Thomas L. Albright

Stakeholder group interest in the new manufacturing environment

Firms which adapt new manufacturing technologies, such as flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) or computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) and concepts such as just‐in‐time (JIT), can expect to exert a significant influence on various stakeholder groups. Additionally, innovative accounting systems which are currently being developed to monitor and evaluate the performance of manufacturing systems will have a direct impact on certain stakeholder constituencies. Uses stakeholder theory as a basis for explaining the complex relationships among the firm and various constituencies or stakeholders. Major stakeholder groups include educators, auditors, trainers, line managers, human resource managers, suppliers, customers, stockholders, labour unions, the financial community, government, local community organizations, environmentalists, employees, directors, management and bondholders. The needs of the various groups are placed in the context of the new global competitive environment.

Reconfiguration of standards data for improved production planning

In most ERP and MRP systems, the bill of material and the time standards file represent the fundamental data sources used for subsequent processing. This paper addresses the improved systemic use of time standards for such processing functionality. Standards represent time estimates for normal task durations. In a manufacturing environment, the standards file provides data to drive such ERP and MRP functions as production planning and scheduling, estimating, and performance measurement. However, the resulting production plan may be in error due to the inclusion of incomplete operational aspects. Although some classical industrial engineering techniques provide insight into these aspects, the standards data are not stored in a structure adequate for detailed production planning. A reconfiguration in the structure of standards data is proposed in this paper. This restructuring has significant implications for the improved accuracy of production plans, and the enhanced affordability of the resulting product.

An analysis of outage impact and availability measures for service industry information systems

Online information systems are now common to corporations who offer their external customers dial-in services. Implicit in this concept is the performance of the systems to acceptable levels of quality. This paper reviews current service industry practices in this field, and discusses future research directions.

The Beville manufacturing case: Using factory-simulation software to teach the concepts of activity-based costing and nonfinancial performance measures

The focus of much recent accounting research has been the changing manufacturing environment facing the management accountant. The evidence suggests that manufacturing technology is changing at a rapid pace; therefore, accounting educators must seek new and innovative ways to help students grasp the complexities of what has been termed the “new manufacturing environment.” Describing the dynamics of an operating factory is a major challenge facing the accounting professor because many (most) students accounting or nonaccounting, graduate or undergraduate have not seen a factory in operation. In the spirit of the “Bedford Report” issued by the American Accounting Association Committee on the Future Structure, Content, and Scope of Accounting Education (1986) and the “Big Eight” white paper (Arthur Andersen & Co. et al., 1989), we use factory-simulation computer software to help students understand the complexities and interrelationships of a production facility.* The focus is on understanding complex relationships and integrating the physical manufacturing phenomena with accounting numbers and performance measures. As the simulation program executes, the students observe units flowing through the factory, scrap occurring, inventory levels rising and falling, downstream workcenters stopping because of lack of input from upstream workcenters, and both random and scheduled maintenance occurring. When the simulation period is complete, the computer package provides summary statistics illustrating throughput levels, scrap rates, utilization percentages, average work-in-process (WIP) levels, and downtime analysis. The