Ethics and quality. Weston Corporation manufactures auto parts for two leading Japanese automakers. Nancy Evans is the management accountant for one of Weston’s largest manufacturing plants. The plant’s general manager, Chris Sheldon, has just returned from a meeting at corporate headquarters where quality expectations were outlined for 2017. Chris calls Nancy into his office to relay the corporate quality objective that total quality costs will not exceed 10% of total revenues by plant under any circumstances. Chris asks Nancy to provide him with a list of options for meeting corporate headquarters’ quality objective. The plant’s initial budgeted revenues and quality costs for 2017 are as follows: Revenue 5,100,000 Quality costs: Testing of purchased materials 48,000 Quality control training for production staff 7,500 Warranty repairs 123,000 Quality design engineering 72,000 Customer support 55,500 Materials scrap 18,000 Product inspection 153,000 Engineering redesign of failed parts 31,500 Rework of failed parts 27,000 Prior to receiving the new corporate quality objective, Nancy had collected information for all of the plant’s possible options for improving both product quality and costs of quality. She was planning to introduce the idea of reengineering the manufacturing process at a one-time cost of $112,500, which would decrease product inspection costs by approximately 25% per year and was expected to reduce warranty repairs and customer support by an estimated 40% per year. After seeing the new corporate objective, Nancy is reconsidering the reengineering idea. Nancy crunches the numbers again. By increasing the cost-of-quality control training for production staff by $22,500 per year, the company would reduce inspection costs by 10% annually and reduce warranty repairs and customer support costs by 20% per year as well. She is leaning toward only presenting this latter option to Chris because this is the only option that meets the new corporate quality objective. Q.Suppose Nancy decides not to present the reengineering option to Chris. Is Nancy’s action unethical? Explain.
Ethics and quality. Weston Corporation manufactures auto parts for two leading Japanese automakers. Nancy Evans is the
Revenue 5,100,000
Quality costs:
Testing of purchased materials 48,000
Quality control training for production staff 7,500
Warranty repairs 123,000
Quality design engineering 72,000
Customer support 55,500
Materials scrap 18,000
Product inspection 153,000
Engineering redesign of failed parts 31,500
Rework of failed parts 27,000
Prior to receiving the new corporate quality objective, Nancy had collected information for all of the plant’s possible options for improving both product quality and costs of quality. She was planning to introduce the idea of reengineering the manufacturing process at a one-time cost of $112,500, which would decrease product inspection costs by approximately 25% per year and was expected to reduce warranty repairs and customer support by an estimated 40% per year. After seeing the new corporate objective, Nancy is reconsidering the reengineering idea.
Nancy crunches the numbers again. By increasing the cost-of-quality control training for production staff by $22,500 per year, the company would reduce inspection costs by 10% annually and reduce warranty repairs and customer support costs by 20% per year as well. She is leaning toward only presenting this latter option to Chris because this is the only option that meets the new corporate quality objective.
Q.Suppose Nancy decides not to present the reengineering option to Chris. Is Nancy’s action unethical? Explain.
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