STRATEGIC COST MANAGEMENT
SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS
University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor
Voyage: Fall 2015
Discipline: Commerce/Business
COMM 5140: Strategic Cost Management
Division: Upper
Faculty Name: Andrea Alston Roberts
Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38
PRE-REQUISITES: Students should have a basic understanding of micro economics and have taken
an introductory level business course. Also, an introductory managerial accounting course is preferable
but not required. Basic Excel skills are required. Students from business or economics related academic
disciplines will find this course within their capabilities.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Strategic Cost Management is an upper level business course, but its
general management approach makes it accessible to students from many other disciplines. This
integrative course will consider how different costs impact the strategic decisions that managers
make daily. The course will specifically consider how supply costs, labor costs, and political costs
(among various other costs) play a role in these decisions. We will rely heavily on the case method,
which gives students a broad exposure to issues faced by various organizations. Cases and examples
will be chosen to take advantage of the countries we visit on the voyage. Active student participation
is required.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The overall learning objectives for this course are for you to:
 use various financial tools and quantitative techniques to recommend informed strategic
decisions;
 improve your analytical thinking and problem solving skills when problems are unstructured,
ambiguous, and do not have clearly-defined solutions;
 take advantage of intercultural learning by examining how managerial decisions may differ by
country due to differing labor, tax, health care and political environments;
 practice communicating solutions.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: A custom textbook will be made available. The textbook will include
chapters from Zimmerman, Accounting for Decision Making and Control, McGraw-Hill, Irwin 2014.
Other course materials will be made available on the ship’s intranet system.
EVALUATION AND GRADING: Grades will be determined based on the following weights:
Final exam
Group cases
Field Lab and Assignments
Homework
Participation
30%
15%
25%
15%
15%
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Final exam: The final exam will be case-based and most likely based on the field lab.
Group cases: There are two group cases. The case guidelines will be provided on the first day of
class. The cases are designed to be completed in groups. I will assign groups based on your responses
to a self-assessment survey that you will take at the beginning of the voyage. This is done to better
ensure that each group includes a diverse set of skills.
Field lab and assignments: In Italy, we will visit an olive oil producer and winery. Our goal is to
learn first-hand about the financial and non-financial costs associated with these industries. After
touring the facilities we will meet with one or more managers to discuss their perspectives regarding
the management of wine and oil production with particular emphasis on the broad array of costs that
face their firms.
This course is designed to help students think about both financial and non-financial costs when
making decisions. Each port of call provides a unique opportunity to think about the different costs that
business owners must consider when running their businesses. These costs can differ between
countries due to labor costs, political environment, social issues and a host of other things. This is
wonderful opportunity for you to use what you will learn on this voyage along with what you have
learned in other courses you have taken and combine it here. To do this, you are to keep a journal and
in that journal discuss what you have learned, insights you have gained, and how the costs of doing
business in each country we visit might differ and might affect a manager’s business decisions. We will
discuss these two times during the voyage (see schedule). You are also required to hand in a short
paper which will be based on your journal. Details will be provided on the first day of class.
Homework: Assignments are listed on the attached course schedule. You are expected to complete
all assignments before class (due dates will be announced in class). All homework assignments are
‘collectible’. This means some homework assignments will be collected and others will not. Please
note that the expectation is NOT for you to get the problem right. The expectation is for you to do
the homework so we can have a fruitful discussion about it. You will receive full credit (1 point) for
the homework only if you address all the questions/problems and it is evident that you made an effort
to complete the entire assignment. You may work on homework assignments with other students in
this course (doing this does not violate the honor code). However, each student should be prepared to
hand in individual assignments. Note that reading the lecture notes is considered a homework
assignment as there are questions included in the notes that you are required to think about before
class.
Participation: This is a discussion course and the dynamics of the course depend on your
participation! Students are expected to attend class having prepared and thought about all assigned
material. Participating effectively in class does not mean “having the right answer.” In fact, you soon
will realize that many times there is no single answer.
I will assign a grade for class participation based on how well you improved the learning that went
on in the classroom. I usually will record a numerical score for each person at the end of each class
session.
These scores are:
2
3 Exceptional contribution to class discussions. Asked or answered questions that go beyond
the assigned readings and assignments.
2 Positive contribution to class discussions that demonstrate thoughtful preparation and
attention to class discussion.
1 Attended class but did not meaningfully participate.
0 Absent or clearly unprepared for class (i.e., unable to answer basic questions about the case
or assignment for the day).
-1 Disruptive to class (e.g., sleeping; leaving class repeatedly, arriving to class late).
HONOR CODE: Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the
University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University’s honor code. The code prohibits all
acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager’s Handbook for further explanation of
what constitutes an honor offense.
Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: “On my honor as a
student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment.” The pledge must be
signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed “[signed].”
The course schedule is on the next page
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TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE
*PPT – PowerPoint Notes
Day
Topic
A1
Course Introduction
A2
The Nature of Costs
A3
The Nature of Costs
A4
Cost Behavior
A5
A6
The Outsourcing Decision
The Outsourcing Decision
A7
A8
A9
Cost-Volume Profit Analysis
Cost-Volume Profit Analysis
Cost Structure, Competitive Advantage and
Labor Cost decisions
A10
A11
A12
A13
Group Case: One Laptop per Child
Pricing
Pricing
A14
A15
A16
Transfer Pricing
Estimating costs using regression analysis
Estimating costs using regression analysis
A17
A18
A19
A20
A21
A22
A23
A24
Estimating costs using regression analysis
Group Case: Continental Airlines
How to Make a T-shirt: It Takes a Globe
Variance Analysis
Variance Analysis
Assignment Due
Complete self-assessment for group assignments
Read and Complete PPT Notes
Assigned problems
Read complete PPT Notes
Assigned problems
Past and Future of American Manufacturing
The Lollipop Wars
Tomatoes Tradition and the Global Economy
Read and complete PPT Notes
Assigned problems
Read and complete PPT notes
Field work journal presentations
Read and complete PPT notes
Priceline.com
Tallying up the Pelican Bill
Read and complete PPT Notes
Assigned problems
Delta Airlines
Brigham General Hospital
Read can complete PPT Notes
Assigned problems
Field work journal presentations
State Street Pub
Variance Analysis
Final Exam
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