Ethics

ACCT 4302

Fall 2012

Case Abstracts

A Green Winter: The Case of Proposed Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort Wind Turbine

John MacArthur; Thomas Barton

WHEN CONSUMERS REEL FROM THE STICKER SHOCK OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS, smart business managers are looking for creative and profitable ways to insulate themselves from the vagaries of the energy marketplace. This teaching case is about a successful medium-sized ski resort in the Berkshire

Mountains of Western Massachusetts, Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort (Jiminy Peak), and its deliberations about a wind turbine installation as a way to add a high degree of stability to its energy costs while helping to fulfill a corporate mission to protect the environment and allow the use of “green marketing” to attract more visitors to its popular ski slopes. This case allows undergraduate and graduate students to explore the economic, environmental, social, and other factors associated with the decision to invest in green energy sources based on the real-world example of Jiminy Peak wind turbine investment project. The case can be adapted for use in cost/managerial/management accounting undergraduate and graduate classes.

Keywords: Relevance, capital budgeting, qualitative factors

Large group (5)

Alliance Healthcare Network: Using a Balanced Scorecard to Motivate Change

Anne Sergeant; Paulette Ratliff-Miller

ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE NETWORK CONSIDERS the use of the balanced scorecard as a tool to motivate change in organizational culture. This real-life-based company owns and operates a number of hospitals and healthcare networks and is actively acquiring new facilities. This case focuses on motivating physicians of newly acquired facilities to properly use the information technology (IT) system. Students are asked to consider the differences between hospital and manufacturing environments, what motivates healthcare providers, and how performance measures can be used to assist in change. Objectives of the case are 1) to...