ACCT 356 Assignment 1 / ACCT356 Assignment 1(NEW 2020): Athabasca University(Verified answers, download to score A)

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ACCT 356 Assignment 1
Question 1 (30 marks)
a) Reformat the value chain for Western Cabinets into Porter’s value chain format
described in Lesson 3 Note 1. Under each primary and secondary activity list the
activities as Western Cabinets and identify value creating processes. (15 marks)
Value chain analyzes all the internal business activities involved in converting raw
materials into output purchase by consumers. According the Porter’s value chain those
activities are divided into primary and secondary activities. Fig 1.1 below shows a list of
activities for Western Cabinets and the value creating processes

Secondary activities Primary activities
Procurement Outbound Logistics
 Using of numerous suppliers to order woods  Ordering of wood and move to
and other materials warehouse
 Customers visiting the showroom
 Installer installed the cabinets
 House visits by designers
Human Resource Management Operations
 5 full time employees in R&D team, 35  Adjusting product line
designers/ salespersons 15 full time  Creating design
employees in administration, 120 full time  Convert the Manufacturing codes into
employees in Manufacturing, 9 full time cabinets
employees in order entry, 3 full time  Moving from manufacturing to
employees as customer services and 25 FTE customers
experienced installers (so over 200  Scheduling, warehousing, and inventory
employees). They all functioned to achieve management
organizational goals. Their coordination has
built a decent reputation with respect to its
core value drivers; customer service, lead
time of cabinets, servicing for warranty,
quality, and operational efficiency
 Bonus program to measure performance is in
placed
 Information in terms of customer profitability,
customer behavior information and sales
statistics also falls under this category.
 Investment made to improve communication
 Hiring new employees because of staffing
changes made
Technological Development Marketing and sales
 Automation in the manufacturing department  R&D researches Cabinet trends
 Showcasing the cabinets in the
showrooms
Infrastructure Inbound Logistics
 Warehousing – more space needed to  Received the materials from supplier
increase automation level  Design the Cabinets

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 Adding showroom to each major city  Transfer the Cabinets to showroom
 Convert customer specifications into
cabinets
 Transferring cabinets from production to
customers


Service
 Designers providing information and
guidance on Cabinets in the showroom
 Customer service after installation
 House visit and recommendations on
interior decorations
Fig 1.1
Procurement – Procurement is all about getting the resources it needs to operate. It
includes finding vendors, finalizing purchase orders, negotiating the best price, and
making agreement with suppliers. Western Cabinets deal with numerous suppliers and
small order quantity. The reason for using multiple suppliers I believe is because of the
level of customization. The value-added activities include the relationship with the
supplier.
Human Resource Department- Human resource department main responsibility is to
hire the right employees. They are also involved in activities such as providing training,
payroll and retaining employees. Western Cabinets team consists of more than 200
employees. They have the R&D teams, salespersons/designers in the showroom, order
entry teams, manufacturing teams, installers, administration which includes the
president and vice presidents and customer service. There is also bonus program
based on organisation performance in place to standardize practices and which has not
been successful so far as it is driving the focus on quantity and not quality. Hiring the
‘right’ people and recognizing strong performance are likely the most important value-
added activities for the customer. Unfortunately, in Western Cabinets due to tight labor
market there is a significant number of inexperienced employees which impacts
efficiency.
Technology Development – Technological development refers to all the equipment and
technology used to transform inputs into output. The value adding is the consideration
of offering a more innovative product for instance customer site visits with 3D virtual
technology to illustrate the possibilities of embedding solutions to cabinets like Bluetooth
technology embedded in the cabinets, sound systems and video systems built into
cabinets, incorporating hologram and LCD screen technology. The other value adding
are the customization of the product and the level of automation in the manufacturing
department.
Infrastructure- The firm infrastructure consists of all the functions such as accounting,
legal, administration and management to maintain daily operations. In Western
Cabinets, Growth was mainly achieved through expansion by adding showrooms in
each major city. The maintenance of the of all the machines in manufacturing and all
other departments are also part of the infrastructure. 6 members of the administration