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Cost Management
Measuring, Monitoring, and Motivating Performance
Chapter 4
Relevant Information for Decision Making
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 1
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine
Operating Decisions
Learning objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
Q1: What is the process for identifying and using relevant
information in decision making?
Q2: How is relevant quantitative and qualitative information
used in special order decisions?
Q3: How is relevant quantitative and qualitative information
used in keep or drop decisions?
Q4: How is relevant quantitative and qualitative information used in
outsourcing (make or buy) decisions?
Q5: How is relevant quantitative and qualitative information used in
product emphasis and constrained resource decisions?
Q6: What factors affect the quality of operating decisions?
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 2
Q1: Nonroutine Operating Decisions
• Routine operating decisions are those made on a
regular schedule. Examples include:
• annual budgets and resource allocation decisions
• monthly production planning
• weekly work scheduling issues
• Nonroutine operating decisions are not made on a
regular schedule. Examples include:
• accept or reject a customer’s special order
• keep or drop business segments
• insource or outsource a business activity
• constrained (scarce) resource allocation issues
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 3
Q1: Nonroutine Operating Decisions
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 4
Q1: Process for Making Nonroutine
Operating Decisions
1. Identify the type of decision to be made.
2. Identify the relevant quantitative analysis
technique(s).
3. Identify and analyze the qualitative factors.
4. Perform quantitative and/or qualitative analyses
5. Prioritize issues and arrive at a decision.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 5
Q1: Identify the Type of Decision
•
•
Special order decisions
•
determine the pricing
•
accept or reject a customer’s proposal for order quantity
and pricing
•
identify if there is sufficient available capacity
Keep or drop business segment decisions
•
•
examples of business segments include product lines,
divisions, services, geographic regions, or other distinct
segments of the business
eliminating segments with operating losses will not
always improve profits
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 6
Q1: Identify the Type of Decision
•
•
•
Outsourcing decisions
•
make or buy production components
•
perform business activities “in-house” or pay another
business to perform the activity
Constrained resource allocation decisions
•
determine which products (or business segments)
should receive allocations of scarce resources
•
examples include allocating scarce machine hours or
limited supplies of materials to products
Other decisions may use similar analyses
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 7
Q1: Identify and Apply the Relevant
Quantitative Analysis Technique(s)
•
•
Regression, CVP, and linear programming are
examples of quantitative analysis techniques.
Analysis techniques require input data.
•
Data for some input variables will be known and for
other input variables estimates will be required.
•
Many nonroutine decisions have a general
decision rule to apply to the data.
•
The results of the general rule need to be
interpreted.
•
The quality of the information used must be considered
when interpreting the results of the general rule.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 8
Q2-Q5 : Identify and Analyze Qualitative Factors
•
Qualitative information cannot easily be valued in
dollars.
•
•
•
can be difficult to identify
can be every bit as important as the quantitative
information
Examples of qualitative information that may be
relevant in some nonroutine decisions include:
•
quality of inputs available from a supplier
•
effects of decision on regular customers
•
effects of decision on employee morale
•
effects of production on the environment or the
community
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 9
Q1: Consider All Information and Make a Decision
•
Before making a decision:
•
Consider all quantitative and qualitative information.
• Judgment is required when interpreting the effects of
qualitative information.
•
Consider the quality of the information.
• Judgment is also required when user lower-quality
information.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 10
Q2: Special Order Decisions
•
•
A new customer (or an existing customer) may
sometimes request a special order with a lower
selling price per unit.
The general rule for special order decisions is:
•
•
accept the order if incremental revenues exceed
incremental costs,
subject to qualitative considerations.
Price >=
•
Relevant
Variable Costs +
Relevant
Fixed Costs +
Opportunity
Cost
If the special order replaces a portion of normal
operations, then the opportunity cost of accepting
the order must be included in incremental costs.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 11
Q2: Special Order Decisions
RobotBits, Inc. makes sensory input devices for robot manufacturers.
