One student wondered whether anyone cares how full efficient jet engines are, so I found out.  AS it turns out, log on to GE where you can choose either aviation or transportation under the industry pull down tab. Aviation features an interesting video showing the advantage of the new GE jet engine, They are so powerful only two are needed saving lots of moving parts over having four engines.  Such engines feature  carbon fiber blades. IN the video note now the design of the blade aids air passage thru the engine, Gee, there is that design thing again.   Transportation tab  features their new locomotive with a 3-5% fuel savings,

Okay who is the numnber two jet engine builder after GE?  IF you said Rolls Royce step to the head of the class. This has nothing to do with the famous car company that is now owned by BMW, this is a much much larger enterprise which you will see is listed on the London Stock Exchange.  Also click on the site to see their on line magazine, now that’s neat design!.

Now imagine that you are working for either firm and they are embarking on a build and design of a new jet engine.  How would you accumulate or estimate the costs of the final product?  How would you use standard costs and budgeting to help you?What about  supply chain, think how a weak link in delivery of just one part, say the carbon fiber fan blades could cripple the entire operation.  What would you do to prevent that?  Hey just another day in managerial accounting!

From accounting bean counters to chocolate bean counters.  Yep a couple of CPAs in Plano have founded Noka Chocolate   click for the website and take the video tour.

As you can see they are making their own gourmet chocolate.  What have we learned in cost accounting that would help them succeed at this task?  Can you see how important cost control is in a manufacturing start up enterprise like this?  How would you use budgeting, standard costing, and target profit to help you succeed here?

If they are still going strong after three years, it is no doubt their accounting expertise is being put to good use.  So tell you sweetie to hold for a valentine, we understand that some of their chocolate goes for, no typo, $2,000 per pound!

DLE

Another good article in the Points Section of the Sunday DMN 2/11/07.  Indeed, Clinton and Bush have both suggesed that the fact that employees do not pay taxes on health care benefits makes it unfair to those that have to buy their own insurance.  I will also place this article on reserve, lots of good stuff and costs and realizing who pays for what.

I commented on the ethics of sending jobs to China when we could be working harder on keeping them here.  A couple of you responded that well  it’s cheaper.  Well, now comes Parade Magazine’s Annual Worst Dictator Issue.   Turns our HI Jintao is ranked fourth worst in the world, amid some pretty tough competitors for this distinction.   Click on my hyperlink to read the article.  Parade reports the US Sate Dept has identified 22 areas of human rights abuses.  Last year citizens were executed (that means killed by the government) for nonviolent crimes including bribery and stealing oil. 

Again, is Jack Welch proud of leading American business to such places. Should they be rewarded with the Olympic Games?  Ladies if you want a lesson in leadership generally and female leadership in particular, pass on It Takes a Village and try Margaret Thatcher’s Statecraft . Thatcher says we have to get right in the Chinese collective face and tell them we will not tolerate such activities from trading partners. She warns that too many politicians get caught up in the photo op of the moment and don’t draw a line on ethics.  Indeed, if we keep sending them money in the form of business and don’t make such demands, when will they stop?

Human capital is at least as important as financial capital, and decency to humans should drive the reward of the latter, not just cheaper manufactured goods.

Good article on the J C Penny turnaround, a real source of links for your articles that are due starting this week on linking LBOs to the real world.  No outsourcing training, the President is hands on training, no more cubicle police, send the new CEO from banking packing, lots of changes. 

And take a look at career opportunities at JCP Careers.   After all they are right in our backyard.

And notice they are attracting grads from top DESIGN schools-success is intertwined with DESIGN.

DLE

Well the management circle suggests that we try something with an expected outcome, measure the outcome, and then adjust accordingly and try again. And so, examining the discussion site, I realize that much more structure is needed. A nod to Jordan McClary and a few others that have made contributions in 5130, others of you have, how can I put this, NOT done much of anything. This is not the purpose of an on line course. The purpose is yes to allow less class time but not to decrease the involvement time. And so, I am thinking requirements need to be tailored to getting you to connect the material in the text wiht the material on the blog.

