The Quilt Company: An Experiential Case In The Behavioral Effects Of Accounting And Measurement Upon Manufacturing Quality

Abstract

Accounting and business students routinely develop “profits myopia” when asked to analyze business situations.  Although they have been taught and purportedly believe that they understand the vital importance of quality, students do not easily internalize quality concepts.  The purpose of this case is to help students become aware of their own naivety and tendencies to ignore quality when attempting to maximize profits.  The author has tested this case for over a decade in a variety of educational venues (including executive, graduate, and advanced undergraduate classes with substantial numbers of both domestic and international students).  With rare exception, student teams repeatedly chose short-term profits over intermediate and long-term quality when placed under competitive pressure.  This experiential case allows the professor to explore the behavioral effects of measurement upon quality and to raise the students’ awareness of the complexities and interplay of measurement and quality.