continuously learn and utilize knowledge management as a core value. It was also important to use a larger organisation that has history of outstanding operations and customer centered focus upon services. This investigation will require an in-depth study of work processes, communication and leadership with regard to knowledge management as a value within the team construct while looking at how this reflects leaning accounting principles. What tools are available and what kind of evolution is Nestle undergoing in order to remain competitive in a changing economy? How does this change knowledge management and communication company wide? What this study argues is that accounting practices are changing due to the evolving business plan. This is a movement toward modern accounting and it is important to see the relationships between costing accounting, its fluctuations and how they impact the health of the organisation as a whole with regard to productivity and job satisfaction.#p#分页标题#e#

 

How an organisation applies methods of costing into its framework for accounting of expenses and its direct rise and fall over the time period of the product life cycle, directly influences the production, operation, distribution and employee retention of the global company. In fact changes in accounting practices have led to many tried and true business models to no longer exist. Costing and its rise and fall can have a direct relationship with success and competitive advantage in the market place. However the purpose of this study is to explore and reflect upon how accounting practices change operations management and the supply chain management model as a tool of managers and team members alike. Really it is how accounting practices have changed business practices because of new legislation focusing on global companies in Europe and the United States. Accounting costs, expenses and losses reflects the health of the organisation and with change comes confusion. This study argues that with such changes comes a lack of defining the company’s value within the market but also the value it has for its employees, as they become active participants and investors.

 

GENERAL OVERVIEW 概述

 

How corporate accounting is handled is changing worldwide. How each expense is accounted for within an organisation’s financial sheets has been evolving. Such a proposal for change has received much commentary from not only the financial community and corporate America but also key members of Congress, European union leaders and the public. Such a response results from the uncertainty that such change will benefit businesses and economic growth. It is feared that such change will have the opposite effect and cause world leaders to lose its competitive edge in the global market. Still this has not stopped the fuel of the fire as the American Financial Accounting Standards Board (also referred to as FASB) has struggled for an answer to such a dilemma. The urgency for a solution has only been stressed recently in light of such debacles like Enron and Tyco. It is believed that companies do need to account honestly for expenses but at what price to its employees, the public and the economy? Part of the issue with current legislation to change the practice of accounting for employee stock options is that there is no real way to value their worth. This creates an unsettling feeling among investors and employees struggling to understand this benefit.

 

ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW 会计概述

 

What this truly means for any corporation functioning globally or even locally this that effective cost accounting because a volatile issue for management to consider. One could argue that such rise and fall of how costing/pricing pays a part in the entire operation has a negative effect upon how the company’s valuation is seen on the open market. Costing at every step of the product life cycle plays a huge part in how this valuation is decided from inventory at the shop floor level, to everyday operations management, to an employee’s value with the company and their net worth personally. Changes within the global economy in the recent years the disappearance of tried and true business models leaves many with a poor taste in their mouths because one must understand how efficiency, affordability and effective leadership come into play. Effective pricing or costing of routine operations and corporate behaviours must be tracked and studied in order to carve the fat. This study aims to look at exactly what the rise and fall of pricing or costing means to a global organisation conducting business on many levels. For the purpose of proving the argument that such changes in accounting practice has a negative effect on the organisation, one will look at examples from the shop floor to the employee’s estimated value with the company in the form of job satisfaction. Accounting for such expensing and pricing correctly is what makes the organisation strong but also accurate in valuation. With this in mind, traditional business models like Wal-Mart and Nestle are discussed because these are globally operating corporations.#p#分页标题#e#

 

Debates about whether or not the fair value of the employee and the company stock options should be expensed on the income statement continue to rage among industry representatives, politicians, and pundits. Expense recognition of stock options can have significant impacts on net income and earnings per share, so this is a debate worth having. But many of those who analyze companies consider operating cash flow a better performance metric than income. One reason is that operating cash flow is thought to be free from the infection that makes income grossly weakened. In the case of employee worth and stock values, however, there is proof that this assumption is flawed. Option exercise affects operating cash flows in ways that analysts need to understand. Repurchasing shares to fund option exercise also results in financing cash outflows. The net cash flow impacts of options are often negative, but can be quite volatile from year to year.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 文献综述

 

STANDARD PRICING AS ACCOUNTING PRACTICE 会计实务中的标准定价

 

