{"product_id":"strategic-cost-management","title":"Strategic Cost Management","description":"\u003cb\u003eAs often reported in \u003ci\u003eBusiness Week\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFortune,\u003c\/i\u003e most large companies today concede that their cost systems are desperately obsolete.\u003c\/b\u003e In this eagerly awaited book, John Shank and Vijay Govindarajan, nationally known experts on the strategic use of cost information, address head-on the fundamental concepts of management accounting that are in desperate need of change. The authors demonstrate how \u003ci\u003estrategic cost management,\u003c\/i\u003e the first analytic framework to relate meaningful accounting information to a firm's business strategy, is revolutionizing accounting—and overall business practices in leading firms. With numerous extended examples including Ciba-Geigy, Ford, Texas Instruments, and many more, the authors show how the three key tools of strategic cost management—value chain analysis, strategic positioning analysis, and cost driver analysis—provide a sustainable competitive advantage over firms whose cost systems are in disarray.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith persuasive evidence, Shank and Govindarajan demonstrate the strategic power of \u003ci\u003evalue chain analysis,\u003c\/i\u003e i.e., linking external value creating activities all the way from basic raw materials, to component suppliers, and through to the ultimate end-use product delivered to the consumers. Next, they examine how cost management and cost control must be differentiated depending on the \u003ci\u003estrategic positioning\u003c\/i\u003e chosen by the firm, be it cost leadership or product differentiation. Finally, the authors offer penetrating in-sights on \u003ci\u003ecost driver analysis\u003c\/i\u003e using such examples as Champion International and Motorola to describe the uses and limitations of activity-based costing, quality costing, and technology costing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTraditional cost analysis, the authors show, is limited to assessing the \u003ci\u003efinancial\u003c\/i\u003e impact of managerial decision alternatives, with no consideration for strategic business objectives. In this indispensable guide, Shank and Govindarajan show how \u003ci\u003eStrategic Cost Management\u003c\/i\u003e (SCM) relates to a broader context, where strategic elements become far more conscious, explicit, and formal, and cost data is used to develop superior strategies en route to gaining sustainable competitive advantage.","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Product","offer_id":57297517871448,"sku":"9781439150368","price":18.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/strategic-cost-management","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}