Peer Review

M2 - Special Decision Making (Short Term)

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 2, 2018 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This MERLOT artifact is a 15-minute, self-paced, video tutorial covering short-term cost-benefit decision making for businesses. The decisions relate to cost accounting in a manufacturing setting, and use examples of Accept-or-Reject a Sales Order, Make-or-Buy Packaging, and Keep-or-Drop a Product Line. The video tutorial provides a brief introduction to the concepts, and then the instructor works three problems as examples, presenting the solution for each one. These problems allow viewers to apply concepts and receive instant feedback about the solution and computational methods. The slides that accompany the video are available for download as a separate PDF document.
Type of Material:: Tutorial
Recommended Uses:: Recommended for individual, self-paced, homework or professional development.
Technical Requirements:: Web Browser, Adobe PDF Reader for optional download of slides. Works fine with Firefox version 55.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Students will gain a basic understanding of how managerial cost accounting can support businesses making cost-benefit decisions in a manufacturing setting. Students will learn about which types of revenues and costs are relevant to the short-term decision-making process, and how to calculate net cost or benefit from a chosen course of action. The goal is to relate these concepts to similar common occurrences in a way that demystifies these concepts.
Target Student Population:: College-level, Managerial or Cost Accounting.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Introductory Managerial or Cost accounting course and particularly the following concepts: cost drivers, cost allocation, direct vs. indirect costs, and contribution margin.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

This presentation of the content is good because the video and slides complement each other. Concepts are presented clearly and concisely. The presenter uses current pop-culture references to help students connect with the content. The problems allow students to apply concepts immediately and receive immediate clarification about the solutions. The short, summary format allows material to be used as a stand-alone module, as a tutorial, or incorporated into a semester course.

Concerns:

This short video tutorial was not meant to provide a complete demonstration of the concept, and just focuses on one selected topic for students to master at their own pace. It also references outside materials that may not be available to all viewers (i.e., Module 1 from an earlier tutorial, and a Feedback Form that was not provided on the site).
Because of the inclusion of pop-culture references, the content may become dated over time.
Some of the presenter’s initial discussion of the concepts was distracting because it included his personal life.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The learning objectives were identified at the very beginning of the video and the underlying concepts were reinforced continually throughout the presentation. This tutorial could be integrated with a homework assignment seamlessly. The use of practice problems was very effective, allowing students to try out calculations and check their work. The use of the virtual whiteboard as part of the video tutorial was engaging, as the instructor made notations on the slides to demonstrate key steps. The examples of the manufacturing processes provided a realistic scenario to which most students will relate (i.e., the Apple iPad or Mountain Due soda).

Concerns:

Prerequisite knowledge or skills needed were not listed.
The presenter alluded to previous modules and prerequisite knowledge but did not name it explicitly until about halfway through the tutorial.
Relationships between concepts is good, but the concepts used are pop-culture references and would have been better if they were accounting related.
No student assessment is included with this module, however, it could easily be added by the adopter.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

This tutorial is relatively easy to use since it contains both an instructional video and complementary problems for completion during explicit pauses. The narration by the instructor is engaging and flows at a good pace. The instructor annotations and notes that accompany the narration are very effective. The video contains professional graphics and is generally appealing. Being able to see the cursor move on the screen as the instructor pointed out different sections of the graphics was very helpful. The interactive nature of the video with the included problems was its strongest part.

Concerns:

The website was a little hard to understand at first because of the scrolling needed to find the video.
The audio was scratchy at times, and some static feedback was noted.
Instructions or a downloadable worksheet to complete the problems would have made the solutions easier to follow.
The video of the presenter and low-quality tools used to highlight/circle items was distracting at times.
The module is a "view only" tutorial and did not include any type of student assessment or knowledge check.

Other Issues and Comments:

This video tutorial is part of an undergraduate college course in Introductory Cost Accounting, and goes along with a textbook.
It provides excellent supplementary material for a college course or self-study in Cost Accounting.

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