(Cost management; social responsibility) Through its three sets of elements (motivational, informational, and reporting), a CMS focuses the attention of a given decision maker on the data and information that are crucial to that de¬ cision maker’s responsibilities in the organization. However, the nature and scope of information generated by the CMS for that decision maker are of¬ ten limited by traditions of financial reporting and the imaginations of CMS designers. A common omission from a CMS is information useful in meeting a firm’s social responsibility.

Consider the possibility that a CMS could be developed that would be informative relative to organizational performance from the following per¬ spectives: minorities, local community, customers, employees, and the envi¬ ronment. Discuss how this information could be used to manage the following specific expenses.

a. product liability costs

b. local property taxes C. pollution remediation

d. costs associated with employee turnover

e. warranty expense LO.1