Each of you will be required to write a piece on each chapter, take the concept of the CGM statement say from Chapter Two or the CGS or the importance of Gross Margin, pick a Learning Objective from the chapter. Then pick an event off the blog or find one yourself, yes we will require that you be able to lead us to the article you pick. I will expect then each of you to

write and post an article, by chapter, linking a learning objective from a chapter with some news event or realization or happening in the business world. In this way you would be linking the LBOs with a real event. Then each person will be required to post a comment on your written work. No one sentence for your article is not what I have in mind here. Your contribution will need to be long enough to demonstrate that you effectively have linked the learning concept to the real event. In this way you will be required to write something about a learning objective from every chapter, and one or four people will not be carrying the entire discussion.

Okay, you can start anytime. For this class, you can skip chapter one, but need to get on with chapters 16,2,3.

YEs this is in addition to the Deming paper. Okay this is for the graduate class. The undergrad classes can and should do the same for chapters we have already covered. I will announce the specifics in class Monday Yes I know we have an exam in 4270 MOnday, no you will not have to do anything abou this by monday if you are in an undergrad class.

See you Monday, I welcome e mail on the subject.

http://mh9.brownstone.net/classes/acct5130s090/

That link works!

DLE

Well in the presentations at my symposium on Friday the book reps of course extolled the virtues of their various on line homework sites.  I pointed out to one rep that the problem is that students no longer are buying the high priced books bundled with the registration code.  And of course I was assured that as I showed you in class, all  you gotta do (is there any more ominous phrase in the English language? ) is click here and buy the code.  Sorry to have delayed a response, I was swamped with the symposium this week.  I saw one student posted the correct site, I will have to retrieve mine from school and I will post it later today.

I strongly resisted such programs in all my classes until this semester. Seeing I had a hybrid class I decided to try it. If it, Homework Manager,  is more trouble than it is worth, toss it and just prepare the homework in excel as best you can and hand it in.  I have no problem grading it all by hand. 

Too bad you were not on hand to comment Friday.

DLE

I have posted the outline of Deming’s fourteen points and seven deadly diseases.  I also gave you another handout on Deming and Jurel.  You can certainly google for other information, and I certainly recommend Mary Walton’s book on the Deming Management Method, ISBN 0 399 55000 3.

I am not looking for a laundry list of 21 points.  Think about a job or project you have been involved with.  Did the managers use the points and diseases
effectively-the outcome was great
mixed bag-some OK but gee they missed others so mixed results
No way-they just didn’t get it, failure to adopt TQM doomed the effort from the start.

Many students write about their jobs.  I am sad to report that many tell of abusive bosses that rant and rave instead of providing training and support.  Topics have ranged from jobs at big box retailers, fast food joints, I had one student write about his experience on the Texas Tech football team.  Many students in San Antonio wrote about their experiences in the military which has also experimented with TQM to eliminate snafus. 

After reading the list my experience is that three or four of the points will jump out at you. 

I am looking for at least three pages double spaced.  Please remember to refer to Deming, you would be surprised how many papers I get that never mention Deming or TQM!

DLE

I mentioned the coming Pickup Wars in a recent post.  Well the country that gave us the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius Hybrid has now gotten on the bigger is better bandwagon, at least in full sized trucks.  Check out the Toyota Tundra  at this link.  Relax ladies, I won’t be asking you questions about ring gear or front disc brake sizes. Honestly as a verteran of over 20 years in the oilfield an owner of all kinds of trucks, I have never seen so much technical information in one ad, and videos. Imagine, a video back up camer by the rear hitch to see the trailer.  And one does wonder why the Big Three never integrated a trailer hitch into the frame, after all that is why people buy a giant pickup, to pull things.  This has always been a Detroit problem, never building quality in, but making the buyer add on the option. Toyota studied the problem and simply built a trailer hitch into the rear frame member to start with, simple and elegant, no doubt the Big Three will now do so.

Okay now all together, designing a trailer hitch integrated into the frame would be an example of what by Toyota?
Benchmarking
Process Re Engineering
TQM
CQM
Balanced Scorecard
All of the above?

Well yes I think you could check all of the above, okay. now some responses?

Well my point is that Chevy Ford Dodge made half hearted efforts at cars and lost the battle.  Trucks are their last stand.  All Detroit ever really did was build big body on frame vehicles, your GMC pickup is just like a 1955 Cadillac in that regard, a big engine atop a big frame for lots of power.

When you view the ad and you should note the testosterone filled steel like images that attempt to convey strength, Corollas need not apply for club membership.

DLE