مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد مدیریت جامع هزینه (TCM) – الزویر 2015

Abstract

Target Cost Management is well known as the Japanese companies’ competitive tool. Some studies claim that it is very hard to implement it outside Japan. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the TCM is being practiced and what the major factors are that influence TCM in non-Japanese environment. By using a case study approach, this paper compares TCM practices at a Malaysian automotive manufacturer with the previous case studies of Japanese automotive manufacturers. The results found that although the fundamental concept is similar, there are differences in details processes due to the adaptation with the contextual constraints.

Introduction

Under the current global competitive market, companies must offer the right products with the right prices, and must manage their cost and profit to remain profitable. Studies show that many established Japanese companies use Target Cost Management (TCM), one form of Strategic Management Accounting (SMA), as their competitive tool since 1970s (Kato, Boer & Chow, 1995). The TCM implementation helps the Japanese companies to manage their strategies and operate speedily at a profitable margin. This is because TCM ensures products are sufficiently profitable when launched by managing the cost during the design stage while ensuring the products meet the quality and reliability standards, and other customers’ needs (Kato, 1993). Furthermore, the market-driven concept in TCM (Ansari, Bell & Okano, 2007) helps companies to set the right price and right cost, reduces the risk of not making sufficient profit, and makes better and faster product development (Tani et al., 1994).