It can be difficult to assess why a product has a certain cost or price to the consumer. How is it that companies arrive at certain amount for a product or service? What are the factors that play into this amount and do they change over time while in the market? Mish defines clearly, price as being “the value or worth; the quality of one thing that is exchanged or demanded in barter or sale for another” (2004, p. 985). A mistake that happens to many companies is they allow the market to manage the price of the product and avoid strategic management of pricing in general. What is usually done according to Nagle is “they list the prices based on their own needs and then adjust transaction prices to based on what customers say they are willing to pay. Only a few companies question why someone is willing to pay no more that a particular amount or how that willingness could be changed” (2002, p. 1). In order to be strategic in pricing, a company must confident and understand that “pricing involves managing customers’ expectations to induce them to pay for the value they receive” (Nagle 2002, p.1). Fortunately, when it comes to financial products, many customers remain in the dark about product and services. Sometimes a service oriented company such as the Bank of England can take advantage of such undulation but as more information becomes available due to the Internet, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for a company to set the pace this way. More than not, more companies especially financial ones that rely on customer relationships, allow for a value-based price structure that is contingent on the customer paying when value is delivered. This type of pricing system relies heavily on segmentation of the demographic when it comes to offering promotions and incentives to buster customer loyalty. Much of this applies to financial type products that are well defined for the consumer either through education or these products are a must in life like the credit or loan product. Keeping this in mind, many financial products consist of high quality products and add-ons that when offered by one company allows that company to diversify and establish the price. The table here below aids in illustrating this point.#p#分页标题#e#

 

It is also important for a company to keep in mind demand for the product or service. This is why diversification and globalization are quickly becoming elements of strategy as companies look for new ways to target consumers and enter new areas where their original product has a new life cycle. This is a matter of economics but important for understanding marketing strategy with regards to cost switching or price switching. “The greater the price elasticity, the closer the company can price products to similar competitive products and vice versa” (Allen 2002). In an industry like the mortgage industry where homeownership is more prevalent in Western nations, elasticity is high and therefore, it is fair to remain competitive with other companies. Also a company like Nestle can bet that charging less may lead to more food products created as customers find they get more service for less money. In this respect elasticity can work either way. It really depends on degree of risk one company is willing to take. Still it remains to be found if such a tactic even works when it comes to customer loyalty, as this will be explored in greater detail later. However, it remains to be seen if price loyalty does exist. It seems “the key to effectively competing for loyalty is ensuring the quality of the customer experience, not the quantity of customer rewards or discount prices” (Compton 2005, p.1). However, the price needs to be adjusted for what the customer expects. It can be a cycle that changing continuously depending on the product or service.

 

Carmona, and et al (2004), writes of the origin of activity based costing method of accounting or ABC that came into vogue in Europe during the 1920s. What ABC does specifically as Carmona, and et al (2004) speak of Vollmers’s work as:

 

Deployed significant efforts to account for distribution and marketing costs, which ‘tend to be ignored today.’ This first event is then taken as record of the origin (both in terms of time and space), from which the new practice mainly spread both temporally and spatially. (p. 36)

 

This is the start of a movement toward the double entry system and this saw delay and many weaknesses because it did not present a clear, complete picture of accounting. Its weaknesses were found in inefficiencies with charges and discharges. As a result, early double-entry systems were seen as unreliable and not useful to big business. It would not be until later that advanced book keeping procedures would take into account advanced operating processes in production. Carmona, and et al (2004) found these systems although not perfected were used in England and the Colonies as early as 1760 (p. 37). It seems this was the trend as no real streamlined, conforming system would be adopted until modern business practices came into place in the United States.

 

Move to a global arena and model of production purposes and a more refined system is needed because a lot more is at stake. Global business is all about the details. It became common practice more investment applied, the more generally accepted accounting practices became as a diffusion of new technology. Accounting practices became more generally accepted behaviours as businesses became bigger and more prominent in communities across the world. Practices are implemented as Abu-Raddaha, and et al (2000) surmises the following:#p#分页标题#e#

 

The information provided by accounting should facilitate international trade and capital flows, not hamper them. It should inform, not just report. More importantly the information demands of both domestic and international financing and other commercial relationships, have to be satisfied. (p. 19).

 

Everything must remain in balance or presented as a well-oiled machine.

 

How does an organisation get to this point of transformation with its accounting practices? Modern accounting asks for more participation and optimisation from the start to finish by the corporate accountant. The actions of the corporate accountants must change as the movement toward lean functioning continues to take place. It should not be a painful process but one of creativity, flexibility and growth. There is a concern that lean accounting requires one to turn off creativity and be boxed into one function or thought process. This will be explored late as a post-modern viewpoint of business where each person has a function within the total quality management or TQM perspective. Modern business may use this as a framework but the modern business model has evolved beyond this fixed view. The truth of the matter is that modern accounting practices could not be further from this view of being boxed in but rather goes beyond breaking the box and creating a different mindset where thinking is seen differently than before. Accounting is seen differently as not having finite possibilities but infinite reasoning. Traditional methods are flawed as proposed by Van Der Merwe and Thomson (2007), “the direct costing approach doesn’t absorb any overhead or even fixed costs…resource consumption accounting or RCA makes no arbitrary assignments at all” (p. 29). A lean, effective method allows for a more detailed account of capacity costs and a basic approach to data collection. Modern times call modern values and thought processes with regard to business seamless behaviour across the production floor. The lean method maintains a “one-touch flow system” (Van Der Merwe & Thomson 2007, p. 29) for information diffusion across the life cycle. This one-touch flow system can be integrated with a supply chain easily and reflects this value added element as a method for better, honest accounting.

