Disk Company Was Very Profitable for the First Ten Years

question 115

Essay

Disk Company was very profitable for the first ten years of its existence, but the company has fallen on hard times with the growth of compact disks.In 2017 Jean Adams was appointed head of the Product Research Department.She began a number of product development projects.Although the department has developed several good ideas that led to the introduction of several promising products, Ms.Adams was criticized for poor cost control.The financial performance reports of the department under Ms.Adams leadership were consistently unfavourable.Management was quite concerned about cost control because profits for the company were low and the cash budget indicated that additional borrowing would be required during the next year.Because of her inability to control costs, Ms.Adams was relieved of her responsibilities in 2018 and Fran Jones became head of the department.Ms.Jones promised to improve performance of Product Research and scaled back the developmental activities to obtain favourable financial performance.By the end of 2018 Ms.Jones was showing a favourable financial variance.Required:
If the Product Research Department is classified as a responsibility centre, what unique problems are associated with evaluating its financial performance?

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Definitions:

Concern For Production

Focuses on the emphasis a manager or organization places on the output and productivity levels of its operations.

Readiness

The state of being fully prepared for something or willing to do something; readiness may refer to individuals, organizations, or systems.

Ability

The capacity of an individual to perform actions or tasks effectively, based on skills, talent, or knowledge.

Willingness

The quality or state of being prepared to do something; readiness.