Activity Based Management
TOPIC: ACTIVITY-BASED MANAGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
Activity based management (ABM) is an approach to management that aims to maximize the value adding activities to the customers while minimizing or eliminating non-value adding activities. The objective of ABM is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization in securing its markets. It draws on activity based-costing (ABC) as its major source of information and focuses on managing activities to (1) reduce costs, (2) create performance measures, (3) improve cash flow and quality and, (4) produce enhanced value products in order to improve customer value (Business Dictionary.com). This ABM system 's top priority is in eliminating or improving those activities to increase profitability by seeking out areas where a business is losing money such as the factors which cause activities to be performed or activity cost to change.
Undeniably, in order to improve an organization 's work processes and activities to effectively and efficiently meet the rapidly changing environment in this globalisation world, management practices and methods have changed over the last decade and will continue to change in future. THE TRADITIONAL ABSORPTION COSTING is the first system implemented to keep track of the true cost of a product or service. It assigns indirect cost to cost object and uses unsophisticated methods to assign indirect costs. It allocates overheads to production and service departments and uses small number of 2nd stage cost drivers to allocate costs from cost centres or pools to productions or cost objects. This system will only be appropriate when the (i)direct costs were the dominant costs, (ii)indirect costs were relatively small, (iii)information costs are high, (iv)there is a lack of intense global competition and (v)a limited range of products is produced, it might be difficult for every organization to use it. For instance, this system might not be appropriate for companies with complex processes and
INTRODUCTION
Activity based management (ABM) is an approach to management that aims to maximize the value adding activities to the customers while minimizing or eliminating non-value adding activities. The objective of ABM is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization in securing its markets. It draws on activity based-costing (ABC) as its major source of information and focuses on managing activities to (1) reduce costs, (2) create performance measures, (3) improve cash flow and quality and, (4) produce enhanced value products in order to improve customer value (Business Dictionary.com). This ABM system 's top priority is in eliminating or improving those activities to increase profitability by seeking out areas where a business is losing money such as the factors which cause activities to be performed or activity cost to change.
Undeniably, in order to improve an organization 's work processes and activities to effectively and efficiently meet the rapidly changing environment in this globalisation world, management practices and methods have changed over the last decade and will continue to change in future. THE TRADITIONAL ABSORPTION COSTING is the first system implemented to keep track of the true cost of a product or service. It assigns indirect cost to cost object and uses unsophisticated methods to assign indirect costs. It allocates overheads to production and service departments and uses small number of 2nd stage cost drivers to allocate costs from cost centres or pools to productions or cost objects. This system will only be appropriate when the (i)direct costs were the dominant costs, (ii)indirect costs were relatively small, (iii)information costs are high, (iv)there is a lack of intense global competition and (v)a limited range of products is produced, it might be difficult for every organization to use it. For instance, this system might not be appropriate for companies with complex processes and
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