 

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 运营管理

 

A most important factor for facilities management to recognize is the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) or a variation of TQM. TQM according to David Steingard is “a set of techniques and procedures used to reduce or eliminate variation from the production process or service delivery system in order to improve efficiency” (Steingard 2002, p. 2). TQM fits with the facilities management way of doing things as many of their functions require repetition or constant monitoring of daily, weekly and monthly items. Because this is a modernist concept and the modernist movement believed in certainty and static methods of looking at the world, there is not much room for the uncertainty that change creates in today’s workplace using strictly TQM. Therefore either change in this environment must be controlled change or a variation of TQM must be used for the process to work and involve new technologies. Otherwise, TQM alone invents a work environment reminiscent of Franz Lang’s Metropolis and dehumanizes the employee. A variation TQM can be used in facilities management to aid defining team member responsibilities as it sees the whole team as a “machine creates a system of interlocking parts each with clearly defined use, centralized authority and high degrees of worker discipline culminating with the goal of routinised, efficient and predictable system performance” (Steingard 2002, p. 2). Each team member plays a role in the functioning of the machine. Still much like today’s business environment where change is constant, this system requires continued adjustment, modification improvement of function. TQM as way of defining a work process cannot operate entirely in today’s global market because it succeeds at the expense of innovation and the growth of the employee. It also does not leave room to incorporate change and new ways of improving functions. Still a memory of pure TQM feeds the “modernist machine of consumer capitalism which encourages over-consumption, planned obsolescence, ecological damage and depletion of natural resources” (Steingard 2002, p. 4). This memory has also burdened management as the obsession for perfection, control, consistency, productivity and efficiency increases over time. In today’s facilities team, there must be a healthy medium to not only use past methods for increased productivity and efficiency but also to include modern tools and equipment to make the job easier.#p#分页标题#e#

 

In order to remain competitive, technology cannot be ignored, the systems it provides must be implemented in order for logistics to remain seamless and keep up with demand and customer expectation. For instance failure to embrace logistics and technology results in inventory costing a company more money to store than it is worth. McCullogh writes, “Right now sitting around the globe is a bunch of inventory (worth an estimated) United States $1 trillion—United States $1 trillion of boxes of stuff is just sitting around a warehouse” (‘Warning: Don’t Snub Logistics’, p. 1). This has the potential to represent about 60 percent of the average company’s working capital. This is capital in limbo that is not maximizing its investment potential.

 

A sign of successful shop floor operations is reliance on very little warehousing. In other words, warehousing is measured as the amount of days per month a product sits in the warehouse and if logistics is implemented effectively, this number will decrease and stabilize. The retail average storage of inventory is 26 days of investment not being utilized, profit being lost and daily expenses being incurred in an endless holding pattern. In order to reduce the amount of days inventory sits means companies must create tighter relationships with suppliers via the web or perfect a system of communication between resources to cut out warehousing all together. Instead of inventory remaining stored because of wireless communication and data collection, the product can go straight from the supply source to the retailer’s shelves via a distribution centre that acts much like mail sorting centre. This can work because technology enables a retailer to send data immediately to the supplier of products that are moving off the shelves with a click of a button. From this electronic message, the supplier knows what the retailer needs, what products are popular, how much and sends then instantly to the retailer’s distribution centre. In organisations the size of Nestle or Wal-Mart, logistics strategy requires much forethought and planning, as there are many branches and divisions that are involved in the process. The idea is to reduce expenses and increase value to the organisation by making the company more productive and efficient. This needs to be done as seamlessly as possible to continue brand loyalty and customer relations while maintaining market share and competitive advantage. In many ways, implementation of this strategy creates a delicate balance.

 

In order to have better Business to Business or B2B relationships, one must understand the connection. Robert Thierauf and Hoctor (2003) explain, “B2B is about connecting shared businesses and information processes of the extended trading networks, planning, shipping and logistics, inventory management and customer retention to name a few” (Thierauf & Hoctor, p. 181). In other words, an optimized planning process can save millions dollars and allow a multination corporation to carry out its objective and gain market share. This means applying advanced technology such as i2 used by Dell Computers and typical ERP vendors. In today’s act of doing business, B2B exchanges are based on supply chain management or SCM technologies (Thierauf & Hoctor, 2003, p. 182). This will mean considerable investment in such technology but the benefit of market share will prove it to be a valued investment over the long-run (Burn & Hachney 2002; Scerbo 1999).#p#分页标题#e#

 

Running these centres effectively certainly poses a challenge of management. Manufacturers must develop new skills and confront channel conflicts with dealers, distributors and independent operators. Leaders in these positions must have an understanding of managing the conflicts in these channels. But well-managed distribution centres would more than justify the risks, as it would save the organisation a significant amount of overhead.