The normal selling price is $38.00 per unit. RobotBits was approached
by a large robot manufacturer, U.S. Robots, Inc. USR wants to buy
8,000 units at $24, and USR will pay the shipping costs. The per-unit
costs traceable to the product (based on normal capacity of 94,000
units) are listed below. Which costs are relevant to this decision?
yes$6.20 Relevant?
Direct materials
yes 8.00 Relevant?
Direct labor
Variable mfg. overhead yes 5.80 Relevant?
no 3.50 Relevant?
Fixed mfg. overhead
yes
Shipping/handling
no 2.50 Relevant?
Fixed administrative costs no 0.88 Relevant?
no 0.36 Relevant?
Fixed selling costs
$27.24
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
$20.00
Slide # 12
Q2: Special Order Decisions
Suppose that the capacity of RobotBits is 107,000 units and projected
sales to regular customers this year total 94,000 units. Does the
quantitative analysis suggest that the company should accept the
special order?
First determine if there is sufficient idle capacity to accept this
order without disrupting normal operations:
Projected sales to regular customers
Special order
94,000 units
8,000 units
102,000 units
RobotBits still has 5,000 units of idle capacity if the order is
accepted. Compare incremental revenue to incremental cost:
Incremental profit if accept special order =
($24 selling price – $20 relevant costs) x 8,000 units = $32,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 13
Q2: Qualitative Factors in
Special Order Decisions
What qualitative issues, in general, might RobotBits consider before
finalizing its decision?
• Will USR expect the same selling price per unit on future
orders?
• Will other regular customers be upset if they discover the
lower selling price to one of their competitors?
• Will employee productivity change with the increase in
production?
• Given the increase in production, will the incremental costs
remain as predicted for this special order?
• Are materials available from its supplier to meet the increase
in production?
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 14
Q2: Special Order Decisions and Capacity Issues
Suppose instead that the capacity of RobotBits is 100,000 units and
projected sales to regular customers this year totals 94,000 units.
Should the company accept the special order?
Here the company does not have enough idle
capacity to accept the order:
Projected sales to regular customers
Special order
94,000 units
8,000 units
102,000 units
If USR will not agree to a reduction of the order to 6,000
units, then the offer can only be accepted by denying sales
of 2,000 units to regular customers.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 15
Q2: Special Order Decisions and Capacity Issues
Suppose instead that the capacity of RobotBits is 100,000 units and
projected sales to regular customers this year total 94,000 units. Does
the quantitative analysis suggest that the company should accept the
special order?
Direct materials
Direct labor
Variable mfg. overhead
Fixed mfg. overhead
Shipping/handling
Fixed administrative costs
Fixed selling costs
$6.20
8.00
5.80
3.50
2.50
0.88
0.36
$27.24
Variable cost/unit for
regular sales = $22.50.
CM/unit on regular sales
= $38.00 – $22.50 = $15.50.
The opportunity cost of accepting this
order is the lost contribution margin
on 2,000 units of regular sales.
Incremental profit if accept special order =
$32,000 incremental profit under idle capacity – opportunity cost =
$32,000 – $15.50 x 2,000 = $1,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 16
Q2: Qualitative Factors in
Special Order Decisions
What additional qualitative issues, in this case of a capacity constraint,
might RobotBits consider before finalizing its decision?
• What will be the effect on the regular customer(s) that do not
receive their order(s) of 2,000 units?
• What is the effect on the company’s reputation of leaving
orders from regular customers of 2,000 units unfilled?
• Will any of the projected costs change if the company
operates at 100% capacity?
• Are there any methods to increase capacity? What effects do
these methods have on employees and on the community?
• Notice that the small incremental profit of $1,000 will probably
be outweighed by the qualitative considerations.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 17
Q3: Keep or Drop Decisions
•
Managers must determine whether to keep or
eliminate business segments that appear to be
unprofitable.
•
The general rule for keep or drop decisions is:
•
•
keep the business segment if its contribution margin
covers its avoidable fixed costs,
subject to qualitative considerations.
