Thesis (MBus) -- AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print ( leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 658 LU)

Thesis (M.S.)--California State University, Dominguez Hills, 2008. / Adviser: William Trappen. Includes bibliographical references.

Activity-based costing (ABC) is a forward-looking product costing method. Unlike traditional volume-based approaches, which are historically oriented, ABC concepts guide managers in seeking the best strategies to pursue in the future. This product costing method can be a valuable tool in planning and managing costs not only in the manufacturing area, but also in all aspects of business operations, from product design to distribution. Although its main advantage is its ability to provide more realistic product cost information for financial reporting purposes, use of ABC can lead to a better understanding of the strategic linkages existing between the various cost areas in the organisation. It enables managers to have a holistic view of cost management. ABC was developed to better understand, manage and control the overheads. The brief fundamental of ABC is: Products consume activities, activities consume resources, and resources consume costs. Based upon this fundamental principle, ABC can trace the cost from resources to activities that are consumed by product manufacturing processes as well as from activities to products. ABC investigates the transactions that trigger cost instead of concentrating solely on measures of physical volume or a certain amount of labour hours. Compared to the traditional costing systems, ABC can not only answer how much product cost is but also tell executives the factors triggering costs and the way to manage costs. ABC helps managers make better decisions about product design, pricing, marketing, and mix and encourages continual improvement. Unlike the traditional method, instead of using the single pre-determined overhead rate to absorb the indirect cost to products, ABC uses actual incurred cost to v determine the product cost. By tracing the absorption process of indirect cost, ABC would provide more information to management and help it find better ways to manage costs. However, the cost drivers used in ABC are constants but the cost driver rates are continually changing. ABC still uses predetermined cost drivers so it has the same fundamental problem as the traditional methods for estimating.

This study of decentralization of managerial authority looks at the nature of authority and its relationship to organizations; factors which indicate a basis for greater decentralization of managerial authority; case studies of corporations that decentralized managerial authority; and the human relations aspects of decentralization of authority.

This research will contribute the literature of managerial ability and cost of capital. This study is the first to investigate the association between managerial ability and cost of capital to the best of our knowledge using Demerjian et al. (2012). Managerial ability is the measurement methodology which is the most commonly used method to evaluate the managerial ability in the literature. In a previous study, Mishra (2014) investigates the relation between CEO managerial ability and cost of capital by using Custodio’s (2013) CEO managerial ability methodology. This method only measures the ability of CEOs based on their experience. Those who have several experiences in different departments and other sectors are regarded as generalist CEOs, while some others who have one specific experience in a department and/or sector are regarded as specialist CEOs. Mishra shows a positive relation between generalist CEOs and cost of capital; it is regarded as the dark side of managerial ability. Mishra explains this relation by the risky behaviors of generalist CEOs. Mishra argues that generalist CEOs have lots of job opportunities. They also tend not to focus on the long-term financial soundness of the corporations—aiming to increase revenues sharply in short terms to improve their reputation. We extend Mishra’s analysis by employing firm fixed effect to its model. We find that the impact of general CEO managerial ability which is defined by Mishra (2014) as the dark side is not significant once the employ firm fixed effect is considered. This analysis assesses the effect of managerial ability on cost of capital by using Demerjian’s methodology. It was found that the impact of managerial ability on cost of capital shows a negative significant relation in line with expectations. More able managers lead to less cost of capital. This finding is in line with literature of the impact of managerial ability on company performance. We also employ firm fixed effects to our models and confirm the study’s findings. It is shown that the relation between institutional ownership and cost of capital is also significant. Further, there were many channels examined to identify possible causes of this negative relationship. It is expected that able managers disclose more information; they also help to reduce forecast error and eventually improve performance. The relationships between managerial ability and information disclosure, managerial ability and forecast error, as well as managerial ability and performance are significant. The channel effects are also explored by employing firm fixed effect, as mentioned previously. All the models present significant relationship.

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Activity-Based Costing is presented in accounting text books as a costing system that can be used to make valuable managerial decisions. Accounting journals regularly report the successful implementations and benefits of activity-based costing systems for particular businesses. Little experimental or empirical evidence exists, however, that has demonstrated the benefits of activity-based costing under controlled conditions. Similarly, although case studies report conditions that may or may not favor activity-based costing decision making, controlled studies that measure the actual influence of those conditions on the usefulness of activity-based costing information are few. This study looked at the decision usefulness of activity-based costing information under controlled, laboratory settings. An interactive computer simulation tested the ability of 48 accounting majors to optimize profits with and without activity-based costing information and tested to see if presentation format or decision framing would influence their outcomes. The research showed that the activity-based costing information resulted in significantly better profitability decisions and required no additional time. Presentation in graphic (bar charts) or numeric (tabular reports) format did not influence profitability decisions but the graphs took longer for analysis and decision making. Decision framing influences were shown to beneficially affect profitability decisions but did not require additional time. Decision framing was especially helpful with the non-activity based costing information; it had no significant effect on activity-based costing performance. / Ph. D.

Dynamic managerial capabilities are frequently viewed as a source of influence among decision-making managers within environments of volatility. Conversely, managers postulate that decision-making in rapidly changing environments is never perfect and faces a variety of influencing factors. In addition, industries represent a collection of firms that produce similar goods or services for a particular market. This recipe is often recognized by all industry related firms and adapted accordingly. Similarly, firms comprised as “incumbents” and “challengers” are firms that are well established in the industry and firms that seek to change the industry. Recognizing which influencers affect the managerial decision-making process is necessary to adapt and evolve a firm’s decision-making logic. This thesis presents a detailed study of the Hollywood Film Industry Recipe as it relates to the influencing factors within the green lighting process of feature films among incumbent and challenger studios. An inductive research approach is used to investigate four case studies throughout the Hollywood Film Industry. Two case studies are recognized as industry incumbents while the other two are recognized as industry challengers. The analysis identifies an industry recipe, firm adopted industry and adaptations, and dynamic managerial capabilities utilized through the influence of the process. In addition, an illustration of the industry recipes influence dynamic managerial capabilities adopted by firms. Findings suggest that dynamic managerial capabilities is an output of industry recipes adopted amongst firms, and that refinement of those capabilities is a circular renewal process between managerial judgement and firm/managerial dominant logics. In addition, industry recipes influence the way in which dynamic managerial capabilities are acquired, processed, and absorbed. This study contributes to the field of strategy as it suggests a coherent framework that illustrates how industry recipes influence incumbent and challenger studios within a given industry. Additionally, it also demonstrates how dynamic managerial capabilities are formed and structured based on the adopted industry recipe. Finally, it outlines how decisions are made by managers within incumbent and challenger firms, highlighting a circular process of decision-making with regards to the creation an distribution of an industry related product.