 

With operating expenses as the main cost, it is possible to make the distribution venture essentially self-funding. Facilities can be rented on short-term leases and surrendered if the location isn't successful within a year or two. The cost of goods and labour can be managed as volume grows. Companies should remember that a manufacturer's original warranty work usually accounts for about half of the labour expenses and for as much as 20 percent of the total value of services rendered, but these costs are typically charged back to the business unit rather than borne by the company’s distribution. In markets poorly served by local dealers or other distributors, for instance, a centre should gear itself to its company’s end users or consumers by choosing a high-traffic retail site. Profits at these locations are generated largely through the sale of accessories and optional services to walk-in or mail order customers; outlets thus need appealing product displays or sales presentations.

 

Different kinds of retail distribution centres pursue different economic models. Although gross margins on sales to end-users are higher, orders tend to be smaller. Locations that focus on distributors can achieve scale faster and be just as profitable. The largely similar economics of service centres vary only according to which customer segment is best served at each location. Companies run their own centres and tie management bonuses to profit and growth goals at each site. Either way, some support functions, such as marketing, human resources and information and financial systems, are best managed at the corporate level.

 

Warehouses and distributions centres are caught in a squeeze between customer service demands and cost drivers. The challenge for most organisations is create a network that can deliver on customer demands while keeping costs down. This is the number challenge in supply chain management. Supply chain management presents a huge undertaking when it comes to overhead operating costs. Many of the tools have come down in price because usability has gotten easier. As a result, more and more companies are adopting a supply chain management philosophy for distribution and are re-evaluating its effectiveness every two years as opposed to before at every five years. Management members are interested to see if the efficiency of the centre matches its service level provided.

 

Research has found a direct relationship between the number of distribution points, transportation costs and customer service targets. The network and its design are driven by improvements so that the cost of transportation can be offset. This may include reviewing an organisation’s transportation arrangements. Loading patterns should also be examined to find ways to cube out containers and trailers (Trunick, p. 1). What possibilities can be used to have a cost-effective outcome for the distribution centre? Does this mean consolidating shipments or a move to parcel and less than truckload shipments? Can shipments be combined to make greater use of truck cargo space? Can the organisation hire rail or air as better shipping alternatives to using company trucks over longer distances? In addition to examining loading can the routes used by the trucks be adjusted to be add to cost-efficiency? An organisation would benefit using their state’s transportation management system or a department of transportation, DOT to map out distribution volumes and patterns. This would help in providing dynamic routing options that can be flexible to change distribution needs in the network. This can benefit the fleet by reducing fuel supply needs and help control costs and usage. These efficiencies would result because the routes would decrease in mileage and also wear/tear on the vehicles and insurance costs.#p#分页标题#e#

 

Efficiency inside the four walls of the distribution centre can also be improved. Relatively speaking the size of the average distribution centre has grown from 300,000 square feet to one million square feet (Trunick, p. 2). This is simply due to operating space needed to move inventory from point a to point b. But the real reason the distribution centre is larger today is mainly because organisations have seen the need to put all operations under one roof. By putting multiple facilities into one larger distribution centre improves the time it takes to transport inventory. Still the larger centre is made possible because of improved transportation systems but also implementation new technologies that not only enhance a brick and mortar store but also a virtual one. Plus, the organisation has the manpower under one roof. The company only rents one building and keeps the inventory in one place rather than moving it from warehouse to warehouse. This allows the company to provide better service to the consumer. Because of these factors, information systems are critical to the success of the larger distribution centre. Data has the need to travel from one area to another and that is why more and more companies are investing in radio frequency terminals both handheld and vehicle mounted.

 

Investment of these RFID systems is not inexpensive and many retailers such Wal-Mart and Target are looking for ways to enrich the present technology and systems without implementing a whole new infrastructure into the walls of the centre. By being able to enhance present systems proves to be cost effective because not only is an upgrade cheaper but also it is easier to train employees to run. It is a company’s ability to effectively handle investment of new technologies that allows the centre to run better. Still as Trunick writes, the concern is not found in hardware but in data. “Databases have traditionally been structured to feed a number of different systems, but that’s not a long term architectural solution” (p. 2). Part of the problem a distribution centre faces with data storage is being able to provide the data in real time and allowing the data to remain clean and not crowd. As a result many companies are searching for better solutions than using RFID in supply chain management. It has not proven to be productive in the distribution centre setting not like 8 percent in the warehouse setting (Trunick, p. 2).

 

One new technology that was introduced to the Nestle facilities management team in 2006 was the use of a computerized tracking system for client user orders. This system was implemented to better track the status of job orders among the team members. This system acted to alert a team member of potential deadlines and current job load status. It also allowed management to better track individual and team progress. This resulted in a monthly recognition program to signify when quotas had been met or when a team member received a client user compliment. This system also had the capability to record the negative such as being late to a service call or failing to complete monitoring of weekly items for inspection. The system would then e-mail the team member and the direct supervisor if such conduct occurred (Facilities Training Group 2007, p. 11). This system replaced the old process of “tracking” client user orders that consisted of logging each order into a spiral notebook. With the advent of the company’s intranet site, management hoped to improve communication between the facilities team and the client user by offering an electronic request system. This would reduce the amount of time the facilities team spent fielding phone called requested and allow for multi-tasking of various jobs.#p#分页标题#e#