Drop if: Contribution < Relevant
Margin
Fixed Costs
•
+
Opportunity
Cost
If the business segment’s elimination will affect
continuing operations, the opportunity costs of its
discontinuation must be included in the analysis.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 18
Q3: Keep or Drop Decisions
Starz, Inc. has 3 divisions. The Gibson and Quaid Divisions have recently
been operating at a loss. Management is considering the elimination of these
divisions. Divisional income statements (in 1000s of dollars) are given below.
According to the quantitative analysis, should Starz eliminate Gibson or
Quaid or both?
Revenues
Variable costs
Contribution margin
Traceable fixed costs
Division operating income
Unallocated fixed costs
Operating income
Gibson Quaid Russell
$390 $433
$837
247
335
472
143
98
365
166
114
175
($23) ($16)
$190
Breakdown of traceable fixed costs:
Avoidable
$154
Unavoidable
12
$166
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
$96
18
$114
Total
$1,660
1,054
606
455
151
81
$70
$139
36
$175
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 19
Q3: Keep or Drop Decisions
Revenues
Variable costs
Contribution margin
Traceable fixed costs
Division operating income
Unallocated fixed costs
Operating income
Gibson Quaid Russell
$390 $433
$837
247
335
472
143
98
365
166
114
175
($23) ($16)
$190
Breakdown of traceable fixed costs:
Avoidable
$154
Unavoidable
12
$166
$96
18
$114
Total
$1,660
1,054
606
455
151
81
$70
$139
36
$175
Contribution margin
Avoidable fixed costs
Effect on profit if keep
Use the general rule
to determine if Gibson
and/or Quaid should
be eliminated.
Gibson Quaid
$143
$98
154
96
($11)
$2
The general rule shows that we should keep Quaid and drop Gibson.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 20
Q3: Keep or Drop Decisions
Revenues
Variable costs
Contribution margin
Traceable fixed costs
Division operating income
Unallocated fixed costs
Operating income
Gibson Quaid Russell
$390 $433
$837
247
335
472
143
98
365
166
114
175
($23) ($16)
$190
Breakdown of traceable fixed costs:
Avoidable
$154
Unavoidable
12
$166
$96
18
$114
Total
$1,660
1,054
606
455
151
81
$70
$139
36
$175
Using the general rule is easier
than recasting the income
statements:
Gibson Quaid Russell
Total
Revenues
$390
$433
$837
$1,270
Variable costs
247
335
472
807
Contribution margin
143
98
365
$463
Traceable fixed costs
166
114
175
289
Division operating income
($23)
($16)
$190
$174
Unallocated fixed costs
81
Gibson's unavoidable fixed costs
12
Operating income
$81
Quaid &
Russell
only
Profits increase by $11 when Gibson is eliminated.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 21
Q3: Keep or Drop Decisions
Suppose that the Gibson & Quaid Divisions use the same supplier for a
particular production input. If the Gibson Division is dropped, the decrease in
purchases from this supplier means that Quaid will no longer receive volume
discounts on this input. This will increase the costs of production for Quaid by
$14,000 per year. In this scenario, should Starz still eliminate the Gibson
Division?
Effect on profit if drop Gibson before considering
impact on Quaid's production costs
Opportunity cost of eliminating Gibson
Revised effect on profit if drop Gibson
$11
(14)
($3)
Profits decrease by $3 when Gibson is eliminated.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 22
Q3: Qualitative Factors in
Keep or Drop Decisions
What qualitative issues should Starz consider before finalizing its
decision?
• What will be the effect on the customers of Gibson if it
is eliminated? What is the effect on the company’s
reputation?
• What will be the effect on the employees of Gibson?
Can any of them be reassigned to other divisions?
• What will be the effect on the community where Gibson
is located if the decision is made to drop Gibson?
• What will be the effect on the morale of the employees
of the remaining divisions?
