Kenji Yasukata, Eisuke Yoshida, Ichiro Yamada and Keisuke Oura
– This paper aims to examine the implementation of target cost management (TCM) at a Japanese shipbuilding company.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the implementation of target cost management (TCM) at a Japanese shipbuilding company.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation as a framework, the paper presents a longitudinal in-depth case study of TCM implementation project to show the issues involved in implementing TCM.
Findings
The paper finds that the diffusion of TCM is a consequence of a deliberate managerial activity – which in this case is the control over the TCM implementation. The TCM implementation project in our case ended in failure. The paper shows that the lack of appropriate controls over the TCM implementation project was the main reason for its failure.
Originality/value
The paper shows how TCM implementation is a part of the process of TCM diffusion within an organisation. In the previous studies of TCM, researchers have noted how well-managed TCM implementation projects were; thus, suggesting how TCM implementation should take place. The paper focuses on the control over the TCM implementation, simply because TCM does not naturally diffuse throughout an organisation.
Details
Keywords
Kohei Arai, Hirotsugu Kitada and Keisuke Oura
This study aims to investigate the relative weight of financial and non-financial performance measures used to evaluate production managers (such as shop floor managers or…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relative weight of financial and non-financial performance measures used to evaluate production managers (such as shop floor managers or foremen) in a modern manufacturing setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data from Japanese factories, the paper examines the association between the choice of profit, cost, and non-financial performance measures with two characteristics of manufacturing systems: interdependence and multi-tasking.
Findings
The results indicate that interdependence has a significant and positive association with the importance of profit information, while multi-tasking is associated negatively with the importance of profit information, and positively with non-financial information for performance evaluation.
Originality/value
In recent years, a significant shift has been observed in Japanese production management with many companies now focusing on profit information instead of cost information. For example, the past studies show that large Japanese manufacturing companies are now using micro-profit centres and include profit information when evaluating factories. However, little empirical evidence is available on performance measurement at the shop floor foreman level, and even less is known about the importance of profit information in the evaluation of these lower level managers.