 

What management had hoped the system implementation would result in, did not happen mainly due to team member lack of communication and resistance to change due to a pre-existing TQM elements within the old process of handling client user orders. Management had hoped as the Business Open Learning Archive details, “automation would exploit available technology to speed up operations, make them more reliable and to reduce unit costs and their risks and costs. This would bring flexibility to the system already in practice” (Operations Technology 2005, p. 1). This type of new technology or just-in-time or JIT technology requires careful handling and extensive training. What facilities management team leaders had not prepared for was the team member response. Many of them despite being competent, responsible employees did not have knowledge of computer systems. Many of the team members had been with the company over twenty years and had been hired to the division. Many of these types, fall into the category of being older but also having a specific specialization in which they were in the field most of the time (Facilities Training Group 2007, p. 24) not requiring any other extensive skills. Another factor management had not anticipated was a considerable language barrier as many team members who had worked together for years, continued working in their native tongue of Spanish. A final aspect of the mixed response for the team had more to do with timing than anything. Management provided a three-day training session and then allowed two weeks for the new system to be adopted. The transitional period was too short and was met with much resistance from many members of the team. Many did not accept the change or completely understand the new system. Many did not check their email or use the tracking component. Finally, despite company wide advertisement of the new online request feature, most client users did not use it and continued to phone in requests. This resulted in not a decrease in time spent on the phone but due to the new system’s lack transition and rejection by some of the team, the group received three times as many calls in one week (Facilities Training Group 2007, p. 33). The team had to hire a temporary employee to aid in taking calls while team leaders provided on the job training and supervised walk-through of the new process. The period of six weeks it took the team to get back up to speed resulted in not only miscommunications among team members but also time lost to better serving the client users. As a result, many of the circulation systems did not receive their weekly maintenance and this negatively affected the climate control performance for the building’s seventh floor northwest corner (Facilities Training Group 2007, p. 39). With time the team members adjusted to the new technology with few still relying on the hand-written method. Still the process of introducing the system was not handled effectively and resulted in a period of adjustment where many processes met with negative results.#p#分页标题#e#

 

OPERATIONS LIFE CYCLE 运营生命周期

 

Wal-Mart became a textbook example of managing rapid growth without losing sight of a company's basic values. In Wal-Mart's case, the basic value was, and is, customer service. Still it was Wal-Mart’s ability to focus on multiple values that lends to its current success. As technologies changed, American social needs became more immediate due to a 24/7 schedule, Wal-Mart saw the need to use bigger and better computer systems to provide not only customer service at the store but also provide the product. Ironically, technology plays an important role in helping Wal-Mart stay customer centred. Wal-Mart created the notion of sharing sales data via computer with major suppliers, such as Proctor & Gamble. Every time a bottle of Pantene is rung up at the cash register, Wal-Mart's data warehouse takes note and knows when it is time to alert P&G to replenish a particular store. As a result, Wal-Mart stores rarely run out of stock of popular items. Also to keep up with supply and demand, Wal-Mart’s intricate communication systems with its distribution centres and hubs make the product available faster. This concept diminishes the amount of space needed to house the product; the amount of time needed for transport and keeps the communication level in constant play. Therefore, the employees are never in the dark about inventory and are able to focus on providing excellent customer service.

 

In keeping with the customer’s needs, another aspect of Wal-Mart’s business model is to keep the store simple and adapt when adaptation is needed. This worked to benefit Wal-Mart’s international presence in Europe. Instead of pushing the Wal-Mart way of life down the European’s throat, executive chose to enter the market by buying out existing infrastructure. In this way, the company was able to keep operation costs because they used existing retail stores and employees. The only real thing that changes was the inventory and product price for the Europeans. Once again Wal-Mart is giving the customer what they want just on a different scale.

 

Wal-Mart will also adjust itself to the economic environment in order to remain competitive. After September 11, 2001, Wal-Mart recognized a change in consumer spending at their stores and adjusted prices to reflect this trend. Wal-Mart understood “the consumer need of a breather at the start of a long-awaited consumer spending recession.” (Delong 2003). What did this business philosophy, model for business success over the long-range and subsequent adjustments due to consumer trends amount to for Wal-Mart? Recent Christmas seasonal shopping over the years has remained promising when compared to the years after September 11, 2001, with 2003 taking off but still did not meet analysts’ forecasts. When in this challenging economic state as experienced currently in the United States, Wal-Mart especially around holiday seasons has remained at the top because of “a late surge in shopping and use of gift cards—which estimated to make up 8% of holiday sales this year—after Christmas resulted in solid, if unspectacular, sales” (Delong 2003). It can be expected that much of the store’s traffic relate to spending after the holidays and the majority with gift cards.#p#分页标题#e#

 

Within the classic business model, the SCM can be interpreted as one-dimensional when it comes to supplying materials for production. The supply chain generally is a combination of three pieces or planning, procurement and fulfillment. Nestle sees the advantage of a SCM solution for everyday production levels. It all comes down to the integrated relationship they have suppliers with the SCM model. When something goes wrong, there is an automatic addressing of the issue where brain storming of how to make changes more integrated comes into play. This may save time and money because delivery dates and product amounts will not be mis-communicated. This allows the shop floor to maintain lean levels of inventory and better serve the consumer, building deeper relationships across the board. This automatic feature only works to the maximum benefit when done in real time but an effective SCM will allow for interchangeability and seamless communication across the global network. The way the inventory data is organised also plays a factor, as it cannot only be distinguished by consumer or retailer but also by team or product depending on the individual. It is a customised system. This allows the warehouse to be less burdened by inventory overflow, which allows Nestle to allot less space and cost savings to the company.