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 23
•
Q4: Insource or Outsource
(Make or Buy) Decisions
Managers often must determine whether to
•
•
•
make or buy a production input
keep a business activity in house or outsource the activity
The general rule for make or buy decisions is:
•
•
choose the alternative with the lowest relevant
(incremental cost), subject to qualitative considerations
If the decision will affect other aspects of
operations, these costs (or lost revenues) must be
included in the analysis.
Outsource if: Cost to Outsource < Cost to Insource
Where:
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Cost to
Relevant Relevant Opportunity
Insource =
FC
+
VC
+
Cost
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 24
Q4: Make or Buy Decisions
Graham Co. currently of our main product manufactures a part called a
gasker used in the manufacture of its main product. Graham makes and
uses 60,000 gaskers per year. The production costs are detailed below.
An outside supplier has offered to supply Graham 60,000 gaskers per
year at $1.55 each. Fixed production costs of $30,000 associated with
the gaskers are unavoidable. Should Graham make or buy the gaskers?
The production costs per unit for manufacturing a gasker are:
yes $0.65 Relevant?
Direct materials
yes 0.45 Relevant?
Direct labor
Variable manufacturing overhead yes 0.40 Relevant?
no 0.50 Relevant?
Fixed manufacturing overhead*
$2.00
*$30,000/60,000 units = $0.50/unit
$1.50
Advantage of “make” over “buy” = [$1.55 - $1.50] x 60,000 = $3,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 25
Q4: Qualitative Factors in
Make or Buy Decisions
The quantitative analysis indicates that Graham should continue to
make the component. What qualitative issues should Graham
consider before finalizing its decision?
• Is the quality of the manufactured component superior
to the quality of the purchased component?
• Will purchasing the component result in more timely
availability of the component?
• Would a relationship with the potential supplier benefit
the company in any way?
• Are there any worker productivity issues that affect this
decision?
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 26
Q3: Make or Buy Decisions
Suppose the potential supplier of the gasker offers Graham a discount for a
different sub-unit required to manufacture Graham’s main product if Graham
purchases 60,000 gaskers annually. This discount is expected to save
Graham $15,000 per year. Should Graham consider purchasing the
gaskers?
Advantage of “make” over “buy”
before considering discount (slide 23)
$3,000
Discount
Advantage of “buy” over “make”
15,000
$12,000
Profits increase by $12,000 when the gasker is
purchased instead of manufactured.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 27
Q5: Constrained Resource
(Product Emphasis) Decisions
•
Managers often face constraints such as
•
•
production capacity constraints such as machine hours
or limits on availability of material inputs
limits on the quantities of outputs that customers
demand
•
Managers need to determine which products
should first be allocated the scarce resources.
•
The general rule for constrained resource
allocation decisions with only one constraint is:
•
allocate scarce resources to products with the highest
contribution margin per unit of the constrained resource,
•
subject to qualitative considerations.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 28
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
Urban’s Umbrellas makes two types of patio umbrellas, regular and deluxe.
Suppose there is unlimited customer demand for each product. The selling
prices and variable costs of each product are listed below.
Selling price per unit
Variable cost per unit
Contribution margin per unit
Regular
$40
20
$20
Deluxe
$110
44
$ 66
Contribution margin ratio
50%
60%
Required machine hours/unit
0.4
2.0
Urban has only 160,000 machine hours available per year.
Write Urban’s machine hour constraint as an inequality.
0.4R + 2D 160,000 machine hours
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 29
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
Suppose that Urban decides to make all Regular umbrellas. What is the total
contribution margin? Recall that the CM/unit for R is $20.
The machine hour constraint is: 0.4R + 2D 160,000 machine hours
If D=0, this constraint becomes 0.4R 160,000 machine hours,
or R 400,000 units
Total contribution margin = $20*400,000 = $8 million
Suppose that Urban decides to make all Deluxe umbrellas. What is the total
contribution margin? Recall that the CM/unit for D is $66.
