Hospitals, like all organizations, have both a mission and a finite supply of resources with which to accomplish that mission. Because the inventory of therapeutic drugs is among the more expensive resources needed by a hospital to achieve its mission, a conceptual model of structure plus process equals outcome posits that adequate emphasis should…

The purpose of this study was to understand how lean thinking and inventory management technology minimize expired medical supply waste in healthcare organizations. This study was guided by Toyota's theory of lean and Mintzberg's theory of management development to explain why the problem of medical supply waste exists. Government…

Of the 677 school presidents that have signed on to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), approximately 200 of them are presidents of community colleges. This measure of involvement at the community college level is promising for two reasons: (1) these schools have emerged as a major provider of public higher…

Amazon, Walmart, and other large-scale retailers owe their success partly to efficient inventory management. For such firms, holding too little inventory risks losing sales, whereas holding idle inventory wastes money. Therefore profits hinge on the inventory level chosen. In this activity, students investigate a simplified inventory-control…

As a promising and emerging technology for supply chain management, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a new alternative to existing tracking technologies and also allows a range of internal control and supply chain coordination. RFID has generated a significant amount of interest and activities from both practitioners and researchers in…

The impact of task clarification and performance feedback on cleaning and restocking behaviors on both targeted and nontargeted behaviors was analyzed using an AB multiple baseline design across behaviors. Task clarification was presented on an enlarged poster to the serving staff at a fine dining restaurant. Group performance feedback was…

Leaders within retail supermarkets struggle to manage perishable waste that has been at least partly attributed to shoppers' desire to buy fresh food; however, supermarket managers do not always exhaust the stock of fresh food as scheduled. Based on disruptive innovation theory, the purpose of this case study was to explore employee use of an…

Equipment to store foods at proper temperatures is critical to serving safe and nutritious meals in schools yet little is known about the amount or the adequacy of refrigerated storage in school nutrition programs. The purposes of this study were to identify the types and capacity of refrigeration equipment used in schools, determine the perceived…

In 2011, the Group of Eight (Go8) conducted a survey on the state of its buildings and infrastructure. The survey is the third Go8 Infrastructure survey, with previous surveys being conducted in 2007 and 2009. The current survey updated some of the information collected in the previous surveys. It also collated data related to aspects of the…

This case provides auditing students with an opportunity to perform substantive tests of inventory using realistic-looking source documents. The learning objectives are to help students understand: (1) the procedures auditors perform in order to test inventory; (2) the source documents used in auditing inventory; and (3) the types of misstatements…

Using an electronic shelf-reading system a cost-benefit analysis was conducted of an inventory/shelf-reading project in a medium-sized academic library. Analyses include time spent, cataloging discrepancies, books found with active statuses, mis-shelving rate and distance, and subsequent use of found books. Correctly re-shelving "missing"…

Replacing the method of counting inventory from paper count sheets to that of wireless reliably reduced the elapsed time to complete a daily inventory of the storage cooler in a dairy manufacturing plant. The handheld computers delivered immediate prompts as well as auditory and visual feedback. Reducing the time to complete the daily inventory…

This essay seeks to give practical guidance to accounting instructors seeking to convey the difficult concepts of accounting for inventory. Techniques to convey the concepts of assumed inventory flow, inventory valuation under inflation and deflation, impairment of inventories, LIFO [Last In, First Out] liquidations and the concept of the periodic…

Two of the most time-consuming jobs in the library are taking inventory and keeping track of in-house uses of library material. Librarians have long been searching for more efficient solution for these two activities. New technology can be the answer to creating efficiency for libraries. In fact, if one is a SirsiDynix library, there is an easy…

A lack of consistent and accurate auditing and record keeping of district IT equipment can lead to confusion between administrative departments, including redundant purchases, transferred equipment being mislabeled as stolen, computers and other equipment simply being lost, or a variety of other scenarios. This had led to an increased demand for…