Kaizen is a Japanese word that has become common in many western companies. It is a compound word involving two concepts: Kai (change) and Zen (for the better) (Singh & Singh, 2009:51). Kaizen costing is the application of continuous improvement principles to reduce costs in the manufacturing stage of a product’s life. Successful kaizen programs can do more than reduce costs; they also increase the quality of products and the safety of production processes. (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2005b:271). It operates in feed-forward mode by setting cost-reduction objectives in anticipation of the need to reduce costs rather than reacting to cost overruns after they occur. It complements TC by extending the discipline that TC creates in the product development process to the manufacturing stage. (Cooper & Slagmulder, 1999:271) Figure 4-5: The Decision to Move Activities among Firms in SC
Adopted from Cooper & Slagmulder (2005a)
One of the great differences between TC and kaizen costing is that in TC if cost reduction opportunities are lost, they are lost until the next generation of the product is introduced. In contrast, under kaizen costing they can be recaptured the following year by setting more aggressive cost-reduction objectives.
According to Shang & Sui Pheng (2013), there are two types of kaizen that require daily activity. The first is maintenance kaizen, which mainly deals with unexpected matters or inevitable mistakes that occur at the workplace, such as breakdowns, changes,
There are many scenarios that can occur that will interrupt our everyday procedures. It 's not about the amount of time in the day but the quality and completion of work that gets done. This helps not only ourselves but our co-workers keep a smooth and positive environment for
Consequently, in the face of the busy life, if people live with self- paralysis and do not make a specific plan they will get much pressure instead of efficiency. On the contrary, if people live the busy life with another positive attitude: they enjoy and appreciate the
1. Weekly Planning – Observing weekly tasks, prioritising short term jobs and allocating time slots for a weeks’ worth of work. Included would be allocated time frames and tasks for the days, setting out what needs to be done and for how long. Even such things as going through emails, talking with staff, having computer input and discussing matters of importance should be included to reduce stress and time pressures from the individual. This creates a meaningful and realistic plan for greater time management and something to aim for while undertaking tasks for the greatest efficiency.
Thomas Jefferson wrote “determine never to be idle, it is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” I agree with this statement as it basically says to always work and never take breaks. The reasons to always stay busy are that you can participate in more situations, you get more things finished faster, and you’ll learn more things faster. If you always stay busy, you can participate in more situations. Getting to participate in more situations can help your strength and mental state.
Without dependability, one can neither perform properly at a work intensity with time restraints without
Wilkerson is currently using the traditional costing system. “Companies that use the traditional costing method assume that the volume metric is the underlying driver of manufacturing overhead cost.” Traditional product costing was established when direct material costs and direct labor costs accounted for the bulk of product costs incurred inside a firm. In the Wilkerson company, materials and labor costs are centered around the prices of materials and labor rates.
The choice of inventory accounting methods, specifically for the case of FIFO and LIFO, has developed into a decision, which includes varying consequences and comes with specific implications and benefits, such as communicating private information with FIFO (Hughes, and Schwartz, 1988, p.42) or tax benefits for the choice of LIFO (Morse and Richardson, 1983, p.125). Every firm and manager has to face the decision of which accounting method to choose, and has to include several aspects into their decision making process and weigh the pros and cons in general. However, the empirical evidence (Frankel and Hsu, 2015, p.48) shows some controversies as to what inventory accounting methods firms decided to use in the past, even though the theory would
It is very important for people with the correct training to be the people carrying out these tasks as it will dramatically reduce the chance of mistakes happening. This would also follow health
Under direct contracting, providers must go beyond their traditional roles as suppliers of care to owners of integrated financing and delivery systems. This transition can be difficult for employers to compile and manage actuarial and legal mandates. A physician group can be presented as a threat to health plans, as it does business by obtaining an insurance license. This is because the subcontractor is a competitor. Providers must become active managed care partners with employers, instead of being reactive adversaries of managed care organizations on a contractual basis.
Abby prefers to allocate indirect cost using activity-based costing for these orders, but recognizes that not all costs are driven by volume of output. Abby prepares a
Consider both DJC’s performance in Kawasaki and its potential in the United States. The cost differences between plants of ACC at Sunnyvale and DJC at Kawasaki has been compared by calculating their manufacturing cost. In 1991, the two plants are located in different countries (US & Japan) and therefore, to compare the costs between the two, the cost indices values that have been provided in the case have been used. The main cost differences between the two companies: DJC and ACC with respect to their plant operations for the years 1986 & 1991 have been shown in Table 1.
Transaction costs take place every time a service or product is transferred from one phase to another, where new capabilities are needed to produce those products or
Therefore, to the workers, working overtime would bring out results in not only monetary values but also emotional values of the satisfaction. This solution can only be made possible with the cooperation of the respective head departments to organize such valuable activities. Simple does not mean ineffective, simple works just
Time management: Time management is a very crucial component if you are willing to have a productive lifestyle. To be honest, I have always had issues with managing my time efficiently. This problem had become a huge obstacle once I got into college. Thus, attending a lecture that focuses on time management helped me a lot with this problem by introducing me to different aspects related to time management: planning, SMART goals, and important/urgent matrix. Learning to make a specific plan for my daily tasks and make a to-do list to make my day as productive as possible is something very helpful which was advised to me by the instructor of this lecture Mr. Irfan.
4.4. Reward System: “Reward system is an important tool that management can use to channel the employee motivation in desired ways. In other words, reward systems seek to attract the people to join the organisation to keep them coming to work, and motivate them to perform to high levels”. [ct. Pratheepkanth 2011, pp.85].