If R=0, this constraint becomes 2D 160,000 machine hours, or
D 80,000 units
Total contribution margin = $66*80,000 = $5.28 million
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 30
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
If the choice is between all Ds or all Rs, then clearly making all Rs
is better. But how do we know that some combination of Rs and Ds
won’t yield an even higher contribution margin?
make all Ds; get
$5.28 million
make all Rs; get
$8 million
In a one constraint problem, a combination of Rs and Ds will yield
a contribution margin between $5.28 and $8 million. Therefore,
Urban will only make one product, and clearly R is the best choice.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 31
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
The general rule for constrained resource decisions with one
scarce resource is to first make only the product with the highest
contribution margin per unit of the constrained resource.
In Urban’s case, the sole scarce resource was machine hours,
so Urban should make only the product with the highest
contribution margin per machine hour.
R: CM/mach hr = $20/0.4mach hrs = $50/mach hr
D: CM/mach hr = $66/2mach hrs = $33/mach hr
Notice that the total contribution margin from making all Rs
is $50/mach hr x 160,000 machine hours to be used
producing Rs = $8 million.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 32
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Multiple Scarce Resources)
•
Usually managers face more than one constraint.
•
Multiple constraints are easiest to analyze using a
quantitative analysis technique known as linear
programming.
•
A problem formulated as a linear programming
problem contains
•
an algebraic expression of the company’s goal, known
as the objective function
•
•
for example “maximize total contribution margin” or “minimize
total costs”
a list of the constraints written as inequalities
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 33
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
Suppose Urban also need 2 and 6 hours of direct labor per unit of R
and D, respectively. There are only 120,000 direct labor hours
available per year. Formulate this as a linear programming problem.
Max 20R + 66D
R,D
subject to:
0.4R+2D 160,000 mach hr constraint
2R+6D 120,000 DL hr constraint
nonnegativity constraints
R0
(can’t make a negative
D0
amount of R or D)
objective function
R, D are the
choice variables
constraints
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 34
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
Draw a graph showing the possible production plans for Urban.
Every R, D ordered pair
To determine this, graph the
is a production plan.
constraints as inequalities.
But which ones are feasible,
0.4R+2D 160,000 mach hr constraint
given the constraints?
When D=0, R=400,000
D
When R=0, D=80,000
2R+6D 120,000 DL hr constraint
When D=0, R=60,000
When R=0, D=20,000
80,000
20,000
R
60,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 35
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
There are not enough machine hours or enough
direct labor hours to produce this production plan.
There are enough machine hours, but
not enough direct labor hours, to
produce this production plan.
This production plan is feasible;
there are enough machine hours
and enough direct labor hours for
this plan.
D
80,000
The feasible set is the area where all the
production constraints are satisfied.
20,000
R
60,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 36
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
The graph helped us realize an important aspect of this
problem – we thought there were 2 constrained resources but
in fact there is only one.
For every feasible production plan, Urban will never
run out of machine hours.
D
The machine hour constraint is non-binding, or slack,
but the direct labor hour constraint is binding.
80,000
We are back to a one-scarceresource problem.
20,000
R
60,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 37
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
Here direct labor hours is the sole scarce resource.
We can use the general rule for one-constraint problems.
R: CM/DL hr = $20/2DL hrs = $10/DL hr
D: CM/DL hr = $66/6DL hrs = $11/DL hr
D
Urban should make all deluxe umbrellas.
80,000
Optimal plan is R=0, D=20,000.
Total contribution margin = $66 x
20,000 = $1,320,000
20,000
R
60,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 38
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
Suppose Urban has been able to train a new workforce and now there
are 600,000 direct labor hours available per year. Formulate this as a
linear programming problem, graph it, and find the feasible set.
Max 20R + 66D
R,D
subject to:
0.4R+2D 160,000 mach hr constraint
2R+6D 600,000
DL hr constraint
R0
D0
The formulation of the problem is the same as before; the
only change is that the right hand side (RHS) of the DL
hour constraint is larger.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 39
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
The machine hour constraint is the same as before.