 

This allows the action of purchasing materials to be less complex because the information is conveyed electronically and sometimes in real time on the network. This also allows Nestle to cut away the fat of time taken for processing and at a cost benefit also. There is no paperwork or faxing, mailing to do as with the old system. By employing this form, Nestle can incorporate seamlessness to the fulfillment process of the SCM model because every step is e-documented and accounted for. There is no reason for missing inventory or loss of time in delivery. Of course, there is always room for improvement because an organisation should always be looking for ways to do it better and therefore, contingency planning or ‘what if’ procedures are also a proactive aspect of the SCM. A daily, weekly, even hourly basis data reports can be presented to management and offer feedback on the performance. This can better aid the further analysis of costing along the chain but also allows for better scenario analysis. It is important for management to realise the need for an integrated SCM, meaning that pricing and its rebounds will be staged. In this way, the SCM adds further value as the chain extends within the product cycle of production to further a global presence. Mostly, without these tools, a global presence would be next to impossible. Such readily available technologies are expected to be utilized and integrated into the chain but they often touch upon the other ERP, CRM and EDI solutions making the evaluation of these systems much more important now than before.

 

Organisations dealing with export of product want the costs to be lower so they can focus on marketing the product. This allows the SCM to evolve to the next stage of growth potential. In this respect the chain becomes multi-faceted creature, maintaining many levels of duties at one time. This allows management to focus upon important strategies and decisions that may cause issues down the line. It allows management to stay one step ahead of the game especially with regard to costs and competitive advantage in a marketplace. With new focus comes growth because of the tools available now. The fluid type of chain changes as the company introduces new strategies. This type of model best reflects the continuous flow of ideas and possibilities within the e-commerce construct or Internet medium specifically. It helps anticipate future occurrences. This aids a company’s tracking of Internet use especially when applied to advertising and promotions, as it is known “the number of businesses utilizing the Internet for e-business purposes was significantly low at 28% though an further 33% were actively considering the implementation” (Ritchie, p. 2).#p#分页标题#e#

 

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT 持续改进

 

Human perception and recognition of internal and external factors depend on the individual nature of information absorption. Information and how a person absorbs it depend on that person's level of consciousness (Mumford 1991, p. 115). Much of how an employee's perception and ability to intercept information is defined by the organisation and that employee's supervisor and team members. How successful this information was communicated depended on management's approach. Of course, the approach changes with the size of the organisation. What happens really is opposite of what should happen when it comes to leadership of a team. The larger organisations and the leaders there has less of a hand on approach or a personal approach, whereas the smaller organisations were personal and able to attend to employee needs better. This is because of the size of the organisation. Larger organisations have a harder time facilitating communication along the chain of command (Goodyear 1995, p. 45).

 

Communication types vary in larger organisations but still the communication is intense amongst power players. More oral communication happens within the team structure than let's say electronic or direct communication. Therefore, it is important that leaders keep in mind internal factors as well any external factors that may exist. This is important because the communication climate is constantly changing due to upgrades in technology and employee expertise (Huber 1991, p. 90).

 

With the ideas of internal and external factors in mind, one must also understand why do employees accept determinants that come into play when discussing why systems are or are not? These determinants are work environment, the job function of the person, the job sector of the person such as business, higher education, or government; and the discipline in which the person works. These all have the potential for influencing an individual's perception of what hinders their efforts regarding performance, learning and communication.

 

Collaborative communication is also important to enhance professional relationships. High-quality job performances, when supported by the senior management level, can further enhance customer satisfaction, retention, and sales growth. "Managing knowledge" shows a significant and direct effect on both customer satisfaction and retention (Valiathan 2002, p. 3). Also, it surprisingly affects customer retention and sales growth via customer satisfaction. These results may be attributable to the importance of knowledge responsiveness taking the form of customization, which acts as a critical value driver in building customer relationships over long periods of time.

