Cost Management: Measuring, Monitoring, and Motivating Performance, 2nd Edition

Preface

BRIDGING THE GAP

Cost Management: Measuring, Monitoring, and Motivating Performance was written to help students learn to appropriately apply cost accounting methods in a variety of organizational settings. To achieve this goal, students must also develop professional competencies, such as strategic/critical thinking, risk analysis, decision making, ethical reasoning, and communication. Most textbooks focus on content knowledge and then expect students to “magically” demonstrate professional competencies. As an author team, we bring to this textbook extensive knowledge about cost accounting as well as about the best approaches for teaching and learning professional competencies. This textbook bridges the gap between typical student performance and what we would like students to be able to do by

• Maintaining a central focus on business decision making.
• Explicitly addressing biases and business risk.
• Adopting a writing style that is accessible and interesting to students.
• Concentrating on all types of organizations.
• Focusing on ethical reasoning.
• Simultaneously challenging and guiding students to learn.
• Helping instructors assess student competencies.

Maintaining a Central Focus on Business Decision Making The strategic management process and the usefulness of cost accounting for decision making are introduced in Chapter 1, and the focus on decision making continues throughout the remainder of the textbook and its supplements, including homework, assessment material, and ...