0.4R+2D 160,000 mach hr constraint
D
100,000
2R+6D 600,000 DL hr constraint
When D=0, R=300,000
When R=0, D=100,000
80,000
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 40
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
There are not enough machine hours or enough
direct labor hours for this production plan.
There are enough direct labor hours, but not
enough machine hours, for this production plan.
There are enough machine hours, but not
enough direct labor hours, for this
production plan.
D
100,000
This production plan is feasible; there
are enough machine hours and enough
direct labor hours for this plan.
80,000
The feasible set is the area where all the
production constraints are satisfied.
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 41
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
How do we know which of the feasible plans is optimal?
We can’t use the general rule for one-constraint problems.
We can graph the total contribution margin line, because its slope
will help us determine the optimal production plan.
D
100,000
80,000
The objective “maximize total
contribution margin” means that we
. . . this would be the
choose a production plan so that the
optimal production plan.
contribution margin is a large as
possible, without leaving the feasible
set. If the slope of the total contribution
margin line is lower (in absolute value
terms) than the slope of the machine
hour constraint, then. . .
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 42
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
What if the slope of the total contribution margin line is higher (in
absolute value terms) than the slope of the direct labor hour
constraint?
If the total CM line had this steep slope, . .
D
100,000
. . then this would
be the optimal
production plan.
80,000
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 43
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
What if the slope of the total contribution margin line is between
the slopes of the two constraints?
If the total CM line had this slope, . .
D
100,000
. . then this would
be the optimal
production plan.
80,000
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 44
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
The last 3 slides showed that the optimal production plan is always
at a corner of the feasible set. This gives us an easy way to solve
2 product, 2 or more scarce resource problems.
D
100,000
R=0, D=80,000
The total contribution margin here is
0 x $20 + 80,000 x $66 = $5,280,000.
R=?, D=?
Find the intersection of the 2 constraints.
80,000
R=300,000, D=0
The total contribution margin here is
300,000 x $20 + 0 x $66 = $6,000,000.
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 45
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
To find the intersection of the 2 constraints, use substitution or
subtract one constraint from the other.
multiply each side by 5
Total CM = $5,280,000.
D
100,000
80,000
0.4R+2D = 160,000 2R+10D = 800,000
2R+6D = 600,000
2R+6D = 600,000
subtract 0R+4D = 200,000
D = 50,000
Total CM = $20 x 150,000 +
2R+6(50,000) = 600,000
$66 x 50,000 = $6,300,000.
2R = 300,000
R = 150,000
Total CM = $6,000,000.
R
300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 46
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; Two Scarce Resources)
By checking the total contribution margin at each corner
of the feasible set (ignoring the origin), we can see that
the optimal production plan is R=150,000, D=50,000.
Total CM = $5,280,000.
D
100,000
80,000
Knowing how to graph and solve 2
product, 2 scarce resource problems
is good for understanding the nature of
a linear programming problem (but
difficult in more complex problems).
Total CM = $6,300,000.
50,000
Total CM = $6,000,000.
R
150,000 300,000
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
400,000
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 47
Q5: Qualitative Factors in
Scarce Resource Allocation Decisions
The quantitative analysis indicates that Urban should produce 150,000
regular umbrellas and 50,000 deluxe umbrellas. What qualitative
issues should Urban consider before finalizing its decision?
• The assumption that customer demand is unlimited is
unlikely; can this be investigated further?
• Are there any long-term strategic implications of
minimizing production of the deluxe umbrellas?
• What would be the effects of attempting to relax the
machine hour or DL hour constraints?
• Are there any worker productivity issues that affect this
decision?
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 48
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Multiple Products; Multiple Constraints)
• Problems with multiple products, one scarce resource,
and one constraint on customer demand for each
product are easy to solve.
• The general rule is to make the product with the highest
contribution margin per unit of the scarce resource:
– until its customer demand is satisfied
– then move to the product with the next highest contribution margin
per unit of the scarce resource, etc.