 

Researchers have also stressed the need to establish a continuous organisational learning environment to acquire and creatively use customer knowledge to foster long-term relationships and, thereby, increase business performance (Vind 1996, p. 2). A continuous learning mode is especially critical in a financial context to facilitate understanding of customers and counter sales force obsolescence (Valiathan 2002, p. 4). Customer service people who exhibit a talent for learning are better able to use their customer knowledge in order offer more personalized products and services that further customer satisfaction, retention and sales growth.#p#分页标题#e#

 

CORE VALUE SYSTEMS 核心价值体系

 

Reasons why the company should adopt knowledge management model or system are numerous. This is mainly due to such as in the case of Nestlé’s Facilities management department; there is a clear vision from where the company’s knowledge management is and where it should be going. One thing a manager and even employee must keep in mind is that knowledge is constantly evolving, how it is used and by whom also changes from a day-to-day status. In the case of the Facilities department and Nestle on a whole is that the organisation understands its value system toward knowledge, they just have not figured out a way to channel this as a means of being proactive. It is being left in the hands of the employee way too much; they need more structure and direction early on in order for the value for knowledge to reach its potential. Otherwise, the organisation will continue this current holding pattern of only some of its workforce being participatory and a full level of knowledge management will not be reached. The key is to have engaging leadership in place throughout the organisation and not just at the top. Where such an organisation could be is realizing its potential toward being a continuous learning environment where the lines of communication are open and flexible.

 

It is believed such leadership from the smallest role to the largest role can be used as leverage within the organisation to promote the practice of knowledge management. The company has an excellent training department, that team of people should be advocates of knowledge sharing and communicative of the corporate cultural values. These elements can even be integrated into the training course material and presentations. At the same time, the training department while it should be utilized to promote knowledge can also holds onto it or be selective in whom in the company has access. This can be a problem because this can create resentment among the ranks. This in turn leads to areas of employee satisfaction and work life balance to a degree where people may not be able to handle high levels of stress or change. A good management team will recognize symptoms of resistance, even the smallest conflict and know how to ease the transition and movement of knowledge among the ranks. It is also seen at a company the size of Nestle that employees move around from one area to another or use their knowledge in another department. In fact it is possible to start in one area of expertise and move to an entirely different one over the years.

 

While this is a wonderful aspect of employment gratification and longevity is evident at this organisation, this also causes gaps in other areas where the employee may have left. It is said that knowledge is power, however, in some cases the ego fuels the fire and can cause more harm than good. If an employee has too much knowledge and does not share it, this creates conflict and periods of struggle amongst team members. At this same time, this knowledge may inspire the employee to move up the ranks sharing his or her experiences from other department in order to collaborate on making a work flow better. This it seems remains the double-edged sword for management and employees alike. In this respect, this is where cross training employees becomes important because this will evenly distribute the knowledge amongst the team and therefore sharing knowledge, allowing them equal involvement and ownership of the team’s productivity. This however brings up another interesting highlight of knowledge management because truly like an assembly line, one employee directly influences another and on down the chain. In this way a tactic within the knowledge management change of diffusing information allows the tactic evolve from just an action to a belief, therefore becoming a part of the culture and explicitly known and communicated. It becomes a pillar of the corporation’s value system.#p#分页标题#e#

 

One can apply a SWOT analysis to the Gap analysis as a means to better understand what needs work and focus to become better tools and what is a fact of life for the organisation. Once a leader understands what they are up against, it is easier to face and apply a strategy to build upon that foundation. Many see the SWOT as deliberately pointing out the company’s faults in order to build competitive advantage. That could not be further from the intent. The thought is to allow for grow even with the negative aspects of business. It also points out that nothing is perfect all the time. When thinking about a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of Nestlé’s knowledge management, many aspects of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats have been touched upon above. The company is fortunate in that the culture values continuous learning but it lacks structure in harnessing the full potential of this as an explicit knowledge. Many employees work there for a year without knowing about training classes or suffer at his or her evaluation because they have not met milestones. This begins and ends with leadership. With leadership in place that understands employee education is fundamental to success this strength and weakness will hit its own milestone. That being said the company has many opportunities for sharing its knowledge along the chain of command however communication lacks an authenticity, which triggers incorrect messages, leading to employee conflict and lack of retention. Still the threat of not sharing knowledge leads down a darker path that can cause greater altering influences. On the flipside, an employee who is over confident and ego driven can also cause disruption in the learning process. They may refuse to share, causing a blockage of information.

 

For one, the overall investment will in the long run cut operation costs and increase efficiency for many levels within the organisation. By adding the new channel of communication offers the employee another means of interaction with the company and offers the employee better communications with the organisation. This makes them feel like a greater part of the whole (Bennis 1989, p. 47). A knowledge management system creates a whole new level of understanding the process of business within interactive personal atmosphere of the employee’s computer. These programs anticipate the needs of the employee and each individual learning style. It also allows a manager to pinpoint breakdowns within the knowledge flow and address issues at the source before getting to a new level of misunderstanding.