• Problems with multiple products and multiple scarce
resources are too cumbersome to solve by hand – Excel
solver is a useful tool here.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 49
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
Urban’s Umbrellas makes two types of patio umbrellas, regular and deluxe.
Suppose customer demand for regular umbrellas is 300,000 units and for
deluxe umbrellas customer demand is limited to 60,000. Urban has only
160,000 machine hours available per year. What is his optimal production
plan? How much would he pay (above his normal costs) for an extra
machine hour?
Selling price per unit
Variable cost per unit
Contribution margin per unit
Regular
$40
20
$20
Deluxe
$110
44
$ 66
Required machine hours/unit
0.4
2.0
CM/machine hour
$50
$33
Urban should first concentrate on making Rs. He can make enough to satisfy
customer demand for Rs: 300,000 Rs x 0.4 mach hr/R = 120,000 mach hrs.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 50
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
(Two Products; One Scarce Resource)
Selling price per unit
Variable cost per unit
Contribution margin per unit
Regular
$40
20
$20
Deluxe
$110
44
$ 66
Required machine hours/unit
0.4
2.0
CM/machine hour
$50
$33
The 40,000
remaining hours
will make 20,000
Ds.
The optimal plan is 300,000 Rs and 20,000 Ds. The CM/mach hr shows
how much Urban would be willing to pay, above his normal costs, for an
additional machine hour.
Here Urban will be producing Ds when he runs out of machine hours so
he’d be willing to pay up to $33 for an additional machine hour.
If customer demand for Rs exceeded 400,000 units, Urban would be willing
to pay up to an additional $50 for a machine hour.
If customer demand for Rs and Ds could be satisfied with the 160,000
available machine hours, then Urban would not be willing to pay anything
to acquire an additional machine hour.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 51
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
Using Excel Solver
To obtain the
solver dialog box,
choose “Solver”
from the Tools
pull-down menu.
The “target cell” will
contain the
maximized value for
the objective (or
“target”) function.
Choose “max” for the
types of problems in this
chapter.
Add constraint
formulas by clicking
“add”.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Choose one cell for
each choice variable
(product). It’s helpful
to “name” these cells.
Click “solve” to obtain the
next dialog box.
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 52
Q5: Constrained Resource Decisions
Using Excel Solver
Cell B2 was
named
“Regular” and
cell C2 was
named Deluxe.
=20*Regular
+ 66*Deluxe
=0.4*Regular+
2*Deluxe
=2*Regular+
6*Deluxe
=Regular (cell B2)
=Deluxe (cell C2)
Then click “solve” and choose all 3 reports.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 53
Q5: Excel Solver Answer Report
Microsoft Excel 9.0 Answer Report
Refer to the problem on Slide #50.
Target Cell (Max)
Original
Cell Name Value
0
$B$3 Regular
The total contribution margin for
the optimal plan was $6.3 million.
Final Value
6,300,000
The optimal production plan was
150,000 Rs and 50,000 Ds.
Adjustable Cells
Original
Cell Name Value
0
$B$2 Regular
0
$C$2 Deluxe
Final Value
150,000
50000
The machine and DL hour
constraints are binding – the plan
uses all available machine and DL
hours.
Constraints
Cell
Value
Formula
Status
600,000 $B$9=$C$11 Binding
50,000
$B$10 R>0
Not
150,000 $B$10>=$C$10 Binding
150,000
Cell
Name
$B$9 DL hr
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Slack
The nonnegativity
constraints for R and D
are not binding; the slack
is 50,000 and 150,000
units respectively.
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 54
Q5: Excel Solver Sensitivity Report
Microsoft Excel 9.0 Sensitivity Report
Refer to the problem on Slide #50.
Adjustable Cells
Final Reduced Objective Allowable Allowable
Cell Name Value
Cost Coefficient Increase Decrease
$B$2 Regular 150,000
0
20
2
6.8
$C$2 Deluxe
50000
0
66
34
6
Constraints
Final Shadow Constraint Allowable Allowable
Cell Name Value
Price R.H. Side Increase Decrease
$B$9 DL hr
600,000
9
600000
200000
120000
$B$8 mach hr 160,000
8
160000
40000
40000
$B$11 D>0
50,000
0
0
50000
1E+30
$B$10 R>0
150,000
0
0
150000
1E+30
This shows
how much the
slope of the
total CM line
can change
before the
optimal
production
plan will
change.
The CM per unit for Regular can drop to $13.20 or increase to $22 (all else equal)
before the optimal plan will change. The CM per unit for Deluxe can drop to $60 or
increase to $100 (all else equal) before the optimal plan will change.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 55
Q5: Excel Solver Sensitivity Report
Microsoft Excel 9.0 Sensitivity Report
Refer to the problem on Slide #50.
Adjustable Cells
Final Reduced Objective Allowable Allowable
Cell Name Value
Cost Coefficient Increase Decrease
$B$2 Regular 150,000
0
20
2
6.8
$C$2 Deluxe
50000
0
66
34
6
Constraints
Final Shadow Constraint Allowable Allowable
Cell Name Value
Price R.H. Side Increase Decrease
$B$9 DL hr
600,000 8.50
600000
200000
120000
$B$8 mach hr 160,000 7.50
160000
40000
40000
$B$11 D>0
50,000 0.00
0
50000
1E+30
$B$10 R>0
150,000 0.00
0
150000
1E+30
This shows
how much the
RHS of each
constraint can
change
before the
shadow price
will change.
The available DL hours could decrease to 480,000 or increase to 800,000 (all
else equal) before the shadow price for DL would change. The available
machine hours could decrease to 120,000 or increase to 200,000 (all else
equal) before the shadow price for machine hours would change.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 56
Q5: Excel Solver Sensitivity Report
Microsoft Excel 9.0 Sensitivity Report
Refer to the problem on Slide #50.
Adjustable Cells
Final Reduced Objective Allowable Allowable
Cell Name Value
Cost Coefficient Increase Decrease
$B$2 Regular 150,000
0
20
2
6.8
$C$2 Deluxe
50000
0
66
34
6
Constraints
Final Shadow Constraint Allowable Allowable
Cell Name Value
Price R.H. Side Increase Decrease
$B$9 DL hr
600,000 8.50
600000
200000
120000
$B$8 mach hr 160,000 7.50
160000
40000
40000
$B$11 D>0
50,000 0.00
0
50000
1E+30
$B$10 R>0
150,000 0.00
0
150000
1E+30
The shadow
price shows
how much a
one unit
increase in
the RHS of a
constraint will
improve the
total
contribution
margin.
Urban would be willing to pay up to $8.50 to obtain one more DL hour and up
to $7.50 to obtain one more machine hour.
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 57
Q7: Impacts to Quality of
Nonroutine Operating Decisions
• The quality of the information used in nonroutine
operating decisions must be assessed.
• There may be more information quality issues (and more
uncertainty) in nonroutine decisions because of the
irregularity of the decisions.
• Three aspects of the quality of information
available can affect decision quality.
• Business risk (changes in economic condition, consumer
demand, regulation, competitors, etc.)
• Information timeliness
• Assumptions in the quantitative and qualitative analyses
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 58
Q7: Impacts to Quality of
Nonroutine Operating Decisions
• Short term decision must align to company’s overall
strategic plans
• Must watch for decision maker bias
– Predisposition for specific outcome
– Preference for one type of analysis without considering
other options
• Opportunity costs are often overlooked
• Performing sensitivity analysis can help assess and
minimize business risk
• Established control system incentives (performance
bonuses, etc.) can encourage sub-obtimal decision
making
© John Wiley & Sons, 2011
Chapter 4: Relevant Costs for Nonroutine Operating Decisions
Eldenburg & Wolcott’s Cost Management, 2e
Slide # 59