 

From the learning theories point of view, learning refers to “the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge or behavior due to experience or peer interactions in training” (Galegher & et al 1990, p. 37). Galegher, et al and Schrage said that with the OPSS, collaborative work, social interaction, sharing of minds, critical thinking, and intellectual teamwork are all bound to increase in the workplace. It has been found that researchers in the field of furthering learning, understand the importance of proactive training and continued education, not just on the job training but a complete comprehension, centred around continuous improvement valued training schemes. In this view, socio-cultural principles might be applied through the creation of OPSS scenarios of actual or virtual classroom situations that effectively pose questions within an individual's zone of proximal development (Srikanth 1994, p. 201). Also, “modeling, coaching, encouragement, feedback, and other support of learners' cognitive abilities are important for effective learning, problem solving and performance empowering in such social context" (Schrage 1990, p. 15).#p#分页标题#e#

 

Previous definitions were focused on the performance of the autonomous individual, participating in little or no collaborative learning or knowledge management. Each input information into the knowledge base and interpreted the information on an individual basis with little or no communication with entities outside of the individual workstation. Input and feedback loops connect all groups within the learning system with one another and the knowledge base. Components of the operations performance support system or OPSS consist of:

 

Individuals draw from the knowledge base, others' experiences and the external environment, to obtain information to complete required job tasks. In the process, they add to the knowledge base, thus increasing organisational memory. Individuals create knowledge collaboratively or in isolation. An organisation cannot create knowledge without the participation of individuals. It is the responsibility of the organisation to provide an environment or context that is conducive to knowledge creation (Nonaka 1994).

 

To apply this model into a practical setting considers Figure 1. Figure 1 (see in Appendices below) illustrates the flow of information within and into the support and development functions of a manufacturing company. The external learning and knowledge gathering mechanisms input information into the OPSS environment continuously (Bill 1997,p. 4). Therefore the information is current and accessible to all individuals within the organisation. Also contained in this model are loops to the external environment, including the customer. Information from the external environment is critical for organizational learning (Bill 1997, p. 5).

 

Given the fact that new technology is increasingly able to store and provide more information to the organisation's members, consideration must be given to the organisation of the data to prevent an information overload. The learning process is less effective if the amount of information exceeds the organisation's capacity to adequately process the data (Huber 1991, p. 89). One dilemma in this area is the rate of information and the inconsistency of the data (Forman & Kaplan 1994, p. 7). Knowledge is stored and updated in a repository that provides accessibility and prevents inaccuracy or redundancy within the storage vehicle. It is important to note that intellectual redundancy within the organisation will result as an individual’s access and share information. Redundancy of information allows people to view the same information from different perspectives (Nonaka 1994). The result is the creation of new information. Furthermore, information created and gathered by an organisation is nothing more than unrelated data unless it is organised in an accessible format. In addition, organisations cannot learn from the information if it is irretrievable, distorted, fragmented or inaccurate (Kasvi, Nieminen, Pulkkis & Vartiainen 1998).#p#分页标题#e#

 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 讨论和结论

 

This paper discussed the changes within accounting processes as found in many business atmospheres. This paper looked to literature and case studies found that global companies are responding to these changes from the shop floor to overall organisational valuation. Efficiency becomes a large issue to address for management as the rising costs of business apply at every stage of the cycle. With solid leadership in place, a team can expect to learn the routine and establish a flow of production and communication in order to get the job done. With this in mind, this research focused on the concept of total quality management or TQM as an operational value. This research also found two key case studies from reputable, large multi-national corporations that utilize the team structure. These companies were Nestle USA and Wal-Mart. These organisations were chosen specifically because they display situations where cost accounting is effective at times but not always effective as a management tool. These case studies have discovered a need for organisations to pay attention to technology in order to adapt processes for an ever-changing global market (Kadzban & Motwani 2005) but as a whole to remain cost effective. Only by focusing on these key elements are organisations like Nestle going to succeed especially with change as a constant agent within the organisational construct (Jarboe & Yudken 1997). This requires of organisations to adopt a mindset of not only flexibility but also of continuous improvement and learning because everyday presents new scenarios especially when it comes to managing accounting regulations and the balancing of the books. One must also keep in mind the main asset may not present itself in the form of an expense of liability but as the spirit of organisational values. The pulse of the organisation remains in the lifeblood of every employee. They may the job happen at every stage regardless of cost effectiveness, rise and fall of pricing and market fluctuations. Managers must understand the human side of the organisation in order to remain successful and apply lean accounting principles only where it benefits the organisation but also its people. For tried and true business models that still apply to modern business practice and accounting like Wal-Mart but also for the businesses that have become extinct like Enron, Tyco and Countrywide Home Loans, one can see that there was a lack of respect for the human side of teamwork. Managers and accountants on those chains of command lacked communication and only looked out for the riches. They did not see the bigger picture, only the payoff. They did not understand that beating the system, the principles of accounting set into place but regulations and business practices would over time catch up with them and at catastrophic results. These examples of bad business and botching the books have given rise to further changes within the modern way of accounting but for the protection of the organisation and its people’s future. The purpose of lean accounting is to not only make the system more efficient but to also put safe guards to ensure other businesses do not become cocky and grown beyond their business plan. It is a pride in its people and production values of excellent products that allows organisations like Nestle to preserve its business plan and move toward future effectiveness within the product life cycle.#p#分页标题#e#